Age bodybuilding is a system of training and nutrition for athletes over 40 years of age, and it should be understood that each person is individual, especially since the physical characteristics of a person who has been involved in sports all his life and a person who has fundamentally avoided any physical activity are significantly different. For example, there is a domestic aged bodybuilder Dmitry Golubochkin, who is often asked about how an already middle-aged athlete should train. In general, of course, Dmitry gives correct recommendations, moreover, their principle will suit you, but what he demonstrates is not, since he followed his weights, training and nutrition for many years, but you did not do this, so you It’s worth preparing yourself for this!
There is no need to work out like a disabled person, but you also shouldn’t foolishly break your reproductive organ! It is important to note that we are talking about training without pharmacology, since “pharma” even at the age of 40 allows you to show incredible shape, provided that you have dedicated your life to sports, of course. If at this age you are using anabolic androgenic drugs, growth hormone, insulin, then you either know what you are doing or you are an idiot, so we will talk about natural age-related bodybuilding. Bodybuilding, and sports in general, can be divided into 4 interconnected parts: training, nutrition, rest and medications. It is in this sequence that the topic of age-related training will be further discussed.
Training: “Age is no barrier to sports”!
A person over 40 years old who comes to the gym for the first time in many years must understand that even the most insignificant load will be stressful for his body. It is important to take into account that some body systems can adapt to stress quickly and without consequences, others will take a long time to adapt, and the consequences of excessive stress can have a critical impact on their condition. That is why, if a young man can train only muscles at first, and only then engage in functional training, then the honorable gentleman is obliged to devote time to training the heart and ligaments from the very first day. Ligament training can be combined with strength training, but the heart should be trained separately!
More time should be spent on warming up and cooling down, since the first will help avoid injuries, and the second will significantly increase the effectiveness of the training. The bottom line is that warmed ligaments, joints and muscles are more difficult to injure, which everyone already knows, but warmed muscles have another advantage that not everyone knows about! The fact is that warmed up muscles are easier to innervate, that is, the more warmed up you are, the stronger you are, naturally, all other things being equal. This means that at the beginning of the workout you need to do joint exercises, spin the exercise bike, and lift weights according to the pyramid principle. The principle of the pyramid is to gradually increase the working weight on the barbell, reaching muscle failure only in the last approach. What happens if you break this rule? You will get injured because as you age, there is less synovial fluid in your joints.
The cool-down is also a very important component of training, which, in general, is recommended to be carried out at any age, just like a warm-up, but if at a young age the absence of a cool-down may not be noticed, then at a respectable age its absence is even indecent! The cool-down includes stretching exercises, which allow you As for stretching, stretching will make you feel much better and younger, so don’t be lazy and be sure to stretch at the end of your workout!
Another important element of age-related training is spinal training, as well We recommend that you start each workout with reverse hyperextension and abdominal exercises, as this will strengthen your back at the initial stage of training and maintain the tone of these muscles in the future. The point is that the abs and long back muscles take the load off the spine, and this is not an unimportant factor! You should also avoid exercises with axial load on the spine at the initial stage of training. As for such a back exercise as the deadlift, it should be studied gradually and only after you learn how to correctly perform squats with a barbell on your shoulders.
All of the above, in general, should be followed by young people, but in adulthood, compliance with these rules ceases to be advisory in nature and becomes mandatory. As for the differences in constructing a training split for an older bodybuilder, these include: volume, intensity and frequency of training. First, you should perform at least 10 repetitions per set, due to the possibility of injuring ligaments or joints during low-rep sets. Secondly, you can rest more between approaches; in general, buy a heart rate monitor and make sure that your heart rate does not go off scale beyond 150-160 beats. Thirdly, you will have to immediately introduce periodization of loads, that is, you will have to train for hypertrophy less often, to what extent - this is individual. But, in any case, it is better to alternate intensity not weekly, but to carry out heavy, light and moderate training every week, alternating their sequence weekly.
Conclusion: an older athlete should take care of his joints and heart, so he should pay more attention to functional training, warm up better, and avoid jumping, running and similar loads that can lead to injury to the knee joint or spine.
In general, special attention should be paid to spine training. Be sure to cool down and stretch, train less frequently, do high reps per set, monitor your heart rate, and avoid overtraining!
Nutrition: “What do respectable gentlemen eat”?
You still need to monitor your food intake and keep track of your caloric balance, but if in your younger years you were ready to digest anything, now this is not the case! Instead of magazine recommendations for 2-3 grams of protein per kilogram of your own weight, you should get tested for nitrogen balance and eat as much protein as you need. Since protein is obtained from meat, fish and milk, and lactose, most likely, is no longer digested by you, all that remains is meat and fish, which are quite difficult to digest. In this regard, we recommend that you eat boiled food, as simple as possible, without spices, since in this form it is digested better. In addition, add as much fibrous carbohydrates as possible to your diet: cucumbers, tomatoes and other green, non-starchy vegetables.
As for carbohydrates in general, you should eat less of them and they should be simpler. Simpler does not mean monosaccharides; on the contrary, “simple” carbohydrates should be excluded. We are talking about more easily digestible carbohydrates, like buckwheat, rice and other cereals. With the help of these carbohydrates, it will be easier for you to control your calorie balance, which means you can more easily control your body fat percentage. If in your youth you can gain “raw” muscle mass, then at age you should not do this for two reasons. Firstly, losing weight becomes more and more difficult with age, and secondly, excess fat negatively affects your overall health. Excess fat creates additional stress on the heart, joints, interferes with the secretion of growth hormone and insulin, in general, fat is evil.
Does this mean you shouldn't eat fat? No, fat is an essential dietary nutrient, and you should eat fats of both plant and animal origin. Fats should make up about 15% of the diet, of which 85% should be unsaturated fats and 15% saturated fats. The only thing you should completely exclude is trans fats, which are stuffed into all preservatives, fast foods and other rubbish. In the end, we are what we eat, and if we want to be beautiful and healthy, we need to eat healthy food!
Genitourinary area of men after 50 years
Men experience age-related changes in their intimate life very painfully.
A decrease in the production of sex hormones affects the quality of sexual life.
In men after 50 years of age, potency and libido decrease, and fewer sperm are fertile. Sex requires stimulation, a search for new experiences and sensations, hence the well-known saying about “gray hair in your beard.” At the same time, male psychology requires self-affirmation, hence the desire to look younger and show oneself and others one’s sexual worth.
Intimate life is affected by diseases of the genitourinary system, the most popular of which is prostate dysfunction.
With age, prostate tissue is partially replaced by connective tissue. Adenoma and prostatitis lead to enlargement of the gland, swelling, and impaired urine outflow.
There are problems with urination, frequent false urges, and incontinence. All this undermines a man’s self-confidence, makes him antisocial, withdrawn, and irritable.
Preventive examinations, proper nutrition, rich in fiber, vitamins and microelements, giving up cigarettes and alcohol will help maintain sexual strength until old age.
Treatment of impotence is an emotional and psychological issue; often a psychotherapist comes to the aid of the urologist. Based on the results of hormone tests and examinations, the specialist will explain what measures need to be taken to improve sexual function and give recommendations on how to increase testosterone, which is necessary for the functioning of the male body.
Recreation: “How old people hang out”
If we have already decided to become athletes in our old age, we simply need to get rid of bad habits such as smoking, alcohol and other pleasant things. In general, this is a separate topic - bad habits and sports, but here it will be enough to say that alcohol disrupts the functioning of the hormonal system, cigarettes worsen the condition of the cardiovascular system, and all together slow down the metabolism. On the contrary, if you want to recover normally, then you need to take additional measures to speed up your metabolism. If earlier you were idle after, and many even during, work, now you will be busy with business - relaxing!
Firstly, you should spend more time sleeping, try to sleep during the day, go to bed early, don’t watch action movies and horror films at night, try to get into a routine. Training will help you in this difficult task, but if you train in the evening, then the cool-down should include at least 20-30 minutes of walking, and it is better to walk on the street rather than on a treadmill. Secondly, be sure to include 1-2 massages in your schedule, if you don’t have time at all, then you can use self-massage , also, although this does not work for everyone, it especially does not work for beer lovers, but still the bathhouse is another way speed up your metabolism, so if your health allows, you can use this method!
How to feed the patient and in what position?
Bedridden patients are unable to care for themselves independently. You need to help them wash their hands (if this causes difficulties, you can use special disinfectants or napkins). Patients may drop food, so immediately before the appointment it is necessary to cover the bed with a towel or tablecloth. You need to pay attention to ensure that food crumbs do not fall on the bed. Crumbs can lead to the development of bedsores.
What is the procedure for feeding a bedridden person? Before directly eating, he needs to be either slightly raised or placed on the bed . Feeding while lying down is extremely dangerous, as there is a possibility that the patient will choke or choke. If a person has difficulty keeping his head upright, he needs help with this by holding himself.
You need to fill the spoon about 2/3 full with food so that the food does not spill. Don't rush into the feeding process. You must first bring the spoon with food to the patient’s lower lip so that he can smell the smell. How to give a patient something to drink? If the patient has difficulty drinking cups, then you can use a sippy cup or give liquid from teaspoons and dessert spoons.
Drugs: “Time to take the pills”!
What are the limitations of age-related bodybuilding? Lower levels of growth hormone, testosterone, insulin and other hormones. To partially neutralize all this, we will need the following supplements: complex vitamins, OMEGA-3, vitamin E, B vitamins. These drugs should be taken in courses 3-4 times a year, which will significantly improve the level of health and, as a result, improve progress in bodybuilding. We also recommend that you add jelly to your diet, the same one that you once ate in childhood, since gelatin contains a lot of collagen, and collagen significantly improves the condition of ligaments and joints. If you have problems with digestion, and this happens often, then you should not take pills at random, go to the doctor, get tested and take what he prescribes for you!
Three sports nutrition products can help you: tribulus, BCAA and creatine . They say that protein, which is made from whey, although it does not promote muscle growth, can nevertheless be useful for those who suffer from constipation. So, if you like to sit on the toilet, run to a sports nutrition store. If not, then take your time! Creatine and tribulus should not be taken immediately and should be taken in courses, no more than 3-4 times a year, the duration of the course is 1 month. BCAA is the only supplement that we would recommend purchasing and taking on a regular basis, since branched chain amino acids are found in a very limited amount of foods and may not be fully absorbed, and BCAA will help offset this sad fact, which can negatively affect your progress .
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