Weightlifting Exercises for Older Men

A Repost from June of 2014, when I was 68 years of age.

Strength Training for Persons Over 55 Years of Age  by Mike Garofalo

I lift weights 5 days each week at the Tehama Family Fitness Center in Red Bluff, California. 

My current weight training partner, since January, 2014, is Roger Andresen.  Roger is 64 years of age, highly motivated, and competitive.  His legs are very strong.  I've seen him do 12 repetitions on the incline sled leg press machine with 620 pounds.  I am 68 years of age.  I can do incline sled leg presses 5 times with 480 pounds.  We do free barbell squats with up to 245 pounds for 6-8 reps.

My one repetition best ever in the bench press was 255 pounds, but I now train regularly at around 195 for 5-10 reps.  

We do from 16 to 20 sets, 8-12 reps per set, during each workout.  We sometimes drop to 5 reps for our heaviest lifts. We lift some comparatively heavy weights for a couple of older men!! 

My current summer season (6/12-8/15) fitness, bodybuilding, and weight training schedule is as follows:

Monday:   Walk for 4 miles 5am; Weightlifting for Legs 4pm; Yoga class 5:30pm; Taijiquan practice 6am; Gardening in morning.
Tuesday:   Walk for 4 miles 5am; Weightlifting for Back and Shoulders 4pm; Yoga class 5:30pm; Taijiquan practice 6am.
Wednesday:  Walk for 4 miles 5am; Taijiquan practice 6am; Gardening in morning.
Thursday:   Walk for 4 miles 5am; Weightlifting for Chest and Arms 4pm; Yoga class 5:30pm; Taijiquan practice 6am. 
Friday:   Walk for 4 miles 5am; Weightlifting for Legs 4 pm; Taijiquan practice 6am; Gardening in morning. 
Saturday:  Walk for 4 miles 5am; Taijiquan practice 6am; Gardening in morning.
Sunday:  Walk for 4 miles 5am; Weightlifting for Chest and Arms 4am; Taijiquan practice 6 am; Gardening in morning.

For more information about Strength Training for Persons Over 55 Years of Age, please check my webpage on the subject.  This webpage also gives more details on my exercise program. 

The Principles of Weight Training:  Overload, Progression, Specificity, Rest and Recovery, Nutrition, Variety, and Proper Attitude. 

Listen to what some other people have said about having the Proper Attitude: motivation, intention, desire, goals, determination, willpower, and focus:

“Weight lifting is about lifting the impossible, overcoming the unachievable. If you don’t lift things that are hard, and only do the things you can do, it’s only going to get boring.  Unless you want to lift beyond your limits to get stronger, to achieve new goals, and to be satisfied, you got to lift past these challenges, and still lift the things you think are impossible to really understand how your true strength will show.  Lift how I lift, see how I lift, watch how I lift, learn how I lift, and your true strength will come forth and be revealed”
– Chasers Holmes

“When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no ‘I’ll start tomorrow.’ Tomorrow is disease.”
– V.L. Allinear

“To feel strong, to walk amongst humans with a tremendous feeling of confidence and superiority is not at all wrong. The sense of superiority in bodily strength is borne out by the long history of mankind paying homage in folklore, song and poetry to strong men”.
– Fred Hatfield

"Take care of your body.  It’s the only place you have to live.”
–  Jim Rohn

“When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot become manifest, strength cannot be exerted, wealth is useless, and reason is powerless.”
– Herophiles

By trying hard we often achieve more than we dare hope.

You can't push yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.  
 
Waiting to do something isn't enough, you must do it.

You can never achieve great success without great exertion.

“Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body.”
– Arnold Schwarzenegger

"There is no point in being alive if you cannot do the deadlift."
- Jon Pall Sigmarsson

"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same."
- Carlos Castaneda

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
- Arnold Schwarzenegger

"Winning is not normal, and people who win do so by following an abnormal path. The discipline and dedication and sacrifices are incomprehensible to the thousands, standing outside looking in, who are capable of joining, yet unwilling to pay the price of admission."
- Steve Trippe

"It is no use saying, "We are doing our best." You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary."
- Winston Churchill

“The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results.”
– Anthony Robbins

“Most of us think we don’t have enough time to exercise. What a distorted paradigm! We don’t have time not to. We’re talking about three to six hours a week – or a minimum of thirty minutes a day, every other day. That hardly seems an inordinate amount of time considering the tremendous benefits in terms of the impact on the other 162 – 165 hours of the week.”
– Stephen Covey

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."
-  Steve Prefontaine

"If you fully believe you will be successful and can visualize yourself being successful, you will succeed."
- Tom Platz

“I do it as a therapy. I do it as something to keep me alive. We all need a little discipline. Exercise is my discipline.”
– Jack LaLanne

I don't have time to lift, I make time.

“Intensity builds immensity”
– Kevin Levrone

“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”
– Buddha

Have the courage to accept what you can't alter and to alter what you can't accept.

Thoughts are mere dreams until you put them into practice.

If you waste today crying over yesterday, you'll be able to waste tomorrow crying over today.

"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."
- Vince Lombardi

"Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory."
- General George Patton

"There is no failure except in no longer trying."
- Elbert Hubbard

"Bodybuilding is much like any other sport. To be successful, you must dedicate yourself 100% to your training, diet and mental approach."
- Arnold Schwarzenegger

"If",."perhaps" and "but" never got any person anywhere.  

The most important day of your life is today.  
 

"Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragement, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak"
- Thomas Carlysle

"I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds"
- Henry Rollins.

"Squat more!"
- Jesse Marunde

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger"
- Friedrich Nietzsche

"Sell yourself short on nutrition and you're selling yourself short on maximizing your physique development."
- Ernie Taylor

"If you believe in yourself, have dedication, pride, and never quit, you'll be a winner. The price of victory is high, but so are the rewards."
- Paul "Bear" Bryant

"Strength is happiness. Strength is itself victory. In weakness and cowardice there is no happiness"
- Daisaku Ikeda

"We don't know who we are until we see what we can do."
- Martha Grimes

 

Bodybuilding for Persons Over 60 Years of Age

A repost from 2015.

I am an active weightlifter.  I train with weights five days every week.  I am 69 years of age.

Strength Training (Weightlifting, Bodybuilding, Physical Conditioning) for Persons Over 55 Years of Age. 
By Mike Garofalo. 
Quotations, Bibliography, Links, Resources, my Training Program for 2015. 

Mike Garofalo's Mind-Body Fitness Class Schedule for 2015

In Red Bluff, California

On Friday and Monday I lift weights to strengthen my legs as follows:

    Reference Source:  Frédéric Delavier, "Strength Training Anatomy," 3rd Edition, 2010.  E.g., Delavier p. 130

Leg Strength Training Workout - Some Possible Combinations for 50 Minutes
     Leg training workout at the TFFC gym every Monday and Friday @ 4:00 pm
     Warm Up segment   I frequently walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes then stretch.
     Seated Forward Leg Press  4Sx 8-10R  Up to 400lbs
     Lying Leg Curls (Reverse Lying Leg Curls)  4Sx 8-10R  Up to 80lbs  Delavier, p. 140
     Barbell Squats 4S x 5-8R  High Limit: 245lbs x 6R   Delavier, p. 126 
     Leg Extensions, Seated  4Sx 8-10R  Delavier, p.138 
     Hack Squat - Decline Angled Leg Press  4Sx 8-10R   High Limit: 320 pounds x 6R   Delavier, p. 130
     Incline Leg Pres - Incline Angled, Push Upward from Below  4Sx 8-10R   High Limit: 540lbs x 6R   Delavier, p. 135 
     Dumbbell or Barbell Shrugs  4Sx 8-10R  Up to 300 lbs barbell x 4-8R.  Delavier, p. 116-119
     Lunges  4Sx 8-10R  Use 10 to 25 lb dumbbell or no weights   Delavier, 2006 (2nd), p. 99
     Seated or Standing Calf Raises  4Sx 8-10R  45 -150 lbs  Delavier, p. 149-153
     Triceps Cable Pushdowns  4s x 8-10R  Delavier, p. 20
     On some days, when feeling more energetic, I do heaver weights with lower reps and more sets
     I intersperse arm or back work between leg sets to rest the legs. 
 



Cultivating a Positive Mindset
"Think in a calm, pacified, and reflective manner instead of being disturbed, agitated, and impulsive in one's reactions.
Put ideas together rationally and arrive at the right judgment even in the absence of obvious evidence or proof. 
Decide, plan, and execute a course of action in a patient, persistent, and disciplined manner. 
Recognize the changes and be flexible in adapting to them.
Observe and perceive things with a sense of humor instead of outrage, indignation, and anger.
Let go of useless and counterproductive thoughts, desires, and ambitions instead of being preoccupied with them.
Relax and meditate or rest.
Resist temptation and coercion."
- Michael Fekete
  Strength Training for Seniors, Hunter House, 2006, p. 36

Here are two books I refer to frequently to learn about anatomy and strength training:  

Strength Training Anatomy   By Frédéric Delavier.  Champaign, Illinois, Human Kinetics, Third Edition, 2010.  192 pages.  ISBN: 978-0736092265.  Revised edition of "Guide des mouvements de musculation" Paris, Ditions Bigot, 1998.  An outstanding illustrated guide to muscles at work.   Both male and female models are used.   This is one of my favorite books to use to understand strength training anatomical facts and exercise effects on the musculature.  Extremely detailed color illustrations of the human body.  The muscles and bones most effected and worked by a particular exercise are clearly indicated.  Instructions and tips are given for each exercise.  Exercises are arranged by general areas of the body:  Arms, Shoulders, Chest, Back, Legs, Buttocks and Abdomen.  There is no general index at the end of the book.   VSCL:  I own the 2nd edition (2006) and 3rd edition (2010).

Anatomy for Strength and Fitness Training: An Illustrated Guide to Your Muscles in Action  By Mark Vella.  New York, McGraw Hill, 2006.  Index, glossary, 144 pages.  ISBN: 0071475338.  VSCL.  An excellent reference tool for understanding how specific exercises effect muscles and joints.  Outstanding illustrations.  

 

Slow Down While Lifting Weights

"By slowing your movements down, it turns your weight-training session into high-intensity exercise. The super-slow movement allows your muscle, at the microscopic level, to access the maximum number of cross-bridges between the protein filaments that produce movement in the muscle.

This is a beneficial and safe way to incorporate high-intensity exercise into your workouts if you're older and have trouble getting around. You only need about 12 to 15 minutes of super-slow strength training once a week to achieve the same human growth hormone (HGH) production as you would from 20 minutes of Peak Fitness sprints, which is why fitness experts like Dr. Doug McGuff are such avid proponents of this technique.

The fact that super-slow weight training gives you an excellent boost in human growth hormone (HGH), otherwise known as the "fitness hormone," is another reason why it's so beneficial if you're older. As you reach your 30s and beyond, you enter what's called "somatopause," when your levels of HGH begin to drop off quite dramatically. This is part of what drives your aging process. According to Dr. McGuff, there's also a strong correlation between somatopause and age-related sarcopenia. HGH is needed to sustain your fast-twitch muscle fibers, which produce a lot of power. It's also needed to stimulate those muscles.

"What seems to be evident is that a high-intensity exercise stimulus is what triggers the body to make an adaptive response to hold on to muscle," Dr. McGuff says. "We have to remember that muscle is a very metabolically expensive tissue… If you become sedentary and send your body a signal that this tissue is not being used, then that tissue is metabolically expensive. The adaptation is to deconstruct that tissue…"

People of all ages can benefit from super-slow weight training, but this is definitely a method to consider if you're middle-aged or older. I recommend using four or five basic compound movements for your super-slow (high intensity) exercise set. Compound movements are movements that require the coordination of several muscle groups—for example, squats, chest presses and compound rows. Here is my version of the technique."

- Dr. Mercola, Never Too Old to Start Weight Training

Strength Training for Old Men

We are currently very busy with preparing to move from Red Bluff, California, to Vancouver, Washington.  We expect escrow to close on April 14, 2017.  

I will be exploring options for training in Vancouver in taijiquan, weightlifting, yoga, and walking.  All new physicians will be chosen.  

With all the changes, and moving workload, I expect I will be reducing some of my fitness activities until April 20, 2017.  

My fitness goals and objectives for 2017 are outlined on a webpage.  I need to review my goals and objectives on a weekly basis to stay on course.  

Last night, I watched an inspirational documentary about senior athletes.  It was called "Impossible Dreamers" and released in 2016.  I highly recommend this documentary.  

The New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle  By Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove.  New York, Avery Penguin Group, 2006.  Index, 301 pages.  ISBN: 978158333389.  VSCL.  

"1.  The best muscle-building exercises are the ones that use your muscles the way they were designed to be used.  The Basic Exercises:  Squat, Deadlift, Lunge, Push (Bench Press), Pull, Twisting, Combo Moves. 
2.  Exercises that use lots of muscles in a coordinated action are better than those that force muscles to work in isolation.
3.  To build size, you must build strength.
4.  To build size and strength, you must train hard but less frequently, with plenty of recovery time between workouts.
5.  The goal of each workout is to set a record.
6.  The weight you lift is a tool to reach your goals.  It is not a goal in itself.
7.  Don't "do the machines."
8.  A workout is only as good as the adaptation it produces.
9.  There is no magic system of exercises, sets, and reps.
10.  Don't judge a system by the physique of the person promoting it. 
11.  You'll get better results working your ass off on a bad program than you will loafing through a good program.
12.  Fast lifting is not more dangerous than slow lifting. 
13.  A good warm up doesn't have to make your body warm. 
14.  Stretching is not warm up. 
15.  You don't need to warm up to stretch.
16.  Lifting by itself may increase your flexibility. 
17.  Aerobic fitness is not a matter of life and death. 
18.  You don't need to do endurance exercise to burn fat. 
19.  When you combine serious strength training with serious endurance exercise, you body will probably choose endurance over muscle and strength."

Gym Time: Dave Draper's Insights

"The time I spend in the gym is devoted to getting the job done to the best of my ability. That means determining the path I should travel, commencing the workout without wasting time, warming up and getting up to speed proficiently, seeking muscle overload within the majority of dedicated sets, always assessing risk and injury, and maintaining form, focus and pace. Nothing amazing, just forward motion.

This is how one builds muscle and might, assuming, of course, smart eating and rest are concurrent. Within the tight parameters of this training system, there is efficiency, discipline, attention, care, assurance, patience and order. And none of these would fly without a clear goal in mind, and a strong commitment to it. More essential requirements.

Being a mature musclebuilder, I can chew gum and lift weights at the same time (I admittedly must be ever vigilant, however, lest I chip a tooth on a five-pound plate). This heady advantage allows me to observe my surroundings, the people and equipment hard at work (or not) to my left and right. I observe and I wonder, neither of which is a mindless daydream or a glazed gaze. They're unusually stimulating acts of the mind and soul, which no doubt raise my metabolism much the same as mild aerobics. I wonder intensely."

I really enjoy reading Dave Draper's weekly short essays about life in the gym, bodybuilding, and aging gracefully with power.  

Visit his Bodybuilding, Weight Training, Nutrition Guidelines from Mr. Universe Dave Draper.

Dave Draper (1942-) offers a brief and interesting free weekly email newsletter.

For more information on strength training and bodybuilding for persons over fifty, check out my webpage on the subject.   


Brother Iron, Sister Steel: A Bodybuilder's Book  By Dave Draper.  OnTarget Publications, 2001, 337 pages.  I've read my copy a number of times over the years. 

Summer Vacation

I work part-time for the Corning Union Elementary School District during the school year.  I work 117 days each calendar year.  My last day of work for the 2014-2015 school year was yesterday.  I am now on "summer vacation" until August 16th.  Karen retired in June of 2014.

I walk 3.6 miles in the morning each day starting at 5:10 am; with laps interspersed with Taijiquan forms practice.  I teach yoga 3 or 4 evenings each week from 5:20 - 6:40 pm.  I lift weights at the gym 5 days each week from 4 to 5 pm.

We both work on home improvement projects, water, and garden each day.  During the hottest time of each day, we read, research and write indoors.  We use a simple evaporation cooler and a couple of fans to keep us comfortable during the hottest time of each summer day. 

This summer I will complete Phase 4 (indexing and concordance) for my Tao Te Ching project.  As usual, I will post to the Cloud Hands Blog each day. 

We listen to a lot of New Age music in MP3 digital format as well as use Pandora.  I also listen to a good deal of string quartet music.

I have four books of intellectual history that I plan to read, as well as the Essays of Michel de Montaigne.

This summer I will learn and use Photoshop CS5, AskSam 6, and the Atlantis word processor. 

I plan to watch parts of the Tour de France starting on July 4th. I enjoy the scenic and historical commentary, as well, of course, as the tactics and athleticism of the bike riders.  I seldom have ridden a bike in my lifetime, although I rode small motorcycles for 12 years for transportation in the city. 

Karen and I will complete the repair, painting, and remodeling of our back porch.  We will finish removing three dead trees and four overgrown trees in the wrong locations.  We will rent a dumpster and clean up materials stored in our far south field. We will tend our summer vegetable garden and enjoy the harvests. 

Our children and their families will be visiting us in late June and early July.  Karen and I will join my two brothers and their wives in Bodega Bay, California, and in Peyton, Colorado, for the Blaize Reunion.  Karen and I will also go up to Portland once. 

So, assuming good health, we will have a busy, productive, and pleasurable summer vacation.

If our son is fortunate enough to get a kidney transplant (he has waited 4 years), then Karen will go to Portland for six weeks to help him during recovery, and we will help with finances.  That event would make it a wonderful and perfect summer.

Strength Training for Seniors

I am an active weightlifter.  I train with weights five days every week.  I am 69 years of age.

Strength Training (Weightlifting, Bodybuilding, Physical Conditioning) for Persons Over 55 Years of Age. 
By Mike Garofalo. 
Quotations, Bibliography, Links, Resources, my Training Program for 2015. 

Mike Garofalo's Mind-Body Fitness Class Schedule for 2015

In Red Bluff, California

On Friday and Monday I lift weights to strengthen my legs as follows:

    Reference Source:  Frédéric Delavier, "Strength Training Anatomy," 3rd Edition, 2010.  E.g., Delavier p. 130

Leg Strength Training Workout - Some Possible Combinations for 50 Minutes
     Leg training workout at the TFFC gym every Monday and Friday @ 4:00 pm
     Warm Up segment   I frequently walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes then stretch.
     Seated Forward Leg Press  4Sx 8-10R  Up to 400lbs
     Lying Leg Curls (Reverse Lying Leg Curls)  4Sx 8-10R  Up to 80lbs  Delavier, p. 140
     Barbell Squats 4S x 5-8R  High Limit: 245lbs x 6R   Delavier, p. 126 
     Leg Extensions, Seated  4Sx 8-10R  Delavier, p.138 
     Hack Squat - Decline Angled Leg Press  4Sx 8-10R   High Limit: 320 pounds x 6R   Delavier, p. 130
     Incline Leg Pres - Incline Angled, Push Upward from Below  4Sx 8-10R   High Limit: 540lbs x 6R   Delavier, p. 135 
     Dumbbell or Barbell Shrugs  4Sx 8-10R  Up to 300 lbs barbell x 4-8R.  Delavier, p. 116-119
     Lunges  4Sx 8-10R  Use 10 to 25 lb dumbbell or no weights   Delavier, 2006 (2nd), p. 99
     Seated or Standing Calf Raises  4Sx 8-10R  45 -150 lbs  Delavier, p. 149-153
     Triceps Cable Pushdowns  4s x 8-10R  Delavier, p. 20
     On some days, when feeling more energetic, I do heaver weights with lower reps and more sets
     I intersperse arm or back work between leg sets to rest the legs. 
 



Cultivating a Positive Mindset
"Think in a calm, pacified, and reflective manner instead of being disturbed, agitated, and impulsive in one's reactions.
Put ideas together rationally and arrive at the right judgment even in the absence of obvious evidence or proof. 
Decide, plan, and execute a course of action in a patient, persistent, and disciplined manner. 
Recognize the changes and be flexible in adapting to them.
Observe and perceive things with a sense of humor instead of outrage, indignation, and anger.
Let go of useless and counterproductive thoughts, desires, and ambitions instead of being preoccupied with them.
Relax and meditate or rest.
Resist temptation and coercion."
- Michael Fekete
  Strength Training for Seniors, Hunter House, 2006, p. 36

Here are two books I refer to frequently to learn about anatomy and strength training:  

Strength Training Anatomy   By Frédéric Delavier.  Champaign, Illinois, Human Kinetics, Third Edition, 2010.  192 pages.  ISBN: 978-0736092265.  Revised edition of "Guide des mouvements de musculation" Paris, Ditions Bigot, 1998.  An outstanding illustrated guide to muscles at work.   Both male and female models are used.   This is one of my favorite books to use to understand strength training anatomical facts and exercise effects on the musculature.  Extremely detailed color illustrations of the human body.  The muscles and bones most effected and worked by a particular exercise are clearly indicated.  Instructions and tips are given for each exercise.  Exercises are arranged by general areas of the body:  Arms, Shoulders, Chest, Back, Legs, Buttocks and Abdomen.  There is no general index at the end of the book.   VSCL:  I own the 2nd edition (2006) and 3rd edition (2010).

Anatomy for Strength and Fitness Training: An Illustrated Guide to Your Muscles in Action  By Mark Vella.  New York, McGraw Hill, 2006.  Index, glossary, 144 pages.  ISBN: 0071475338.  VSCL.  An excellent reference tool for understanding how specific exercises effect muscles and joints.  Outstanding illustrations.  

 

Strength Training for Older Persons

I am very active with strength training at the Tehama Family Fitness Center in Red Bluff.  My current weightlifting training partner is Roger Andreson.  I am 69 years of age and Roger is 65.  

We lift weights for 50 to 60 minutes 5 days each week.  My current weightlifting goals, objectives and programs are detailed on my strength training webpage.  

Strength Training for Persons Over 55 Years of Age 

Building Muscle Beyond 50 Blog

Senior Health and Fitness Blog


I find all kinds of interesting information, useful tips, and good ideas at the Building Muscle Beyond 50 Blog.


"In a UCLA study, researchers determined the more muscle mass you have the better your chances to live longer.  In other words, the greater your muscle mass, the lower your risk of death,” said Dr. Arun Karlamangla, an associate professor in the geriatrics division at the Geffen School and the study’s co-author. “Thus, rather than worrying about weight or body mass index, we should be trying to maximize and maintain muscle mass.”
This is the first study I’ve read that appears to offer more hope than a few years of extra life for people who work out. This fits in with the question I’ve always had about studies that found working out and/or exercising provided minimal increases in your lifespan (1-4 years). My question, related to many other studies, was if working out can give you a large measure of protection against fatal health conditions why wouldn’t it expand your years as you sidestepped these killer maladies?
Surely if building and/or maintaining muscle mass protects you from an earlier death, you would get many more years of living simply by working out. Of course, there are never any guarantees in these matters, but the results of this research look promising.
Reference:
University of California – Los Angeles Health Sciences. (2014, March 14). Older adults: Build muscle and you’ll live longer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 16, 2014.

Lunge Exercises

The common exercise called the "lunge" is used in many fitness programs.  Basically, one leg is positioned forward with the knee bent and the front foot flat on the floor.  The forward knee joint should be positioned directly over the center of the foot.  The forward kneecap should not go past the toes or behind the heel.  

The back leg is extended and positioned behind the body.  The back foot may face forward, or to the side at up to a 45 degree angle.  The back knee may be slightly bent, or bent quite a bit and lowered down nearly to the floor, depending upon the strength and knee flexibility of the exerciser.   

The upper torso is kept erect and centered over the hips.  Look straight forward and keep the head lifted.  The arms and hands may take a variety of positions.  

The lunge exercise works the muscles of the thighs, buttocks. hip flexors and extensors, calves, lower back, and the hamstrings.  All lunges primarily strengthen the muscles of the front of the thigh (quadriceps).   

The lunge exercise is often performed using one's bodyweight alone; however, many athletes hold dumbells, kettlebells, or barbells in their hands as they step forward into the lunge position and then back to a standing position.  

Yoga uses many lunge postures:  Warrior poses (Virabhadrasana), Cresent Moon (Anjaneyasana), Equestrain (Ashwa Sanchalanasana), etc.  The Equestrian pose also stretches the illio psoas muscle in the back leg side.  

Tai Chi Chuan uses many forward lunge postures:  Parting the Wild Horses Mane, Brush Knee, Single Whip, Ward Off, Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, etc.; and side lunge postures: Lazily Tying the Coat, etc.

Taijiquan and yoga lunge poses often do not drop the back knee so low the ground, tend to keep the back leg straighter with the knee slightly bend, and the back foot at an angle.  This position is much safer for older persons.  Bodybuilders, weightlifters and younger active athletes tend to keep both feet facing forward, dip the back knee closer to the floor, and hold dumbbells in their hands. 

Lunge Exercises: Videos, How To, Safety Tips and More.  By Mike Behnken.

 

 

Strength Training Advice

The New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle  By Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove.  New York, Avery Penguin Group, 2006.  Index, 301 pages.  ISBN: 978158333389.  VSCL.  

"1.  The best muscle-building exercises are the ones that use your muscles the way they were designed to be used.  The Basic Exercises:  Squat, Deadlift, Lunge, Push (Bench Press), Pull, Twisting, Combo Moves. 
2.  Exercises that use lots of muscles in a coordinated action are better than those that force muscles to work in isolation.
3.  To build size, you must build strength.
4.  To build size and strength, you must train hard but less frequently, with plenty of recovery time between workouts.
5.  The goal of each workout is to set a record.
6.  The weight you lift is a tool to reach your goals.  It is not a goal in itself.
7.  Don't "do the machines."
8.  A workout is only as good as the adaptation it produces.
9.  There is no magic system of exercises, sets, and reps.
10.  Don't judge a system by the physique of the person promoting it. 
11.  You'll get better results working your ass off on a bad program than you will loafing through a good program.
12.  Fast lifting is not more dangerous than slow lifting. 
13.  A good warm up doesn't have to make your body warm. 
14.  Stretching is not warm up. 
15.  You don't need to warm up to stretch.
16.  Lifting by itself may increase your flexibility. 
17.  Aerobic fitness is not a matter of life and death. 
18.  You don't need to do endurance exercise to burn fat. 
19.  When you combine serious strength training with serious endurance exercise, you body will probably choose endurance over muscle and strength."

“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” - Thomas Jefferson

"Everyone has the ability to accomplish unique feats, everyone. You choose this. Become someone great in one other life. Forget about failing to many. Who cares? Doesn't matter when you start or finish, just start, no deviations, no excuses." - Tom Platz

“To feel strong, to walk amongst humans with a tremendous feeling of confidence and superiority is not at all wrong. The sense of superiority in bodily strength is borne out by the long history of mankind paying homage in folklore, song and poetry to strong men”. - 'Dr. Squat' Fred Hatfield.

"There's more to life than training, but training is what puts more in your life." - Brooks Kubik

"Working chest, delts, tris, and biceps works approximately 10% of your overall lean body mass. Working hard on deadlifts (bent legged, trap Bar, or sumo) or squatting (not necessarily at the same time) works more like 70% of your musculature at once and sends a strong message to your body to get better at growing now!" - Wesley Silveira

"If you think lifting weights is dangerous, try being weak. Being weak is dangerous." - Bret Contreras


101 Bad Ass Training Quotes

Strength Training for Persons Over 55 Years of Age 

Weightlifting for Seniors

I am very active with strength training at the Tehama Family Fitness Center in Red Bluff.  My current weightlifting training partner is Roger Andreson.  I am 68 years of age and Roger is 64.  

We lift weights for 45 to 60 minutes 5 days each week.  My current weightlifting goals, objectices and programs are detailed on my strength training webpage.  

Strength Training for Persons Over 55 Years of Age 

Building Muscle Beyond 50 Blog

Senior Health and Fitness Blog


I find all kinds of interesting information, useful tips, and good ideas at the Building Muscle Beyond 50 Blog.


"In a UCLA study, researchers determined the more muscle mass you have the better your chances to live longer.
“In other words, the greater your muscle mass, the lower your risk of death,” said Dr. Arun Karlamangla, an associate professor in the geriatrics division at the Geffen School and the study’s co-author. “Thus, rather than worrying about weight or body mass index, we should be trying to maximize and maintain muscle mass.”
This is the first study I’ve read that appears to offer more hope than a few years of extra life for people who work out. This fits in with the question I’ve always had about studies that found working out and/or exercising provided minimal increases in your lifespan (1-4 years). My question, related to many other studies, was if working out can give you a large measure of protection against fatal health conditions why wouldn’t it expand your years as you sidestepped these killer maladies?
Surely if building and/or maintaining muscle mass protects you from an earlier death, you would get many more years of living simply by working out. Of course, there are never any guarantees in these matters, but the results of this research look promising.
Reference:
University of California – Los Angeles Health Sciences. (2014, March 14). Older adults: Build muscle and you’ll live longer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 16, 2014.

Medicine Ball Training

Martial Arts, physical culture, and Qigong enthusiasts can benefit from using a medicine ball when doing exercises.  There are many routines developed by Taijiquan and Qigong masters using a medicine ball.   Qigong Ball exercisers can get into a calm mode, mellow their mood, and go with the Flow. 

Medicine Ball Training and Exercises: Bibliography, Links, Resources .  Prepared by Mike Garofalo.  A general introduction to the use of medicine balls in exercise programs. 

I developed my own medicine ball routine called: Magic Pearl Qigong. 

Magic Pearl Qigong, Part I, Movements 1-8 .   Instructions, Bibliography, Links, Handouts, Resources, Mythological Associations, Lore.  Prepared by Mike Garofalo. 

The Magic Pearl Qigong can be a very vigorous physical culture routine if you increase the weight of the ball, lower the stances, and increase the number of repetitions of each movement.  Serious Qigong Ball enthusiasts use a very light wooden ball, move slowly, stay relaxed, sink, play.  

In addition, upper body strength and athletic fitness is also be improved by practicing longer Taijiquan Forms using weapons like the saber, sword, cane, and staff. 

 

Strength Training Program in 2014

I regularly do strength training (weightlifting) at the Tehama Family Fitness Center in Red Bluff.  I find that strength training and walking help me maintain a normal blood sugar level along with two medicines (metaformin and glipizide) that I take for managing my diabetes disease.  Also, I enjoy the feeling of being stronger, and try to achieve some bodybuilding objectives. 

I do strength training for my legs on Friday and Monday.  I do strength training for my back and shoulders/arms on Sunday and Wednesday.  I do strength training for my chest and arms on Tuesday.  Here is my strength training program for 2014.

I am flexible as to sets, repetitions, and the amount of weight lifted.  When I am more energetic, then I try to more sets and with increased weight.  I always try to do all of the exercises specified in the program.  

A few Taijiquan masters advise against weight training.  I don't agree with them. 

Six Keys to Bodybuilding Success
1.  "Set realistic goals― short and long term.
2.  Plan an orderly and thorough routine to train the entire body.
3.  Make a commitment to stick to your routine for four to six weeks to realize the changes and benefits, develop perseverance and create a habit.
4.  Establish enthusiasm for your training, the driving force to perform successfully.
5.  Ease into an appropriate training program with a wholesome, thoughtful nutritional plan: proper foods, amounts and order of consumption.
6.  Be confident from the beginning that the application of these sound principles will produce the desired results."
-  Dave Draper, Brother Iron Sister Steel, p. 33

"You should prepare to follow the program for 90 days.  Why?  Because behavioral research indicates that it takes 90 days to prepare for change, build a new behavior, become confident in the face of high-risk triggers, and move past the likelihood of relapse.  Brain research also suggests that it takes a few months of practicing a new behavior to create permanent change."
-  John C. Norcorss, Ph.D., Changeology, p. 7  


I walk 3.6 miles (5.8km) in the early morning on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  It has been very cold (35-45F) and windy at daybreak.  Therefore, I bundle up with layers of clothing.  Here is how I look before I start my walk.  The bright red silk balaclava is a bit weird looking, but it really works in warming my breathing and face. 

 

Bench Press Contest

I exercise, lift weights, socialize, and teach yoga and Taijiquan at the Tehama Family Fitness Center (TFFC) in Red Bluff, California.  I've been a member of this gym for 12 years. 

At 6 pm tonight, the TFFC hosted the annual Bench Press Contest.  Men and women, in three different weight classes, participated in the contest.

All lifters participating ranged in ages from 15 to 40.  I wished that they had an over 60 age class for lifters. 

CJ won the competition with a lift of 405 pounds and he pressed his bodyweight 32 times.  Wow!!

I plan to enter the competition next year.  Why?  1.  To contribute to the scholarship charity.   2.  Set a goal for myself.  3.  Be the oldest person in the competition at 68 years of age.  4.  Lift 260 pounds in the bench press.  5.  Encourage other older persons to participate.  5.  Have fun.