Found this forum and have been reading a ton, but I guess I’m not sure where to start seeing as though while I don’t feel there’s much of a difference for me at 35 (36 next month) than there was at 30, I guess this was the place to post my question.
I have been out of the lifting game for more than 5 years, and I have finally got my head out of my behind and started back. I used to hit the gym 4-5 days a week, but somehow lost the urge a while back. One of the trainers where I went said that I seemed to retain decent musculature but I’ve never been strong in my upper body or have the nice beach bod,etc.
I have been doing some reading into the Rippetoe routine(s) and they seem to make a lot of sense, but not sure if they apply to someone who’s been out of the game for quite some time compared to a newbie who’s never even been in the game.
I’d really like some advice on a good place to begin, whether the Rippetoe routine is a good way to start back and gain some size and strength, etc.
I’d suggest you get back into the gym with any program at all. I don’t know anything about Rippetoe but my general advice is to take it easy for the first couple months while your body gets used to working out again. Avoiding injury will go a long way to getting back.
I just got back into it in November after 10 years off and I liked a 3x10 program for the first two months as I could handle the weight and still got a good workout. I was doing a 3 day per week push pull split. After 2 months I switched to a 5x5 program, still doing push/pull three days per week.
Rippetoe works both for new beginners and returning lifters. Start light weight and work your way up slowly but steadily. You will make gains relatively quickly and the old muscle will come back. Going with a split at your stage will slow down the progress but it’s a logical next step once Rippetoe has run it’s course.
If you look on the beginner thread there are a few guys that are making comebacks with Rippetoe.
I’m in a similair situation. 37 years old and havent worked out with a fire under me since 2000, I made some effort to get back into shape a couple years ago when I joined here, ended up finding a reason to drop out. Well, Ive been back at it for 10 weeks now with enthusiasm I haven’t had since the end of the last century. It feels great to be back!
Welcome young uns’. Since I don’t know what Rippetoe is either it might answer my question. What are your goals? Get in shape, get healthier, compete, get stronger, etc. My only advise agrees with joburnet, just get back in the gym. Whatever your goals, good luck and keep at it.
I think I have been officially out of the game for 6+ years… so I am excited to get back into it. Got plenty of creatine, protein and lots of food to ingest to grow.
I was out for over four years.
Part of what kept me out towards the end was not knowing how to schedule my training over against job and family demands. Apart from not thinking ‘outside the box’ of my earlier hour-and-a-half workouts and their sequencing, it was also offputting simply to deal with the reality that I would have to begin far off in terms of strength from where I had been before.
Then last summer I decided to get back in.
After two months of general conditioning and very light and varied lifting during my lunch hour, ‘just to get started again’, but geared always towards the big three lifts, I found myself ready to set some specific and attainable goals not just for the rest of the year, but for every training day of the rest of the year.
It worked: Thinking long term while demanding realistic, if small gains along the way helped the fire come back. There is still a long way to go, but now I am not just training to get back into the shape I once was in, but to go farther and get even stronger.
Good luck, and keep at it.
I took some creatine for a short spell recently,about 6 days of a loading phase and by the 6th day, while the muscle swelled a bit I also notice what few lines in the abdominal region i had started to disappear. Im just to fat in the waste right now for the extra bloat. Looking into something a bit more effective without the bloat, still in the research stage however.
[quote]hel320 wrote:
Welcome young uns’. Since I don’t know what Rippetoe is either it might answer my question. What are your goals? Get in shape, get healthier, compete, get stronger, etc. My only advise agrees with joburnet, just get back in the gym. Whatever your goals, good luck and keep at it.[/quote]
Generally speaking, my goal is to reach a solid 225 lbs with a 32" waistline. I was in that condition when I was managing a health club 8 years ago, but I ended up moving away for a higher paying job. Needless to say the results melted away in about 4 or 5 months of no training, and other factors.
As of right now, I’ve been training since Dec 2, 2007. 6’1" at about 211 lbs. With 8+ years of training in the 90s, and being certified trainer, I’ve gained some understanding of what I need to do to accomplish my goal. My 37" wasteline is not gonna fall off like it would have 10 years ago, but most of us non-mesomorphs by nature would probably agree that building up and stripping a wasteline simultaneously is sort of a balancing act. I am wondering what others were doing to accomplish this?
[quote]GeneXpYrment wrote:
hel320 wrote:
Welcome young uns’. Since I don’t know what Rippetoe is either it might answer my question. What are your goals? Get in shape, get healthier, compete, get stronger, etc. My only advise agrees with joburnet, just get back in the gym. Whatever your goals, good luck and keep at it.
Generally speaking, my goal is to reach a solid 225 lbs with a 32" waistline. I was in that condition when I was managing a health club 8 years ago, but I ended up moving away for a higher paying job. Needless to say the results melted away in about 4 or 5 months of no training, and other factors.
As of right now, I’ve been training since Dec 2, 2007. 6’1" at about 211 lbs. With 8+ years of training in the 90s, and being certified trainer, I’ve gained some understanding of what I need to do to accomplish my goal. My 37" wasteline is not gonna fall off like it would have 10 years ago, but most of us non-mesomorphs by nature would probably agree that building up and stripping a wasteline simultaneously is sort of a balancing act. I am wondering what others were doing to accomplish this?
[/quote]
I’m still trying to add on 5-10 lbs over the next couple months. After that I’m planning on doing the V-diet before summer so I can strip off a few inches around the waist.
I’ve been doing well not adding to my waist size this winter, but have a hard time gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time.
[quote]GeneXpYrment wrote:
Thanks daddyzombie. In your pic, that kinda looks like some training rocky was doing in Russia
(Rocky IV)
[/quote]
I love that kind of strength training, and the snow adds a certain level of difficulty. And yes, I do use those scenes of Sly in the snow bustin’ ass as inspiration. I’ll probably do more next week during my week off of the progam I’m doing.