The 60 Year Old Lifter

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
21

55 Year old lifter here - regardless of his goals for himself, your goal for him should be fitness. He will notice gains in strength even with a overall body program of high reps and lower weights, so that part should be an easy sell. My personal experince suggests that you should avoid lat pulldowns and military presses (these gave me shoulder problems). Recent shoulder articles here may suggest differently, YMMV.

I think diet will be his real issue as that needs to change dramatically. I used to eat just like he does and I had to completely change my way of eating. Now I do all my cooking on the weekend and I freeze meal sized portions so all I have to do each day is toss a few bags of frozen meals into a cooler and off I go.

Doing it this way is a lot less of a problem than having to think about meals each day and is the only way I am able to stick to my diet. I highly recommend the diet info from Dr. John Berardi and I use his Percision Nutrition program with great success.

I think the key factor will be convincing him that he needs to be on a lifestyle program and not just trying to reach a short-term goal. He’s got to be into this for the long haul.

22

[quote]Tomfu wrote:
best of luck on working with this client. and since you’re asking for feedback, here’s my 2 cents…

one of the things that needs to be considered is this: age is for the most part irrelevant with regard to how you train your clients. the bigger concern will be their overall health profile and staus with regard to past or current activity, injuries or ailments, medical profile, etc.

on that note, i’ve had 30-somethings in terrible shape who couldn’t do the things my 74 year-old senior olympian could. seriously. while they certainly had the potential to do so, it was more critical to take into consideration where they were starting from (and those things mentioned above) than to focus on their age as a guide for building their program.

my other thought is this: don’t do any of your clients a disservice by training down to preconceived ideas of what a person of a given age (or even gender) is capeable of. the reality is, he has to operate and function in the same world as 20-year olds and everyone else. while intensity, volume and recovery need to be adjusted for all individuals, the movement patterns needed and basic goals for training remain the same.

finally, while i completely enjoy swimming and water-based activity and encourage my clients to incorporate it to some degree, you may be limiting what’s probably one of this client’s overwhelming weaknesses: lack of strength. true, any activity is better than no activity, but don’t operate under the premise that getting him in the water is good, just because that’s what “old” people do.

make him the exception, not the rule.[/quote]

Absolutely right. I wasn’t going to have him doing cheat curls with 5 lbs. like many of the other elderly folks do. Squats, deadlifts, benches and rows give you a lot of bang for your buck, regardless of age, so they are a staple in any program, and it won’t be any different for this client.

And I don’t really consider 60 old. After watching the seniors at my other gym, I have a completely different notion of what the elderly can do. To give a few examples, there is one 89 year old that runs 5.5 miles in 45 minutes every day. His mind is amazingly sharp. Another 76 year old bench presses 200 lbs. One 72 year old benches 250 lbs., and then, complains about how weak he is.

So I don’t doubt that my 60 year old can get into fantastic shape.

23

[quote]Avoids Roids wrote:
In reverse order of priority:

For weight training: Look into HST or some of the Waterbury programs. Emphasize the meso cycles of 15 reps or he may damage his connective tissue which hardens with age. Don’t go below 5 reps. Full body thrice weekly for at least the first year. Low volume…around 10 total sets per workout…30 sets per week. Throw out the fancy stuff. Just basic compound movements. Strict form.

Aerobics: Anything as long as it is low impact. Long duration…slow pace.

Diet: He’s killing himself. He is a heart attack in training with that belly. Give him or steer him to good nutritional advice.

61 here. 49 years of training and still 9% bodyfat at 185, 5’8". It can be done but it takes time and a big committment. You can’t look good if you are not healthy!

PM me if you want a proposed specific weight training program.

PS. It’s nice to see a personal trainer that doesn’t have so big an ego that he thinks he has all the answers himself. Good luck with the “old fart”.
[/quote]

Nice numbers, Avoids Roids! Some more evidence to discredit the “old fart” myth.

Also, I’m glad to see the advice on this thread confirm what I had in mind for my client: high reps (15-20 to begin with), basic compound movements, and long cardio sessions.

24

[quote]sharetrader wrote:
kligor wrote:
…
As you can see, the nutrition side of this is a mess. I need to find a good way to get him eating properly, given his lifestyle (job), and even if I do that, I’ll need to somehow do it within the boundaries of Canada’s food guide.

Why not just send him to the T-Nation website, suggesting a few articles he might be interested in taking a look at? That way you’re not giving the diet advice, it’s Berardi or whoever.[/quote]

Not a bad idea, but unfortunately, my client doesn’t understand English that well.

25

[quote]Wreckless wrote:
Riding a bicycle is also low impact cardio.

Make him stretch a lot. If he’s 60 and never worked out, there can be all kind of tightnesses that will let themselves be known after he starts to work out. I’m thinkking hips and shoulders here, but also spine and neck.

Get an ok from the doctor that he’s fit to start working out.

And for weights, get him on the big movements.
Squats, I would recommend goblet squats.
Benchpresses, start with an empty bar
Seated rows.

Start light and gradually increase the weight.[/quote]

His chiropractor already has him on a stretching program, and he’s progressing along quite well.

Unfortunately, there are serious equipment limitations with this client, so bench presses and seated rows are not an option. Also, his pectorals are extremely tight to the point of mild pain, so for now, I will avoid training those muscles, and focus on strengthening the back.

And pardon my ignorance, but what are goblet squats?

26

[quote]happydog48 wrote:
55 Year old lifter here - regardless of his goals for himself, your goal for him should be fitness. He will notice gains in strength even with a overall body program of high reps and lower weights, so that part should be an easy sell. My personal experince suggests that you should avoid lat pulldowns and military presses (these gave me shoulder problems). Recent shoulder articles here may suggest differently, YMMV.[/quote]

There’ll be no problem avoiding lat pulldowns and military presses: he doesn’t have the equipment to do that :wink:

[quote]I think diet will be his real issue as that needs to change dramatically. I used to eat just like he does and I had to completely change my way of eating. Now I do all my cooking on the weekend and I freeze meal sized portions so all I have to do each day is toss a few bags of frozen meals into a cooler and off I go.

Doing it this way is a lot less of a problem than having to think about meals each day and is the only way I am able to stick to my diet. I highly recommend the diet info from Dr. John Berardi and I use his Percision Nutrition program with great success.[/quote]

Yeah, I figure diet is the biggest challenge, but that’s something I’ll still have to put a lot of thought into.

No worries there either. He has the right perspective. He says that he wants that body to show his grandkids what kind of shape older folks can be in. So he’s definitely in this for the long haul.

27

Goblet squat: www.crossfit.com/discus/messages/22/20544.jpg

28

The first thing you do is make him sign an industry standard waiver, which you should do for all your clients.

If he is “medically cleared” to train, I would not train him any different because of his age. You train every individual to the max of their ability regardless of age. I have a 55 year old female who looks better than most 30 year olds and I train her till the desired effect for her, not the desired effect for me.

No disrespect but I think trainers these days are making things too complicated for no reason. It is not that hard, if he has no ailments, push him to the max of his abilities. Start easy and go from there, its not rocket science.

I also have a guy at 74 who ocassionally asks me to train with him!! This guy is amazing and when I am lifting with him, I am trying to kill him b/c if I dont, he will kill me. He goes to the max every time he trains, some days that means extremely intense, other days not so much, same for a 30 year old.

A

29

[quote]Wreckless wrote:
Goblet squat: CrossFit

Thanks.

30

[quote]Amsterdam Animal wrote:
The first thing you do is make him sign an industry standard waiver, which you should do for all your clients.

If he is “medically cleared” to train, I would not train him any different because of his age. You train every individual to the max of their ability regardless of age. I have a 55 year old female who looks better than most 30 year olds and I train her till the desired effect for her, not the desired effect for me.

No disrespect but I think trainers these days are making things too complicated for no reason. It is not that hard, if he has no ailments, push him to the max of his abilities. Start easy and go from there, its not rocket science.

I also have a guy at 74 who ocassionally asks me to train with him!! This guy is amazing and when I am lifting with him, I am trying to kill him b/c if I dont, he will kill me. He goes to the max every time he trains, some days that means extremely intense, other days not so much, same for a 30 year old.

A[/quote]

Of course he has medical clearance, and he’s definitely signed the waiver. Now, since he’s medically clear to train, I’ll disregard his age, and just look at ability.

31

Are you a private trainer or work for a gym? You can include nutrition info in the waiver and have him sign it with the understanding you are not a licensed nutrition professional. I am not sure how that works legally but you could research that.

But yeah, thats what I would do, look at ability.

[quote]kligor wrote:
Amsterdam Animal wrote:
The first thing you do is make him sign an industry standard waiver, which you should do for all your clients.

If he is “medically cleared” to train, I would not train him any different because of his age. You train every individual to the max of their ability regardless of age. I have a 55 year old female who looks better than most 30 year olds and I train her till the desired effect for her, not the desired effect for me.

No disrespect but I think trainers these days are making things too complicated for no reason. It is not that hard, if he has no ailments, push him to the max of his abilities. Start easy and go from there, its not rocket science.

I also have a guy at 74 who ocassionally asks me to train with him!! This guy is amazing and when I am lifting with him, I am trying to kill him b/c if I dont, he will kill me. He goes to the max every time he trains, some days that means extremely intense, other days not so much, same for a 30 year old.

A

Of course he has medical clearance, and he’s definitely signed the waiver. Now, since he’s medically clear to train, I’ll disregard his age, and just look at ability.[/quote]

32

[quote]Amsterdam Animal wrote:
Are you a private trainer or work for a gym? You can include nutrition info in the waiver and have him sign it with the understanding you are not a licensed nutrition professional. I am not sure how that works legally but you could research that.

But yeah, thats what I would do, look at ability.
[/quote]

I work both as a private trainer as well as for 2 gyms, but with this client, I am a private trainer.

It seems that having him sign a waiver that he understands that I’m not a nutrition professional wouldn’t work, but I think I found a loophole in all of this.

His diet is already better than Canada’s food guide, and since I’m not required to suggest the food guide, I won’t. I’ll adjust his meals as far as timing and portions are concerned, but I won’t make any comments about his food choices (already excellent). He has protein with every meal, gets in the good fats, eats his fruits and veggies, etc.

The only suggestions I’ll make in regards to nutrition is to eat a larger breakfast, and a smaller dinner, and to add a couple more meals to his day.