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Believe it or not, your muscles do not know your age! They will respond to regular exercise whether you are 18 or 80, by becoming stronger. Your goals at 18 may be completely different from someone who is 80. But muscles are meant to be used and as the age old saying goes ‘Use it or lose it’ that is exactly what happens as you get older. Remember that your heart is muscle and that a sedentary lifestyle may increase the risk of having a heart attack. Regular exercise is one way to help reduce heart attack risk. Exercise can easily be adapted to target several different health concerns. Whether you are in a wheelchair, use a walker, need to be seated for exercise, or can dance the night away, exercise should be a part of your life.
In a nutshell weight training (or resistance training as it is also referred to), is beneficial at any age. Some of the main benefits are; to assist you in completing everyday tasks without difficulty, maintaining muscle mass, increasing your metabolism by helping you burn more calories, maintain strength and improving posture. And you are never too old to start.
Have you ever wondered why old people often stoop over? This is often due to postural imbalances caused by depletion in muscle mass in later years. After the age of 30, your body gradually starts to lose its muscle mass, unless you do something about it. Muscle is vital for supporting our skeleton. As we get older the weight of our skeleton and vital organs become too heavy for the remaining muscle strength that we have left to support it. Hence, the old age stoop. I have come across many older people who have regularly trained with weights over the years and have perfect posture. From a distance they look like a much younger person, for the simple reason, weight training has helped them to maintain their muscle strength and posture.
It doesn’t take much to get started and it doesn’t mean that you have to lift huge heavy weights to obtain the benefits. There are 3 main areas where training with weights can improve your body.
- Muscular Strength and Power
- Muscular Size - Body Building (Hypertrophy)
- Muscular Endurance
Achieving each one of the above depends on how you train with the weights. The basic exercises are the same, but the effects that they have on the muscles are completely different.
For example, a power lifter would be training for pure strength & power. His or her aim is to be as strong as possible in order to compete at the highest level. Strength & power training is all about improving that one lift max and the ability to provide great muscular power for a very short period of time.
A bodybuilder on the other hand, would not necessarily be interested in muscular strength or endurance. Because competing in professional bodybuilding requires no specific strength, it’s all about the look and achieving the perfect physique. Dedication to training, nutrition and lifestyle are vital to obtain the results that professional bodybuilders do. It’s an extremely difficult and competitive sport to be involved in.
An example of someone who might train for muscular endurance would be a competitive rower. Muscular endurance is the, ability of ones muscles to be able to perform repeated tasks for a long period. It’s not necessary to achieve great strength or size but more a matter of functionality and the ability to keep going.
Out of the 3 examples above, the majority of the general public who are looking to get fit would benefit from training for muscular endurance. Muscular endurance requires you to train with light to moderate weights for high repetitions, so that your muscles become accustomed to working for longer periods. This also helps to maintain muscle mass, increase strength and tone the muscles. It is much more suited to everyday activities.
Also, a novice to weight training might fail to appreciate the type of training and dedication that is required to develop genuine muscular size and strength. This type of training requires a significant background in resistance training in order to perform safely and effectively.
Anyone wanting to progress down the road of seriously developing muscular size and strength would benefit by laying a foundation to resistance training by training for muscular endurance first. This helps to condition and strengthen the muscles and tendons to enable progression at a later stage.
If you are new to weight training, get professional advice before you start. One to one tuition from a qualified fitness professional is far more beneficial than reading from a book or magazine. It’s vitally important that you are shown correct technique. Not only is it safer for you, it will also insure that you progress much quicker. A consultation with a fitness professional will insure that your current fitness levels & goals are taken into consideration. You will be advised on how often you need to train, how you should train, how much rest you need between exercises and sessions. You will get a program tailored specifically for you that makes sure that you participate rather than just attend your training sessions.
Correct technique is vital when training with weights. It’s a real macho thing to have to be seen lifting big weights. Not only is this detrimental to your gains, but it’s very dangerous as the likely hood of injury increases when you do this. You know when you have the correct size weight, when you can perform your full set of repetitions without losing form and technique. Once your form starts to fail then you should stop. A resistance exercise should be performed slowly and you should have full control throughout the movement.
I see so many people picking up weights way too heavy for them and banging out 10 reps really quickly with uncontrolled jerky movements and really bad form. This is not the way to do it. Get professional advice on correct form & technique. You’ll progress much quicker than those who try and bite off more than they can chew and you’ll remain injury free.
The next thing to be aware of is to make sure that you balance your workout. One big mistake that people often make is that they concentrate on the so called ‘mirror muscles’. Chest, biceps, abdominals etc… They tend to neglect the opposing muscles that they can’t see in the mirror, such as upper and lower back and triceps. So many people don’t train their legs. I’ve often seen people in the gym who have significantly developed upper bodies, but really skinny legs. This looks really odd when they put on a pair of shorts. Ignoring exercising muscles that require more complex exercises also compounds this. It may be that perhaps they are not aware of such muscle groups. The problem with training in this way is that it creates imbalances that can lead to poor posture and increased injury risk.
A full body exercise program might consist of the following exercises (taking into consideration these are all examples using free weights. Of course there is the option of using machines to perform the same exercises, which is ideal for beginners;
Demonstration clips provided by exrx.net
Now remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. If you are new to resistance training then it’s important that you start off slowly. If not the likelihood of injury and delayed on-set muscles sourness (DOMS) will increase and affect your motivation. Give yourself at least 48 hours recovery time between weights workouts. Allow your body time to steadily adapt to the new exercises. This is the best way to see results, keep injury free and stay motivated.
Eat well. In order for muscles to function and recover you need to eat. Muscles require energy in the form of fat and glycogen to function correctly. So you must make sure you’re well stocked with energy before attempting a workout, otherwise you will tire easily and you won’t get the best from your exercises. After, your workout you need to give your body protein to help the muscles recover and become stronger. So a modest pre and post workout meals are necessary for the best results. An ideal pre workout meal might consist of an apple and a handful of mixed nuts. Here you have a good mixture of carbohydrates from the apple for energy and fats and protein from the nuts to help the body absorb the nutrients. This provides a slow release of energy. You would eat this small meal no less than 2 hours before your workout. A post workout meal should include some protein and carbohydrate to help the muscles rebuild themselves after your workout. An example of a post workout meal might be a tuna salad sandwich on whole meal bread. The protein in the tuna is used to help the muscles grow and become stronger. You should eat this meal as soon as possible after your workout to get the maximum benefits. This is why you often see body builders drinking a protein shake immediately after their workout has finished.
Now the average person who just wants to improve their everyday all round fitness does not have to be really strict with eating times or diet, but it’s important to make positive changes to what and when you eat. Here are some tips for healthy eating;
- Spread out your calories throughout the day, eat little and often, 5 to 6 meals per day approximately 300 – 400 calories per meal
- Cut out all processed foods. Basically if it comes in a packet and you don’t know what’s in it then don’t eat it
- Prepare all your meals from fresh ingredients
- Eat at least 5 portions of fresh fruit and vegetables a day
- Eat lean cuts of meat and fresh fish
- Cut alcohol intake to the daily recommended allowance or less
- Reduce your salt & sugar intake
- Drink water at least 2 litres. Stay hydrated.
- Make sure you get your full compliment of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids from your diet or take a supplement
Abide by these guidelines and you won’t go far wrong. Just changing what you eat by replacing junk food with fresh healthy food can have a dramatic effect on weight management, energy levels and mood.
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