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Old 12-03-2016, 02:49 PM   #21
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You have to go to failure (unable to complete last rep in a set) and increase your weights over time to build muscle mass. Doing less will keep your muscles toned and healthy but no muscle mass gains.

I laugh when I hear people say "I don't want to lift too much because I don't want to get big muscles." This is especially common from ladies. Don't worry, it probably would not happen if you tried to, it takes alot of hard work, hour or more per day in the weight room (split routines, only a couple body parts worked per day), pushing to failure on each set, alot of focus, proper diet, good sleep habits.
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Old 12-03-2016, 02:58 PM   #22
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Male over 40/50 years old will lose lots of muscle every year. I think strength training is more important than aerobic for us.

I do 6 big muscle group every week day, for about 25 minutes. I walk 30 minutes after lunch and dinner. Not running anymore so that I can have healthy knees in my 80s.
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Old 12-03-2016, 03:04 PM   #23
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You have to go to failure (unable to complete last rep in a set) and increase your weights over time to build muscle mass. Doing less will keep your muscles toned and healthy but no muscle mass gains.

I laugh when I hear people say "I don't want to lift too much because I don't want to get big muscles." This is especially common from ladies. Don't worry, it probably would not happen if you tried to, it takes alot of hard work, hour or more per day in the weight room (split routines, only a couple body parts worked per day), pushing to failure on each set, alot of focus, proper diet, good sleep habits.
DW was afraid, not any more. She'd lost close to 50 pounds when we started lifting a year ago. She was a size 8 and pretty proud of what she accomplished. Over the next few months her 8s got too big. She only lost 5 pounds, but now she's a size 4. No big muscles, nice definition.
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Old 12-03-2016, 03:10 PM   #24
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You have to go to failure (unable to complete last rep in a set) and increase your weights over time to build muscle mass. Doing less will keep your muscles toned and healthy but no muscle mass gains.

I laugh when I hear people say "I don't want to lift too much because I don't want to get big muscles." This is especially common from ladies. Don't worry, it probably would not happen if you tried to, it takes alot of hard work, hour or more per day in the weight room (split routines, only a couple body parts worked per day), pushing to failure on each set, alot of focus, proper diet, good sleep habits.
Well I guess taking the "muscle to failure" is associated with building muscle mass? Sounds also like it gets one closer to injury territory which is a trade off I suppose.

I think I'm more after just strength maintenance or slight enhancements. Maybe call it muscle toning plus. I don't injure myself around the house and I do a lot of gardening. Was just out there doing some pick work to take out deep roots on an area I will plant in the Spring. Then there are those occasional boulders I have to dig out of the soil for plantings. So in general my upper strength is fine for daily tasks.

It seems I should go with modest weight increases and leave the impressive stuff to the body builders I see in the gym.
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Old 12-03-2016, 03:15 PM   #25
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Male over 40/50 years old will lose lots of muscle every year. I think strength training is more important than aerobic for us.

I do 6 big muscle group every week day, for about 25 minutes. I walk 30 minutes after lunch and dinner. Not running anymore so that I can have healthy knees in my 80s.
One size does not fit all. I'm 68 and have never had knee problems but I run on dirt trails and never more then 6 miles (with an occasional 8) at a time. Plus I use really good shoes which I retire at 500 miles and am not overweight.
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Old 12-03-2016, 03:42 PM   #26
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I am female (age 62) and am a big believer in weight lifting. For a year recently I worked with a trainer twice a week (30 minute sessions) with a mix of machines and free weights. I think it is an utter and complete waste of time to not progress to heavier weights if you can do so. That is, I think people eventually reach a point where they can't go heavier. In that case, though, I think it makes sense to then switch to a different exercise for that body part to mix things up a bit.

During the year I worked with the trainer we mostly did 3 sets from 8 to 12 reps. I would start at 8 reps and work up to 12. When I could easily do 12 reps, then it was time to move up to the next weight. There were times that 12 was too easy and 8 was too hard. In that instance, I would do however many reps I could do and then slowly work up to higher reps.

There are other ways of doing it. In the past I did a single set strategy but currently the 3 sets works better for me.

For awhile we did the 3 sets as 3 circuits. I would do a set of an exercise then quickly move to a different exercise (usually a different body part) and do a set then move to another exercise. When I was done with the circuit I would do it over again.

The advantage of that type of thing was two fold. First, I could do more exercises in the 30 minutes. Because I was moving to a different body part between sets I didn't need to rest between sets. I was constantly moving. And that was the second advantage. I burned more calories because I was constantly moving.

But, there was a disadvantage to it. I had to use lighter weights than I would with a more traditional 3 sets of each exercise. I have a hard time building muscle and so I felt I needed to concentrate more on using heavier weights.

Over the year I did this, I built up the weights that I could lift a lot. Had I stayed at the same weights over that time I would have felt I wasn't making progress. I had to stop doing it because I had surgery that required me not to do weight lifting for several months, but I am planning on getting back to it soon.
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Old 12-03-2016, 03:46 PM   #27
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One size does not fit all. I'm 68 and have never had knee problems but I run on dirt trails and never more then 6 miles (with an occasional 8) at a time.
Agreed. Some people are genetically gifted.
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Old 12-03-2016, 03:50 PM   #28
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Agreed. Some people are genetically gifted.
Never really thought about that but it sounds good. I'm sure my recent ancestors never did much running at all. But who knows, maybe at the hunter/gatherer stage.
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Old 12-03-2016, 03:51 PM   #29
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I used to run a lot. And I enjoy running. Sometimes I run to work, 10 miles from my home. Felt different from sitting in car, though same route.
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Old 12-03-2016, 04:43 PM   #30
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I have been lifting quite a bit over my life, and more so lately. (after several years if not lifting...)

I try and do between 8 and 12 reps. If I cannot do 8, I decrease the weight. If I can do 13, I increase the weight.
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Old 12-03-2016, 05:17 PM   #31
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I used to run a lot. And I enjoy running. Sometimes I run to work, 10 miles from my home. Felt different from sitting in car, though same route.


I used to jog quite a bit but I quit because it kept putting my cigarette out.




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Old 12-03-2016, 05:40 PM   #32
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The most important part about weight training is the actual movement, isolating the particular muscle you are exercising. Slow, deliberate motions will get better results and fewer injuries. Jerky, wavy, cheating is bad.
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Old 12-03-2016, 07:17 PM   #33
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I agree with lifting to failure, but only after you've eased into it long enough that your joints can take the beating. If your muscles get too strong too quickly, you're risking joint issues. And my concession to age has been to shoot for 15 more reps to failure (and therefore use a lighter weight), rather than the 8-10 reps I did in my younger days. My days of gaining muscle mass are mostly behind me, but I think preserving muscle mass is extremely important as I age.
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Old 12-03-2016, 07:32 PM   #34
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There was a thread here a few years ago with a lot of very favorable opinions on these concepts as outlined in the book Younger Next Year.

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ths-36375.html
The writers of 'Younger Next Year' book came out with an exercise book 'Younger Next Year- The Exercise Program' that is quite good, I've been following it for the past 2-3 months. They provide a fairly extensive list of different strength training exercises, many can be done at home with a good set of dumbbells and/or rubber bands. One thing they emphasize is the need to do a good warm up program before doing aerobics or strength training. They have a suggested warm up program that's included in the book.
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Old 12-04-2016, 07:10 AM   #35
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Well I guess taking the "muscle to failure" is associated with building muscle mass? Sounds also like it gets one closer to injury territory which is a trade off I suppose.
Keep in mind that all progressive weight training has ,to some degree, the goal of building muscle mass. Generally, for those who want to "get big", they will use heavier weights so they fatigue with lower reps.

I think I'm more after just strength maintenance or slight enhancements. Maybe call it muscle toning plus. I don't injure myself around the house and I do a lot of gardening. Was just out there doing some pick work to take out deep roots on an area I will plant in the Spring. Then there are those occasional boulders I have to dig out of the soil for plantings. So in general my upper strength is fine for daily tasks.

It seems I should go with modest weight increases and leave the impressive stuff to the body builders I see in the gym.
probably. Don't be in a hurry to raise the weight. Go slowly, and don't lose focus on the "return" or "negative" part of the movement.
I will be heading back to the gym after a few years away. I am rehabbing a back injury. My PT guy has kicked me out of the nest, with a list of exercises that he's taught me during my PT sessions, and his constant admonishment is "low weight, perfect technique, listen to your body."
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Old 12-04-2016, 08:43 AM   #36
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You have to go to failure (unable to complete last rep in a set) and increase your weights over time to build muscle mass. Doing less will keep your muscles toned and healthy but no muscle mass gains.

I laugh when I hear people say "I don't want to lift too much because I don't want to get big muscles." This is especially common from ladies. Don't worry, it probably would not happen if you tried to, it takes alot of hard work, hour or more per day in the weight room (split routines, only a couple body parts worked per day), pushing to failure on each set, alot of focus, proper diet, good sleep habits.
I don't know of a single person who accidentally "bulked up" by lifting heavier weights. Building muscle is hard work and gains come slowly. Your odds of bulking up from lifting a couple times a week are about the same as the odds of turning into a skinny ultra-runner from jogging 3 times a week.

I don't train to failure, but you have to do some work to build muscle. For example...I'll do 5 sets of 12 reps. The first 4 sets can be completed without difficulty, and the 5th set ends with just a little left in the tank...perhaps enough left to do 1 - 3 more reps. That ensures that I work hard enough, but also don't over exert.
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Old 12-04-2016, 09:32 AM   #37
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Male over 40/50 years old will lose lots of muscle every year.
On the face of it, that statement is ludicrous, so perhaps it was not what you meant.

If I lost "lots of muscle" every year for each of the past 20 years, then I would not have any muscle left at all. And all old men would be bed-ridden and barely able to lift their feeding straw into their mouth.

Perhaps you meant "some muscle" every year. Or maybe you meant "Completely sedentary males over 40/50 years old will lose lots of muscle over time." Or maybe it has something to do with ex-bodybuilders who stopped taking drugs.

And all that's not to say that using your muscles to keep what you got is not good.
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Old 12-04-2016, 09:44 AM   #38
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Use it or lose it. That is this thread about.
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Old 12-04-2016, 10:28 AM   #39
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I am one of those highly sporadic, off-and-on (mostly off) types when it comes to weight training, but I will say that I've noticed a distinct improvement in results when I sustain a heavy lifting schedule--with gradually increasing weights--over several months. I've found as I've gotten older that this is much harder to do week after week, month after month due to injuries and setbacks, but it's definitely provided the best results for me. So I'd say I generally agree with the idea of consistently pushing your muscles to (near) exhaustion for optimal benefits. Three days per week sounds about right, as well.
+1. I did heavy weight training to failure 3-5 times/week for more than 7 years, most beneficial exercise regimen I've ever done - not sure why I quit. Every time I've tried to restart, sooner or later I seemed to injure myself. But I'm convinced some were real injuries that required laying off for a few days, and others I should have just worked through, but usually didn't. I wish I could tell which were real and which were just routine soreness.

I really need to restart and stick with it, and just work through the injuries - presumably the "injuries" will become non-events in time...
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Old 12-04-2016, 11:14 AM   #40
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...

So what do those who have been doing gym workouts think about increasing weights and how much to push things?
Well...as someone who just realized I have been working out/lifting weights for 40 years as of next year...and...who learned just two days ago he has slight arthritis in his left knee from doing very heavy leg exercises for about three of those decades...I would not recommend overdoing it with weights. I came away from my chat with the orthopedist with the idea I will significantly reduce leg exercise weights immediately (starting with today's leg workouts as a matter of fact).

OTOH, I intend for weight training exercise to remain a staple of my activities for the remainder of my life. There are just too many health and quality of life benefits associated with it.
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