AGELESS BODYBUILDING, PART ONE

 

Jack LaLanne in his bodybuilding days.  LaLanne was the very epitome of Ageless Bodybuilding

Ageless Bodybuilding

Part One

A Basic Outline

I have, for quite some time now, wanted to write a series on “ageless bodybuilding.”  The seed was planted a couple of years ago when I was training with some “older” training partners, and we got some great results from following much of the advice I will outline in this series.  The difference is that this series will include some different and very varied workout programs that fall under the Ageless Bodybuilding template.

This article is primarily for bodybuilders 50+ who want to still train and make gains, while also preventing injuries, and not only staying healthy but improving their health as time marches continually on.  This article, while geared toward bodybuilders who trained for a number of years before reaching 50, is also for bodybuilders who didn’t even start training until they were well over 50 years of age.  So whether you’re 50 or 90, whether you have been training your whole life or just picked up a weight for the first time today, this article—and all that will follow in this series—is for you.

For this article, I’m going to lay out some of the basic “fundamentals” of my Ageless Bodybuilding system.  “Ageless Bodybuilding” as I use it here is not just a “generic” word for how I feel older athletes, lifters, and bodybuilders should train.  Rather, it is meant to be a complete program, and a complete SYSTEM with very specific components.  (Unlike some series that I write, this series will be long enough that it could end up being a book.  Seen from that perspective, this essay is more like the introduction or the first chapter of a much longer work.)

This article will explain the basic tenets of my Ageless Bodybuilding program.  If you have been training for a number of years and you know your body (unfortunately, most people don’t know their own body), then you may find that there is enough information here that you can go ahead and create/design a program of your own.  

Goals

Ultimately, there are just two goals of this program: to look better and to feel better as you get older.  We live in an incredibly unhealthy culture, where people do live longer, but they live longer because of advances in medicine and healthcare, not because they do anything to make themselves either feel or look better.  This is not just unfortunate, but it’s downright sad.  The good news, however, is that it doesn’t have to be this way for you.

When people who are over 50 take up resistance training for the first time, they usually do so for these two reasons.  They simply want to look a little better, and, usually even more important to them, they want to feel better.  The problem is older lifters—former competitive bodybuilders, powerlifters, or just guys who used to carry a LOT of muscle when they were younger—who want to still train the way they did when they were much younger.  This sort of older lifter finds it hard to change her training even though she really knows she needs to.

So if you’re over 50, and you’re serious about resistance training, just keep the twin goals of looking better and feeling better foremost in your mind.

High-Frequency Training for Older ‘Builders?

If this isn’t your first time reading one of my articles, then you know that I’m a fan of high-frequency training (HFT).  And, yes, I believe older bodybuilders should also train frequently.  It’s common to read articles written for the 50+ crowd that recommend older bodybuilders train less frequently than their younger counterparts.  This is a mistake, but it’s advice that a lot of older bodybuilders believe.  This is typically because, in order for them to continue training with the same amount of intensity or with the same poundages they have always used, the older bodybuilder must take off additional days in order to recover from that kind of intense training.  So, yes, if you’re a 60-year old competitive powerlifter, you DO need to rest more than your younger compatriots.  The problem here lies in the fact that you need to change your training and not take extra days off in an attempt to try and force your body to continue training in such a manner.  So, yes, to answer my own question, high-frequency training should be used by the older bodybuilder.

Full-Body & Two-Way Split Training

For the Ageless Bodybuilding system, you will train each bodypart between 2 to 4 times per week (3x will be the most common), using either full-body or a “two-way” split program.  When using a two-way split, you will typically split your sessions into upper-body and lower-body workouts.

The more frequent that you train, the less volume needed in each session.  For instance, 4x-weekly workouts would only come from doing full-body workouts 4 times in one week. And if you were to train with a full-body session 4x a week (which I DO think is a good idea, by the way), then you only need 1 to 2 sets per muscle group in each session.  On the flip side of that, if you train each muscle group only 2x per week, then you should be doing upwards of 10 sets per muscle group at each session.

I recommend that you alternate back and forth between cycles of full-body workouts and split workouts.  Train for 6 to 8 weeks with one method before switching back to the other.

If you discover that one form of training suits you a little better than the other, then you can do two cycles of “whatever-works-for-you”, just make sure you change the “method” of the training.  For instance, if full-body workouts tend to produce slightly better results for you than split training, then do two back-to-back 6-week full-body programs, followed by one cycle of split training.  You can continue with this throughout the training year.  Here is an example of a training schedule:

• 6-week full-body program; 2 sets per muscle group; 10-12 reps per set;4 days of training per week

• 6-week full-body program; 4 sets per muscle group; 12-15 reps per set; 3 days of training per week; new set of exercises from previous cycle

• 8-week split program; 8 sets per muscle group; 8-10 reps per set; 4 days of training per week, with 2 days for lower body and 2 days per week for upper body

• repeat

Sets and Reps (and Rep Speed)

Even a cursory glance at the above rep ranges reveals to you something different from my more “typical” programs: higher reps.  It’s not that I don’t recommend high reps.  At times, I most certainly have.  If you look through this blog, and find past articles/essays/posts on bodyweight training, assistance work, or other “ageless” pieces aside from this one, you’ll find that I have regularly recommended higher reps.  It's just that my most popular programs are all low-rep programs.  (When I was a competitive powerlifter, anything over 5 reps I considered “high!”)

The ageless bodybuilder must use high reps out of necessity.  Moderate to high reps should be where the ageless bodybuilder lives, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t occasionally use some lower rep ranges.  I think there are times where you should do sets in the 6 to 8 range, and even some days when you could go as low as 3 to 5 reps.  But those should be outliers, and not where you most often “reside” while training.

On average, while doing any of the Ageless Bodybuilding programs, you should perform between 8 and 12 reps per set.  And on average, no sets should be taken close to momentary muscular failure.  (Read that sentence again to yourself three or four more times.)  When selecting a weight, err on the side of too light.  It’s better than too heavy.  Trust me.  This means to select a weight where you have several more reps in you than what you are “shooting for.”  If you are going to do 3 sets of 8 reps on barbell curls, then pick a weight that you can handle for about 12 reps.  If you are doing 4 sets of 8 on squats, select a weight where you won’t reach failure unless you did 15 reps.  If you are doing 3 sets of 12 reps on flat dumbbell bench presses, pick a pair of dumbbells that allow you to get 16 to 18 reps.  Once again, no sets should be taken close to momentary muscular failure.  

The number of sets is dependent upon the frequency of the training, and your level of conditioning.  If you are new to working out and are training with a full-body program 3-days-per-week, then the commonly used 3 sets-per-muscle-group is perfect.  If you have been training for several decades, then (although you may not be able to handle heavy weights) you can handle a fairly large workload.  If you fit into this latter group, you can train 6-days-per-week, on an upper/lower split, and easily handle 7 to 9 sets per muscle group 3x weekly.

Before moving on to our next subject, I want to touch briefly on “rep speed.”  This is a question that I occasionally get asked, since I don’t really seem to “recommend” a rep speed, aside from when I’m talking powerlifting, and using “speed” reps to increase neural efficiency, or using a “heavy” cadence when doing Russian-style grease-the-groove training.  But for bodybuilding, I never get into rep speed and cadence, except for my critique of trainers that do recommend a rep speed.  For instance, it’s common to see programs where the writer of the program recommends how fast to lower the weight, how long to pause the rep, and how fast the weight should be pressed or pulled.  I’ll be honest: very few successful bodybuilders have ever used that kind of crap.  It’s a “new” thing (I first remember reading about rep cadence in the ‘90s), and completely unnecessary.  If you want to see what a rep should “look like,” then watch the movie Pumping Iron, from the ‘70s, with Arnold Schwarzenneger.  Reps should feel natural, and should be natural.  You see the naturalness of bodybuilding sets when you watch that movie, where most of the bodybuilders lifted fairly fast, and a lot of the reps were never locked out.

And I suppose that I should very briefly touch upon rest between sets, since this is a common enough question asked of me.  If you are at all familiar with my writings, you probably know the answer.  I don’t recommend rest periods.  Rest periods are very individualistic, but you do need to know this:  If you are trying to build muscle (hypertrophy is your sole goal), then rest long enough that your “oxygen debt” has fully recovered.  This will vary from individual to individual, which is the reason I don’t give “blanket” rest recommendations.  Some bodybuilders will recover after a minute.  For some, it will take 3 minutes.  Find where you fit, and that will be your guide for rest periods between sets.  Also, if you’re trying to burn fat instead of build muscle (if fat burning is your “primary” goal), then don’t allow your oxygen debt to fully recover.  This seems to promote quicker fat loss.

Exercise Selection

Should the ageless bodybuilder use the same exercises that I typically recommend in my programs?  Yes… and no.

Of course, I typically rave on and on about the power of what I refer to as “The Big 4.”  And, yes, the ageless bodybuilder should also use the Big 4.  For a reminder, to ensure that you achieve the best results in the quickest amount of time, you MUST do the following 4 things each and every single week without fail:

• Squat something heavy

• Pick something heavy off the ground

• Press something heavy over head

• Drag or carry heavy stuff for either time or distance

The only difference with Ageless Bodybuilding is the definition of “heavy,” since most of your sets will be in the 8-12 rep range.  Also, some exercises will need to be eliminated if they cause any undue pain.  For instance, barbell overhead presses are often hard on the older trainee because of her years of pressing heavy.  However, even though barbells are hard on the rotator cuff, the older lifter will often find that dumbbells, bands, or machines don’t bother her shoulders.

This brings up another point when it comes to exercise selection.  The ageless bodybuilder should use more dumbbells and “bands” than barbells.  Machines can also be used, but they aren’t necessary, simply convenient.  (Also, I believe that the more your body “moves through space,” the better.  More on this in a future post.)

It’s also common for the older athlete to have more lower back pain than his younger counterparts.  This means that you may need to substitute barbell squats and deadlifts for other exercises, as well.  Instead of barbell back squats, older athletes tend to do better with dumbbell squats, front squats, band squats, dumbbell lunges, and “old-fashioned” barbell hack squats.  And instead of barbell deadlifts, he does better with trap bar deadlifts, dumbbell deadlifts, one-arm dumbbell sumo deadlifts, and band deadlifts.

Some older bodybuilders eventually find that any kind of overhead pressing is too hard on their shoulders.  If this is the case, then please don’t feel bad if you have to eliminate them.  The Big 4 is almost necessary for younger bodybuilders trying to gain a significant amount of muscle.  But never forget that your goal as an ageless bodybuilder is to look and feel better, and there’s no reason to continue to do overhead pressing work if it makes you feel bad.

A Few Odds and Ends

In the essays that follow in the coming weeks and months, I will outline some different programs using the Ageless Bodybuilding system, both full-body programs, and various split programs.  But to close out this piece, I just want to leave you with a few “odds and ends” to ponder if you are an older bodybuilder who wants to utilize these programs.

First, make resistance training your primary exercise.  In other words, cardio should decidedly NOT be your “go-to” exercise, especially running or jogging, which are simply too hard on your knees, and your body as a whole as you age.  In fact, running and jogging are the two most injurious activities almost anyone could take up, much less the older bodybuilder.  Even if the cardio is easy on your knees and your joints, it’s not a good way to prevent muscle loss as you age.  In fact, excessive cardio will help to promote muscle loss.

If you are going to take up another activity other than resistance training, I personally recommend a “soft” martial art, or something such as yoga or qigong.  (Tai Chi Chuan would be an example of a “soft” martial art, or an “internal” martial art, as it’s sometimes known.)  These activities are good not for cardio, but for energy flow and breathing, both of which are essential as you age.  (In a future post, I will cover just how to add this form of training to your overall program.)

For the older bodybuilder (as it is with the younger bodybuilder), nutrition is at least as equally important as training.  The difference with the ageless bodybuilder, opposed to the younger one, is that nutrition is as much for “health” as it is for physical “aesthetics.”  The younger bodybuilder must consume enough protein, and frequent enough meals, along with adequate amounts of either fats or carbohydrates, in order to maximize muscle growth.  Without enough calories, protein, fat, and carbs spread throughout the bodybuilder’s day, he can hang up gaining muscle and recovering from his workouts.  And when losing body fat, nutrition is equally as important.  This is why the bodybuilder—whether she is bulking up out-of-season or getting ready for a show pre-contest—will tell you that her sport is 80% nutrition and 20% training.

The ageless bodybuilder also feels that nutrition is highly important.  But not just for hypertrophy and fat loss, but for feeling better and living longer.  (This is another part of Ageless Bodybuilding that I will devote an entire article to at a later date.)

Okay, to sum things up, here is a “basic outline” of my Ageless Bodybuilding System:

• The older bodybuilder should train with either full-body workouts or a two-way split system.  Basically, the more muscles trained at one time, the better.

• Reps should be on average in the 8-12 rep range, and rarely if ever should a set be “all-out.”

• A training session should leave you invigorated NOT exhausted.

• Contrary to the “average” opinion, older bodybuilders should train frequently.  What older bodybuilders shouldn’t do are highly intense workout sessions, or incredibly voluminous ones.  Train frequently, with moderate volume and moderate intensity.

• The older bodybuilder should still squat, deadlift, overhead press, and drag or carry implements (sleds, sandbags, dumbbells, etc.), but she must do these with lighter weights than her younger counterparts.

• If overhead pressing DOES hurt your shoulders, it can be eliminated.  NOTHING should be done that causes pain.  (Here, “pain” does NOT refer to lactic acid build-up, or the “burn” or “pump” you get from training.  Those are “good” kinds of workout pain.)

• Go for a “pump” or focus on “feeling the muscle” instead of focusing on strength and power.

• Nutrition is equally as important as training for the ageless bodybuilder.  Not just for aesthetics, but for health and longevity.

In the next installment of this series, I will outline a program for “beginning” the Ageless Bodybuilding system, even if you have been training for half of your life.

Until then, train smart, eat well, and stay healthy!