Thank you for all of the very helpful information in this thread.
Although I have been exercising for decades-- first running, then weights, yoga, walking. But now as a twee little 76 year old female with pretty severe osteoporosis, and having lost some of what precious little muscle I had, I decided I needed to start lifting heavier. So signed up for a six month, twice a week program with personal training. Found a place that works with you on your schedule, a gym, but there are never more than one person (besides me) training. It’s quiet – no loud music or barbells clanging --quiet – just the way I like it. Expensive and probably overkill but will keep me on track.
@DrAtSenolytix I’d love to ask your opinion about my RT schedule, pretty please.
Readers digest version…. Is 2x per week enough?
Background:
I’m a petite 59 yo with teeny weeny bones and not enough muscle.
Once I was diagnosed with osteoperosis a year and an half ago, I started resistance training with my PT twice per week.
I’ve gained mountains of strength and continue to break PR’s every few weeks. I also do reformers pilates 1x per week (I was previously doing that 3x but realized that was not helping my muscles enough, so I switched to working out with my PT)
He pushes me much harder than I would ever do on my own and he feels it’s all I need. But it never hurts to ask.
My osteoporosis did not get worse over the year.
And then there was my dexa from a few weeks ago that said I lost 1 lb in muscle this year (fortunately the group here informed me that is within the margin of error and saved me from jumping off a tall building).
I’m in the middle of looking into body composition scales to consider tracking more often than an annual dexa. Fwiw, my PT says those are a waste of time, but everyone has an opinion about everything .
I’m also in the first month of a 3 month low dose Maraviroc experiment to see if it helps.
Long long way of asking if 2 full body RT workouts a week are enough
What dose rapamycin, and what frequency of dosing? It looks like you’re doing extremely well, but I’m curious about the specifics of your situation. Also, approx. how much do you weigh?
3 a week are usually better. More than that can be detrimental for some older people. You are the only person who can evaluate your own recovery. Some movements like the deadlift can only be trained once a week since recovery takes longer. I train every day when my schedule permits, but I try to use exercises that always give any muscle group 48 hrs rest. You are on the right track. Your training log will help you figure out what works for your recovery ability.
I made a mistake this winter and spring season. Because I was busy during the holiday season and hosting visitors, I didn’t go to the gym. After the holidays, I started several projects that were rather physically intensive. I thought this would make up for not going to the gym.
That didn’t work out so well. I have noticed muscle mass loss mostly in my arms. My legs haven’t lost any muscle mass that I can see. That is probably because my projects involved a lot of walking and I climb stairs many times a day.
I recently received my Maviroc, and I will be starting that at 75 mg each morning. So, I am hoping to go to the gym, and doing the standard resistance and weight training will help me regain some of the muscle mass I lost. The next time I see my doctor, I am going to ask him about prescribing TRT and possible HGH. These I don’t trust getting from India, mainly because I think I need close supervision, and the heat from shipping is already a factor.
I just ordered a copy of Dr. Brett Osborn’s book Get Serious. Hoping it will be of benefit.
Anthropometry scales are NOT a waste if you buy a reputable brand. We have used InBody scales in our clinic for over a decade. You can buy a ‘home version’ on Amazon for about $350. DO NOT get on the scale daily. Once every 2-3 weeks will suffice. Pay attention to the way your clothes fit (best barometer, IMO, but won’t grant you the more precise data for tracking purposes).
Re your strength training: A slow protocol like McGuff’s twice weekly will suffice AS LONG AS you push yourself to failure on every set. Supplement your strength training with 4-5 sessions of endurance work weekly. 80% zone 2 and 20% zone 4 and 5.
One of the discouraging things about getting older is that we go backward so fast if training is skipped. I have had a nasty cold for several days. It will probably take a month to get my strength back. I have never fully recovered from breaking my back a couple of years ago.,. As far as books go, Mark Rippetoe’s “Starting Strength” provides a simple and scientific approach that works great for older trainees too. He has revised the book, so the approach has changed slightly from a few years ago.
Yep, can confirm. Extremely fast deconditioning after about 65. I had ACDF surgery and mere weeks after a break from exercise had to start from practically square one. I’ve been a dedicated squatter for years, all kinds of squatting with weights, jumping, accelerated, slowed etc. All gone in a matter of weeks. I’m starting over. It’s slow going. Hopefully I can get back to my old form - though not 100% sure, given how elaborate and strenuous my squat routine was. I suspect it might take a full year, if I’m lucky. I started with 6 minutes and 100 body weight squats ATG, got DOMS for three days - absurd. Even jogging, I have to start slower, I pushed it a bit and pulled an inner thigh muscle. All this would be unthinkable when I was younger, I could bounce back with barely a hiccup. One of the downsides of getting older - slower recovery, slower gains, faster deconditioning, faster losses.
Charles, thanks for sharing this. I too made a mistake: I took Rybelsus 3mg (got from India) every other day for only about two weeks. For glucose reduction. About 18 months ago. Went from about 104 to 96 pounds, and developed gall stones. That can happen if you drop weight too fast, I understand now. Lost muscle and strength, that I still have not gotten back, though weight has increased–abdominal fat. I have been working out the entire time – but still have not gotten muscle back to where it was before the Rybelsus.
Now there are warnings all over the place about muscle loss with GLP1 agonists. Too late for me. So, now have started 1:1 training to get into lifting heavier. And like you also ordered “Get Serious.”
Have posted about this elsewhere – I am an existence proof of the folly of weight loss without adequate muscle protection – sufficient protein and lifting, more of both than I have ever done.
I’m 63. Losing a week of training will cost me about 15 pounds from my overhead press and take one month to get it back. Squat is even worse, but I get it back quicker. I think perhaps because cardio is so important to the squat. The chin up is the least affected. Of course I have lost weight, but chins take forever to progress, but don’t seem to go wrong as quickly either.
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