“I do the same exercises I did 50 years ago and they still work. I eat the same food I ate 50 years ago and it still works.”
–Arnold Schwarzenegger
Surely, we have to exercise differently as we get older, right? Wrong! I would say that we don’t want to beat our bodies up the way we did as young athletes, and we might not recover as fast or see the same level of gains we did when we were younger, but there is nothing to indicate that our training should change only because we are another year older.
“Intensity” is always a relative term—expressed as percentages of maximum. So, training “hard” or lifting “heavy” should not be intimidating to the older exerciser. If one has experience with exercise training, he or she might not expect to pick up here they left off when they quit exercising decades ago. Likewise, someone just starting is not going be at the level of others who have been exercising for some time. It doesn’t matter where you start. It matters where you go and how you get there. Today, one’s “heavy” may seem “light” to the experienced lifter, but we all start somewhere. It is called “progressive overload” for a reason.
Don’t make exercise too complicated. I prefer to stick with the “basic five” (squat, deadlift, bench press, barbell row, and overhead press) as a foundation and to add “accessory” exercises as time permits. I also prefer to balance strength, muscle endurance, and cardiorespiratory exercise. Ideally, these are accomplished in multiple, system-focused exercise sessions spread across the week. In other words, the best benefits will come with more than three exercise sessions per week.
Of course, time is always at a premium. Unless one has very ambitious goals, we probably don’t want to be spending hours at the gym (or have the time). I believe, however, that a minimal of six hours of weekly exercise is required to see progress as an older adult. This should be performed in 6 to 9 (or more) training sessions per week. This would include 2-3 session of each of muscle strength, muscle endurance, and cardiorespiratory training. For maximal benefit, these should be performed in isolation—i.e., don’t mix weights and cardio unless absolutely necessary.
Prioritize your training. Strength training (lifting weights for fewer than 8-10 repetitions per set) should be the top priority for most older adults. Muscle endurance training (e.g., high-intensity interval resistance training or HIIRT—also known as “circuit training”) should follow. This will involve lighter weights for more repetitions and minimal rest between sets. Cardio would fall to a lower priority—but not importance. Ideally, we are keeping active and moving as much as possible to expend energy and maintain heart health, so cardio has a less dominant role than is practiced by many. Unless one is training for endurance races, there is less need for cardio. Strength and muscle mass will be the most functional for the aging adult. Excessive cardio can work against the maintenance of muscle mass. Stick with shorter duration high-intensity interval training (HIIT)–unless health concerns prohibit such training. (Remember, though, that intensity is relative. So, what is intense for one may be less intense for another.)
Excessive birthdays are no reason to limit exercise to low-intensity steady-state cardio or lightweight/high-repetition resistance exercise. Let age be a motivation to keep pushing.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!