Over 40s new lifters thread

[Neostoic]

Hi all

There are quite a few really inspirational and knowledgeable characters on these boards that have taught me lots through reading their posts and sometimes offering direct advice (thanks to everyone).

But naturally the people whose opinions are really worth listening to have been walking the walk for a while and have lifts in the intermediate or advanced range...

I'm interested if there are over 35s just starting out who might want to compare notes.

To maintain a reasonable focus, I'd suggest a thread involving people who are:

At untrained or novice lifts for body weight (see the tables at exrx dot net or similar from googling strength standards)
Are committed to progression on the standard compound lifts (probably following one of the basic programs e.g. starting strength, 5x5)
Are unembarrassed about sharing their newbie lifts (kinda the whole point)
Happy to share tips, progress and resources

Suggested introduction posts would have age, experience, lifts and goals

Let's do it - and in a year or two we can start the over 40s intermediates thread!!

[Neostoic]

In to own thread...

47

Noob (third try after two false starts) and currently four weeks in (next session is number 12)

Doing 5x5

Bench 104
Squat 88 (going slow cos past lower back issues)
Deadlift 110
Overhead press 77
Rows 104

Goal is to get to 'novice' weight ranges in all lifts and drop weight from present 196 to 175/80

Currently reading Starting Strength cover to cover and trying to keep my damn back straight when deadlifting!

[SWG42]

OK, I'll go:

42
Trained as a teenager, and through adulthood but never followed a real program (or any program for that matter). Started getting more serious last summer but equipment was limited to an old Bowflex (sad what 310 lbs translated to in free weights), a decent leg press, and some std. free weights (dumbbells). Made a deal with myself that when I could bench the stack (isn't really that much), that I'd sell it and pick up a new Rack. Did so over the Christmas holidays and haven't looked back.
Still just a noob but never stronger and knee/back pain is fading into a distant memory although I still have the odd bad day but becoming rare. Wasn't until I started squatting that I realized how weak my legs were and how I compensated for that my entire life.

[Bench] December: 95 lbs Now: 150 Max: 195
[Squat] December: 85 lbs Now: 165 Max: 210
[Dead] Didn't perform (back) Now: 130 Max: Never tried...
[Mil. Press] December: 55 lbs Now: 95 lbs Max: 110 Ceiling limits me to seated.
[B/O Row] December: 85 lbs Now: 120 lbs Max: 150 lbs
[B. Weight] December: 181 lbs Now: 189 lbs

Goal: To finally not have the family "chicken legs", to bring my squat to 215 lbs (5x5) by this Christmas, 240 lbs by this time next year, and bring my DL up where it should be (above squats). My weight caries well, so not looking to drop lbs any time soon. Too addicted to the progress...

[Recumpence]

A little encouragement for the newbies over 40.

I am coming up on 2 years of training. I am 44 and started 23 months ago. The guys on this forum have been supportive, but very direct. That is a good thing.

The advice I have been given has helped tremendously. My bench is 3 times what it was when I started and so are many of my other exercises (I hesitate to give numbers for fear of being accused of bragging). I am training hard and focusing on my diet without any supplements other than Creatine.

Be patient and have a "years" perspective, not a days or weeks perspective. Too many people try to gauge their progress in days or weeks. Think in years.......

[KyleAaron]

Recumpence, put your numbers in your sig; everyone on this forum should have their numbers, and/or the numbers of people they've trained, in their sig. We can then put their advice in perspective.

[LeoWJL]

43

Never really been into weight lifting, more of a runner on and off. Just started weight lifting since February this year. I have been doing running for more than a year before that to lose more than 30 lbs. But then I feel like putting on some muscle and gaining some strength, thus I started weight lifting a couple times a week.

Still keeping up with running 2-3 miles 6 days a week, sometimes fast/sprinting if I feel good, past experience has made me very careful with any issue in the legs, thus the overly careful approach regarding squat and deadlift.

Height 5'11, currently weight 183 lbs, about 15% body fat. I am working towards lower body fat % and higher lift numbers. My weight lifting numbers are generally with 5 reps since I don't have a training partner and don't feel safe to try 1RM on my own.

Bench: 150 lbs x5 June 2016, goal 180 lbs x5 by June 2017
Squat: 140 lbs x5 June 2016, goal 240 lbs x5 by June 2017
Deadlift: 155 lbs x5 June 2016, goal 300 lbs x5 by June 2017
Military-press: 80 lbs x5 June 2016, goal 120 lbs x5 by June 2017

[2nd_chance]

Recumpence, put your numbers in your sig; everyone on this forum should have their numbers, and/or the numbers of people they've trained, in their sig. We can then put their advice in perspective.

Really?? Lol

[Gabbar99]

Recumpence, put your numbers in your sig; everyone on this forum should have their numbers, and/or the numbers of people they've trained, in their sig. We can then put their advice in perspective.

Don't know about that. Do y'all want fellow beginners sharing what they're doing or do you want e-statting know-it-alls giving advice? If it's the latter, then this thread won't be any different from any other.

[Recumpence]

I just added some stats.

I need to say to the beginners, your genetics play a crazy huge role in this. My arms are very slow to grow. But my chest and shoulders are somewhat responsive. My legs, holy cow, they grow really well. I am strong on a few exercises, while I struggle for any improvement on others. Remember, your body is not the same as others. Try not to feel discouraged when you see someone at the gym that is HUGE or crazy strong. Just do what you can to continue to progress at the rate you are capable of progressing. Push HARD. No excuses! But, do not measure yourself by others.

[Gabbar99]

OK, I'm in for now. I'm out if we get too many "experts" in here giving advice and insults and ridicule.

I've goofed around with dumbbells off and on for years. I started barbell bench 2.5 years ago but have been off and on with off periods of up to several months. I also goofed around off and on with squat and deadlift the past two years but have been mostly off including off for about 6 months last year while I trained for a marathon.

I've been on for the past 6 months with the longest off periods (due to travel) less than two weeks. I'm currently nursing a shoulder injury. I have terrible mobility for squats and deadlifts, squats especially. I got scolded in kindergarten because I couldn't sit cross-legged.

So those are my excuses, my current numbers (lbs) are:

squat 185x5
bench 275x5
dead 345x5

[Charlescheeze]

I'll have a go as well.

45

Used to be a regular gym goer for about 5 years in my early 20s not that in retrospect I knew what I was doing but managed to put on a fair bit of muscle.

Life then got in the way and it wasn't until my late 30s that I joined a gym again as I moved offices and there was one nearby. This time is was mostly cross training as I wanted to improve my general fitness. Moved offices and stopped again.

Roll on three years until Feb this year and spurred on by my wife who joined a local gym I signed up as well. I then messed around for 3 months trying various routines until I found the Fierce 5 on this forum and things have been progressing well since.

6'0" 200lbs no clue about BF. Current stats plus some optimistic goals below!

Bench 160x5 June 2016 220x5 end 2016
Squat 198x5 June 2016 300x5 end 2016
RDL 231x5 June 2016 396x5 end 2016
OHP 105x5 June 2016 155x5 end 2016

Shorter term goals involve increasing mobility and being more scientific about my diet.

[JerryB]

Don't know about that. Do y'all want fellow beginners sharing what they're doing or do you want e-statting know-it-alls giving advice? If it's the latter, then this thread won't be any different from any other.

It could be a case of the blind leading the blind.

[Recumpence]

True. But the rudeness of some responses on this forum turns off many.

[LeoWJL]

Will we share training in this thread? Or maybe create a shared log thread in the training logs sub forum?

My work out today:

Cardio 30 minutes, stretching and warmups 10 minutes

Big 4 each 2 sets took about 24 minutes.
Bench: 145 lbs x5, 135 lbs x5
Deadlift: 165 lbs x5, 150 lbs x5
Military-press: 85 lbs x5, 80 lbs x5
Squat: 150 lbs x5, 135 lbs x5

After that some accessory workouts for 15 minutes, like chin ups, rows, bicep curls, face pulls, abs, dumb bell moves targeting lat and shoulder.

Finish with a few minutes of stretching.

[DebMcap]

I think a good idea would be for everyone to have pictures. I wouldn't use it to judge information but just so you can see what body you can achieve. I have to figure out how to put in pictures as it seems difficult.

[JimmyJonny]

Really?? Lol

" But naturally the people whose opinions are really worth listening to have been walking the walk for a while and have lifts in the intermediate or advanced range..."

Lol @ this too ^ I guess I'm not worthy of giving good advice, lol.

[DebMcap]

I think anyone should give advice. You just have to use what works for you. I can't take advice from a big muscle guy because it won't work for my body. This is why I think pictures would help more.

[charlievanriper]

True. But the rudeness of some responses on this forum turns off many.

Sadly I have come to understand Rudeness is life in these forums.. Always nice always friendly but always get attacked, don't offer help anymore

[DieselBro]

Started Stronglifts about a month ago, with my son

Figured out my 5 rep max and used 50% of those weights to start


So far

Bench - 105>135
Squat 135>170
Row 65>95
OH press 65>90
Deadlift 135>170

Weights are going up going to run this as long as I can, in a slight deficit.

[Neostoic]

Great responses all but lots to think about.

Basics:

1. 'Later in life' it's OK to get started and (probably) there are fewer limits to progress as a result of age than we think
2 Fat loss concepts are only three as expressed most succinctly in the wavelength noobs thread: lift, eat enough protein, don't eat enough calories
3. Muscle gain concepts are: forget vanity moves, adopt one of the (largely similar) programs and master the compound lifts, do progression

So - like giving up smoking, say - the task of getting a life-equipped and attractive physique is conceptually simple. There are no hard ideas here. It's just hard putting it into consistent practice. Which means the issue is commitment and the ability to move our 'form of life' away from bad habits and towards good ones.

The thought behind this thread was for older lifters starting out, to share ideas and encouragement.

So, SWG42 - welcome, great post... I'm pretty much now where you were in December and if I'm where you are in 7 months I'll be happy... my question for you is to ask what principles you adopted for progression? Were they rules-based (5lbs a week or whatever) or based on feel (I'm confident in this lift at this weight so I'll move on) or some other approach

Recumpence - great encouraging post, thanks... I can't see your stats though (might be my misunderstanding or ignorance) - I'd like to hear more about the process over the last 2 years which seems to have worked for you - could you tell us more of the story with an emphasis on what you thought were the key moments of 'realisation' (the 'aha' or epiphany moments) that helped you sustain your program and succeed? Your comment on genetics is interesting ('crazy huge role') and we should pick that up as a theme... agree strongly about rudeness - never helpful in my view

LeoWJL - welcome, you're a bit ahead of me in terms of time and consistency... I'm with you on the 5 reps and no 1 rep max thing since I train alone in a cage in the garage... Did you start with an empty bar (i.e. what has your progression been to your present weights) and are you following a program (strong lifts, 5x5, fierce 5 etc)? I think we should share training - not everyone will want to share every session though I'm interested in that but certainly a weekly share with victories and challenges would be good... I notice your sets go from higher to lower weights across 2 sets - what's the thinking here? I'm doing 5x5 which is structured a bit differently...

Charlescheeze - welcome and another well ahead of me (with Leo a February starter making good progress) - your story chimes with me and will be familiar to many I guess - what was your biggest challenge restarting and keeping it going or was it just 'the right time' and straightforward?

Gabbar99 - intent is definitely fellow beginners sharing what they're doing - agree with your 'in' and 'out' criteria and share them... let's hope they're not inevitable...

Charlievanriper - please feel free to restart offering help if you choose

JimmyJonny - the thought behind that comment wasn't to exclude any views but to reflect the simple thought that if you've succeeded in something you deserve some respect for that success and your insights might have good value... to repeat: not designed to exclude thoughts since lessons of struggle and insights from failure can be eminently more powerful (as we learn the hard way as we get older, no?) but I still think that basic respect of achievement is reasonable - happy to discuss ... Since we're about the same age and you're much more experienced, what would your best advice be to me as a new, older lifter?

DebMcap - I agree pictures would be interesting but just speaking for myself I don't know how to get from my phone to the board (d'oh) so if anyone can advise that would help anyone who was prepared to post and I would think about it for myself (would need to overcome some intuitive reluctance but I get your point)

DieselBro - your post crossed this overlong one - welcome - one of my sons is interested in starting with me and we've done some sessions together... I'm a bit concerned about not being able to guide him properly on the more complex lifts since I know I don't understand them myself (!) in particular low back rounding on the squat (is that different for a 16 year old for a 47 year old?) ... strong starting weights there!

KyleAaron, 2nd_chance, JerryB - honoured you dropped by... if you got any wisdom you think applies, please leave it here

Anyone reading for the first time... say hi!

Good luck all

Best wishes

Neo

[charlievanriper]

Charlievanriper - please feel free to restart offering help if you choose

Good luck all

Best wishes

Neo

Thx appreciate the response / mention and I stop in to journals that I find interesting occasionally and your always welcome in mine, but overall I have learned to keep to myself mostly.. kept me happy, calm and stress free for most of my 58 yrs on the planet......

remember life aint abnout proving anything or winning "oh wait YES it is " lol

[Jtbny]

Good reading ITT. Refreshing to see others looking to build each other up rather than take endless pop shots.

I've got little value to add that hasn't already been expressed except to reiterate that the basics still work; time and consistency under the bar and in the kitchen will yield results. Focusing on progression with the big compounds no matter the fancy name of the program will get you far. Keeping things simple and letting form dictate weight will help prevent ego injuries.

And the most important thing to remember (besides to squat more to squat more ) is to have fun with whatever you are doing. If you make this a grind you will burn yourself out. If it becomes work you will find a way to make excuses to not be consistent so have fun!

"A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time" M.Twain.

[LeoWJL]

Neo,

Good write-up! You can call me Leo.

I began strength training since I turned my distance running interest to sprinting at the beginning of this year. Used to run to lose weight and get fit, now that goal is achieved I like to be faster and stronger. Weight lifting complements sprinting very well. Thus currently my time is split between running(sprinting) and weight lifting.

To be able to run fast, I don't want a lot of bulk, thus the weight lifting is emphasizing on weight rather than reps. I based my weight lifting routine on some sprinter's weight lifting program, therefore every time there are going to be press, squat and deadlift. When I get more confident I will add things like power clean and clean and jerk. Generally first set is 5 reps heavy, weight of second set is 90% of first set, I don't feel tired after the workout, usually leaving some gas in the tank, the theory is this will improve my strength without adding too much weight.

Going to weight lift three times a week. Will keep this going for a while and see how it go.

Also to answer your question in more detail, my starting weight in February in bench press was about 125 lbs, was able to squat/deadlift 135 lbs at the beginning (bar with 2 45 lbs plates), 60 lbs in military press. I had a bit of base due to doing body weight exercises from time to time (pushups, pullups, lunges).

I spent time battling lower back pain for a good two months due to bad forms and flexibility. Have since form a habit to do 30 minutes stretching/core/yoga at night at home to improve core health and flexibility. And also carefully mind my forms when doing the big 4 exercises. The lower back issue has been holding me back on squat/deadlift for a couple months. I believe it is largely resolved now.

Now I am working with shoulder issues, going to incorporate some rotator cuff strengthening workouts. I believe I can't improve much in bench until I get a good grip with strengthening the rotator cuff small muscles.

Great responses all but lots to think about.

Basics:

1. 'Later in life' it's OK to get started and (probably) there are fewer limits to progress as a result of age than we think
2 Fat loss concepts are only three as expressed most succinctly in the wavelength noobs thread: lift, eat enough protein, don't eat enough calories
3. Muscle gain concepts are: forget vanity moves, adopt one of the (largely similar) programs and master the compound lifts, do progression

So - like giving up smoking, say - the task of getting a life-equipped and attractive physique is conceptually simple. There are no hard ideas here. It's just hard putting it into consistent practice. Which means the issue is commitment and the ability to move our 'form of life' away from bad habits and towards good ones.

The thought behind this thread was for older lifters starting out, to share ideas and encouragement.

So, SWG42 - welcome, great post... I'm pretty much now where you were in December and if I'm where you are in 7 months I'll be happy... my question for you is to ask what principles you adopted for progression? Were they rules-based (5lbs a week or whatever) or based on feel (I'm confident in this lift at this weight so I'll move on) or some other approach

Recumpence - great encouraging post, thanks... I can't see your stats though (might be my misunderstanding or ignorance) - I'd like to hear more about the process over the last 2 years which seems to have worked for you - could you tell us more of the story with an emphasis on what you thought were the key moments of 'realisation' (the 'aha' or epiphany moments) that helped you sustain your program and succeed? Your comment on genetics is interesting ('crazy huge role') and we should pick that up as a theme... agree strongly about rudeness - never helpful in my view

LeoWJL - welcome, you're a bit ahead of me in terms of time and consistency... I'm with you on the 5 reps and no 1 rep max thing since I train alone in a cage in the garage... Did you start with an empty bar (i.e. what has your progression been to your present weights) and are you following a program (strong lifts, 5x5, fierce 5 etc)? I think we should share training - not everyone will want to share every session though I'm interested in that but certainly a weekly share with victories and challenges would be good... I notice your sets go from higher to lower weights across 2 sets - what's the thinking here? I'm doing 5x5 which is structured a bit differently...

Charlescheeze - welcome and another well ahead of me (with Leo a February starter making good progress) - your story chimes with me and will be familiar to many I guess - what was your biggest challenge restarting and keeping it going or was it just 'the right time' and straightforward?

Gabbar99 - intent is definitely fellow beginners sharing what they're doing - agree with your 'in' and 'out' criteria and share them... let's hope they're not inevitable...

Charlievanriper - please feel free to restart offering help if you choose

JimmyJonny - the thought behind that comment wasn't to exclude any views but to reflect the simple thought that if you've succeeded in something you deserve some respect for that success and your insights might have good value... to repeat: not designed to exclude thoughts since lessons of struggle and insights from failure can be eminently more powerful (as we learn the hard way as we get older, no?) but I still think that basic respect of achievement is reasonable - happy to discuss ... Since we're about the same age and you're much more experienced, what would your best advice be to me as a new, older lifter?

DebMcap - I agree pictures would be interesting but just speaking for myself I don't know how to get from my phone to the board (d'oh) so if anyone can advise that would help anyone who was prepared to post and I would think about it for myself (would need to overcome some intuitive reluctance but I get your point)

DieselBro - your post crossed this overlong one - welcome - one of my sons is interested in starting with me and we've done some sessions together... I'm a bit concerned about not being able to guide him properly on the more complex lifts since I know I don't understand them myself (!) in particular low back rounding on the squat (is that different for a 16 year old for a 47 year old?) ... strong starting weights there!

KyleAaron, 2nd_chance, JerryB - honoured you dropped by... if you got any wisdom you think applies, please leave it here

Anyone reading for the first time... say hi!

Good luck all

Best wishes

Neo

[drudixon]

All I'll add is to dial in form when the weights are light. My bench form sucked and by year 3 I'd trashed my shoulders. 2 years later I could bench again, now with correct form.

[SumuhmuhBish]

I've worked out off and on since I was 16, but mainly focused on TKD and Boxing. My last work out was in 2012 and stopped from shoulder injuries.

I started doing starting strength on 2/29/16 and started with:
Squat 80lb, now 244lb
OHP 40lb, now 107lbs (keep getting stuck on this and bench)
Bench 80lb, now 154lb
Deads 80, now 260lb
Power cleans have been removed. I had a bad catch and sprained my wrist pretty bad. Six week and still not healed. I can still lift just no supinated grips.

Right now allergies got me messed up pretty bad. Yesterday failed after 4 reps and quit after failing the second at 2 reps.

[Charlescheeze]

One of the biggest issues for me was actually stepping foot back in the gym, second big issue was time.

Fortunately there is some flexibility in my work so I can now get to the gym at lunchtime. I'm not a morning person and the gym I use gets really busy late afternoon and into the evening. Finding a good routine that doesn't take too long was also an issue, but that was sorted when I started doing the Fierce 5.

One thing I found was that I was getting lots of discomfort doing various exercises. I've now been doing some mobility exercises on my off days and I've found they have helped me loads and I have very few twinges now.

Also been working on my form and I was wondering whether to deload and focus on this even more. Comes back to the ego question, I was annoyed with myself on Wednesday because I cheated on the last rep of my bench press didn't let the bar touch my chest. Then today I was watching some of the other guys in the gym and every rep they did I swear you could have driven a bus between the bar and their chest when it was at its lowest! OK slight exaggeration

[NatBdyBldr48]

I'm 48 and although i started lifting in my 20's off and on, I've only started back to serious bodybuilding 4 years ago with proper nutrition and supplementation. 20 yrs ago I cracked a lower vertebrae doing heavy squats in a gym and couldnt walk for awhile. The pain was unimaginable for nearly a year and after many rehab sessions and quitting lifting, my back started to recover. I lost most of my muscle and started gaining belly fat. About 4 yrs ago my motivation to start exercising again came back with a vengeance after my doctor diagnosed me with high cholesterol and high BP so I joined a brand new small local gym and started bodybuilding 4 days a week. I'm happy to say I'm addicted to it again but have to be careful with my back exercises and being 48, I have some tendonitis issues I live with but elbow compression sleeves and proper form and lifting a little lighter, higher rep on my pulling work, I still have great workouts with minimal pain.

[LeoWJL]

Agree to be careful with heavy weights, will not rush either myself.

I'm 48 and although i started lifting in my 20's off and on, I've only started back to serious bodybuilding 4 years ago with proper nutrition and supplementation. 20 yrs ago I cracked a lower vertebrae doing heavy squats in a gym and couldnt walk for awhile. The pain was unimaginable for nearly a year and after many rehab sessions and quitting lifting, my back started to recover. I lost most of my muscle and started gaining belly fat. About 4 yrs ago my motivation to start exercising again came back with a vengeance after my doctor diagnosed me with high cholesterol and high BP so I joined a brand new small local gym and started bodybuilding 4 days a week. I'm happy to say I'm addicted to it again but have to be careful with my back exercises and being 48, I have some tendonitis issues I live with but elbow compression sleeves and proper form and lifting a little lighter, higher rep on my pulling work, I still have great workouts with minimal pain.

[TnTNZ]

Awesome. A thread for me

44. Did some lifting 15 years or so ago, really let life get in the way, (ie made any excuse). Finally decided after the good lady wife joined a gym at the start of this year to do something about it. Used the knowledge I'd gained in my past experience to start. Started on a light 4 day split routine. First day in the gym, was more concerned about not looking like a weakling in front of all the 'bros'. Tried to pick up where I left off 15 years ago, like an idiot. Needed a week and a half to recover, honestly thought I'd broken myself

Regained my sanity, repeated the mantra, "Technique is more important than weight"... kinda half assed it for the next 6 weeks. Got to April of this year and decided, 'either commit and do this properly or give the gym membership up'. Didn't give the membership up. Used an app called JEFIT to track stuff. Started a 6 week beginner routine.

Found Bodybuilding.com, and after completing the 6 week rountine, picked the Stoppani 'Shortcut to Size' program, and am working through that. Totally aware that there is no such thing as a shortcut to anything, been around the block enough times to know that the only way to sustainable results in ... well life really, is consistency and hard work.

Starting weight 84kg and 22% Bodyfat
Currently: 83kg and 17%

Weights? (good question here, do you count the weight of the bar in this, or is that just 'cost of business' I am currently not counting the bar in my Bodyspace tracking)
All weights are the plates on the bar only
Squat: Start 40kg - Now 70kg
Deadlift: Start 35kg - Now 65kg
Bench: Start 15kg - Now 35kg
Barbell Curl: Start: 5kg - Now 20kg

So as you can see genetically... my legs are my strong point.

I did engage a Personal Trainer for each session, with the instruction. 'My form, it's all about making sure I have good form' I mostly did this for Squats and Deadlifts. My two favourite exercises and the ones I felt i could do damage easily with bad form.

I think my single biggest issue with going to the gym was... ego. Not wanting to be perceived as a weakling. So really went to heavy to hard, and I think nearly did myself some damage. Fortunately being the age I'm at, an element of wisdom kicked in. Dropped the amount of weight and concentrated on getting the exercises right was of more importance. Slow steady progress is easier to maintain longterm than 'quick fixes'

I'm pretty happy with progress so far, 4.5kg fat down, 3kg muscle up. I'm feeling a level of mental clarity and for want of better word happiness I've not had before. Which is in fact what got me started.

My goal? End of the year I'm aiming to be 83kg and 12% BF, is my ultimate. 14% I'll consider successful.

[EjnarKolinkar]

I've goofed around with dumbbells off and on for years.

Always been my downfall as well, too much on and off over the years. I'm at the point now where if I can just stay healthy and train steady I will be happy regardless of anything else, because I like training.