No matter how much everything is sagging and how easily out of breath you might be compared to your 20’s, something in your brain tells you that muscles, tendons and ligaments are as robust as they always were. You are in the tail end of the second of your three Acts. Enjoy the second and start planning for the third.
Know That You’re in Your 50’s
All good things take longer than ever; all bad things happen quicker than ever. Accept it.
Want to gain muscle mass? Good luck. You’ll need to be committed to rest and protein and compounding your workouts over months. And what you get won’t look as good as you thought it would. This isn’t like 30 years ago when you could look at a dumbbell and feel your biceps expand. In fact, don’t even look for progress. Just enjoy the process and the progress will take care of itself…eventually.
Supplements are Good, but don’t Take all of Them
They’re expensive, and many of them overlap. For example there are lots of brands pitching their product as a one-stop-shop for (mens’) health, training, muscle-growth or well-being. They will typically have an angle (e.g. brain/muscle health) and have ingredients dedicated to that.
But then they will throw in other ingredients which are either unnecessary, clinically insignificant, or sometimes, as in the case of vitamin B6, potentially unhealthy in large doses. And dear supplement people: dial it back on the ashwagandha already, we don’t need it in everything.
One recommendation: lactic acid buffers. That burn you get after a hard leg day or running workout, which feels even worse the following morning? Almost gone for me, in the three months since I started taking buffers. If you’re really pushing yourself in training these will pay their way.
Mobility/Stretching
I don’t know why this is so uncool. Maybe because it’s boring? Or maybe because of incidents like on a Dads race at my son’s school 15 years ago. There were about 6 of us chubby guys whose warmups consisted of lean slightly to each side, and pull each leg back by the ankle for two seconds. Then there was the one ripped, slim guy who tried to get us to join in his 5 minutes of stretches, to no avail. They’re important, he said…right before he blew out a hamstring 10 metres into the race.
I fear I learned the wrong lesson from that incident, and honestly thought for years that I was so fat, I couldn’t move quick enough to damage any muscles.
But I’m doing it now: 10-20 minutes of stretching before every workout does wonders for flexibility and keeps crucial things like hip flexors loose enough to support ongoing training.
Sleep More
All the lactic acid buffering and ibuprofen in the world isn’t gonna help you if you don’t get enough shuteye. 4-5 hours vs. 6-7 results in: reduced glycogen replenishment, cortisol stays high, insufficient time for muscle repair, and your nervous system’s perception of stress levels goes up. Compound that over time and you don’t just have soreness and performance issues, you have health issues.
Be Careful Where you get your Protein
Some guys’ livers are world-class processors. For the rest of us, slow down with the red meat. Chicken, fish and beans aren’t so bad when you get creative with them, even though nothing will beat a medium-rare filet mignon. When I first learned about the need for more protein in my diet I did what most time-poor people did, and hit the protein bars hard. Trouble is the majority of those are over-processed and over-sugared.
Consider:
Gatorade Protein Bar
Nutrition: 360 calories, 20g protein, 10g saturated fat, 28g added sugar
Cost: $2.50 each in a multi-pack (US)
Ingredients: Whey protein concentrate, corn starch, calcium carbonate, sugar, palm kernel oil, palm oil, sorbitan tristearate, tert-butylhydroquinone, citric acid, whey protein isolate, cocoa, soybean oil, skimmed milk, glucose syrup, milk fat, soy lecithin, glycerol, cream, salt, whey, monoglycerides, diglycerides, brown sugar, partially hydrolyzed milk protein concentrate, inverted sugar, wheat flour, baking soda, mixed tocopherols.
Source: gatorade.com
Versus
4 Large Eggs
Nutrition: 280 calories, 24g protein, 6g saturated fat, 0g sugar
Cost: $1.20 for four (average in the US)
Ingredients: Eggs
Eat more Colorful Foods
Learn to eat savory and fresh foods, which won’t happen while you’re buying ready meals or eating out very regularly. The time taken to cook simple dishes at home more often, will likely be worth your investment compared to underperformance now and health problems later. And for those of us who are in our 50’s, “later” just means in a couple of years, or sooner if this is a long-term habit.
Bear in mind that more added sugar (e.g. alcohol) = more inflammation = higher heart attack risk.
If you Can Afford One, get a One-to-One Personal Trainer
And not just any, but one who has relevant qualifications. Preferably in physiology and not just in training so they can accommodate your health and injury history.
One-size-fits-all training programmes are often as much a threat to your fitness as an aid. For example, if you have weak hip flexors you need to train them, a lot, or the moment you up your running mileage you’ll need a season ticket to your local physio. Underdeveloped back muscles? That back squat programme will start great but book a chiropractor appointment now so you’re ready for when you need them.
Pick a Lane
Good trainers will ask up front what you want to achieve, and it’s helpful to get your priorities sorted early. For example if you’ve recently had an awkward conversation with your cardiologist and they just upped your statin prescription, it’s probably not the time to be bulking for next year’s CrossFit Open season.
Longevity, endurance, strength, ultra running, CrossFit, Hyrox…there are plenty of overlaps in training and lifestyle, and several areas of incompatibility and redundancy.
Chill out with the Testosterone
Testosterone is important for mood, virility, and muscle growth, two of which are important to most men.
As we age and our testosterone levels decline, most guys just put up with it. But some fight it, pushing for testosterone injections any time their level dips below 500. That risks (accelerating) enlargement of the prostate gland, which brings other issues, the least of which is getting up to pee twice a night.
Seeing the doctor is obviously the best thing if you think you have low-T issues. And in the meantime, eat more eggs, avocados and olive oil (T comes from good fats). You’re more likely to need better diet and sleep than pharmaceutical intervention.
And underpinning all this is a reality I’ve only recently accepted: to train well and live healthily is an endless project, with every day a battle of its own.
