My dad recently decided to start working out (little background) and asked me to make him a workout plan. He’s in his 40s and I was wondering just what kind of workout I should get him started on. I’m figuring that I shouldn’t start him off the same as somebody who’s 20 so I’m not really sure what to do. If anybody has any advice or workout plans I would greatly appreciate it.
When my dad started training with me a few years ago (he was 51), I had him do a very simple 5x5 type of workout plan for the first 12 weeks. He did three basic exercises each day and two smaller exercises, like this:
Day 1:
Squat 5x5
Bench 5x5
Row 5x5
Hammer curls 3x8
Abs
Day 2:
Deadlifts 5x5
Chins 5x5 (assisted)
Overhead Presses 5x5
Abs
Calves
Day 3:
Squat (lighter weight than on Day 1) 5x5
Close-grip Bench Press 5x5
Curls 5x5
Abs
He was weak when he started, and I had him begin with just the bar on most exercises. Each week he added 5-10lbs to all his lifts, and in 12 weeks he made very good progress gaining strength, mass and losing weight. In fact, he couldn’t do a chin-up the first week, but after doing assisted chin-ups, he was able to do three on his own after a few weeks into it.
So keep it simple and effective.
I’ll add that the biggest mistake I see happening in the gym is people not doing warmup sets. I do a warmup set for every exercise regardless of how “warmed up” my body is as a whole.
I get better work sets when I do a warmup set first, but the biggest advantage is that it lets me gauge how those muscles and joints are feeling and warms me if there is a problem of any kind. If a joint or muscle is feeling odd, I’ll do another set halfway between my warmup weight and my working weight as a way to ease into my work sets.
If a joint or muscle still doesn’t feel right in the halfway set, I drop that exercise for that day.
I started lifting for the first time at 41 almost a year ago following the plans in “The New Rules of Lifting” by Lou Schuler & Alwyn Cosgrove. The different programs build on the previous ones in a way that seems to work well for a beginner.