Going to the Gym... over 40s

[chellie]

Well done and keep up the good work Chellie but don't push your body too far, spare parts for older models are very expensive hard to find and rarer than hen's false teeth

LOL. Got chatting to a 92 year old at the gym the other day and a lady in her mid 80's who put me to shame with her strength.

 

[williamalex1]

You should try telling my old man that it's for the Young ?
He's also 73 still can bench press more than his age in KG, not to mention all the functional stuff he does.
Even now he has calves a Mr Olympia would be proud of.


My favourite overweight goalkeeper was Big Jimmy Stannard.

Good on your dad , but everybody ages in different ways depending on health problems, not saying exercise isn't good.
I played golf up to last year with a 75 year old ex army PE instructor who had 2 knee replacements in his late 60s fit as a fiddle but sadly he now has advanced dementia. .Life can be cruel no matter how you live.

 

[Wolf]

Good on your dad , but everybody ages in different ways depending on health problems, not saying exercise isn't good.
I played golf up to last year with a 75 year old ex army PE instructor who had 2 knee replacements in his late 60s fit as a fiddle but sadly he now has advanced dementia. .Life can be cruel no matter how you live.

Oh without a doubt we can't outrun the aging process, Dad had a hip replacement in his mid 60s as he literally wore the joint out from years of playing various sports and working on building sites carrying excess weights. It was his previous fitness levels that had him recover so quick, he was up and walking the stair test in hospital day after surgery, got out walking up and down the cul de sac they live in within days and was on the golf course after about 7 weeks. But the body and brain can still break down all we can do as humans is our best to slow the process as long as we can..

For as fit as my dad is, my mum is the polar opposite unbelievably unhealthy she's in and out of hospital so often its unreal.

My dad's oldest brother is 84 this year was my dad's idol, was one of the pilots on the Queens flight in is RAF days, unbelievably fit and played squash 3-4 times a week up until his 82nd year, when he just started doing odd things and forgetting things out of character, sadly diagnosed with Alzheimers. We can just do our best till the sad inevitable happens.

 

[AmandaJR]

Wolf (if you don't mind) - Cardio or Weights first...or don't mix in the same gym session?

I've always been able to push myself CV-wise and much preferred it to any resistance work. Recent times I've done P90X/P90X3 at home and recently joined a gym to have access to heavier weights and a barbell. I'd pretty good at press ups, pull ups, chin ups and body-weight stuff but always struggled to push using weights. I'm really enjoying trying to get stronger and know a bit and watch a lot from the treadmill so have been testing myself a little. Overhead press the oly bar and then added 1.25kg either side and managed a couple of sets of 6. Really want to have a go at 30kg but a bit scared in case I can't do it...I guess worst case scenario I put the weight down?!

Anyway, with that in mind tomorrow should I warm up gently and hit the free weights section before the treadmill? Perhaps a 10 minute row or something to warm up?

Any advice much appreciated.

 

[Wolf]

Wolf (if you don't mind) - Cardio or Weights first...or don't mix in the same gym session?

I've always been able to push myself CV-wise and much preferred it to any resistance work. Recent times I've done P90X/P90X3 at home and recently joined a gym to have access to heavier weights and a barbell. I'd pretty good at press ups, pull ups, chin ups and body-weight stuff but always struggled to push using weights. I'm really enjoying trying to get stronger and know a bit and watch a lot from the treadmill so have been testing myself a little. Overhead press the oly bar and then added 1.25kg either side and managed a couple of sets of 6. Really want to have a go at 30kg but a bit scared in case I can't do it...I guess worst case scenario I put the weight down?!

Anyway, with that in mind tomorrow should I warm up gently and hit the free weights section before the treadmill? Perhaps a 10 minute row or something to warm up?

Any advice much appreciated.

First of all congratulations on completing P90X & X3. When it comes to actual workouts in the gym if you want significant strength gains I'd personally recommend doing once your properly warmed up is do your strength work first, that way your glycogen levels won't be depleted like they would be after your cardio work.

Depending what your training on a specific day you can tailor your warm up accordingly, some good light plyometric work like you did in P90X will get the blood flowing along with dynamic stretching. Then can do cardio afterwards if you wanted to.

Overhead press is one of my favourite exercises. If you are worried about safety do it in the squat rack or power rack if your gym has one then you can safely rack or re-rack as needed and drop safely as well.

If you want some advice on how to get stronger drop me a PM anytime and I'll give you some advice on how to correctly periodise your training to see incremental growth in strength.

 

[Mudball]

Did my second PT session .. he is an animal... just when I was getting used to the first set of lessons, he asked me to change it. The idea being that the body will get efficient and therefore need to try something else

So added doing some dance moves of punching above my shoulder with weights in between some cross trainers. Then introduced me to TRX. Not sure how I managed to do 10 of them...

PTs must have been dentists in their past lives

 

[Mudball]

So havent been to the gym for a couple of weeks now thanks to all the stories going around. Also had cut carbs to a large extend.
Interestingly, a few days ago,.... I thought I was 'feeling lighter' and also the ring starting to slip off the finger and trouser starting to slip. Hence i thought i would have lost some weight. So off i went and got on the scales.... the weight had not shifted. If nothing, it seems to have moved up!! Bonkers

 

[Sats]

So havent been to the gym for a couple of weeks now thanks to all the stories going around. Also had cut carbs to a large extend.
Interestingly, a few days ago,.... I thought I was 'feeling lighter' and also the ring starting to slip off the finger and trouser starting to slip. Hence i thought i would have lost some weight. So off i went and got on the scales.... the weight had not shifted. If nothing, it seems to have moved up!! Bonkers

I try not to look too much at weight as much as body composition.

 

[chellie]

Two big things for me today at the gym. One, I was able to balance holding my own weight on the dip bar and two I was able to hang from and hold my own weight on the pull up bars. No way could I have done this even a few weeks ago.

 

[User62651]

Think this thread helped get me back to gym, joined gym and pool package at local council facility, been every second or third day for last 2.5 weeks and feel stronger for it. Mainly machines with a little free weights. Trying to do a 5x5 program to get stronger quick. So far so good. Have permanent mobility issues with both shoulder joints post surgery so have to work round that to a degree i.e I cannot put a bar behind my neck to do squats, shoulders won't allow it, hoping I may get improved mobility there in time. Just have to use the leg press instead for now.

 

[Beezerk]

Well I haven't joined a gym yet but with the better weather I've been out on my bike 7 times in the last two weeks

 

[chellie]

OK, I'm sure the gym will be closing soon so what can we do at home? I was looking at barbells sets on argos but none in stock anywhere near me. Ones on Amazon are dearer

 

[Leftie]

I've got some that you could have free - but I won't be posting them

 

[Mudball]

OK, I'm sure the gym will be closing soon so what can we do at home? I was looking at barbells sets on argos but none in stock anywhere near me. Ones on Amazon are dearer

 

[AmandaJR]

OK, I'm sure the gym will be closing soon so what can we do at home? I was looking at barbells sets on argos but none in stock anywhere near me. Ones on Amazon are dearer

Check out facebook marketplace?

 

[chellie]

Check out facebook marketplace?

I'd looked on there first but none near enough.

 

[Andy]

Think this thread helped get me back to gym, joined gym and pool package at local council facility, been every second or third day for last 2.5 weeks and feel stronger for it. Mainly machines with a little free weights. Trying to do a 5x5 program to get stronger quick. So far so good. Have permanent mobility issues with both shoulder joints post surgery so have to work round that to a degree i.e I cannot put a bar behind my neck to do squats, shoulders won't allow it, hoping I may get improved mobility there in time. Just have to use the leg press instead for now.

Try front squats or look into a safety squat bar. I'm the same, frozen shoulders have knackered my chance of doing proper squats.

 

[ferenezejohn]

3 good brisk walks doesn't need to be anymore than 3 mile just get the heart working
Some light weights, but for us older chaps stretching and flexibility is the key thing.
I have an electric trolley but over the winter have gone back to carrying my bag just started with driver 7 iron wedge and putter gradually adding a club now carrying full set.
70 next month will admit I was a fitness fanatic when younger, but as long as you listen to your body and don't overdo it it's worth the effort, again stretching and flexibility is the bid thing as we age.

 

[AmandaJR]

I'd looked on there first but none near enough.

I was planning to collect a small barbell set on Friday (got plenty of dumbbells at home) but the seller has put the price up from £50 to £70. I guess she thinks they've appreciated in value as people (like us) are thinking their gym may close. I told her to stuff her barbell where the sun don't shine

 

[Dibby]

I was planning to collect a small barbell set on Friday (got plenty of dumbbells at home) but the seller has put the price up from £50 to £70. I guess she thinks they've appreciated in value as people (like us) are thinking their gym may close. I told her to stuff her barbell where the sun don't shine

How big is your gym?

I now train at home anyway, but I was talking to the owner of the weightlifting club I used to train at, and one of the topics was the business damage of having to close, and people wanting to still train. One of the suggestions we came up with was renting out the equipment, so people could still train at home and the gym could make a small income. If your gym isn't a huge corporate, it's worth asking about this, if you have the right kind of relationship.