Hello to all boomers

[zoomer49]

Looking forward to taking part in this forum. I retired 2 years ago and have decided to get back to working out as I did before retirement. Any suggestions would be welcome re how to work back into training after a 2 year layoff. I wold be interested in knowing if there are any other members in the "mature" boomer category (I'm 61). there should be alot of us since the oldest baby boomers are now 65 and the youngest are pushing 50. Thanks in advance for any info as I become more familiar with this forum.

[RagingRandy]

I fall just out of this age range but I know there are some old guys milling about, Solo for one and Faller is a geezer too :).

I have always found that for building fundamental strength you can not go wrong with the Bill Starr 5X5 program.

Here is a description and a spreadsheet to get you started. http://stronglifts.com/madcow/5x5_Program/Linear_5x5.htm

[TopHatPlus]

welcome. I am not any where close to that age bracket but i suggest you finding a good gym, trying out a few or if you have one that you like use it. Get a few sessions with a personal trainer, which are included with my gym when you join and request a more intense style of working out. Non of those machines and what not. Work through it slow and just work on your form. Form is everything! i can spend 3-4 weeks on a new workout just playing with the form to perfect it then i really start to increase the weight and push myself.


And one thing i find most important is find a workout that works for you, i do 3 hours workouts every other day, most people do 1 hour every day, everyone has there opinions and a lot of it has fact but in the end of the day if you are bending over backwards for a routine you cannot keep up you won't.

[faller]

Solo for one and Faller is a geezer too :).



Lol, haven't you heard, 50 is the new 40 :hu

The 5x5 is a great program, I've done it a lot, i'm thinking it might be a bit much after a 2 year lay off. I just came off a 9 month lay off due to shoulder issue's and when i started back up i was tossing around the idea of two programs, full body or a three day split.

I went with the split for a couple reasons. Good recovery time between work outs and lots of flexibility. At our age recovery between workouts is very important, it just takes a bit longer.

Mine is a simple push/pull:

Day one- legs/calves/shoulders

Day two- back/triceps

Day three- chest/biceps/forearms

4 sets on compound's and 3 sets accessory's. I don't get too carried away with the volume of exercises, the bigger muscle groups I'll do maybe 3 exercises such as for legs, and the smaller groups as low as one, such as biceps and forearms.

I'll keep doing this until i either get bored or i no longer am makeing progress, whichever comes first.

[O-Train]

I think 5x5 would be way too much after a long layoff. It may work okay for a younger guy after a relatively short rest from the gym (a couple months). There isn't enough recovery time and the volume would be too much. Which would mean a fairly good chance of injury or burnout.

The real trick is just getting to the gym and doing something. Push yourself to the point where you feel good. The workout should feel somewhat energizing and not leave you feeling drained for the rest of the day. Then each subsequent time you go try to do a little more (in terms of intensity, volume or both) until you get to a point where you're happy with your workout. When you're getting back into things I think it's important to not have expectations. Just do what you can and don't be at all concerned with what others are doing.

[Mr Ontario]

Welcome :)

[faller]

Welcome :)

Lol, i could have saved a lot of two finger typing by simply keeping it simple, "welcome" :welc

[albaboy]

I too am retired,also in same age group (62). I have just started a 4 day split after using a full body workout for a couple of years. So we will see how this goes.

Geezers Rule !!!

[zoomer49]

Thanks to everyone for the welcome sorry I didn't reply sooner (been busy shovelling snow EVERY DAY for the past 2 weeks. Does that count as a workout? Sure feels like it :) Thanks albaboy, I agree with you (except maybe for the word "Geezers") but just remember our generation is the majority and we'll soon be taking over this forum like we have everything else for the last 50 years :) I've decided to start off with the program I stopped with 2 years ago --Body for Life program -- and work back into it gradually. I even managed to stop shovelling snow long enough to take out a membership in the local YMCA (special rates for "seniors") Thanks again everyone and looking forward to more advice and encouragement.

G. Smith

[Solo59]

Lol, haven't you heard, 50 is the new 40 :hu

Here I thought 60 was the new forty!

It's hard for a man over 55 to make gains or to recover properly from weightlifting workouts. Supplement wisely. Enhance nature, don't strain it.

Quitting is not an option.:cool:

Solo

[faller]

Here I thought 60 was the new forty!

Solo

I am soo good with that!! :D