|
 By: Babyboomers
Beginning Weight Training For Baby Boomers
Many Baby Boomer readers contact us each week seeking information about designing a resistance training program that takes into account their special needs. Far too often, our readers are discouraged by twenty-something-year-old "trainers" with perfect physiques that have never experienced age-related metabolic slowdowns and/or injuries and impingements that are often part of daily life for those of us born before the 1960's. So, what's a Baby boomer to do that wants to achieve a high physique goal at a gym that only employs young clip-board trainers? Follow our Legendary Fitness advice to create your own legendary physique!
Richard and I share many of the same beliefs about training and the aging process. We both acknowledge the need for increased recovery time and the need for periodization training to maximize growth while minimizing the risks of injury.
However, we each take a different approach to training a new client. With this in mind, we are each presenting our favorite beginning workout routine for a healthy, injury-free 40-year-old client.
Cardiovascular exercise will be utilized to burn calories, while the resistance training builds lean muscle mass which provides a natural boost to the metabolism. My favorite beginning routine alternates three days of cardio with three days of resistance training each week to provide the beginning gym member with a balanced approach to physique transformation. Beginners should set a goal of thirty minutes of cardiovascular exercise, three times per week. Add five minutes to your cardio routine each week, until you reach 45 minutes. Treadmill walking, recumbent bikes, elliptical machines and outdoor biking are all great examples of cardiovascular exercise that will take you toward your physique goals. Changing your mode of cardio exercise each session helps relieve boredom and will be beneficial in achieving long-term goals. Resistance training routines will be utilized on alternating days, working each body part once per week. This will allow plenty of time for recovery and eliminates the need to graduate from a circuit training routine to full-blown weight training. In my favorite workout plan for beginners, you will be using primarily dumbbells and barbells, as they do not force the lifter into a predetermined range of motion that has been designed to fit the model physique used to design the machine. In essence, you'll learn to be a lifter at your very first training session! Things To Know As A New Gym Member!
 Please work with a nationally certified trainer to learn to properly execute the movements. The investment in a good trainer will help prevent training related injuries that like to find their way into a baby boomer body.
Chest-Back-Biceps
DB Incline Press, 3 sets of 12-15 reps Cable Flyes or DB Flyes, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Lat Pulldowns, reverse grip, 1 set of 12-15 reps (will serve as a warmup to biceps exercise) 1 arm DB Rows: 3 sets of 12-15 reps Low Cable Rows: 3 sets of 12-15 reps Hyperextensions: 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Cable curls with straight bar, 3 sets of 12-15 reps Alternating DB curls, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
30 Minutes Cardio
Shoulders-Triceps-Abs
DB Lateral Raise, 3 sets of 12-15 reps DB Front Raise, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
EZ Bar Skull Crushers, 3 sets of 12-15 reps DB Kickbacks, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Incline Crunch, 2 sets of 15-20 reps Reverse Incline Crunch, 2 sets of 15-20 reps
30 Minutes Cardio
Quads-Hamstrings-Calves
Leg Extension, 3 sets of 12-15 reps Squats, 3 sets of 12-15 reps using extremely light weight to focus on form and depth DB Lunge (alternate steps, no walking), 3 sets of 12-15 reps DB Stiffleg Deadlifts, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Seated Calf Raise, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
30 Minutes Cardio
I actually start everyone, no matter what their age, on the same routine (unless, of course, I have to take into account injuries that need to be worked around). Before I begin to outline the beginning routine, let me point out some important first principles:
The first goal is to learn to perform the exercises in good form. If you ignore proper form, you may, no WILL, do damage to your muscles, tendons and ligaments.
As your brain learns to engage the proper muscles at the proper times to move the weights through those paths, it only appears that you are getting stronger. It is only after these skill patterns are established that true strength gains occur. This is only one of many reasons that you should NOT, under any circumstances, engage in any "high intensity" or "heavy duty" training. High intensity training is absolutely dangerous for the beginner.
I begin the first session by weighing, measuring, and photographing my clients. This provides baseline measurements and a visual record from which to determine progress. Then I determine the clients strength level in any particular movement by determining the maximum amount of weight the client can lift for one repetition in each of the exercises; this is called the one-repetition maximum or 1-RM. Since I am going to have them perform 10 repetitions of each exercise, I just take 75-80% of the 1-RM for each of the exercises to determine the beginning amount of weight to use. I believe beginners should perform three full body workouts per week for the first three months. This provides frequent stimulation with adequate time for recuperation for maximum hypertrophy. The first week, then, consists of the following workout:
Crunches 1-20 repetitions.
Quadriceps:
Leg Biceps:
Calves:
Back:
Chest:
Shoulders:
Triceps:
Biceps:
On week four, I drop the sets to two per exercise and add an exercise so that the client is doing the following program:
Crunches 1-20 repetitions. Leg raises 1X10
Quadriceps:
Leg Biceps:
Calves:
Back:
Chest:
Shoulders:
Triceps:
Biceps:
The last three months of beginning training are devoted to increasing strength on each movement and attempting to adjust the rep schedule that fits the physiology of the client. The degree of concentration, dedication, persistence, and drive as well as their stated goals determine how I will move the client into an intermediate stage. You may be saying, "Wait a minute! There's no cardio here!" Yep. People generally come to me to change the shape of their body and to get them into good exercise habits. Those two things are my first priority. If I do suggest cardio, I let them pick the form it will take and advise them to begin with 15 minutes three times the first week alternating days of cardio with the resistance training so that they are not done on the same day.
I then have them add 15 or 20 minutes the second week so that they are doing 30-35 minutes three times a week. I will usually instruct females to begin cardio rather early on, because females have slower metabolisms than males and almost always need to do cardio to get rid of some of that fat. The problem most of the people I train have is that they are usually either very busy students or professionals who have limited time to devote to training. It takes about 6 months to get people into the habit of working out so that it becomes as necessary to them as brushing their teeth. Therefore, my main concern with beginners is getting them into a routine that will provide maximum results in as little time as possible. My goal is to motivate them to establish a new lifestyle that includes a healthier diet. Diet is MUCH more important than cardio for fat loss. Get the diet right and the fat will go. It will go more quickly with cardio, but I've watched too many people stay fat while doing hours of exercise every day. My clients, therefore, immediately begin to keep a food journal in which they record EVERYTHING that goes down their throat except water. I tell them NOT to change anything in their eating habits until after the first two weeks. After I study their eating patterns, I make the smallest changes I can that I think will lead to the fastest results.
I keep a journal of every exercise, set, rep, and weight as well as the weight training principles I explain each day and turn it over to the client at the end of the first 3 months. By then my clients have become familiar with the basic principles of gaining and losing weight, building strength, proper form of the basic exercises that work the entire body, the basic terms of resistance training, and what to eat and not eat to contribute to building their own legendary physique. Well, there you have it. Two approaches that Richard and Diane have used to introduce beginners to the wonderful joys of resistance training. We also suggest you begin to become experts yourselves by reading as much as you can about weight training and nutrition. You can start by reading all of our articles on bodybuilding.com by clicking here. Diane: Newsletter note! If you have signed up for the weekly newsletter, but you are not receiving it in your email, you may need to contact your email and/or internet provider to re-set your spam filters. Hotmail accounts are particularly problematic with bulk emails, while Yahoo is a free account that regularly accepts our bulk email newsletter. Be sure to check out Diane and Richards site www.legendaryfitness.com.
Train hard, train smart and make it a legendary week!
Diane Fields, Member. Legendary Fitness, LLC. Richard Baldwin, Member. Legendary Physique, LLC. Are you interested in receiving our weekly baby boomer newsletter? Click here to be added to the newsletter list.
All submitted photos become property of Legendary Fitness, LLC; submission shall constitute a grant to the use of your photos and information as we deem appropriate.
Copyright 2004. Diane Fields, Member. Legendary Fitness, LLC. All rights reserved.
The advice given in this column should not be viewed as a substitute for professional medical services. Before undertaking any exercise or nutrition program, Legendary Fitness, LLC advises all to undergo a thorough medical examination and get permission from their personal physician.
Babyboomers Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
Related Articles
|
Sign in for more FREE features and tools!
|
|
Give Us Feedback:
Report A ProblemSite Feedback |
Follow Us:
|
Bodybuilding.com Newsletter
Receive exciting features, |
