Question: I’m 48 years old and have been bodybuilding for about 25 years.
How should my training and nutrition be changing as I my training age matures?
Dale / Cordell, Oklahoma
Answer: That’s a very good question, Dale. There are, in fact, a few things that one should consider as they age. Though a book could easily be written on this topic, let me go over a few things you must do.
1) Consider staying injury and illness free the most important thing. Do not ignore things like elbow pain, shoulder pain, etc. Doing so can lead to a serious injury that keeps you out of the gym completely. On that note, do not keep doing an exercise that causes pain. TRAIN SMART!
Likewise, you must pay equal attention to health markers such as blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, cholesterol, liver function, etc. If you catch problems early on, they’re usually easy to fix. If you wait until you have symptoms, it may be too late!
2) Keep a training log. You may wonder what this has to do with aging – let me tell you.
As we age we do need a bit more recuperation from our workouts. However, the only real way to know how much is to evaluate how you’re doing. By keeping a training log you’ll know if you’re getting stronger, staying the same, or getting weaker. If you getting stronger (even if slowly), then you’re recuperating adequately.
If not, time to reevaluate your plan. You may need to train less days per week, do fewer sets per workout, fewer sets taken to failure, etc.
3) Eat & supplement intelligently. The more I learn about nutrition the more I realize that "it" comes down to eating lots of fresh, natural foods.
I would bet that every aspect of our body (both from a health and looks standpoint) would benefit from eating more vegetables, fruits, and other natural foods.
Likewise, there are a few supplements that can really be beneficial to our overall health, recuperation, and longevity. Some of those include:
- Fish Oil
- A good multi-vitamin/multi-mineral
- A "greens" product
- Antioxidants (i.e. vitamin c, vitamin e, resveratrol, etc…)
- Co-enzyme Q10
- Acetyl L-carnitine
Summary: the key is to LISTEN to your body and treat it with TLC.
By the way, there is a very good book on the topic of anti-aging: YOU: Staying Young. Although it’s not specific to those of us who work out, it is the best book I’ve read on the topic of anti-aging.
Yours in health,
Dr Clay
Call 1-877-DrClay1 (877-372-5291) to leave your question on our voicemail (along with your name and where you’re calling from). Or email us at info@drclay.com.
