Last few months, I’ve contemplated this thought, “fitness over 50,” more than a couple of times. Fact is, there has also been times over the last year or two; where I’ve wondered how it is that I am at the half century mark.
But at the half century I am, and another half century to go. And if I am to go another half century, then fitness and wellness must be at the core of how I live my life. It should be at the core of how you live your life.
I think for the younger crowd, getting in shape has always meant either getting lean and hard or getting freaky big. I know that for me, all I wanted was muscle. I wanted muscle everywhere with arms big enough for 2 girls to hang off each. It didn’t quite happen that way but as the saying goes, “hope springs eternal.” I was all about chasing after the pictures of those muscle heads when I was in my 20′s and 30′s (when I wasn’t busy partying and carousing).
So, at 50, what does getting in shape mean?
I don’t think anything changes. I think it means pretty much the same thing – be it getting lean or getting freaky big (check the video of this 74 year old guy in this great article, Can Older People Build Muscle?, by Martica Heaner).
Burning fat or building muscle is what our body does in response to diet and exercise irrespective of our age. Need more examples – just one - Larry Scott.
To use me as an example – right now I’m working out to Rusty’s Visual Impact Muscle Building program (you can read my review of it here, if you wish). I finished his phase I routine a couple of months ago and progressed to phase II. I actually liked the feel of phase I better, so I went back to it.
Phase II and III is about building strength and muscle hardness. Phase I is more about building muscle strategically and getting pumped.
But I didn’t do back to phase I cause I wanted more muscle; I just like racing the pump and that feeling of tightness in the muscles.
But I move through Rusty’s phase I a little faster than he recommends. Which also means I will drop the resistance at times to get the reps.
- My 50 Year Old Back using Bodylastics and Visual Impact – 7/17/11
Here’s the salient point – I don’t do anything different because I am 50 than if I had been using this program at 25. I push myself to muscle failure and I seek to increase my effort and intensity on every subsequent workout.
That said, here are the factors that impact me the most now (how about you?):
Time
When I was young and single, I had time. I didn’t think twice about burning the candle at both ends. I was invincible. I could do it all. Not so much now. Between 50 to 60 hours a week working and raising 2 little girls, I have to fit my workouts in when I can. I might go 5 or 6 days without working out. Or I might actually get in a 2 day on, 1 day off, 2 day on, 2 day off cycle for a few weeks. I have to be opportunistic about when I work out. The standby advice has always been to work out at a set time. The guru’s advice was always to get the body in rhythm. Well into middle age, that advice doesn’t work, at least not for me.
What’s important is that you do work out – The End.
Arthritis
Some have it and some don’t. I have it. A joint, be it the shoulders or the ankles or the hips, hurts everyday. Somedays it’s my shoulders (like now), and other days, it’s my knees. I don’t recall so many joints hurting at a younger age. Plus I have a gout attack every 6 months or so. Does joint pain impact my workouts? You bet. Does it change what I do? You bet. But I still work out as hard as I can.
And I get creative in what I do. Visual Impact calls for Military press, side laterals, and machine press for shoulders. 20 years ago, I loved pounding out standing military presses and seated dumbbell presses. The day I pressed 225 for 3 reps was huge for me. Not happening now. Instead, I do side laterals, face pulls alternated with standing reverse flyes, and front laterals. I still use his rep scheme. I warm up the joints and work around the pain.
Also, using Bodylastics is heaven sent. Because resistance bands are not gravity based, I can move it around to affect the muscles without stressing the joints. For those of us over 50 or with arthritis, resistance bands like Bodylastics are gold.
Metabolism
No scientist me and definitely do not have a large brain pan, but my analysis has conclusively show that my metabolism has slowed down, and is reaching two toed sloth levels. Now it could be the lower testosterone levels. Don’t really know, regardless, based on zero factual knowledge and kindergarten level research, I think at 50+; it is an absolute imperative to eat clean and lean. I don’t care if you want to put on 25lbs of muscle, you can’t be pounding the protein, wolfing chow down 6 times a day. Every pound you gain must be lean and fat free.
Maybe I’m imagining it, but it just seems like as I get older, the more my body squirrels every calorie away somewhere on my body. And refuses to let it go. In the younger days, I could afford – heck, I loved chowing on steak cheese subs and Italian sausages with everything on it. No more room or margin for error now.
Everything I eat is clean and lean. No more butter, it’s olive oil. No more italian dressing, it’s extra virgin olive oil with a touch of balsamic vinegar, oregano, basil, and garlic powder. No more juicy, fatty ribeyes grilled medium rare, it’s salmon and tuna. Don’t get me wrong, I love food and I sacrifice nothing for taste, but again, there’s just less room for error.
Building Muscle or Burning Fat
It’s the diet. I know guys that got pretty muscular using Rusty’s program, but not so much me. And it has nothing to do with age. It’s my diet. I eat light. Really light, as in some days I doubt I eat more than, maybe, 1200 calories. And my weight hovers around 185 – 190. Somedays, I’ll pound down a huge plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce or lingiuni sauted in olive oil and garlic. I’m talking 1000 to 1200 calories right there. I love pasta. But for most days of the week, I ate clean and lean. My daily protein intake doesn’t top 100 grams.
No high fructose corn syrup, no processed foods, no sodas – you get the picture. Whole fruit, and lots and lots of water.
So even though I’m on Rusty’s muscle building phase; I think my diet keeps me from getting big. And that’s fine with me.
I’ve no doubt that if I tweaked my diet to include a little more protein and a few more nutrient dense calories, this program would add muscle no different than if I was 20 years younger.
So What’s the Challenge
I think older guys (and gals) are faced with a couple different obstacles. The first is the ingrained prejudice that physical fitness is young person’s game. Despite Jack Lalanne, I’m thinking most do not see themselves as being lean or get good
shape as the years go by. I call it the Al Bundy affect. We become comfortable and accept being overweight or out of shape as part of growing older. That’s a paradigm that needs to go away.
The truth is that we have a greater urgency to get physically fitness. Barring some misfortune or personal tragedy, getting through the 1st half century is gonna happen for most of us. But getting through the second half century is not. But if it is going to happen, it will only do so if we are physically fit.
And this 20 minute walk 3 times a week ain’t it. It’s physically challenging yourself (without being dumb) and causing your body to adapt by becoming lean and in shape. It means abandoning the notion that you can’t be a physically demanding on yourself as when you were younger. Of course, you need to take all the precautions necessary, to including seeing your doctors, before starting anything rigorous – BUT that’s good advice for any age group.
There’s also this notion of making dramatically changes. No one, at any one age, is going to miraclously transform their physique in 3 weeks. But with hard work and good dieting, you can add 10 to 15 lbs of great muscle in a year or lose 20 to 30 lbs in 6 months. How would the quality of your life change with those improvements?
Don’t get wrong, I suppose you could lose 100lbs in 6 months under some really rigorous program – I don’t really know. But what about just losing 30 lbs in 6 months. How much impact would that have on your vital signs? You’d look pretty good too!
Just think of Jack Lalanne, your body’s ready. You just need to get your mind right.
Good Luck.
The voice of riatonaltiy! Good to hear from you.