Many want to get bigger.
Many want to get stronger.
Some want to become more “impressive” to others or themselves.
Some want to become fatter and hide it under words i forget, they are in no dictionairy.
I guess some want to maintain(more or less), like me.
I am 56 and i would like to read what others do to achieve that goal.
It might be a temporairy goal while you are busy with life and limited with your time available or whatever.
From books at many librairies i got maintain intensity but lower volume.
Thanks.
I personally think “maintaining” is a good goal in theory but hard in practice. It is hard to stay motivated when you are not working towards something and are only working to stand still. I’m curious what others think but it would be hard for me to go to the gym if I didn’t think I wasn’t trying to progress in some way.
I don’t see how maintaining can be a goal. Even as an over 35 lifter (I am 45), I still have to challenge myself everyday in the weight room to improve in some area, or I am going backward. I will never break any strength records, but I always strive to add a rep, go up in weight, add another lift, etc…
That is always my goal, to do better this workout than the one before, is SOME area. By doing that, you will naturally get stronger, look better, or impress yourself, regardless if those are your goals are not.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
I personally think “maintaining” is a good goal in theory but hard in practice. It is hard to stay motivated when you are not working towards something and are only working to stand still. I’m curious what others think but it would be hard for me to go to the gym if I didn’t think I wasn’t trying to progress in some way. [/quote]
I agree 100% with Jack. I will add that I think it is very difficult to “maintain” unless you are trying to make progress in some form or other especially as we get older at least this has been my experience.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
I personally think “maintaining” is a good goal in theory but hard in practice. It is hard to stay motivated when you are not working towards something and are only working to stand still. I’m curious what others think but it would be hard for me to go to the gym if I didn’t think I wasn’t trying to progress in some way. [/quote]
I agree with this. I find it impossible to stay motivated if I’m not trying to improve.
That being said I’m currently temporarily just trying to maintain in the build up to my finals exams, just because of time constraints.
In terms of how I’m structuring my training I’m doing a one-lift a day routine, as it keeps my sessions short but I get to train daily which helps keep me sane.
EDIT: Sorry I didn’t realise this was in the Over 35 forum!
Thanks for all the input. I kind of knew that many would mention the main idea mentioned above.
I had in mind train for size 6 weeks and alternate train for strenght 6 weeks. Than conditioning. Repeat.
Or maybe train full body 1 day heavy, 2 days conditioning and 2 days for size.
Or alternating 4 weeks exercising fallowed by 4 weeks training.
Some wave/ondulation modeling.
I am thinking maybe train 3 months at home slide a bit with limited resources then 3 months at gym to gain a bit, repeat.
Getting into the gym or doing the work at home is obviously a big part of the battle and there is nothing wrong with cycling your training. And you can pick goals that fit your needs but give you something to work towards. E.g.: This cycle my goal is to lose 2 pounds of fat. This cycle my goal is to gain 1 pound of muscle. This cycle my goal is to add 5 pounds to my 10 rep max. Whatever gets you where you want to go and keeps you fresh and coming back for more.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
Getting into the gym or doing the work at home is obviously a big part of the battle and there is nothing wrong with cycling your training. And you can pick goals that fit your needs but give you something to work towards. E.g.: This cycle my goal is to lose 2 pounds of fat. This cycle my goal is to gain 1 pound of muscle. This cycle my goal is to add 5 pounds to my 10 rep max. Whatever gets you where you want to go and keeps you fresh and coming back for more.
[/quote]
Thanks jjackkrash, that rings a bell to me. I just finished a cycle with a goal to loose an inch at the waist. I figured it would be about 7-8 pounds that i could loose in about 7-8 weeks. I lost a bit more in 10 weeks and i just started lifting(i was resting an elbow tendonitis). With 9 weeks left this year i will focus on getting my lifts back up to previous numbers and rotate my focus with small goals as you suggested.
Plan the work, work the plan…at 53 I know that someday I will plateau and eventually regress, but I don’t know when that day is so until then I plan the work and work the plan! Can I push as hard as I used to? Nope, Can I push as long as used to? Nope… but I can keep pushing!
Jack is spot on with this…set some goals and start working the plan…
Personally, I find the need to constantly achieve specific goals a bit daunting. Walls get hit hard,and then for most, Crash and burn for a while. Which is probably the result of setting goals too high. The responses you got are coming from people that are excellent at working toward goals and excel at goal oriented type things. I don’t disagree with and respect the opinions posted.
I mean, shit! look at what they are accomplishing. It seems likely to me tho, that you probably feel a bit tired,weary,and in need of a change. Suggestion:Pick a number of days you want to go to the gym a week,then train hard on those days and let that be your only goal. What has your training been recently? My bet is, you could cut it back a bit and be just fine. Then, when the fire returns, Turn it up a notch! Confusion
Yup, you got it right. I tried to train smart but in 14 months i got 2 injuries so i am a bit in a mode to exercise/avoid any injury so small goals will be my next move. I guess alternating exercise days with some training days might do it for some time.
[quote]BHappy wrote:
Yup, you got it right. I tried to train smart but in 14 months i got 2 injuries so i am a bit in a mode to exercise/avoid any injury so small goals will be my next move. I guess alternating exercise days with some training days might do it for some time.[/quote]
Please keep us posted,even if you visit my 1 workout per week log,or pm me. Confusion
At 52 I still need goals.
Two of my goals now are to get back to a 400 pound deadlift and lose 20 pounds.
I agree you can’t try to do everything at once.