How to build muscle when 60 years+?

[tlandtday]

just get some of the resistance bands and a chin up bar.  Do the bands, bar and pushups and situps and leg raises.  I also swim a km a few times per week.  It's all  you need.  No use wasting time in a gym. 

[robblok]

22 minutes ago, tlandtday said:

just get some of the resistance bands and a chin up bar.  Do the bands, bar and pushups and situps and leg raises.  I also swim a km a few times per week.  It's all  you need.  No use wasting time in a gym. 

It all depends on your goals, for real muscles a gym is still king.  Sure you can get some muscles doing stuff with resistance bands (newby gains) but it will soon max out. 

 

I mean there is a reason why athletes and bodybuilders go to a gym. Its much better but these guys have other goals then the average Thaivisa poster.

 

I prefer the gym as it works far better (for me) as anything else. But I have different goals too then the average Thaivisa poster. 

 

Just find the right tools for the job, if a lil firmness and maybe some small muscles is goal then you can do a lot. If you want to get there faster and get bigger then a gym is much better. 

 

(yes that is me with the sissie gloves)

 

 

Edited January 2, 2020 by robblok

[fvw53]

I am 75 and I follow with satisfaction a workout developed for elderly people (Youtube Hasfit)

 

[robblok]

17 minutes ago, fvw53 said:

I am 75 and I follow with satisfaction a workout developed for elderly people (Youtube Hasfit)

 

Yes the older one gets the more problems you get too. I am already slowly changing what I do to lessen impacts on joints. You can't expect a 75 do the same stuff as a 25 year old. Smart to find the right exercises. 

[cnx101]

I do about 2 and a half hours a day in the gym six days a week been doing it for years, heavy weights then some cardio and stomach exercise, eat protein, I’m 67 years old, it works fine for me, get the aches and pains but it’s expected.

Edited January 2, 2020 by cnx101

[robblok]

1 hour ago, tonray said:

Get yourself a Power Twister. They are fantasic to add definition and keep muscles firm. This in combination with swimming 1 KM 3 times per week keeps my upper body in pretty decent shape (I'm hitting 62 this summer). Same as you legs not an issue because I walk a lot and take stairs whenever possible. many available on Lazada. I use a 30 KG tension...you may want to try 30 or 40 depending on your body type and how much muscle you want to build. Or get two...30 and 40 and use 30 where 40 is too much to work with

 

The swimming is great, the other thing you used no tso much. But that is my professional opinion. When i was 16 i had such a device too. Did not do much to build real muscle. You just cant do enough variations to target all muscles. But again for some it might help. 

[robblok]

1 minute ago, cnx101 said:

I do about 2 and a half hours a day in the gym six days a week been doing it for years, heavy weights then some cardio and stomach exercise, eat protein, I’m 67 years old, it works fine for me, get the aches and pains but it’s expected.

There are pains and pains.. i mean muscle soreness is one thing.. real pain an other.

 

your doing more then me my workouts are an hour.. maybe 1 hour and 10 minutes (more if i add some cardio)

 

Nicely done keep it up. 

[EvetsKram]

Be bloody careful with those injections,  it can easily lead to brain or heart attack however fit & healthy you are

[maxx58]

Here is an American doctor who is an expert on TRT and works with guys who have abused steroids.

Without proper management you could be flirting with danger.

Please take heed to his wise advice!

 

 

[xtrnuno41]

 I red once it is the andropause, same thing as for woman is menopause, which is responsible for muscle loss. Maybe you also red this and you are taking testosterone injections, probably to fight this.?

testosterone injections also can prevent osteoporosis in the long run.

Of course there are more symptoms with andropause. It all depends on the person himself, anyone is reacting different. But there could be overall symptoms due to andropause.

Building normally wise you can do then by exercise and eating still right and have proteins in the same way as ever before, as you have the injections. 

[sirineou]

First of all genes play a big part, not everything will work for everyone.

I have read this whole thread and  I have to agree with robblok. 

progressive resistance combined with a high protein low carb diet is what has worked for me.I will be 63 in a few months.

Lately (about 8 months) I have being doing the intermittent fasting diet, Last meal at 6 pm, next meal 12 pm  then a snack at 3 pm and a lite meal in the evening.(18 hrs without eating)

Go to gym at 10 am , 20 min of cardio on the treadmill,  at about 4-5 mph , It gets me and my heart going .

Then one day I do upper body, and abbs. next day I do legs and lower back. one day in between for each muscle group recovery.  

I have a journal that I keep track of my progress. Two 10-15 repetitions at a particular weight  then a third at 20 lbs more as much as I can do (usually about 10 reps) after a while the last higherweght rep becomes my normal and I add weight on my last. 

 Work out for about 1 1/2 hr and then go home, by that time it is almost 12 pm and i am ready for my meal . First thing, a protein drink (milk, vanilla flavored whey protein, and peanut butter in the blender) then my veggies and lean protein (chicken. pork beef).  

I had stop working out for about 5 years because I was traveling a lot due to work, and it is amazing how hard it is to get it , and how easy it is to lose it. This regiment has helped me to get some of it back.

Not sure if I will ever get it all back, Still working on, it also assessing the merits of the Intermittent fasting.

Perhaps when I get to a desired  BMI I will abandon it. and go on maintenance.

 

 

[kevin612]

Youtube is our teacher, there many training videos.

[Stevemercer]

An interesting thread.

 

I've always tended to follow 3 principles in my fitness regimes:

• Work with what genetics has gifted you and concentrate on this.
• Be prepared to change goals and adapt as you age, suffer injuries or your circumstances change.
• Core strength and balance should always be number 1.

As we get older, I reckon core strength increases in importance. My goals have shifted away from muscle mass to endurance and flexibility. When I was younger I was ore of a sprinter and worked on 'fast twitch' muscle accordingly. I've long since lost that edge and now concentrate on building endurance.

 

Also, as we get older, we hopefully gain wisdom and a physchological edge in endurance that allows us to stay competitive.

[robblok]

40 minutes ago, sirineou said:

First of all genes play a big part, not everything will work for everyone.

I have read this whole thread and  I have to agree with robblok. 

progressive resistance combined with a high protein low carb diet is what has worked for me.I will be 63 in a few months.

Lately (about 8 months) I have being doing the intermittent fasting diet, Last meal at 6 pm, next meal 12 pm  then a snack at 3 pm and a lite meal in the evening.(18 hrs without eating)

Go to gym at 10 am , 20 min of cardio on the treadmill,  at about 4-5 mph , It gets me and my heart going .

Then one day I do upper body, and abbs. next day I do legs and lower back. one day in between for each muscle group recovery.  

I have a journal that I keep track of my progress. Two 10-15 repetitions at a particular weight  then a third at 20 lbs more as much as I can do (usually about 10 reps) after a while the last higherweght rep becomes my normal and I add weight on my last. 

 Work out for about 1 1/2 hr and then go home, by that time it is almost 12 pm and i am ready for my meal . First thing, a protein drink (milk, vanilla flavored whey protein, and peanut butter in the blender) then my veggies and lean protein (chicken. pork beef).  

I had stop working out for about 5 years because I was traveling a lot due to work, and it is amazing how hard it is to get it , and how easy it is to lose it. This regiment has helped me to get some of it back.

Not sure if I will ever get it all back, Still working on, it also assessing the merits of the Intermittent fasting.

Perhaps when I get to a desired  BMI I will abandon it. and go on maintenance.

 

 

Yes genes play a big part in it, for me its (relatively) easy to get muscle and harder to get lean.

We got to work with what we are gifted. 

 

you can get back what you lost but it takes time and dedication. Good thing there is such a thing called muscle memory. 

 

I change what kind of programs I follow but I build them all around compound lifts and just put in hard work. I don't feel as if I trained if i just go through the motions without any effort at all. A good workout for me is a hard workout. I need to feel that I am training. That can be done by heavy weights or more reps or change in speed. 

 

I take protein powders too but not because I think they are superior to whole foods more as its an easy way to get proteins for only a few calories. (slow metabolism).

 

What really counts is consistency in the end that will win. I have no set amount of times to workout. I try to go for 5 can be more can be less. I doubt it makes much difference on the long run. 

 

I enjoy working out its an habit and it helps me to stay on diet too. 

 

This was me in 2011 i was a FAT <deleted> but i still worked out. Compare that with the other pic i posted.

[BigStar]

3 hours ago, tlandtday said:

just get some of the resistance bands and a chin up bar.  Do the bands, bar and pushups and situps and leg raises.  I also swim a km a few times per week.  It's all  you need.  No use wasting time in a gym. 

Suspension trainer & pullup bar is all you need. He's got some weights. Add some cardio (intervals for best bang) and you're good.

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, EvetsKram said:

Be bloody careful with those injections,  it can easily lead to brain or heart attack however fit & healthy you are

I can't see how that's a good idea unless blood work reveals you're deficient.

[BigStar]

On 12/20/2019 at 8:24 AM, Presnock said:

Then at 72, I read about weight lifting repititions...doing lighter weights but many more repititions. 

The lighter weights is all to the good at your age but unfortunately more repetitions means more wear on the old joints. You can go lighter still with fewer repetitions via this method:

 

 

[zaZa9]

On 12/23/2019 at 2:57 PM, robblok said:

Simon,

 

I dont say you need to buy a home gym, but I am saying that without one it will be hard to build muscle. You really need machines with adjustable weight or dumbbells or something like that to build muscle (if its about size and / or strength.)

 

The reason being you need to increase the load on the muscle and adding weight is one of the easiest ways to do so. It can be done with body weight exercises. But only to a certain point and its harder. 

 

I now workout in my home gym and at a gym near my home (depending on time and mood). But for most i think a gym is best. I doubt its an option as Laos probably does not have it.

Simon said ...

 

"I have a set of free weights, but would appreciate advice on what specific free weight exercises would help me to build upper body muscle mass.  (I don't have nearby access to a gym)"

[sirineou]

15 minutes ago, zaZa9 said:

Simon said ...

 

"I have a set of free weights, but would appreciate advice on what specific free weight exercises would help me to build upper body muscle mass.  (I don't have nearby access to a gym)"

 

[robblok]

10 hours ago, zaZa9 said:

Simon said ...

 

"I have a set of free weights, but would appreciate advice on what specific free weight exercises would help me to build upper body muscle mass.  (I don't have nearby access to a gym)"

Yea later i commented on the fact he had weights. I was a bit blind it happens to me occasionally. 

[Tony125]

This Simple Biceps Drill Grows Your Arms With Time Under Tension

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/simple-biceps-drill-grows-arms-191200046.html?guccounter=1

 

Just go to YouTube and type in Exercise for over 60's  or how to build muscular arms for seniors. many articles available.  Personally I would not be using testosterone injections at 60, there are other ways to increase T using suppliments , nutrition and exercise rather than injections (see post #39) of the dangers.

[ThaiWai]

News flash, you suffer from bradycardia.  There goes your zero health issues theory.

[GarryP]

58 minutes ago, ThaiWai said:

News flash, you suffer from bradycardia.  There goes your zero health issues theory.

If you are responding to the OP, you are wrong. Many people who are fit and active have resting heart rates between 50 and 60 bpm. In fact many very fit athletes have resting heart rates as low as 30 or 40. Many specialists in the field now say that the ideal resting heart rate is between 50 and 70 bpm. There are also claims that those with lower heart rates tend to live longer (assuming no other illnesses arises). 

[sammieuk1]

Bet none of you bodybuilding types could lift me off the sofa????

[GarryP]

1 hour ago, sammieuk1 said:

Bet none of you bodybuilding types could lift me off the sofa????

Bet none would want to! ????

[robblok]

On 1/7/2020 at 12:50 PM, sammieuk1 said:

Bet none of you bodybuilding types could lift me off the sofa????

Im quite sure I could get you off the sofa quite easily. Im sure placing a bottle of beer just out of reach would make you move ????

[sammieuk1]

6 minutes ago, robblok said:

Im quite sure I could get you off the sofa quite easily. Im sure placing a bottle of beer just out of reach would make you move ????

You could give it a go I suppose I'M here right now????

[Tony125]

On 12/24/2019 at 12:24 PM, simon43 said:

I eat a mostly vegetarian diet because I'd found over the past few years that this type of diet has resulted in excellent blood work numbers ==> low BP, low bad chloresterol etc.  But i'm not a plant lover and regularly eat fish and chicken to get a well-balanced diet.

 

As for the T-injections, these were initiated several years ago under care of a specialist doctor.  I self-inject twice-weekly and have regular blood check-ups.

 

Update: forgot to mention that I'm just back from my regular, 3-month blood donation to the hospital here in Luang Prabang.  I have to lie about my age because they consider someone over 60 as too old to donate blood - it's a risk to their health...  As far as they know, I'm a healthy 58 years old ????

https://www.primeactive.co/collections/fitness/products/11pcs-resistance-bands-set?fbclid=IwAR1jNU911iUivjIWVO95_dhtM_yrqaZt5iT9nVtFuVFTqVErATgBag8x2PE

[grifbel]

On 12/19/2019 at 11:02 AM, simon43 said:

testosterone injections twice a week.  My mental state is great and I feel great!

You may feel great temporarily, but if you need injections to feel this way, then your artificial health is not nearly as good as you think and is probably not sustainable. 

Edited January 16, 2020 by grifbel

[grifbel]

On 12/20/2019 at 8:00 AM, robblok said:

The problem Simon, to get more muscle you need progressive overload. This is a bit hard to do with just body weight exercises. 

 

Things like pull ups would help, maybe push ups and some dips. But its really hard to do if you dont have some weights or something.

Simply untrue unless you want a phony and temporary bulked up look to stare at in the mirror all day.  Lean muscle mass is much healthier and sustainable and can be achieved through body weight exercise and other aerobic/anaerobic fitness. No need for weights. Look at boxers or Muay Thai.  Now get down and give me a 100 push ups

Edited January 16, 2020 by grifbel