- Joined
- Nov 19, 2016
- Messages
- 1,067
The 6 Training Rules For Over-40 Lifters
A Guide to Middle-Aged Gains Lifting like a beast won’t get you far. If you want to keep making gains, you’re going to need a better approach. After 40, your body begins to handle training differently, especially if you’re “old” in training years. I started lifting at age 12. My body has a...
www.t-nation.com
I have been lifting steady since 1984 and I "think" I have a good idea of what works for ME. But, I sometimes find articles that make me rethink things. When I decided to focus on hypertrophy over powerlifting years ago, I got great results using a P/P/L split 6x per week. Lower volume each workout, but I hit all bodyparts 2x per week. It worked and I don't think I every truly "overtrained." I made visible gains (15 lbs of muscle from age 43-48). Since then I have stagnated.
But, I always wondered "what if." A few months ago I switched to Fortitude and I really like it. It is 4x per week which is TWO less days per week than I am accustomed to. But I have not noticed any significant size or strength gains over my 6x per week program. Nor have I noticed any regression. Kind of status quo. Mentally I like the muscle rounds and stuff like that so that is a big benefit. But when it comes to actual results, I am flatlined. At my age, early 50's....perhaps I have reached my genetic limit *507-190 about 12-14% bodyfat and just a TRT guy.
BUT....I wonder, COULD I get bigger lifting less frequently? Like even 3x per week or every other day as the article suggests. Just because I can lift more frequently, does that mean I should? Would it be more optimal to train 3-4x per week rather than 5-6 times? Even if I am not overtrained, would I actually grow more?
Here is the paragraph from the article that caught my eye:
"An older lifter will progress more on a one-day-on, one-day-off schedule, or using three workouts per week, than he will with 5-7 workouts per week.
Yes, my program, The Best Workout Plan for Natural Lifters, uses more training days per week. But that system uses an extremely minimal training volume which makes it possible to use a higher frequency. But even with a lower-volume approach, older lifters might still do better on four weekly workouts."
I am not looking for an answer here....we are all different I get that. But, I wonder if other "advanced" older guys have seen any improvements in their physique from either more or less training sessions per week???