Bulking up at the age of 40 plus

[geek84]

am a male in my mid 40s and right from birth, I have always had a small stature. In fact, I think I would be counted as one of the 'smallest' males, if ever a survey was done in my area/town. I am 5 foot 1 inch and weight 67kg. I have always been teased throughout my life due to this, and called lots of names - the most popular being 'shorty'.

Many times I have started going to the gym and going on the thread mill together with lifting weights etc, but have always given up shortly afterwards, due to not seeing any significant changes in my body in terms of loosing weight and gaining muscle mass. However, After much thinking I have decided to start going to the gym again(!) in order to get fit and to bulk up. My question is - do you think due to my age, I should forget this idea and just go for a jog every now and again in order to keep my weight under control and forget about trying to grow my muscles etc?

If I do decide to continue going to the gym for the long term (on this occasion), what food do you think I should eat that would help me grow muscle? What about supplements?

I would be able to go to the gym about twice a week for an hour each and them possibly increasing that to three times a week, if I see some results in my body.

Please advice.

[George_2]

Hi geek,

I don't think you should forget going to the gym just because of your age. My mum is at the gym 3-5 times a week at the age of 50+. She's very fit and I don't think that would be a problem for you (unless you have an unmentioned illness that would inhibit you going).

The most common reason for people not seeing any progress is lack of commitment or not having a routine. Routine is key in seeing gains/losses; you absolutely have to be consistent or you won't get anywhere. Also, don't expect immediate results, training your body will take time. There's also no reason why you wouldn't be able to increase your muscle mass too.

As for food, you'll want a variety of nutrients that are involved in the muscle development process. Some of the most important are magnesium (absolutely vital), potassium and amino acids (a complete profile). Your electrolytes (magnesium, etc) should ideally come from fresh vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes.

You will also want to take in liberal amounts of oil and water. Water is vital in cell metabolism and getting a good supply of oil is important because every cell membrane in your body is made from oil (EFA's). Your dietary intake of oil usually indicates the health of your cells. Your oil should be in the form of unsaturated (poly and mono) fats from oily fish (fresh), avocados, nuts and seeds and maybe an oil supplement if you want, though a supplement is generally not necessary as a diet including the above should supply you with your required amounts of fat.

You will want a diet rich in amino acids to rebuild your muscles after your weights routine. Nuts and seeds are an excellent and complete source of amino acids, as are avocados, beans and pulses. When looking to gain muscle mass you also want to space your meals out evenly over your day. Instead of 3 larger meals, eat 6 smaller meals with equal amounts of nutrition in each, especially amino acids. You should also have healthy snacks such as nuts and seeds in between, and don't forget to stay hydrated all day.

You may also want to take barley grass in powdered form as a supplement, as this is an extremely valuable source of protein and has a range of other benefits, which I will leave you to explore.


Try taking a look at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdB2I...eature=related


Good luck,


George.

[ross]

Hey

We're just about to launch a range of alkaline, protein powders that would be a smart addition to your diet too. Watch this space.

Ross

p.s great reply George

[George_2]

I have finally started a weights routine today (Monday 10). I'm doing static contraction training and I'm hoping to see some results in the coming months. For those who don't know, static training is, instead of doing reps, holding the weight at the point of greatest resistance for a short period of time.

The idea behind this method of training is that instead of fatiguing your muscles by doing continuous reps, you instead lift the heaviest weight you can and hold it for around 15-30 seconds. This fatigues the muscles in the same way as dynamic training, but doesn't take as long to do and (apparently) gives better results.

When you do reps, your muscles only activate as many fibers as it needs to lift the weight. As you do more and more reps, those fibers become fatigued and your brain signals for more muscle fibers to be activated, thus, enabling you to still lift the weight. After about 10-15 reps, all of your muscle fibers are fatigued and you are unable to lift anymore weight (this is the point of failure). This is the process your muscles must go through in order to stimulate growth. From an evolutionary standpoint, your brain realises those muscles need to be stronger in order to not get fatigued the next time, so muscle growth proceeds to lower the strain of lifting the weight.

Static training works the same way, but the muscle fibers are activated much quicker because you are lifting the heaviest weight you can do. That means every fiber in your muscle is activated in as little as 5-10 seconds and worked to the point of failure in much less time.

As far as diet is concerned, I think it'd be pretty much exactly the same as any other type of resistance training . A muscle needs what a muscle needs, regardless of what type of exercise stimulated growth.

One benefit of static training is that muscle soreness doesn't seem to be anywhere near as bothersome as dynamic training. I felt the usual tightness/fullness in the muscles for a short time after training, but it doesn't last very long and is completely gone after a few hours.

Anyway, hope your routine goes well.


George.

[Jenny19]

I never tried protein diet, because I don't have to, but they said it really helps in weight loss, you should consider trying it..