Workouts for 50+ year olds...

[Det-Sog]

Now... The first one of you %$^#!'s that calls me Grandpa...

Anyone else here over 50? What do you do? I'm looking to turn it back up.

Typical M4C guy here. Did the military and the civilian LEO stuff for 25+ years, now on my third career. I've never NOT been in decent shape. I just think back to my Ninja days and the shape that I was then. I'm still in better shape than the average 23 year old, but like you guys, thats not enough.

Due to the recovery time, I'm down to about two, MAYBE three days a week (good week) in the gym. I run two to three days, and try to get a lot of walking in. Here is what is happening;

1. Gym: I must now work out smarter instead of harder. Years of hard mileage on the joints is adding up.

2. Running: Same thing... Smarter, not further. Mileage again. Getting old sucks...

When we move back CONUS in a few months, we're going to splurge and get a top of the line elliptical machine. No more running. I want to keep my knees. Eventualy, I want to buy a nice smith machine and some dumbells, then can the membership.

The worse part is the ^&%$ metabolism. Its stopping. I can look at a piece of pizza and put on a few pounds.

Anyone else out there??? Whatta do you do?

[HKGuns]

I keep it simple and lift weights M-W-F. I focus on increasing reps and not so much on increasing weight.

I do it three times a week allowing a day in between for my body to rest. I can't stand running so I don't.

I also watch my diet to an extent as I can't stand having extra belly fat that can tend to accumulate.

I currently weigh the same as in high school. (Captain of the wrestling team)

I'm not in uber shape but am fantastic compared to most of my desk jockey peers.

[dave5339]

My wife and I just finished a move to a new house a couple of months ago.

Both of us are over 50 and made a commitment several years ago that fitness was going to be a priority for us.

We took over the garage at the new house and turned it into our own personal gym. Neither of us are big fans of ellipticals as we much prefer cycling for our cardio. We also put together a power rack and over 1000 pounds of iron for our weight training. (A side note, we spent a lot of time looking at the differences between a smith machine and a power rack, the power rack won hands down for safety and usability).

We use the 5x5 program and lift MWF. So far, we've had good success with the program and the weights. We keep it simple, reasonable, and relatively sane, (at least she does, I had the bright idea of setting a PR on a barbell squat and then trying for a PR on deadlifts Friday night). We allow ourselves to recovery time as needed by simply listening to what our bodies are telling us.

Semper Fi

[ABNAK]

Cardio 5x per week and weights 3x per week. Religiously. Turned 50 last year. Use 40yo standards for Max HR as far as the cardio goes. Not going to Ranger school or the Q-Course anytime soon (or ever!) but decent condition.

Knees shot like mine? Look at Elliptigo.com and see what I use for my "running" cardio workouts each week (2 of the 5). I use mine almost exclusively on the trainer with a set gear/speed/resistance setting for consistency. Most similar motion to running I've ever experienced on a device.

[wild_wild_wes]

I turned 51 this Thursday. And I've gone from totally out of shape and 350 pounds to very fit (and 201 lbs., as of this morning). Working on building muscle now.


You are capable of doing more than you think.

I lift 6 days a week now- I used to do the typical 3X/week, but dropped the heavy intensity for more frequency and volume, but at a lower intensity.

I cycle 2 hours each day during the week (bicycle commuting to work; 15.7 miles each way, takes about an hour). Saturdays I either do intervals or an easy 2 hour or so ride, and Sunday I ride for 3 to 4 hours. Because I love it, that's all.

Recovery? No problem. Eat well, sleep well. My sleep quality has sucked for years, so I aim for 9 hours a night now.


I would suggest you drop the Running. Too much stress and injury potential for too little benefit. For cardio- walk, cycle, swim, something low intensity and low impact, with some interval work too (the 80%/20% rule). Cardio is over-rated though... At this point, your prime efforts should be centered on Strength Training. Your metabolism has not really decreased, rather your activity level and muscle mass has gone down. Check your Testosterone level and LIFT. Build muscle and watch your metabolism recover.

[BoxySatch]

Consider using an indoor rowing machine like the Concept 2. Workouts can vary intensity. Long slow or interval training to mix up the routine. Couple it with push up and other body weight routines it seems to work on this 54 yr old. I have L5/S1 disk blown out and a C6/C7 disk fused.

As with everything your mileage may vary.

[yoni]

I changed the focus of my workouts in the last month. I no longer lift weights, having replaced it with suspension training. I have become a huge fan of my straps and 40 minutes just smokes me big time.

I also do 20 minutes every morning running stairs and later 30 minutes of Yoga.

My goals is to be fit and fleaxable, I am 58 and other than reading glasses and the gray hair don{t feel much different from when I was 30.

[USMC_Anglico]

I'm not there yet, but getting closer. Yoga, Yoga, Yoga. It has made a measurable difference for me and my injured back. Basically it has allowed me to keep training and serving in my .mil job.

I also do the usual - weights, run, bike, swim (for triathlon); the concept rower is awesome too.

Get enough sleep, that is where the repairs happen. Make sure recovery days are really recovery days, not just another type of workout.

[p7fl]

Consistency.
At 67 I continue to train.
Weigh in 4lbs more than I graduated high school.
From college to age 50 it was easy, all I did was show up at Karate and train. At age 50 I had a heart attack.
Sold the business and moved.
For the past 20 + years I have taken the knowledge that I picked up and use it on my own.
Simple 3 day cycles: 1st day is cardio. 2nd day is weights, core and stretch.
3rd day is heavy bags.
Repeat.
I don’t miss more than 5 or 6 days a year.
On Sundays I shoot Matches outside. Living in Florida gives me an event every weekend and with the sun, heat, set up and tear down. It is work.
The specifics are not the critical part. And, there are plenty of days i don't want to do anything.
Got to push. Every day.

[Det-Sog]

Thanks for the tips so far. I'm going to have to look into one of those power racks when the time comes. I've heard great things about the suspension straps too, And will consider those also. When we move back this year, we're going to dedicate one of the rooms in our new house for fitness. My wife was a world-class collegiate athlete back in the day, so she is going to do the same as I and will have each other for support.

I've just recognized that I can't keep up the routine that I've been doing for the last 30 years. I was the typical gym rat ever since I was 20. Once I got to be about 45, I just noticed I was starting to slow down. It's time to train smarter now instead of harder.

I really don't have far to go, as I've done a pretty good job of maintaining myself over the years. I need to lose about 5 pounds of fat, and replace that with about 5 pounds of muscle and I'll be right back in the shape I was in when I was 25.