what adjustments have you made to your weight-lifting / cardio routine after reaching the age of 50?

[Anonymous]

I'm a 53-year-old male who has been active with sports, weightlifting and running my entire adult life.

For the last 30 years I've lifted weights for fitness (not for bulk) every 2nd day -- so an average of 3.5 times a week. Usually on the same day as weightlifting, I run a few miles.

Lately, my muscles have been taking longer to recover after workouts. The off-day between my workout days doesn't seem to be sufficient for my muscles to fully recover. Nevertheless, I've continued with my every-2nd-day workout approach, but I'm wondering if this is the best approach.

I'm curious to get feedback from other people in their 50s who have worked out their entire adult lives. Have you altered your workout schedule as you have aged? What is your current approach with respect to resting between workouts, and how does this compare to what you used to do when you were younger?

[Anonymous]

59M. I work out 5x per week. This is actually more than when I was in my 20s and 30s, when I usually did 3x a week.

Have to admit that when I was in late 30s and my 40s my workouts were less intense due to work and young kids. But once I hit my 50s I was able to make them more intense again. Right now I am lifting more than I did in my 30s and 40s.

I do squat Monday and Friday, bench Tuesday and Thursday, and deads Wednesday. I don't run anymore because it's too hard on the knees and shins, but I do 10 minutes of conditioning after I am done lifting.

Alternating days upper / lower body allows enough time for recovery. Work legs on Monday, they're ready again on Wednesday, work chest and arms Tuesday, they're ready again on Thursday, etc.

The main thing I want more of now is sleep. If I don't get enough sleep, the fatigue really builds up. I used to get by on 6-7 hours but now I want more like 8-9 hours. Which I don't always get... and try to make it up on the weekends...

Overall you have to listen to your own body but in my case no I did not dial back the workouts. I'm going to wait and see what happens in my 60s but I've remained strong and capable in my 50s.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Great that you haven't had to downshift your workouts.

I'm not sure what I should do. I'm following the same schedule that I've always used, and, until the last 12 months, its worked very well. Now, however, I'm not sure what to do.

I'd rather not tinker with my every-other-day approach, but my muscles seem to be trying to tell me that they need more rest between workouts. I'm not just listening to them, out of stubbornness and a refusal to acknowledge that Father Time is slowly getting a grip on me.

[Anonymous]

48 years old here. I moved to every other day a year or two ago - but I've also done the following:
--increased mobility work significantly
--moved around lifts so I don't hit the same "main" muscles two workouts running.
--two lifts per workout. Not more. So I don't have "leg day" with six different lifts. Instead, I might do back squats and floor presses one day (I can't do bench presses to full depth so I do floor presses instead) and handstand pushups [can't do overhead presses due to back issues] and reverse dumbbell lunges another day.
--shifted to lower weight, slightly higher volume
You can shift your workouts around instead of cutting out days.

[Anonymous]

50F

I’m doing more weights, less cardio. Too much cardio was making me hungry and I was overeating.

I’m also having more protein. Swapped breakfast of toast for a protein shake.

[Anonymous]

If you need more recovery then spread workout out more. I know an incredibly fit woman who lifts heavy and she where she used to do a 4x/week program (2 upper 2 lower) she now does the same workout but only lofts 3 days a week so cycles through it more slowly.

So still doing workouts A,B, C and D but workouts A, B C one week then D, A B the next week , Then C, D, A and so on..

[Anonymous]

57F. I've bumped up my weight lifting routine to 3x's a week, full body, pushing and pulling routine. 1 day of cardio. 2 days of barre3 which incorporates yoga, pilates and barre with a ton of balance work and core work.

[Anonymous]

With less cardio do you still get 10k steps? I know it is a silly metric, buts let’s me see how active versus not each day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With less cardio do you still get 10k steps? I know it is a silly metric, buts let’s me see how active versus not each day.

57F PP here - no, only time I get my 10K steps in is my one cardio day. I have no problem controlling my weight, thanks to weight lifting.

[Anonymous]

No more barbell squats. More mindful of joints. No more red face heavy weights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a 53-year-old male who has been active with sports, weightlifting and running my entire adult life.

For the last 30 years I've lifted weights for fitness (not for bulk) every 2nd day -- so an average of 3.5 times a week. Usually on the same day as weightlifting, I run a few miles.

Lately, my muscles have been taking longer to recover after workouts. The off-day between my workout days doesn't seem to be sufficient for my muscles to fully recover. Nevertheless, I've continued with my every-2nd-day workout approach, but I'm wondering if this is the best approach.

I'm curious to get feedback from other people in their 50s who have worked out their entire adult lives. Have you altered your workout schedule as you have aged? What is your current approach with respect to resting between workouts, and how does this compare to what you used to do when you were younger?

How much can you squat old man?

[Anonymous]

52. I do less cardio now. More weight lifting (3-4x week) and sprint interval training now (3x week). I bumped up more time walking the dog and on my treadmill during the day because I’m WFH.

My big task now is getting more protein in my diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a 53-year-old male who has been active with sports, weightlifting and running my entire adult life.

For the last 30 years I've lifted weights for fitness (not for bulk) every 2nd day -- so an average of 3.5 times a week. Usually on the same day as weightlifting, I run a few miles.

Lately, my muscles have been taking longer to recover after workouts. The off-day between my workout days doesn't seem to be sufficient for my muscles to fully recover. Nevertheless, I've continued with my every-2nd-day workout approach, but I'm wondering if this is the best approach.

I'm curious to get feedback from other people in their 50s who have worked out their entire adult lives. Have you altered your workout schedule as you have aged? What is your current approach with respect to resting between workouts, and how does this compare to what you used to do when you were younger?

How much can you squat old man?

Only 135 lbs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No more barbell squats. More mindful of joints. No more red face heavy weights.

How old are you? I am 50f, weigh 130lb and barbell squatting 120lbs with no joint problems. Is this something still to come?

[Anonymous]

I squat 400 lbs still at 51 years old. No joint pain