Last Updated on: 19th October 2024, 11:34 am
1. Forget about Mike Ryan
(The Guy in the photo). Look. That is a fantastic body for a man of any age, let alone a 55-year-old man. I’d love to be housed in it. But the reality is, that’s not achievable for most 55-year-old men. That result comes from a singular dedication to fitness and a strength training diet. This man makes his living being a sculpted older dude.
Look at him, marvel at that… but don’t tell yourself, “I’m 55. I can also look like that, training 3 hours a week whilst still knocking back a few red wines or beer a couple of times a week and eating pizza on Saturday nights.”
Aim high, but if you aren’t prepared to be totally dedicated to your body’s aesthetics—and even if you are—this really is more about setting yourself up for failure and disappointment than giving yourself a goal.
No hard feelings, Mike. Here is a link to his page, so I’m not saying his way is for no one. But probably your path and his are going to be different
2. You don’t need to keep smashing all the big weights.
You don’t need to train all muscle groups to failure with near-max weights, especially as you age. By the time you’re 55, joint issues become more common, particularly in the shoulders and knees. These joints endure much stress from sports, overuse, or poor technique.
You might still be able to bench press your maximum weight, but perhaps only with a narrower grip to shift the load more onto your chest muscles and less on your shoulders.
That occasional click in your knee from football may have turned into a constant swelling. Now, 30 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical results in a swollen knee, and any squat makes your knee feel uncomfortable.
So, what’s the solution? Should you just keep training your upper body and risk looking unbalanced with a strong upper body and weak legs? No, there are better options.
For instance, do seated leg curls at 25% of your normal weight, but increase the repetitions to 2-3 times as many.
If you have the strength still to do 10 seated leg curls at 150 pounds but know your knees will suffer later, instead, try 25 repetitions at 35 pounds. It may feel too easy for the first few reps, and you might attract curious looks at the gym. Or not. Most people are focused on their own plans, not yours. In any case, ignore them and your urge to lift heavy and keep going with the lower weights. By the time you finish 25 reps, you’ll be near failure, which is what matters. Training with weights to near failure builds the same amount of muscle, whether the weights are light or heavy.
Make sure you combine this with single-leg, body-weight calf raises. This ensures your entire leg gets stretched while strengthening your calves, which the leg curls don’t do.
3. Consider cutting down on the cardio.
I love cardio. It helps me burn fat, serves as a great warm-up, and I suspect it keeps my manhood in top shape. There are plenty of reasons for this. Shedding that spare tire boosts my confidence; having a stronger heart makes me feel less anxious about a heart attack during sex. Not fearing a heart attack is a big turn-on and confidence booster. Plus, cardio lowers blood pressure and, according to science, improves nitric oxide production and management in the blood.
I used to love doing 45 minutes of cardio, but now, if I try to maintain that intensity four times a week, I pay the price. The recovery is too demanding, leaving me struggling through workdays with joint pain that discourages any exercise at all. So, albeit reluctantly at first, I switched to a new routine: 10 minutes on the elliptical followed by 15 minutes of what my wife jokingly calls “punchercize.”
Here’s the routine:
- 90 seconds of shadow boxing with the second-lowest weights.
- I do 20 repetitions of an exercise similar to a full-body butterfly swimming stroke. I start from high and go as low as I can, so I utilize the triceps, shoulders, and stomach muscles.
- 10 repetitions of cable machine external rotations (arm held against the side, low weights, hand rotates out from the body. It MUST be low weights, and I am not trying to lift heavier – that can lead to Bicep tendon injuries (see below).
- 10 repetitions of cable machine internal rotations.
- 10 cable crossover reverse flys.
Repeat three times.
This low-impact routine combines cardio and weight lifting warm-up whilst frequently switching muscle groups, reduces the risk of repetitive strain and wear-and-tear injuries. I end up less exhausted and sore, allowing me to spend more time on weight training.
4. Never train through the Pain
No pain, no gain is a saying that younger people should tell themselves when going without luxuries to save for a house deposit. However, it should never be applied to the training regime of an over-55-year-old in the gym.
If it hurts either:-
- You are doing it wrong. Get a trainer to show you.
- Something is out of alignment, and you need to sort that out.
- If you have an injury, perhaps something chronic, this exercise needs to be put on the shelf.
But whatever you do, don’t just continue, and certainly don’t continue to lift heavier weights! Your muscles may well be strong enough, but if you damage the joints and tendons, soon, that your muscles are strong enough won’t matter, as the pain will be excruciating.
Experiment with much lower weights and focus on your form. Does the pain disappear if you change the angle, place your elbows at a different angle, or push or pull in a different motion? Then… do it that way. No weight training should be causing joint pain during its execution. If it is? Stop, reset, discover, continue, or do something else.
5. Don’t forget your Back
Some weeks, my meeting schedule is so hectic that I can’t get to the gym as much as I’d like. My ideal routine is seven workouts every two weeks, but sometimes, I only manage two weekly sessions. Don’t stick rigidly to your “Thursdays are chest day” plan when that happens.
If you manage to go to the gym three or four times a week, you likely alternate between “front muscles” and “back muscles” to rest different groups and allow for muscle growth and toning in various areas. However, if your schedule gets disrupted and you miss a “back day,” your next gym session should prioritize back exercises.
I get it—chest day is awesome. The workout feels impressive, and the results are visually rewarding. You don’t want to drop your maximum bench weight due to missing chest day. But here’s the problem: you’ll have an overdeveloped chest if you don’t maintain your muscle group rotation. This imbalance causes your shoulders to roll forward, which isn’t a good look. Worse yet, your shoulder tendons will be out of position and start to rub against each other.
Over-focusing on chest exercises and neglecting back exercises can lead to several possible injuries and issues in the shoulder joint and attached tendons. Here are some of the potential injuries:
- Shoulder Impingement Syndrome: Overdeveloped chest muscles can cause the shoulders to roll forward, narrowing the space where the tendons pass. This can result in the tendons being pinched during shoulder movements, causing pain and inflammation.
- Rotator Cuff Tendonitis: The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint. Imbalances between the chest and back muscles can lead to inflammation of these tendons, causing pain and limited range of motion.
- Rotator Cuff Tears: Continuous strain and improper alignment due to muscle imbalances can cause partial or complete tears in the rotator cuff tendons, leading to significant pain and weakness in the shoulder.
- Shoulder Bursitis: The bursae are small fluid-filled sacs that cushion the shoulder joint. Overuse and imbalance can lead to inflammation of the bursae, causing pain and swelling.
- Labral Tears: The labrum is the cartilage forming a shoulder joint cup. Muscle imbalances can contribute to increased stress on the labrum, leading to tears that cause pain, instability, and decreased shoulder function.
- Shoulder Arthritis: Chronic muscle imbalances and repetitive strain can lead to wear and tear of the shoulder joint, resulting in arthritis. This condition causes pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility.
- Postural Problems: Overdeveloped chest muscles can cause poor posture, such as rounded shoulders and a forward head position. This poor posture can contribute to chronic neck and upper back pain.
- AC Joint Strain: The acromioclavicular (AC) joint connects the collarbone to the shoulder blade. Imbalances can stress this joint, leading to pain and inflammation.
That click in your Shoulder? It’s probably not your Shoulder
A clicking should in over 50’s men is more likely be related to the biceps tendon than the shoulder ball itself. particularly where it attaches to the shoulder joint. This can happen due to several reasons:
- Biceps Tendon Subluxation: Sometimes, the tendon of the long head of the biceps (which passes through a groove in the upper arm bone) can move out of place and cause a clicking sound as it slides in and out.
- Tendinitis: Inflammation of the biceps tendon can lead to friction, resulting in a clicking or snapping sensation.
- Labral Tears: The biceps tendon attaches near the labrum in the shoulder, and if there’s a tear in this area (a SLAP tear, for instance), it might cause clicking during shoulder movement.
To prevent these injuries, it’s crucial to maintain a balanced workout routine that equally focuses on the chest and back muscles, ensuring proper posture and shoulder joint stability. Exercises that target the rear deltoids, upper back, and rotator cuff muscles can help maintain this balance.
Focus on your form. If you hear clicking – you are doing it wrong. Modify your movement so the biceps tendon stays in place. You might find… there are exercises you LOVED to do in your thirties that are now a no-go. Don’t persevere; find an alternative exercise.
Listen to your body! Missing training due to a moment of madness, lifting too heavy, overtraining to make up for a missed session… these setbacks are harder to overcome at 55. Instead? Stop them before they happen and train intentionally.
Some Weight Training at Over 55 FAQS
Absolutely! I’ve had great results using lighter weights with more reps—your body doesn’t know the difference as long as you’re pushing to near failure.
I love cardio, but I’ve had to scale it back. These days, I stick to short, low-impact sessions that keep me feeling good without burning me out or hurting my joints.
I listen to my body more than ever. If something feels off, I stop immediately and adjust—there’s no point in pushing through pain at this stage of life.
I’ve learned to keep it simple and realistic. Instead of long workouts, I focus on shorter, efficient routines that fit around my crazy schedule. Consistency is key, even if it’s just 20 minutes a few times a week.
It’s huge! If I don’t give myself enough recovery time, I feel it for days—recovery is just as important as the workout itself to avoid injuries and burnout.
Honestly, probably not, and that’s okay! Those guys dedicate their entire lives to it, and while it’s great to aim high, it’s better to focus on your own realistic goals and progress.
Not anymore—you don’t have to! As we age, heavy lifting can wreak havoc on our joints, so I’ve switched to lighter weights with more reps, which still gets the job done without the risk.
Life gets busy, so I prioritize the muscles I’ve neglected. If I’ve missed “back day,” I make sure that’s my focus the next time I’m at the gym—it keeps things balanced and injury-free.
Stop right away—seriously, don’t push through it. Pain means something is wrong, and I’ve learned to adjust my form or switch exercises rather than toughing it out.
That used to happen to me too, and it’s often the biceps tendon. A slight change in form or avoiding certain exercises helped me stop it from getting worse.
Richard is a 55 year old marketing executive, based in Berlin Germany. He is still benching 85% of his max ever weight, has dodgy knees and can no longer run, goes bouldering when he can find time which is rarely and is focused on finding ways to keep training hard even as the body start to protest more and more each year.
