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Hormonal changes affect different people to varying degrees. How's your sleep? Have you mysteriously added circumference around your middle in recent years?
Testosterone is the muscle-mass-building hormone. So is Human Growth Hormone. Yours are declining.
If you don't want to see a "longevity medicine" doctor (sometimes called "life extension" or some such) to learn about what hormone replacement can do for you, you could try this trick, and see if it helps:
Do your workouts at least one hour after a meal, and a minimum of one hour before a meal or snack. So--one hour (or more) on either side of your workout. This causes your body to secrete extra HGH, which helps build muscle. Try this for 3-4 weeks, and see if. you notice any difference: better definition in the muscles, for one thing.
Cut back on carbs, if you haven't already. Carbs stimulate insulin, which causes you to build fat. A low-carb, higher-protein diet in itself helps stimulate more HGH.
Is this normal? I am frustrated. I am small-boned to begin with, but still. Anyone in this age group who is doing awesomely well? What's your secret?
One thing to consider is recovery time. The older you are the more time it takes to recuperate from your workouts. I'm 67 and usually take 5 or 6 days between workouts for the same muscle group. My muscles do respond quite well to weight training. A lot of that is genetics.
Do basic compound movements, Squats, dead lifts, rows, pull ups, benchpress, overhead press. Stay away from isolation movements such as concentration curls. Stay in the 6-10 rep range using a weight that will keep you in that range. Do three or four sets after a warm up set or two.
Keep your protein intake high. Make sure you're getting enough calories to allow you to gain weight but don't over do it.
Be consistent in your workouts. Put your mind into your muscle when doing a movement.
One thing to consider is recovery time. The older you are the more time it takes to recuperate from your workouts. I'm 67 and usually take 5 or 6 days between workouts for the same muscle group. My muscles do respond quite well to weight training. A lot of that is genetics.
Do basic compound movements, Squats, dead lifts, rows, pull ups, benchpress, overhead press. Stay away from isolation movements such as concentration curls. Stay in the 6-10 rep range using a weight that will keep you in that range. Do three or four sets after a warm up set or two.
Keep your protein intake high. Make sure you're getting enough calories to allow you to gain weight but don't over do it.
Be consistent in your workouts. Put your mind into your muscle when doing a movement.
And get enough sleep at night.
Good idea for 60+ years of age to still worry about progressive overload over time or just staying with the same weights?
If you don't want to see a "longevity medicine" doctor (sometimes called "life extension" or some such) to learn about what hormone replacement can do for you, you could try this trick, and see if it helps
I say this as a young male, but to be frank, there is no reason to NOT go on TRT as an aging male that can afford it. As your hormones decline, there is little reason to worry about it affecting you and your gonads/hormonal production for the rest of your life. It's going down anyway, right? There is no stupid worry about "cheating". It's likely to BOOST your health and cardiovascular risk than raise it as you age, you will feel better, have more strength/endurance, better sex, better social life, etc.
Otherwise, the same training principles apply to older people, while factoring in a longer recovery time and more sensitive bones/joints etc. What does your training program look like? There is still room for heavy weights (means different things to different people) potentially, it all depends on how you feel, how you recover, the quality of your posture, and what your joints/cartilage/ligaments/tendons can handle. Knowing what your training looks like, and how it makes you feel, are important for giving further advice.
Dietwise, you're gonna need zinc for testosterone support. Oysters and beef are king, while nuts, legumes, and grains inhibit absorption. Vitamin K2 is an often-deficient nutrient that you're better off supplementing. It boosts testosterone, builds bones, de-stiffens soft tissues (arteries being the important one here!), and makes Vitamin D and A work better. Other than that, eat a paleo-ish diet that's moderate fat, high-ish protein, and moderate-low carb. Don't fear the meat! Especially the more whole cuts ie steak, better than low quality ground beef. 100% grass-fed if you can, regular is fine if you can't. Put a strong focus on SEAFOOD. Veggies and fruit are great, just try to keep grains, legumes, and sugar low. You don't have to cut carbs out entirely, it's not all or nothing.
A special word on seed oils (vegetable oil, corn, soybean, canola, rapeseed, sunflower etc). AVOID! In my humble opinion, they are partly responsible for age-related deterioration of both physical structure and hormonal/metabolic health. It is only a slight worry from natural sources (ie eating corn won't kill you). But, the food industry has taken advantage of these oils (along with fructose) as both dirt-cheap and addiction-driving hunger-promoters. Hence, they are a main component of most every processed food you can imagine. The deteriorating health is just a side-effect.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davidt1
Is this normal? I am frustrated. I am small-boned to begin with, but still. Anyone in this age group who is doing awesomely well? What's your secret?
We don’t know how you train or your diet. The right exercises, volume, intensity make a lot of difference.
The other thing is diet. Typically you should be consuming 1 g of protein per pound of body weight unless you are morbidly fat or skinny. This should be spaced out over 4 to 5 meals a day.
As far as trt, see a doctor. Once you go on it you are on it for life.
My testosterone level was borderline on the low side. I was overweight and always tired. Cleaned up my diet and now I have much more energy and train much harder. I’m going to get my testosterone checked again, but I feel like maybe it’s gone up with my new diet.
It's possible to be quite strong and very healthy and fit, but without bulging muscles. It's also possible to be huge and muscular and yet at high risk of heart trouble.
Is this normal? I am frustrated. I am small-boned to begin with, but still. Anyone in this age group who is doing awesomely well? What's your secret?
There are too many variables here to guess as the reason why, but IN GENERAL men in their 50s have substantially decreased testosterone production, thereby limiting muscle growth. Can it still happen? Sure, but it takes a very strict diet and A+ exercise regime. I would focus more on getting lean and "cutting" up your muscles so that even though you may not have huge muscles, you're so lean that you can see them better.
There are too many variables here to guess as the reason why, but IN GENERAL men in their 50s have substantially decreased testosterone production, thereby limiting muscle growth. Can it still happen? Sure, but it takes a very strict diet and A+ exercise regime. I would focus more on getting lean and "cutting" up your muscles so that even though you may not have huge muscles, you're so lean that you can see them better.
Perfect Advice. Lean displays muscle. Think of an anatomy chart. This is a picture of a normal human being with fat and skin stripped. So, by stripping fat (minus the skin of course) you can display a much more muscular look. A good diet and a consistent exercise routine will do that for you as Florida said.
Get creative with your diet. Make protein shakes fun. I like to whip up a scoop of vanilla protein with about a half cup water, dash salt (makes it pop - salt is used in cakes and cookies), stevia and some sugar free choc chips, fill with ice and blend. A perfect thick milkshake minus the calories. Things like that. Make "strict" fun.
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