40 ?
February 12th 2007 15:51
If you are reading this and you are not yet forty, read on and prepare for the future. If you are forty and have never lifted weights,but would like to do something that will significantly improve your fitness at a time in life when the price of an inert lifestyle is soon to be paid, please heed what I am about to say.
If you are forty and have no experience with weights you are alot better off than you may think. Your body does not have a brain and for that reason will not realize that you are "over the hill." It is not over the hill. I have lifted weights regularly in my 20s 30s 40s and 50s. I can truly say that in my 40s I never felt much of an effect of age in the weight room. When I turned 50 I planned to struggle in the coming years. The struggle did come,but it was more about getting to the gym than what I was able to do when I got there. I have never felt that the I could no longer increase the poundages I use or train at a faster pace. Currently I use giant sets in my workouts, which is a more intense technique than I used earlier in life.
The fact is your body will adapt to weight training at any age. When Ronald Reagan was nearly killed in 1981 he was in his 70s. As part of his rehabilitation he took up weight training and astounded the then medical establishment by gaining significant muscle. Unless you have a medical condition which precludes you from exercise, you will be pleased with your progress within a few months. If you enter into exercise without determining with a doctor that you do not have such a condition you are a fool.
Older people have some real advantages in weight training. They can usually allot the time necessary both because many of life's social and professional issues have been resolved and because the spectre of debility is a powerful motivator. If you have never lifted before, the soreness that results from training may be somewhat disconcerting at first, but your body will soon adapt in such a way that the soreness will be less a problem as you continue to train. The enhanced flexibility and power that result from weights will come as a welcome surprise and this will provide a motivation that younger people do not experience.
If you have done some lifting in the past and are thinking about returning, you will be pleased to learn that your body remembers your past training and will adapt at a faster pace because of it. You will soon be working with weights that will surprise you. It will even be possible to exceed the levels you attained earlier in life if you take your time and keep at it.
Taking your time is probably the most important thing to be mindful of if you are are over 40. Overdoing it is one way to convince yourself that the task is too much for you. Keep at it,but don't give way to rash all-out workouts, at least until you have been at it at well. Another important point is to listen to experts and learn to train properly. For older people a trainer is a good idea in most cases. At your age you will be more receptive to his/her guidance and a legitimate trainer has special training in age related exercise issues. He/she can also be moral support when you enter a gym amidst all those younger people.
In training with weights there are really no limitations on how much progress you can make if you are over 40. That is except for those limitations that you place upon yourself with silly preconceptions about being old. Your servant, as always.
Can I do that...at my age?
The fact is your body will adapt to weight training at any age. When Ronald Reagan was nearly killed in 1981 he was in his 70s. As part of his rehabilitation he took up weight training and astounded the then medical establishment by gaining significant muscle. Unless you have a medical condition which precludes you from exercise, you will be pleased with your progress within a few months. If you enter into exercise without determining with a doctor that you do not have such a condition you are a fool.
Older people have some real advantages in weight training. They can usually allot the time necessary both because many of life's social and professional issues have been resolved and because the spectre of debility is a powerful motivator. If you have never lifted before, the soreness that results from training may be somewhat disconcerting at first, but your body will soon adapt in such a way that the soreness will be less a problem as you continue to train. The enhanced flexibility and power that result from weights will come as a welcome surprise and this will provide a motivation that younger people do not experience.
If you have done some lifting in the past and are thinking about returning, you will be pleased to learn that your body remembers your past training and will adapt at a faster pace because of it. You will soon be working with weights that will surprise you. It will even be possible to exceed the levels you attained earlier in life if you take your time and keep at it.
Taking your time is probably the most important thing to be mindful of if you are are over 40. Overdoing it is one way to convince yourself that the task is too much for you. Keep at it,but don't give way to rash all-out workouts, at least until you have been at it at well. Another important point is to listen to experts and learn to train properly. For older people a trainer is a good idea in most cases. At your age you will be more receptive to his/her guidance and a legitimate trainer has special training in age related exercise issues. He/she can also be moral support when you enter a gym amidst all those younger people.
In training with weights there are really no limitations on how much progress you can make if you are over 40. That is except for those limitations that you place upon yourself with silly preconceptions about being old. Your servant, as always.
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Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog
Is it better to train with heavier weights, with a smaller number of repetitions, or with lighter weights, and a greater number? What difference does it make to how your muscles develop?
Comment by JohnR No-Myth-Fitness
Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog