If you are looking to slow down ageing and stay younger and vibrant through your 40's and well beyond ;), then science shows again and again that resistance training with weights is vital. Hear me? Improved brain function, health, metabolism, blood sugar control and overall decreased risk of all cause mortality are just some of the headline benefits of lifting weights.
The benefits of resistance training as you get older are truly astounding. So here are my golden rules you should start following if you want results? Not only looking sexy but also feel better than in your 20's, trust me ;).
1. Movement without injury and keeping yourself healthy
Picking up a niggle when you are in your 40's will take a lot longer to recover from than when in your 20's, and so avoiding this will keep you training for longer, meaning a more frequent stimulus for growth, and ultimately more muscle ;). Keeping yourself healthy should be a number one priority, no matter what your age group. But trainers should always remember that dropping the intensity stimulus in a middle-aged client will affect them a lot more than a younger client. A frequent stimulus is the most important consideration, so it is the key we should not miss out on vital training time.
2. Increase your time under tension
Building on the previous point, one of the best ways to train as you age is to find ways to increase time under tension on your muscles and the difficulty of exercises. Besides adding reps, experimenting with different styles of tempos (pauses, slow eccentrics, controlled tempos etc.) is highly effective in reducing joint stress, providing a different stimulus, and creating a greater muscle building stimulus. Also, the use of 'low-load' and 'high rep' training close to technical failure. Remember that and you will see improvement in no time ;).
3. Stabilisation is crucial
Face your lack of stability in joints (trust me, this is priority)! So, utilising isometrics, unilateral work and slow tempos initially can help bring up this vital aspect of fitness along with the improvement (long term ;)).
4. Varieties of training workouts
One of the most important variables in hypertrophy, whilst avoiding the ‘niggly’ over use injuries so prevalent as you age, is to incorporate lots of variety in your training. Rotating through exercises with different implements and strength curves can be a good way to stay healthy and strong. Variety should not just be limited to exercise choice, but also exercise order. Although a slightly more advanced technique (once you learn the concept of keeping tension on a muscle), placing more stressful exercises such as squats and barbell bench presses towards the end of a workout means you can create a similar training effect albeit with less load.
5. Accumulation phases are the key to go to
As you age, periodisation becomes more important, so it is important to organise your training into blocks where you alternate or linearly move from accumulation (muscle growth) and intensification (maximum strength) phases :). And for us (in our 40's) using one of these phases every 3 to 4 cycles, going no lower than 4 to 6 reps would be wise. Just remember that! ;)
6. Reduce frequency of spinal loading
Grouping lower back intensive exercises into one day a week can be a great way to allow recovery for the (often very vulnerable) lower back structures. If training the legs every three to five days, an example rotation could be to do a squat or deadlift variation one workout, and train predominantly with unilateral and machine exercises on the next, before going back to a squat or deadlift workout. On this note, squats and deadlifts may not be necessary at all in their true form if you are a beginner with no movement capability, as this will often do more harm than good.
7. Always focus on quality of movement
Focusing on five exercises per workout at the maximum is all that’s needed ;). Simply picking an upper body ‘push and pull’ session, and lower body ‘push and pull’, rotating, and keeping an eye on quality is an excellent way to train.
8. Warm up, mobilise and stretch in the end
Spending approx. 15 minutes a day on mobility and flexibility will pay huge dividends when it comes to staying healthy as you age. Trust me. Or perhaps do yoga or pilates once a week :).
9. Make a good use of conditioning
Cardiovascular health is always important and is a growing concern amongst anyone over 40. Yes! As stated previously, improving work capacity will enhance the sensitivity of the muscle hypertrophy signalling pathways. Staying ‘fit’, therefore, whether it be through improving density of resistance training, or adding further conditioning sessions, can be very useful.
10. Keep active at all times
Simply staying active outside of the gym is vital, and often overlooked. A daily walk can play huge dividends on improving many of the factors that contribute to anabolic resistance, the muscle’s reduced ability to respond to an anabolic stimulus which worsens as you age.
The bottom line is to find an activity and sport you love and to enjoy it, will keep you active for decades. Beside, will help just as much as the three hours in the gym ;) Trust me. Go hiking, take the dog out for longer walk and enjoy beautiful surroundings beside keeping yourself fit and healthy. Whatever it takes to feel good no?
Until next time, S.
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