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There is no doubt that a man can build muscle in his 70's. It won't be as fast or easy or as large as when he was much younger, but without a doubt it can be done unless the man has very serious health issues that would keep him from exercising and working out with weights.
Give yourself more recovery time between work out sessions, and be careful with heavy weights so you don't blow out tendons &ligaments. They don't get stronger with exercise, but weaken with age no matter what you do.,.and we all lose height with age, even without punishing ourselves with heavy lifting.
I don't understand your motivation....Sophia Loren is not beautiful, but she's beautiful for an 85 year old. Big difference. ..and Joe DiMaggio retired after only 15 years in The Show. Why? "Because I can't be Joe DiMaggio anymore," he explained.
I've known plenty of people who tore pecs, biceps, hamstrings but they all have been in their 20s and 30s. I know plenty of older adults who workout but never knew any who tore something. Older adults are not going for 1rep maxes, which may explain this. Also in my personal experience, those who suffered those tears were on PEDs where their muscles grew out of bounds with what their connective tissue could sustain. I've never seen a person with smaller muscles suffer a tear (though I'm not doubting it has happened before).
I would advise everyone, old or young, to progressively overload, in a 5-15 rep range (for the most part). The chance of tearing in this rep range, even if you go to failure, is minimal. Unless you're a power lifter or just fascinated with what your 1 rep max is, no need to go for them.
And while I imagine there is a small increased risk of injury while working out with weights, I'd also imagine that that this will cancel out over the long run by leading to more resilient connective tissue, stronger muscles, and more mobility as well as less obesity.
Tendons and ligaments DO strengthen over time when you lift weights consistently. It's well documented. It just takes longer than for muscle tissue, so you have to make gains somewhat slowly and not overextend (which is why it's often younger hardcore lifters who damage their tendons or end up with ligament tears from progressing too quickly with too much weight). Also, consistent lifting with heavier weights also increases bone density - an important factor for longevity for older folks. Finally, there is a huge correlation between strength and longevity. In fact, it's a higher correlation than with any other factor of fitness. This is likely because strength has a direct and indirect effect also on balance, endurance, speed, and so much more. You can do 5lb dumbell balancing on one foot on a bosu ball all you want but if you're too weak to get up out of a chair properly your chance of falling and breaking a hip is much greater than the senior who can squat 200lbs on top of their bodyweight, who also has higher bone density because of it. Try to diminish the importance of strength training all you want but it's the truth.
Give yourself more recovery time between work out sessions, and be careful with heavy weights so you don't blow out tendons &ligaments. They don't get stronger with exercise, but weaken with age no matter what you do.,.and we all lose height with age, even without punishing ourselves with heavy lifting.
I don't understand your motivation....Sophia Loren is not beautiful, but she's beautiful for an 85 year old. Big difference. ..and Joe DiMaggio retired after only 15 years in The Show. Why? "Because I can't be Joe DiMaggio anymore," he explained.
Don't forget cartilage and joints. Its amazing how many people develop bad shoulder joints over 50.
Maybe the first question the OP should be asking is "Why bother?" Just maintaining adequate strength, flexibility and mobility in our later years should be our goal....Who ya trying to impress at this point?
I agree with you. Maintaining the strength, flexibility and mobility needed for your everyday work and play efforts is the goal, and it doesn't take much in the way of working out.
Never too old? A slight exaggeration. Recent photos of nonagenarians Clint Eastwood and
Gene Hackman show them both to be extremely thin. Obviously not much strength left in those bodies. Clint probably kept working out into his 80's, dunno.
Also it'd be difficult to gain strength/mass while practicing calorie restriction, the only intervention known to date that consistently extends lifespan.
Also it'd be difficult to gain strength/mass while practicing calorie restriction, the only intervention known to date that consistently extends lifespan.
I don't know what "calorie restriction" means, but if you mean a calorie deficit, then you will eventually die of malnutrition if you were perpetually on a deficit. Most people can maintain, and naturally as you become less active and have less muscle mass, means less calories is needed for maintenance. But I would not describe this as "calorie restriction."
I agree with you. Maintaining the strength, flexibility and mobility needed for your everyday work and play efforts is the goal, and it doesn't take much in the way of working out.
Never too old? A slight exaggeration. Recent photos of nonagenarians Clint Eastwood and
Gene Hackman show them both to be extremely thin. Obviously not much strength left in those bodies. Clint probably kept working out into his 80's, dunno.
Also it'd be difficult to gain strength/mass while practicing calorie restriction, the only intervention known to date that consistently extends lifespan.
No, it's the goal of those such as yourself who hold that view. It is not the goal of everyone. Some people want to keep improving as much as possible. And no, it's no exaggeration to say that you're never too old. The body does and will respond to heavy weight training. That's not to say that you will set any world strength records at the age of ninety, but you can certainly become much stronger at that age as long as you're healthy and put in the effort.
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