I’m 48 and have been training for the last 35 years. I have adhered to specific programs for decades and have had pretty good success. In my twenties I was squating 405 for 5 reps at 173 lbs. . dead lifting 495 x 1, and benching 295. I’m a tall lifter at 6’ with not a lot of genetic potential - so I always had to pay close attention to the planning of workouts / rest periods / nutrition.
I got out of the training mode about 5 years ago and things were sporadic at best. (See “What I Did This Summer…”). I have gotten back into training but without all the structure that used to be a big part of my workout planning. Every session used to be written down.
Now I go into the gym with the following goals.
I will spend 60 minutes working out.
I spend the first 25-30 minutes doing cardio.
The second 25 minutes consist of doing multi-joint / compound exercises.
I try to get in a hip dominant, vertical pull, vertical push on one day and a knee dominant, horizontal pull, horizontal push on the other.
I alternate workouts.
If I feel like crap I just go for a walk around the neighborhood.
I don’t stop the entire 60 minutes (I try to keep a good sweat going through the entire workout.)
Reps / sets / exercises are different every single workout as long as I follow the guidelines of #4.
I have gotten away from writing everything down.
The reason I have been training this way is that I want to really enjoy my time in the gym. I feel like movement and calorie expenditure is critical. The rest of life is at a max as far as stress goes and I want to relax and work as hard as I can for 60 minutes but enjoy it.
So far the results have been good. BP is down, Attitude is up, strength and vo2 max, up.
I know it is a little eclectic and not too scientific, but I’m having a good time. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
I think if you’re having a good time and training hard that’s great. Especially since you’ve been in the gym so long. I would think you would instinctively know whether or not you were getting some good work in. Besides, if and when you get some specific goal in mind you can always adjust accordingly.
[quote]Duwatsrt wrote:
… but I’m having a good time. [/quote]
This pretty well sums up the most important part of any routine, or in your case, non-routine. I think too many people get locked into the flavor of the week workouts and end up getting depressed/dropping it when they deviate from it or can’t meet all the requiremnts. Your getting what you want out of your’s so I’d say it’s great.
Fun is the key word, that’ll keep you going back for more. Now I don’t have any scientific research on this, it just makes sense to me. When I mix my workout, ie weights and cardio I warm up do weights and then cardio. My reasoning is if I keep the blood pumping to the muscles after working them they get more nutrients and I’m more inclined to stretch longer at the end.
Mind you thats just me, but it works for me. Anyway at our age it’s all about enjoying life to the fullest. Stay strong and have a great time doing it!
your working out in a way that suits you and you enjoy it. that definately the way to go,much better than following “flavour of the week workouts” as Hel puts it. one thing, i have to agree with streamline and do the strength work before the cardio, i find i’m stronger that way.
good work!
The oddest way I work out is ,if I do not have to work and My energy level is really good , I will do get warmed up and then do sets through out the day . I try to get that high and then maintain it for as long as possible. 3 or 4 hours are usually max. The next day I normally don�??t work out
Staley did an article years back about perpetual aerobic state. It is kind of up that ave.
[quote]Duwatsrt wrote:
“I will do get warmed up and then do sets through out the day . I try to get that high and then maintain it for as long as possible.”
Can you give an example of exercise selection, rep scheme?[/quote]
I do what ever I feel like doing , Snatches ,Squats, Dead lifts, Pull ups, Some times I will do combinations like Minnie Hiit where a set may take 45 secs .or a minute.
It is not totally my concept, but I recover a lot faster and have grater endurance, if I avoid fatigue and just work out to get the high.
If you are having good fun and getting a good workout that is all that matters based upon your goals. I enjoy getting quantitative feedback (increase in weight or reps) but that’s just me. Do your own thing!
I enjoyed your characterization, coming from a not all too dissimilar history. I only wonder - and this is just a question, not a criticism – how adequately in this way you are measuring, or can continue to measure, your success for your own goals.
Certainly you say that you are enjoying your time in the gym, and that attitude, strength and cardio capacity are improved – but how specifically are you monitoring these in order to know where you are heading and help yourself get there? Of course, depending on what you want to get out of your time, maybe this does not, and should not, matter. I don’t live to train, either, I train to enhance my life as a whole.
[quote]1Geech wrote:
I enjoyed your characterization, coming from a not all too dissimilar history. I only wonder - and this is just a question, not a criticism – how adequately in this way you are measuring, or can continue to measure, your success for your own goals.
Certainly you say that you are enjoying your time in the gym, and that attitude, strength and cardio capacity are improved – but how specifically are you monitoring these in order to know where you are heading and help yourself get there? Of course, depending on what you want to get out of your time, maybe this does not, and should not, matter. I don’t live to train, either, I train to enhance my life as a whole.[/quote]
I do not know if you are speaking to me, but when I were a younger man, I considered boxing, but I was too pretty, Ask the Mrs. any how my work out is more designed for fighting than straight weight lifting.
However I do make progressions with weights as well. I know it is a sin by some standards, but I consider my work out to be more functional just moving weight, most of it involves generating force.
[quote]pittbulll wrote:
I know it is a sin by some standards, but I consider my work out to be more functional just moving weight, most of it involves generating force. [/quote]
F=Ma
Many/most, but not all, sports involve the application of force over the slow moving of weight. Anything involving throwing, hitting, jumping,etc. Most modern athletes use weights for both general and specific (functional) gains. What do you plan on doing with your force?
[quote]pittbulll wrote:
I do not know if you are speaking to me, but when I were a younger man, I considered boxing, but I was too pretty, Ask the Mrs. any how my work out is more designed for fighting than straight weight lifting.
However I do make progressions with weights as well. I know it is a sin by some standards, but I consider my work out to be more functional just moving weight, most of it involves generating force. [/quote]
I had been thinking of the OP, Pittbulll, but I guess I would pose the same question to you about what methods or measurements (although I see you speak of timed sets) you might be using to quantify your progress or otherwise just let you keep track of where you are – what works for you as feedback.
My training is similar to yours. The only difference is that I do cardio afterwards, same reason as streamline’s it keeps the blood pumping nutrients to the muscles…Keep it up, enjoy yourself.
I’m 54 been doing this for 40yrs. if your enjoying it and it works keep doing it. The “only” thing I see that jumped out at me was to switch your cardio to “after” weights not before. Switching will help you lift alittle heavier which will help with your density which "IS"important the older you get.
[quote]hel320 wrote:
pittbulll wrote:
I know it is a sin by some standards, but I consider my work out to be more functional just moving weight, most of it involves generating force.
F=Ma
Many/most, but not all, sports involve the application of force over the slow moving of weight. Anything involving throwing, hitting, jumping,etc. Most modern athletes use weights for both general and specific (functional) gains. What do you plan on doing with your force? [/quote]
I really have no plans for my generation of force, I just find it exhilarating. I have been lifting weight since I were 12 and I am 50 now , I do not make a lot of gains but I recently made a good gain on clean and press . I will go up in weight as soon as I get soon thinner plates to go on my dumbbells.
[quote]1Geech wrote:
pittbulll wrote:
I do not know if you are speaking to me, but when I were a younger man, I considered boxing, but I was too pretty, Ask the Mrs. any how my work out is more designed for fighting than straight weight lifting.
However I do make progressions with weights as well. I know it is a sin by some standards, but I consider my work out to be more functional just moving weight, most of it involves generating force.
I had been thinking of the OP, Pittbulll, but I guess I would pose the same question to you about what methods or measurements (although I see you speak of timed sets) you might be using to quantify your progress or otherwise just let you keep track of where you are – what works for you as feedback.[/quote]
I do traditional lifts as well, so I see progress. And a lot of the Olympic lifts are just that, generating force; I even have some body building exercises I utilize. I think why I always change my program is I get bored or I feel am no longer getting anything out of it
What do you mean by OP
Thanks for the further details, Pittbulll.(Sorry for the shorthand: I meant with ‘OP’ the original poster, Duwatsrt.) In the back of my mind, I suppose, are my own questions about when to change a program, and what makes up a successful program.
[quote]1Geech wrote:
Thanks for the further details, Pittbulll.(Sorry for the shorthand: I meant with ‘OP’ the original poster, Duwatsrt.) In the back of my mind, I suppose, are my own questions about when to change a program, and what makes up a successful program.[/quote]