Training

Why do most exercisers leave their common sense at the checkroom when planning their grip training? If you expect to do a few barbell wrist curls at the end of your training session and expect muscular forearms with prominent veins, then you're completely on the wrong track!

I know trainers who research and plan the parameters of their chest and back training program as meticulously as Einstein analyzed relativity, but when it comes to their grip training, they don't give it a second thought.

Growing up in the Hillybilly country of the Midwest USA taught me a lot about grip strength. When I started training at the age of 14, I didn't have access to "high tech" equipment like grip aids and cable pulls. Instead, I had to do all my training without any grip aids.

When I did deadlifts, I had to use my own grip strength to hold the weight. When I did pull-ups in the garage on a wooden beam, my grip would inevitably give out before my back and biceps. After a short period of time, my grip was able to keep up with my back and bicep strength. During the summer, I stacked hay with my buddy on a farm. This was the best thing I could do to improve my grip and forearm strength. I built forearms that not only looked great, but also had good strength. You can do this too city boy if you read on.

First, you need to quit your sissy city job and move to a farm. No, that was just a joke. The first thing we need to remember is what it takes to get strong. According to strength researcher Vladimir Zatsiorsky, there are three ways to build strength:

• Move a maximal weight, which is known as the maximal effort method.
• Move a submaximal weight as explosively as possible, which is known as the dynamic effort method.
• Move a submaximal weight to the point of muscle failure, known as the repetitive effort method.

To build a world class grip we need to use all three methods. Most people only use one of these three methods, such as squeezing one of those useless spring grips for millions of reps (a perverse example of the repetitive effort method) - a method not even my grandmother would call for. These springs provide a resistance of maybe 15 kilos when compressed and don't do much more than pump up your forearms. Don't worry, after using my techniques you'll want to wear a short-sleeved shirt all the time - even in northern Siberia during the winter! But first, let me bust a few myths.

Myth #1: You need to do high reps every day

This myth goes along the same lines as the recommendations for abdominal muscle training from the 1980s. The problem here is that if you train with high repetitions every day, you are only challenging the slow-contracting type I muscle fibers. Anyone who is even halfway intelligent knows that you need to challenge the type IIb motor units with a higher stimulus threshold, which have the greatest potential for growth and strength development. So forget the daily high reps because they won't get you anywhere.

Myth #2: Training with spring handles is the best workout for forearm muscle development

I could give you so many examples of why this isn't true, but I'll focus on one from my own experience. I spent most of my weekends on the farm where my buddy "Tater" lived. His father Bill was a farmer and mechanic. Bill had never seen the inside of a weight room or gym and he didn't even know what a spring grip was, but he had a monstrous pair of forearms that would have made even Popeye green with envy.

Bill spent his day lifting heavy objects on the farm, turning large wrenches, twisting screwdrivers and carrying heavy buckets - to name just a few of his activities. You may ask "okay, his forearms looked good, but were they strong?" Let me answer that question by going back to Tater.

One day, Tater had dented the family truck when it slid into the ditch on a snowy day. Bill wasn't too happy about it. He grabbed Tater by the neck and lifted him up with one hand (and Tater weighed about 130 kilos). This is what I would call functional strength.

In other words, strong forearms require different types of work.

Myth #3: Bodybuilders have strong forearms

If you continuously perform high-volume training for the forearm muscles, they will hypertrophy. The problem, however, is that this type of training results in sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, not strong functional sarcomeric hypertrophy of the muscle fibers. You need to hypertrophy the actual muscle fibers - not the extracellular space - if you want great looking forearms to be really strong.

Also, bodybuilders use grip aids all the time for everything from deadlifts to lat pulldowns. What's the point of moving a weight you can't hold? In my opinion, if you can't pull up 275 kilos from the floor without a grip, you're not capable of pulling up 275 kilos from the floor.

Now that we have dispelled some myths, let's get back to the guidelines for strength development. As mentioned above, we need to use three different types of training. Here they are in the form of a table with defined load percentages, sets, repetitions and characteristic tempos:

I recommend that you use one method exclusively before resting for 3 to 5 days and then using the next method. In other words, on day 1 you perform your exercise (or exercises) using the maximum effort technique. On day 2 - 3 to 5 days later - you perform your exercise (or exercises) using the dynamic effort technique. On day 3 - 3 to 5 days later - perform your exercise (or exercises) using the repetitive effort technique.

Perform this "cycle" three times before choosing new exercises - one from each category of forearm exercises described below. You can do this continuously, choosing new exercises each time you complete 3 cycles, until you have huge forearms.

Here is an example of a cycle:

Again, perform three cycles before switching exercises.

The Westside Barbell Club combines two of the above methods per workout. For the purpose of developing forearm strength, I keep the methods separate, as combining them would lead to excessive training volume (assuming that you perform other exercises in addition to this workout that also challenge your grip muscles).

Now let's get to the good stuff - the exercises. You'll never develop a world-class grip if you waste your time with plastic spring grips and wrist curls. The hand and forearm muscles have the potential to perform many different movement patterns, which is why you shouldn't limit yourself to just these two movements. So here is my selection of exercises (remember to choose one exercise from each of the following 3 categories to build your training cycle).

Training the extensors (stretchers)

This seems trivial, but in my experience the extensors are the most neglected variable in grip training. The hand and forearm extensors need to be trained to develop maximum grip strength. You wouldn't just train the biceps and leave the triceps out, would you? I don't think so. Remember that the body will limit its absolute strength potential to protect the joint if the antagonist is weak. For this reason, you need to train the extensors of the hand and forearm. You will be amazed at the results.

Here are a few excellent exercises for this purpose:

Finger band extensions

Get a rubber band (not one of those thin cheap ones, but a really strong one) and place your hand inside the band. Then spread your fingers as wide as possible without the elastic band rolling down from your fingertips. Then close your hand again and repeat the movement. Another method is to wrap the band around two fingers and do the same.

Increase the resistance by placing several rubber bands on top of each other. This is also an excellent exercise for anyone who suffers from wrist problems or carpal tunnel syndrome - including this exercise in the training program often leads to symptom relief. If you get too strong for the elastic bands, you can order special bands for this exercise online. Use this exercise for all three methods.

Sand extensions

Get a 5 liter bucket and fill it with sand. Then stick your hand deep into the sand with your fingers stretched out and close together. Next, spread your fingers as quickly as possible. Pull your hand out of the bucket and repeat. Depending on your strength levels, this could be a maximum effort exercise (if you are weak) or a dynamic/repetitive effort exercise (if you are stronger).

Wrist extensions with weight plates

Take a light weight plate (5 kilos or so) and hold it in a palm down position. Your fingers should be on one side of the plate and your thumb on the other. Hold your arm straight out in front of you and tilt the plate down and up with wrist movements. Use several plates, squeezing them with your fingers as your strength increases. Use this exercise for repetitive or dynamic effort training.

Exercises with an "open hand"

For those who train without grip aids and need their grip strength for exercises such as deadlifts and pull-ups, other exercises will probably suffice, but sometimes you may need to lift objects with your fingers more open.

Here are some excellent exercises for this purpose:

One-handed lift of an upright dumbbell

Place a barbell on one side (so that it looks like an "I" when you look at it from the side). Stand over the barbell with your legs slightly apart. Grasp the upper part of the dumbbell with your hand as if you were picking up a tennis ball from the floor and lift the dumbbell up to waist height. Then lower it again and repeat the movement.

For a more advanced version of this exercise, you can lift the dumbbell up to chest height. I must warn you not to use a dumbbell with a pulley diameter that opens your fingers more than 80%. In other words, you should maintain a certain flexion of the fingers, otherwise you could overload the hand and wrist structures.

Fat grip barbell deadlift

Get some fat grip handle pads or wrap a towel around the middle of the barbell. So that the diameter is 7 to 8 centimetres. Since the towel will compress, the diameter must be larger than 7 to 8 centimeters at the beginning to ensure the correct diameter during the exercise. (An even better method would be to slide a tube of the appropriate diameter over your barbell and weld it to the bar).

Place a small weight plate (5 to 10 kilos) on each side of the bar. As with any new exercise, it's best to start with a light weight rather than injuring yourself on the first repetition. Place the barbell in front of you, grip it in the middle with your right arm and perform one repetition of the traditional deadlift. Perform 1 to 3 repetitions before using your left hand.

I know many of you will now be thinking that a dumbbell would work just as well, but trust me, this is not the case as it takes a lot more muscle action to keep the bar parallel with the floor. This is an excellent exercise for the maximum effort method.

One arm wheelbarrow push

This is a really advanced exercise that I came up with. Get a small, unloaded wheelbarrow. Grab the handles as you normally would, with both hands, and start pushing the wheelbarrow. Easy enough, right? Here comes the hard part: as you push the wheelbarrow, slowly release your left hand, finger by finger (starting with the little finger) from the handle of the wheelbarrow.

Once you have released your left hand from the handle, you must maintain your balance with your right hand. The wheelbarrow must be held perfectly straight - otherwise this exercise will not work. Initially, you will probably only be able to release a few fingers from the handle, but keep at it anyway. Push the wheelbarrow for about 30 seconds before switching hands. You may eventually reach the elite group and be pushing the wheelbarrow with one hand!

Explosive grip training

So far we have trained the extensors of the hand and forearm together with isometric muscle action. Now we need to do some dynamic training for the flexors. Here are a few excellent exercises:

Captain of Crush Gripper

Get one of these Captain of Crush Grippers, choosing the resistance depending on your grip strength. These grippers range from a resistance of 36 to 165 kilos and are available from online retailers. Use a gripper that allows you to complete the prescribed number of repetitions in the dynamic and repetitive resistance methods. If you are unsure of your grip strength, purchase the number 1 gripper. Close the gripper using an explosive muscle action for the dynamic method and a more moderate muscle action for the repetitive effort method. Depending on your grip strength, you may need to use the gripper for your maximum effort day.

Sand Grip

I learned this exercise from John Brookfield's excellent book "Mastery of Hand Strength". Put your hand into a 10 liter bucket filled with sand, pebbles, steel balls or some other substance and grab a handful of this material as explosively as you can. Pull your hand out of the bucket and repeat. Use this exercise for the dynamic and repetitive effort methods.

Alligator Smash

Find a piece of foam - a mattress, seat cushion or anything else that will fit in your hand. Place your outstretched fingers on one side and your thumb on the other. Squeeze your fingers and thumb together (if you can't imagine the movement, imagine that your hand is in a sock that represents a hand puppet and you are moving the puppet's mouth). Use this exercise for all three strength methods.

Force imbalances

If you find it harder to build strength and/or muscle mass on one side compared to the other, you may have a nerve problem in the C6-T1 area of your spine. A chiropractor can find this out. Other possible causes could be adhesions in the forearm and hand muscles. Active release therapy can help here.

Conclusion

If you use the information presented in this article, you can build a world-class grip that is both visually appealing and extremely functional and strong. So the next time some guy is kicking sand in your face at the beach and trying to take your girlfriend out, you can grab him by the neck and perform the Aligator Smash move while imagining he's a sock puppet.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/old-school-grip-training

By Chad Waterbury

So there I was. I stood in front of the mirror and was slightly confused. What was my body fat percentage? Bodybuilders compete with a body fat percentage of 4 to 5% and look like living anatomy diagrams, so I thought I should be around 7%.

But not according to my trusty Caliper test with multiple measuring points - this one said 11%.

I was confused by this measurement as I couldn't squeeze more than a little skin anywhere on my body, but I should still be carrying around almost 10 kilos of fat.

To put this into perspective, one kilo of fat is equivalent to 4 packets of butter. Where exactly could I have hidden those 40 packets? And considering the effort it took to get as slim as I was, the question arose as to whether it wasn't completely impossible to achieve a body fat percentage of 7% naturally.

Well, I started looking for answers and in this article I will share with you everything I have learned. By the end, you'll know what the term body fat percentage really means, you'll know the pros and cons of the most popular methods of measuring body fat percentage, you'll know how to get an accurate estimate of your body fat percentage, and much more.

What is your body fat percentage?

Many people confuse the terms "body composition", "BMI" and "body fat percentage", but these terms describe different concepts.

The term body composition refers to an analysis of what your body is made up of - skeletal muscle, fat, bones, organs, blood, water, etc.

BMI is short for "Body Mass Index" and is a numerical expression of the relationship between your height and weight.

And the definition of body fat percentage is clear from the name - it is simply the percentage of your weight that is made up of fat.

So when you measure your body fat percentage, you are determining how much of your weight is fat. Let's look at an example to make this clearer:

Let's say a person weighs 75 kilos and 7.5 of those kilos are made up of fat. This person's body fat percentage would be 7.5 divided by 75, which is 10% expressed as a percentage.

This percentage changes when this person gains or loses fat and it also changes when this person gains or loses muscle.

For example, if that person follows an appropriate diet and exercise program and gains 10 kilos, of which 2.5 kilos are fat, then that person will weigh 85 kilos with 10 kilos of fat.

This would visibly change the visual appearance, while the body fat percentage would remain almost the same, which would now be 10 divided by 85 or about 11%.

Let's say this person then stops training with weights for 10 years and loses 5 kilos of muscle but no fat. Again, this would make a big change in the mirror, but his body fat percentage would still be more or less the same - about 12% (10 divided by 80)

The bottom line is that your body fat percentage is a sort of "moving target" that changes based on what happens to your body and body composition over time.

Why is body fat percentage more meaningful than BMI?

As we have already seen, BMI is the abbreviation for "Body Mass Index" and represents the relationship between a person's height and weight. To calculate the BMI, divide your weight in kilos by your height in meters squared.

Let's take my values from the situation above as an example: 83 kilos in weight with a height of 1.85 meters. First, let's take the height squared

1,85 x 1,85 = 3,4225

Then we divide the weight by the square of the height to obtain the BMI:

83 / 3.4225 = 24.25 (BMI)

According to the BMI table, different BMI values correlate with different weight categories:

• Underweight = BMI below 18.5
• Normal weight = BMI between 18.5 and 24.9
• Overweight = BMI between 25 and 29,
• Obesity = BMI from 30 or above

So according to this BMI measurement, I was on the cusp of being overweight... while at the same time having visible veins on my abs - and therein lies the problem with BMI: while it can be useful for analyzing large populations, it's not very helpful as a tool for estimating individual fitness - especially for people with above average amounts of muscle mass.

If you're trying to estimate your individual fitness, you're much better off using your body fat percentage.

How can you accurately measure your body fat percentage?

Measuring body fat percentage seems quite simple at first glance, but it can also be very confusing - and this is true regardless of the method you use, as unfortunately all of them have some margin for error and can give wildly different results.

For example, the caliper test with several measuring points gave me a value of 11% but an electrical measurement gave 8% and a caliper with only one measuring point gave a value of 6%.

What exactly does this mean? Are body fat measurements nothing more than a shot in the dark? Is there any way to determine your true body fat percentage?

Let's find out.

Body fat scales and handpieces for measuring body fat percentage

The easiest way to measure your body fat percentage is to use a body fat scale or handheld impedance meter. These measurements are quick and easy, but what you gain in convenience you lose in accuracy.

These devices use a method called bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), which measures the body's resistance to an electric current. The science is simple:

Muscle tissue conducts electrical current very well because it is more than 70% water, while fat is a poor conductor because it contains less water.

Theoretically, the fatter a body is, the higher the electrical resistance should be.

Sounds plausible, doesn't it? Sure, it sounds quite plausible, but the bioelectrical impedance measurement has some serious flaws.

1. the electric current takes the path of least resistance.

This means that the current will bypass the fat stores in favor of the tissue with a lower resistance. As you can imagine, this will distort the results.

2. most body fat scales and handpieces only use two electrodes.

This is a problem because the current can skip whole areas of the body (1). For example, a foot to foot measurement can bypass the entire torso and a hand to hand measurement can ignore the lower body. This naturally leads to inaccurate values.

3. readings can vary dramatically depending on the condition of the body.

The accuracy of bioelectrical impedance measurements is also undermined by the fact that the measured values are influenced by different physical factors.

For example, a measurement in a dehydrated state may result in abnormally high body fat values (2) and a test after a meal may result in abnormally low values (3). A test after a meal reduced the measured body fat percentage in one study by 4.2 percentage points (4) and a measurement after exercise can also provide inaccurate values (5).

4 The equations used to determine body fat percentage are often fundamentally flawed.

I know I'm riding a dead horse here, but there is another major drawback that you should know about. Turning an electrical impedance measurement into a body fat percentage requires mathematical calculations and these calculations often spit out incorrect values.

The manufacturers of these devices have taken several steps to create these formulas:

1. They accurately determined the body fat values of a large control group of people.
2. They then measured the body fat percentage of the same subjects using a bioimpedance meter from this company.
3. Finally, the measurements were compared and an equation was developed to determine body fat percentage from the bioimpedance measurement based on variables such as height, weight, gender, etc. This may be a good theory.

This may be a good idea in theory, but the problem lies in step 1 - the method used to determine the "control values" - for the following reason:

Most of the methods used to determine this calibration data are themselves flawed.

A lot of companies use hydrostatic weighing, for example, and studies have found that this measurement can deviate from the actual value by up to 6 percentage points, depending on factors such as ethnicity, body weight and level of hydration.

And these errors are absolute - not relative. (A person with a body fat percentage of 10% can easily be diagnosed with a value of 16% when measured in a hydrostatic tank.

And what do you get when you use inherently falsified control methods to calibrate the inherently incorrect readings of bioimpedance devices?

A very poor method of measuring body fat percentage.

The bottom line on bioelectrical impedance measurement

As stated earlier, bioelectrical impedance measurement devices available to consumers are so inaccurate and prone to error that scientists have said that these devices are simply not a viable way to estimate body fat percentage (6).

Even the better commercial devices cannot guarantee accurate values. And since these inaccuracies are inconsistent on top of everything else, you can't even use bioelectrical impedance measurement devices to determine a trend in your body fat change over time.

(If they were at least consistently inaccurate, you wouldn't know your actual body fat percentage, but at least you'd have a good idea of whether you're losing fat or muscle).

Body fat calipers and skinfold measurements

Skinfold measurements work as follows:

You use a tool called a caliper to measure the thickness of your skin folds on different parts of your body. You then add up these measurements and apply a formula developed to estimate your body fat percentage.

It should come as no surprise that this method also has some weaknesses and disadvantages.

1. the result is very prone to user error.

Squeeze too much skin and you will get a reading that is higher than your actual body fat percentage. Squeeze too little skin and you will get a measurement that is too low.

2. even if you take a perfect skinfold measurement, bad formulas can still falsify the result (7).

One study found that the results of skinfold measurements can deviate up to 15 percentage points from the actual body fat percentage, with the average deviation being 6 percentage points (8).

Two other studies on skinfold measurement (one of which was conducted with bodybuilders) found error rates of 3 to 5 percentage points (9, 10)

However, despite these weaknesses, calipers and skinfold measurements can be a useful way to determine changes in body composition over time - more on this shortly.

Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA)

DEXA is definitely the most high-tech option on this list.

For this method, a full-body X-ray is taken, which is then used to calculate body fat percentage (radioactive rays are absorbed differently by fat and non-fat tissue, making it possible to measure both types of tissue separately.

DEXA is often referred to as the "gold standard" in body fat measurement, but scientific research shows that this method is just as unreliable as the other methods on this list (10).

One study found that DEXA measurements can be off by 10 percentage points (11). Two other studies found error rates as high as 4 percentage points (9, 12).

This helps explain why many bodybuilders were confused by DEXA scans that were in the 6 to 10% range, even though they were performed in their absolute leanest state.

Here are the reasons DEXA isn't as great as many people think:

1. The accuracy of the machines is affected by a whole host of different variables including gender, height, body fat percentage, diseases, and hydration status (13, 14).
2. Different machines use different algorithms to convert the raw data into body fat percentage and some algorithms are better than others.
3. The type of X-ray affects the accuracy of the test (15).
4. Different machines produce different results - even two machines from the same manufacturer.

Unfortunately, there is no way to know if the results of a DEXA scan are truly accurate.

Body Pod

The science behind the Body Pod is similar to that of hydrostatic weighing. You sit in a sealed chamber and sensors measure the amount of air displaced by your body.

The measurement results are used as starting values for different formulas that are used to calculate your body fat percentage.

Now, we already know that hydrostatic weighing often leads to incorrect results and it seems that Body Pod measurements are even less accurate (16).

The values can be affected by many different factors including body temperature (17), facial hair (18), humidity (19) and even the tightness of clothing (20). Taking all these variables into account, it is not surprising that scientific studies have concluded that the Body Pod has a fairly high error rate.

In one study, the test was off by up to 15 percentage points (16). In other studies, the error rate was up to 5 or 6 percentage points (21).

I can confirm the inaccuracy of the Body Pod. I have worked with thousands of people over the years and have met dozens of people who have been upset by insane Body Pod readings (men with visible abs who had Body Pod readings of over 20% body fat).

In the second part of this article series, we will look at other methods of determining body fat percentage and present a very accurate strategy that will help you to monitor whether your weight loss efforts are going in the right direction.

https://www.muscleforlife.com/how-to-measure-body-fat-percentage/

By Michael Matthews

This guide will teach you the following:

• How to build muscle regardless of your age.
• What age-specific training challenges you will face and how to overcome them.
• The necessary steps to improve your body over the age of 40.
• How you can modify the primary muscle building exercises to reduce the stress on your body.

Age is just a number...

Age over 40 often brings with it some dreaded and misinterpreted visions of aching joints, back pain and declining fitness. "It's time to accept the fact that you're getting older and can no longer do in the gym what you used to be able to do," says the little old man on your shoulder. Are you going to give up and allow the stresses of life and age to keep you from an active fitness plan?

Not so fast. Getting older doesn't mean you have to cancel your gym membership and reduce your workouts to walks around the neighborhood. Not only is there hope for less pain, less fat and more muscle, but there's also a path to a better body.

If you're reading this article, you've probably come to the conclusion that you're facing challenges, need solutions and want more in terms of your fitness goals. Forty is the new thirty, right? So let's define where you are, what your true motivation is and where you can go from here.

Are you concerned?

What's the big deal about the age of 40? Why is this age such a negative milestone when it comes to staying lean, training hard and having enough energy? You may have been working out since your teens and now simply find yourself at a crossroads in terms of goals, motivation and health. Or maybe you're just starting to train with weights and feel a little lost when it comes to where to start.

If you're a member of the "I've been doing this for years" group, then you should know that it's more about training age than physical age. If you've been training daily for more than 20 years, this can take a significant toll on your body - especially if you're training for a specific goal in a sport.

If you're new to training with weights for whatever reason (fat loss, muscle gain or a desire for increased functionality), then a lot of the advice out there can be a little intimidating. This advice also seems to be aimed more at young people in their twenties who want to build maximum muscle mass and superhuman strength. What's a person in their forties to do? No wonder many choose running or golf as their sport of choice.

Let's look at a few challenges the average 40+ exerciser might face when it comes to motivation, training and life.

Compare with others

Yes, forty is the perfect time for maximum confusion. You don't think of yourself as old, but you're no spring chicken either. But you still find yourself comparing yourself to other younger exercisers at your gym. That said, it's not that long ago that you were bench pressing some impressive weights or working out with full energy for two or more hours at a time.

Let's be realistic, your former self is still whispering to you that you're just as fit as you used to be and with a little time and dedication, you can perform at the same level as these millennials. Here's the trick: stop it. Stop comparing yourself to every youngster who walks into the gym. Who cares if those guys bench press more, move more weight on curls or do countless pull-ups? Focus on your strengths, balance out your weaknesses and develop a solid plan that fits your goals. And speaking of goals...

Motivation/goals

Once you've spent a decade or so on the iron, it can sometimes be hard to define a specific goal to work towards. When you were younger, it was all about getting more muscular and stronger. Now that your ego is no longer all that matters, it's time to set new training goals. It's time to find new motivation and create a new plan of action.

However, your goals need to be specific. You can no longer just crank it up and train haphazardly towards becoming more muscular and toned. You need to define what you want, how you want to achieve these goals and how long this will take. What motivates you? What is your new idea of the ideal body? Do you have any weaknesses or functionality issues that need special attention?

Metabolism

Of course, it's no big news that your metabolism will potentially slow down as you get older. For sedentary people, it's already the thirties, during which a natural loss of muscle mass and strength will begin. Children, stress at work and other planned life events can cause you to cut back on exercise and nutrition. Lack of activity, poor eating habits and stress can have a devastating effect on your metabolism.

But it doesn't necessarily have to go downhill. Careful planning can work wonders when it comes to finding time to exercise, eating a balanced diet and coping better with stress. There are many tactics in terms of training strategies, nutrient timing and recovery that can help you get your metabolism back on track.

Regeneration

Another critical aspect of getting older is the complicated issue of recovery. When you were younger, staying up all night and still making gains in the gym the next day seemed like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, the fact is that recovery will take longer as you get older. The aforementioned list of additional stressors will further impair your recovery, making it harder for you to achieve your goals.

Even with age and life working against you, there are still a few things in your toolbox that can help with your recovery. In addition to a regular sleep schedule that will aid your recovery ability, proper nutrition is also crucial. Without a solid nutrition plan, your recovery will be a challenge.

Time

The time available for training and meal preparation can also have a huge impact on your progress. Admittedly, this can be difficult when you are trying to find the right balance in your schedule between family, social life, work and yourself.

Again, careful planning can work wonders - and not just when it comes to your progress in the gym, but also when it comes to your daily life schedule with your responsibilities. Sticking to a solid nutrition plan, exercising regularly and getting enough rest and recovery is achievable with some preparation and planning.

The reality of the 40+ exerciser

Yes, you are no longer the young twenty-year-old exerciser you once were. Your strength, muscle mass and recovery have diminished a little, but there's a little secret. You are tougher and more resilient than you think. Of course, you have to accept these "weak points", but you should mentally focus your perspective on improving what you have.

You still have the ability to build some serious muscle, get leaner and build a more balanced body. Let's look at a few things you can influence.

Things you can improve:

1. find your (new) motivation

What motivates you to get up in the morning? What do you want to improve about your body? Write it down and don't just think about it. Find out what motivates you, write it down and read it every day. This will confirm your purpose, give you drive and build your confidence bit by bit.

2 Realistic assessment and realistic goals

Evaluate where you are right now in terms of your goals. Give yourself an honest assessment and write it down. Take photos if you want and set yourself some realistic, specific goals. Define these goals in detail. These goals could be to lose 20 pounds in 6 months, build 10 pounds of muscle in 4 months, or improve your conditioning by learning a complex skill within a set period of time.

3. what you are capable of

Be realistic but strict with yourself when it comes to scheduling a time for your workout and sticking to that schedule daily and weekly. Do you have to get up earlier in the morning to go to the gym before work? Do you have time to work out during your lunch break? Can you take your lunch to work? Do what you can with what you have, but don't make it too easy.

4. make a solid, realistic plan

Make sure your plan is comprehensive and achievable. A two-hour extreme leg workout is probably not realistic for most people. Burnout, overtraining and diminishing motivation can undo even your best efforts. Put together a moderate volume program that revolves around the basic exercises and includes some core training and injury prevention exercises.

5. filter out the unnecessary

One-arm cable curls will do little for your overall body development. Avoid the small unnecessary exercises and focus on the big multi-joint exercises that will work numerous muscles at once. Bench presses, squats and pulls will do more to reshape your body in less time than countless isolation exercises.

6. warm-up, stretching and flexibility

Make sure you do a dynamic warm-up before every training session. This can include burpees, prisoner squats(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmnNYOxUB5A) and push-ups to name a few. You should also ensure that you stretch after each training session, which should include key areas such as hip flexors, leg flexors, gluteus and lumbar. Improving your flexibility will have a big impact on your long-term results.

7. stay flexible

By this I mean flexibility in your training and diet. Don't be so strict that you drive yourself crazy over a missed training session or a messed up meal. Just carry on as planned and look ahead. Life sometimes takes its own course and you need to be prepared to adjust your training and nutrition plan to compensate for these challenges.

The new beginning

Once you've found your new motivation, defined your specific goals and know what makes an effective training plan, it's time to start your journey. What good is a perfect plan if you don't put it into action?

Remember: you can train hard, train for strength and do the classic exercises without having to enter the circuit training area of your gym. If you have problems with shoulders, knees, hips or other areas, there are workarounds, alternatives and modifications so that you can still reap the benefits of the heavy basic exercises.

As mentioned earlier, the big multi-joint exercises are the best exercises to build muscle, increase your strength and boost your metabolism. Too many isolation exercises will waste your valuable time, drain your energy and do little to get you closer to your goals.

Modifications of the basic exercises

Squats

Correct exercise form is the most common problem with barbell squats. Using too much weight is also an ugly truth that many exercisers are guilty of. Back off on the weight, use the full range of motion, use a higher repetition range and increase the weight gradually. If you still have joint problems or issues with your exercise form, you can try adding box squats, Bulgarian split squats or front squats to your workout.

Bench press

Again, using too much weight seems to be one of the main reasons for most problems for many exercisers striving for a stronger, more muscular chest. Reduce the weight and work on your form. Or try doing dumbbell bench presses with either a 45 degree angle between your upper arms and torso or a neutral grip (palms facing each other) to reduce the stress on your shoulders.

Shoulder press

This is another exercise that can potentially cause shoulder problems. At the same time, shoulder presses have a lot of benefits for overall stability, which carries over to other exercises such as bench presses or rowing. If using a barbell gives you shoulder pain, try dumbbell shoulder presses, Arnold presses, plate raises(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePK_-52OOKM) or single-arm landmine presses(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynCR3U_Z1JQ).

Deadlift

Deadlifts give you full-body strength and muscle mass. If traditional deadlifts give you trouble, or you're a bigger exerciser, try partial repetition deadlifts from blocks or a bench. Start with the barbell at mid-shin height and perform the top half of the movement. You can also use a trap bar(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNgxEhOoOjo) or try dumbbell deadlifts.

Dips

Dips are a basic exercise for real upper body strength. When performing dips for triceps, keep your upper body upright and your elbows at your side throughout the movement. If you are doing dips for the pecs, you should lean your upper body forward and keep your elbows slightly out. Only go down as far as you can without difficulty - but at least as far as a 90 degree bend in your elbows. If this exercise is too difficult for you (you may need to work on your strength), try assisted dips on a machine with a counterweight.

Barbell curls

Although this exercise is touted as the best building exercise for the biceps, barbell curls can put undue stress on your lower back and shoulder joints. If this is the case, try seated dumbbell curls or spider curls(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvufDW-MSQk). These will take the load off your back and help stabilize your shoulders, resulting in less pain.

Pull-ups

Considered to be the absolute best muscle building exercise for the back, pull-ups and all variations (wide grip, close grip, reverse grip, etc.) are a challenging exercise for almost all exercisers. The most popular alternative is the lat pulldown machine, but a better alternative is inverse rowing. While you still use your body weight, inverse rowing uses an angle that makes the exercise slightly easier than traditional pull-ups, but still trains your latissimus effectively.

Rowing bent over

Rowing bent over is one of the basic exercises for building back mass, but it can also lead to back problems. There is always a risk of injury to the lumbar spine and correct form can also be a challenge. Positioning your hips, knees, shoulders and spine correctly while stimulating your latissimus can be a challenge. If you struggle with performing bent-over rows, you can try an alternative such as dumbbell rowing, T-bar rowing and rowing on the machine.

Romanian deadlift

No exercise challenges the leg flexors like the Romanian deadlift. As the leg flexors, gluteus and calves are stretched to a certain degree, this exercise puts a completely different strain on the leg flexors than any variation of leg curls. If lower back problems are preventing you from adding weight to the bar, try the one-legged version.

Exercises with your own body weight

The ability to move your own body weight is a sign of real strength. Pull-ups, push-ups, dips, inverse rowing and abdominal exercises are too often forgotten in the muscle building world. Make sure to incorporate some bodyweight exercises into your program and develop full body strength and functionality.

Sample program for experienced exercisers

Below is a sample training program for exercisers over 40 that takes into account the factors mentioned above. Try four days a week, e.g. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with cardio training on the non-training days. Carry out the dynamic warm-up described below before each training session. This is only an example program - your personal preferences regarding exercise selection, repetition ranges, training days per week, volume and time constraints may be different.

The warm-up

Perform 1 to 3 rounds of the following before each training session:

• Squat jumps or box jumps - 10 reps
• Inverse rowing(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biFQAM16Q4I)- 10 repetitions
• Reverse lunges - 10 reps per leg
• Push-ups - 10 repetitions
• Hanging leg raises - 10 repetitions

Source: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/expert-guides/over-40-muscle-building