Best strength training routine? Thoughts?

[GromsDad]

52 years old. Your thoughts?

Scenario 1: Go to the gym more days and focus on lighter weights and higher rep counts.

Scenario 2: Go to the gym fewer days and push harder with higher weights and fewer reps to the point that you're noticeably sore on the off days.

 

[mundus]

You will get in better surf shape swimming, paddling and running.

 

[LifeOnMars]

You will get in better surf shape swimming, paddling and running.

builds little muscle string bean, you have to do some strength training too. at least add some pull ups and push ups in there.
personally I don't see the point in weight training with greater than 12 reps, you probably maximize both strength and muscle gain in the 8-12 range. unless you trying to be some kind of long distance athlete or bodybuilder it just don't make any sense, you'd be better off doing something else with your time.

I'd pick option 2, anywhere from 6-12 reps and 3-5 sets per compound movement, start on the lower end first

 

[mundus]

builds little muscle string bean, you have to do some strength training too. at least add some pull ups and push ups in there.
personally I don't see the point in weight training with greater than 12 reps, you probably maximize both strength and muscle gain in the 8-12 range. unless you trying to be some kind of long distance athlete or bodybuilder it just don't make any sense, you'd be better off doing something else with your time.

I'd pick option 2, anywhere from 6-12 reps and 3-5 sets per compound movement, start on the lower end first

I get that from work, loading dumpsters, moving materials, digging holes, etc. You just love the gym because it is full of sweaty dudes.

 

[GromsDad]

I get that from work, loading dumpsters, moving materials, digging holes, etc.

My job is a whole lot of sitting and a whole lot of driving. Have to go to the gym to make up for that.

 

[LifeOnMars]

I get that from work, loading dumpsters, moving materials, digging holes, etc. You just love the gym because it is full of sweaty dudes.

You're projecting again. It's ok you can come on out already, were all e-frenemies here

I've carried a pizza before and it weighs no more than a few pounds max, you're gonna have to lift a little harder than that

 

[VonMeister]

52 years old. Your thoughts?

Scenario 1: Go to the gym more days and focus on lighter weights and higher rep counts.

Scenario 2: Go to the gym fewer days and push harder with higher weights and fewer reps to the point that you're noticeably sore on the off days.

What are your strength and conditioning goals? Organize your training accordingly. If you don't like the gym there are plenty of other things you can do to make improvements....but if you want to make specific changes your options become more limited.

 

[GromsDad]

Goals: Maintain muscle mass and explosive power that slip away with age. Build core strength. Running is out of the question due to neck issues from 40 years of surfing. Paddling isn't something I can do in the dark also see previously mentioned neck issues. Swimming is something I love to do but the pool is inconvenient and crowded especially in the winter. Have access to two well equipped gyms. Mainly do machines to work legs and free weights for upper body. Work a lot on shoulder strength and mobility.

 

[mundus]

You're projecting again. It's ok you can come on out already, were all e-frenemies here

I've carried a pizza before and it weighs no more than a few pounds max, you're gonna have to lift a little harder than that

Sure thing office boi. Enjoy the gym after work.

 

[LifeOnMars]

Sure thing office boi. Enjoy the gym after work.

There's a gym in my building and can hit it anytime during the day. One of the perks of working for yourself, wagie
Time to start building some new skills, you'll be replaced by the end of the decade

 

[grapedrink]

You will get in better surf shape swimming, paddling and running.

Wrong. Running to get in shape is like digging holes for an hourly wage to make money. Strength training is like putting money in an account that pays dividends.

Build a bigger engine, not a Prius.

 

[grapedrink]

52 years old. Your thoughts?

Scenario 1: Go to the gym more days and focus on lighter weights and higher rep counts.

Scenario 2: Go to the gym fewer days and push harder with higher weights and fewer reps to the point that you're noticeably sore on the off days.

2-3 days/week is enough for both scenarios. You can rotate every 1-2 months between high/low weight/rep. Good to have a rest day in between heavy compound days. You can add another day if it’s a crappy week surf wise, or not lift at all if it’s good that week. Every thread on strength training on the erbb turns into a dumb false binary over this.

I do squats-bench-row 1 day then dead’s-shoulder press-pull-ups 2 days later. Then I’ll either go back to day 1 or I’ll start with power cleans and do auxiliary lifts to change it up. Power cleans are amazing for explosive power

 

[GromsDad]

I've been doing 4-5 days a week. Mostly I alternate between upper and lower body one day to the next. Last night for example went like this:

Walk/light jog to gym about a 3/4 mile.
Static hang from pull up bar. (This has resolved almost all of my shoulder issues)
5 minutes on rowing machine to warm up
Lat pull down machine about 50 total reps at a moderate weight.
More static hang.
Triceps extension with a rope attachment on the cable machine.
Vertical leg lifts for abs.
45 pound plate lifting smoothly from waist to shoulders to overhead and balance on tippy toes at the top. Probably 50-60 reps
More static hang.
Dumbell Bench Press. Probably 50 smooth reps with 35s
Small number of curls (Can't push this due to elbow issues I don't want to fire up)
More static hang
Out of the gym in about an hour and 15 minutes. Walk home about a 3/4 mile.

Lower body days
Stair stepper or cardio bike for 15 minutes. Leg press machine, Hip adductor machine and abductor machine, vertical leg lifts, torso rotation machine. Leg curls and eccentric hamstring machine. The work I've done on the hip machines has virtually eliminated a nagging right hip issue that bothered me for a couple of years.

 

[One-Off]

I just got back from a 2-1/2 hour surf. I was thinking towards then end of the session, "I don't care what anyone else says, surfing is an endurance sport." Your arms turn to ...rubber. We used to call it "spaghetti arms." It doesn't take heaps of strength. That said I've incorporated a barbell day, sometimes two, into my week, for injury prevention. I keep it simple- deadlifts, low bar squats (light weight no rack), overhead press.

Grommy, why don't you pull ups instead of just static hangs? I do this routine after my barbell sets (I don't add extra weight like the video, eventually I could)- 1 pull up 2 push ups, 2 pull ups 4 push ups, 3 pull ups 6 push ups...until failure and then work back down. I can make it to 7 or 8. If you make it to 7 then you just did 56 pull ups and 112 push ups. When you're done your arms are...rubber.


The pull up /push up routine starts at 1:00

ps- are you fighting mid riff bulges- the waterman's worst enemy? Add more running.

 

[VonMeister]

Goals: Maintain muscle mass and explosive power that slip away with age. Build core strength. Running is out of the question due to neck issues from 40 years of surfing. Paddling isn't something I can do in the dark also see previously mentioned neck issues. Swimming is something I love to do but the pool is inconvenient and crowded especially in the winter. Have access to two well equipped gyms. Mainly do machines to work legs and free weights for upper body. Work a lot on shoulder strength and mobility.

Explosive power is genetic dependent. You can do explosive like training, sprints, power cleans, snatches but you're only going to get the potential you already have and it does decline with age.

You know how I feel about mobility work so I'll just leave it alone. If you have the time to spend on it who am I to disagree.

The problems with machines is for foundational strength they aren't very good. For instance the leg extension machine gets you really good at doing leg extensions but not much else. Same with a fly machine. I find some machines...like the leg press or hack squat good for overload work and most would benefit from this once a week or so...but they don't replace strength training.

For you and the limited information I have I would generally start with a three day split;

Two days per week of squatting, one would be a standard low bar squat, 3,4 sets of 5 at variable intensity, the other day would be a squat or leg press at 3-4 sets 10 reps and increasing intensity with the last set being fairly tough. With a set of ten you have lest risk of overtraining because repetitive fatigue will sap you before intensity will.

I would bench and overhead press twice per week, once relatively heavy in lower rep ranges, the other 3 sets of 8-10 reps of more burn out work.

Deadlift heavy set of five once per week and RDL 2-3 sets of 10 at a highish intensity another day. One other day of pulling, like bent over or single arm rows.

On the other days I would work a couple days of curls and tricep extensions, ab work and at least one day of hard core sprinting and two days of more or less slightly annoying cardio for about 10 minutes.

Once you find your rhythm there you can start replacing and adding movements like the power clean instead of RDL or rows and pull ups a couple times per week.

Working with an experienced trainer makes this easier but your choices are either the 40 per hour high school drop out at a globo gym or paying 2-400 bucks a month for a real coach.

 

[VonMeister]

I just got back from a 2-1/2 hour surf. I was thinking towards then end of the session, "I don't care what anyone else says, surfing is an endurance sport." Your arms turn to ...rubber. We used to call it "spaghetti arms." It doesn't take heaps of strength. That said I've incorporated a barbell day, sometimes two, into my week, for injury prevention. I keep it simple- deadlifts, low bar squats (light weight no rack), overhead press.

Grommy, why don't you pull ups instead of just static hangs? I do this routine after my barbell sets (I don't add extra weight like the video, eventually I could)- 1 pull up 2 push ups, 2 pull ups 4 push ups, 3 pull ups 6 push ups...until failure and then work back down. I can make it to 7 or 8. If you make it to 7 then you just did 56 pull ups and 112 push ups. When you're done your arms are...rubber.


The pull up /push up routine starts at 1:00

ps- are you fighting mid riff bulges- the waterman's worst enemy? Add more running.

Strength is like the size of the motor...endurance is how the motor is built to operate. They are not exclusive. You need a degree of both.

 

[Autoprax]

Goals: Maintain muscle mass and explosive power that slip away with age. Build core strength. Running is out of the question due to neck issues from 40 years of surfing. Paddling isn't something I can do in the dark also see previously mentioned neck issues. Swimming is something I love to do but the pool is inconvenient and crowded especially in the winter. Have access to two well equipped gyms. Mainly do machines to work legs and free weights for upper body. Work a lot on shoulder strength and mobility.

No wonder you are such a pain in the neck.

 

[PRCD]

No offense @VonMeister and keeping in mind you massive amount of coaching experience, does it do any good to ask the prospective trainee about his strenf goals when he has no experience strenf training? It seems you have to explain the benefits of it first so they buy in. After buy-in, why can't you just have them do the SS 3x5 LP and coach themselves with a phone camera and Alan Thrall videos so they can experience the benefits of training? 2-400 bux a month for a real coach is a high barrier to entry that you and I didn't need.

 

[VonMeister]

No offense @VonMeister and keeping in mind you massive amount of coaching experience, does it do any good to ask the prospective trainee about his strenf goals when he has no experience strenf training? It seems you have to explain the benefits of it first so they buy in. After buy-in, why can't you just have them do the SS 3x5 LP and coach themselves with a phone camera and Alan Thrall videos so they can experience the benefits of training? 2-400 bux a month for a real coach is a high barrier to entry that you and I didn't need.

I don't know that everyone wants to be strong. You can be strong enough to live a full and healthy life without going through SSLP. Could you be a better athlete if your stronger? Sure but if a trainee is resistant to that idea you program toward the goal they have in mind and as they gain experience with their new stronger body it's their choice if they want to get more specific in their training and save the time doing the motions they think are helping them do their sport better and spend it on actually doing the sport.

 

[PRCD]

I don't know that everyone wants to be strong. You can be strong enough to live a full and healthy life without going through SSLP. Could you be a better athlete if your stronger? Sure but if a trainee is resistant to that idea you program toward the goal they have in mind and as they gain experience with their new stronger body it's their choice if they want to get more specific in their training and save the time doing the motions they think are helping them do their sport better and spend it on actually doing the sport.

You don't know you want to be strong until you start getting stronger and looking better. Anyone who doesn't want to be strong can kick rocks.