Hey guys, I know I saw a thread on this very subject not too long ago but I’ve searched and can’t find it.

I’ve recently started lifting again and was just wondering what is the latest and greatest techniques now-a-days.

I’m 42 years old, 6’ tall and 170 lbs with very little body fat. I have good muscle tone, but would like to increase my mass.

I’ve asked several different guys at the gym and get several different from each of them. Mainly, what muscle groups should be worked together? I’ve been working legs one day; chest, triceps and shoulders the next day, then biceps, back and neck the next. Sorta the old pushes then the pulls technique. I use a pretty heavy resistance for 3 to 4 sets of 10/12 reps. I usually do abs stuff nearly every day.

Also, what about supplements? It used to be the protein shakes with the branched chain amino acids was supposed to be best …is that still the logic to building muscle mass?

I try to eat 5-6 smaller meals each day and have cut out a lot of the fats and carbs and am eating more chicken, tuna, vegetables etc.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Looks like you have a good base.

If your trying to build mass though, you have got to increase your carb intake.

As long as you moderate it you wont gain fat. And stick with complex carbs(IE pasta).

The only time simple carbs are ok for you are going to be right after your workout, as they will cause an insulin spike and this will help you in recovery and feeding your muscles nutrience.

HA, I'm 43 weight lifted since 20 yrs old and now I wish I weighed 170.

Your right on track to build mass. Remember that in order to build mass, you have to set up your weights so that you fail on your last rep of each set. Every week, pick a new excersize and do a drop set. That will shock the hell out of your muscles and give you an insane pump. Cardio helps alot. Even for building mass, you want to keep your blood flow at its prime so that you can get that oxygenated blood to your needy muscles. Dont cut too many carbs, eat 'em about 40-50 grams before your workout along with about the same amount of protein. Do that before and after your workouts and you should be good. Lots of weight and low reps will just make your stronger, not necessarily get you bigger. The goal is to lift the right amount of weight so that you get right there to muscle failure and put it down, add weight, and lift right to the point of failure again. Mass building usually falls in the 10-12 rep range so your right on track with your reps. Keep your sets in the 4-5 range and youll be bigger before you know it. Took me a long time to get to where I am, doesnt happen overnight. Be prepared for it to take a few months before "you" notice it. People will tell you that you look bigger, but you may not notice it. If you dont have alot of body fat then you will notice it alot sooner. Good luck and stay healthy!

I used the Body for Life workout for 6 months this year, and I put on 20 lbs of mass. It's an ass-kicker, but very very effective.

Thanks fellas!

Will, what do you mean by "drop sets"?

51 years old, 6-2, 245, started training around 18 years old. Biggest difference is recovery time. At 42 (and having laid off for a while) your recovery time will be longer, can't get around it. As you get older, you need to train harder/faster for shorter periods of time and allow more time in between workouts for recovery. Stick to compound movements to build mass and stay away from auxilary movements until well back into a training regiment otherwise you will injur your aging joints a lot faster than when you were young. Other than that, same rules apply. Consume a balance of protein/carbs/fat in proportion to what your body can handle. Let the scale, mirror, lifting poundages and muscle & joint feedback be your guide.

Muscle and Fitness .com website is a good starting point for technique and info in general. There's other sources, but that one and their magazine is a pretty good all around reference. I would drop your reps to 6 or so and like already said, use a resistance that doesn't let you hit 7. Make sure you use good form and don't cheat on each rep (more advanced techniques may include cheating). Stick to your multi-joint excercises early in your session ie: bench, squat, then move on to more focused detail excercises like flys or bi/tri focused stuff. I usually do shoulders on a separate day. Here's my general routine: day1-chest, day2-back, day3-triceps/light chest, day4-shoulders, day5-biceps/light back, repeat. I mix in a day off depending on my personal schedule. Light chest/back days are more higher rep and stretching days. Leg work for me is walking/running on treadmill and the occasional machine extension series. I stand all day and my legs are plenty powerful (can't add any more weight to leg press freeweight machine. it holds 560). I used to be heavy into lifting and just started getting back into it this past year. I don't use any supplements currently since I'm not willing to pay for them.

51 years old, 6-2, 245, started training around 18 years old. Biggest difference is recovery time. At 42 (and having laid off for a while) your recovery time will be longer, can't get around it. As you get older, you need to train harder/faster for shorter periods of time and allow more time in between workouts for recovery. Stick to compound movements to build mass and stay away from auxilary movements until well back into a training regiment otherwise you will injur your aging joints a lot faster than when you were young. Other than that, same rules apply. Consume a balance of protein/carbs/fat in proportion to what your body can handle. Let the scale, mirror, lifting poundages and muscle & joint feedback be your guide.


I'm discovering exactly what you mean by longer recovery times :D. Pulled a muscle in my calf 2nd week back at it and had to lay off them for a couple of weeks.

I hate to sound like a novice but, can you explain compound vs. auxilary movements?

Thanks

I'm discovering exactly what you mean by longer recovery times :D. Pulled a muscle in my calf 2nd week back at it and had to lay off them for a couple of weeks.

I hate to sound like a novice but, can you explain compound vs. auxilary movements?

Thanks

Compound = a movement involving many joints and muscles, such as squats or power cleans

Auxiliary = isolated movements involving a small number of joints and muscles, like concentration curls.

Lots of good advice youre getting here.:thumbsup:

A "Drop Set" for example doing curls:
Grab the bad and load it with (for example) 6 10lb plate on each side
curl that for as many reps as you can
put the bar down and take of 1 plate per side
(with no more than maybe 10-15seconds rest)
curl the 5 plates for as many reps as you can
rinse and repeat! until all you are curling is the bare bar
I know you are thinking that you will never get tired curling just the bar:D
You will be in disbelief that this silly bar with no weight on it is becoming really really heavy. When you absolutely cant curl the bar another time yur done with your drop set. No more curls after that. It should be the last thing you do to your arms that day. For now you should follow what GRN69CHV suggested as far as compound and auxiliary movements.
Compound movement: Squat, it works multiple muscle groups at once
Auxilary movement: Preacher curl, works the bicep and only the bicep
Be carefull! Just remember that "muscles have memory". You wont be lifting what you used to right away, it just wont take as long as it did the first time.

No offense to anyone, but those are all oldschool tips.

Look up Doggcrapp. It is an awesome way to increase size. I got huge in just a few weeks.

This is the forum the creator of the workout replies to.
http://intensemuscle.com/

He is huge himself. There is a thread on there for us older weightlifters.:(:D

Dwayne,
I'm not a body builder, but do lift weights. At about 6'4", 300 pounds. I'll have to ask my brother what type of supplements he takes. I know he gets it from GNC. I was going to play football this year in High School (Senior), but had some problems. I was really hoping to be a fullback. The very first week I started lifting, I hurt very badly the next day and took about two days to heal. It usually takes about 2 weeks to get over it. Some of the kids up here at the school powerlift. They can squat almost 600 pounds and bench about 400. I sure wish I could do that. I can only squat 310. I used to go to the YMCA and get trained, but don't anymore.

Ethan

1/4 lb protein and 1 cup clean carbs ever 3 hours . If you want to add a little more carb/fats go for it, just do a little cardio. Keep eating consistently and youll grow. 20% workout, 80% diet....and plenty of rest.

I heard about the dogcrapp program not too long ago when I was lifting in the morning before work. Still thinking about it, but haven't looked into it enought yet.