BillyTree wrote:
You should do strenght training if you don't want to get weaker. There's no way around that.
True, but happily, having studied the subject for around 35 years, I can tell you it's actually a lot easier than most people imagine!
A bit of history first. ask most "experienced" weight trainers, and they'll recommend endless sets of multiple exercises, done several time a week, largely because that's what they've always done, having never tried any other way. This is despite the likes of Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer advocating brief high intensity work outs, followed by ample rest and recovery. Mentzer recommended that his HIT be done every 5 days or so, and some, like multi Olympia winner Dorian Yates, have used this with great success, and maybe its the best way for people in their prime. I worked for me when I eventually decided to try it (I was a reluctant starter, but the results changed all that) but that was 30 years ago.
I spent a few years varying the rest periods (among other things) and found the recovery curve didn't max out until the 9th to 11th day (nobody wants to believe this) and so opted for once a week training (for the sake of convenience) which gave steady results. Recently, being no longer tied to the 9 to 5, prompted by a missed session due to bad whether, I've decided to do alternative Sundays and Thursdays, around three times a month, due to having made the best gains for an age on my return. It would be unwise to read too much into this, but being 70 may be something to do with it.
For equipment I'm restricted to municipal body weight machines; a sort of machine squat "bench" press, and a simple "lat" pull down, carrying a shoulder bag to add weights, which until recently kept me in the optimal 8 to 12 rep range, but having to walk a considerable distance to get there, this has reached its limit, so the reps should go up, if last Thursdays outstanding result continues. I'll keep you posted.
For anyone just starting, or restarting, with limited funds, I suggest the following; get hold of a bar of some kind (water pipe or similar will do) and some weights (I got most of mine in a fire sale, and are now in storage, awaiting a time when I have room for my own gym) and try doing dead lifts, one a week. Take it easy to begin with, using a weight you can easily lift 10 times, then, on subsequent weeks, you add a little more weight until you can't do 8 reps. For the following session, you should strip off some of the weights and restart the cycle, from around 8 reps or so (but it's not mandatory, if you can do just five, that's fine, but don't add more weights until you can do 12 reps again.
The logic here is that, to provoke an anabolic response, you need to start with a major leg exercise, the strongest muscle groups (any kind of squat will also do, if available) and dead lifts are fine for that. As you move to weaker muscle groups, the return diminishes, but if you can get in exercises for other muscle groups, all the better. With just a bar, you can add upright and bent over rows, and maybe an overhead press, which combined with chair dips, makes for a pretty complete all round work out.
Sure, you can also do stuff like bicep and wrist curls, but, though they will strengthen your arms and improve your grip strength, they are largely just cosmetic as far as overall muscle growth goes; concentrate on dead lifts or squats for best results.
One important point; you need to keep a log of all your weights and repetitions, for comparison with future results; it's the only way you can be sure you are making improvements.
Lastly, you may be sore the next morning, after your early workouts (known as DOMS) but it's nothing to worry about and will disappear with time.
You have nothing to lose by trying this system.
27 Apr 2025, 10:58 pm
