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Workouts for Seniors and Older Adults

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Age is just a number, isn’t it? As you age, your joints and muscles become more brittle and more prone to injury. What’s the best course of action? Exercise of course! In this article I’ll go over the common issues you’ll have as you age and the best workouts to help improve mobility and overall strength. Just because you’re aging doesn’t mean you have to feel like it either!

Exercise (and movement in general) will help lubricate your joints and help with joint-related pain. As you age, cartilage changes in your joints.

What is cartilage and why do I care?

Cartilage is the connection tissue used for joints. Without cartilage, your joints would be bone to bone and be very painful. Cartilage is made up of synovial fluid and water. As you add load to a joint (let’s say your knees during a back squat), the fluid stored within cartilage is redistributed as to cushion the weight (as you lower and raise the barbell). This helps “soften the blow” and allows more fluid (hehe) movement.

With such diseases like osteoarthritis, the cartilage can be completely broken down and your joints rub bone to bone, making movement very painful.

While not conclusive, it has been show that regular exercise can reduce the overall damage to cartilage in a lifetime. This gives to the saying “motion is lotion”.

Common Problems Among Older Exercising Adults and How to Fix Them

Think about all the movements you perform in a normal day. Getting up, lying down, stepping up, placing items on a shelf. The most common pain in older adults is usually knee and shoulder. And guess what? You use those joints the most.

Let’s start with the knee first.

Knee Issues

First and foremost lets start with your legs. You’re going to use your legs the most in daily life, so you better protect them now before they get worse.

Generally speaking, most people use their quadriceps more so than their hamstrings because, well, it’s easy and the most convenient. If you’ve ever barbell squatted and have knee pain, chances are you’re not engaging your hamstrings. When you’re not engaging your hamstrings, all the lifting is done with your quadriceps instead of splitting the load with the other muscles in your legs

If knee pain is going to happen, think about investing into knee wraps. They provide constant support and stability.

Shoulder Issues

Next to your knees, your shoulders are secondly used the most. From lifting to rotating, your shoulders do a lot more work than you think. Strengthening the muscles around the shoulder (similar to strengthening the hamstrings to take the load off of the quadriceps) help easy the pain and take the load off that the shoulder is carrying.

Unfortunately, if you have osteoarthritis there’s not much you can do other than try to regain some flexibility in your shoulders. With osteoarthritis, the cartilage wears down protecting the joints and can cause immense pain.

If shoulder pain is due to flexibility or rotator cuff damage, there are some remedies available. Strengthening the muscles around your shoulder as mentioned, such as your rear deltoid muscle and your upper trapezoid muscle can increase stability until you can add a load to your shoulders.

At Home Workouts

Not everyone has the time or money to visit a gym. Having said that, it doesn’t mean you can’t get a good workout in. Latex resistance bands are an excellent alternative to visiting the gym and perfect for rehabilitation work.

Band pull aparts are one of my go-to warm ups for mostly everything upper body. Easy to do and a good stretch before jumping into things.

Assuming you have a gym membership, here are low-impact workouts to help protect your joints and strengthen your muscles.

Leg Workouts for Seniors

Warmup

  • Walking Lunge (use dumbells or kettlebells for added difficulty)
  • Glute bridge walkouts for hamstring stretching
  • Glute bridge for glute stretching prior to lifting
  • Light incline on a treadmill

Workout

  • Horizontal Leg Press – 3 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Lying hamstring curl machine – 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps
  • Leg Abductor machine – 3 sets of 12-15 reps (highly recommended to maintain hip motion)
  • Kettlebell swings – 2-3 sets of 12 reps

Upper Body Workouts for Seniors

Warmup

  • Resistance band pull aparts
  • Childs pose (yoga)
  • Scarecrow rotator cuff warmup

Workout

  • Chest flyes using cables – 2-3 sets of 12 reps
  • Rope facepulls – 3 sets of 15 reps (highly recommended)
  • Dumbbell row on incline bench – 3 sets of 12-15
  • Barbell bicep curl – 2-3 sets of 12 reps
  • Seated dumbbell shoulder press – 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps (use light weight here!)
  • Dumbbell shrugs

If you start now, you can help strengthen your joints to ease the pain in the future. Generally, use a light weight so you can complete all reps and sets of the exercises. As with any shoulder injury, the last thing you want to do is make it worse.


Best Bodybuilding Books You’re Missing Out On

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It’s 2019 and not many people read books, nevermind books about bodybuilding. There’s so much information out there that people don’t take advantage of. There’s a million Bodybuilding.com articles about chest exercises, but how many books have they published? If you’re not reading books, you’re missing out on golden era information. Solidified pillars of information about bodybuilding have stood the test of time.

News Flash! Human musculature hasn’t changed in the last 50 years, so fortunately bicep curls still work your biceps. You don’t need the latest workouts from Mens Health magazines. Back workouts haven’t changed much, just pick up some heavy weight and row it.

Today I’m going to go over the best bodybuilding books money can buy right now so YOU can benefit the most and build a quality body.

The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding: The Bible of Bodybuilding, Fully Updated and Revised

Okay, if you haven’t heard of this book then you must have been living underneath a rock.

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Cannabis And Bodybuilding: What You Need To Know

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With many states and provinces legalizing the consumption of cannabis (marijuana), the rise of use among bodybuilders and casual gym goers is increasing. There’s less social stigma around use because of research showing positive benefits of cannabis use. Certain extracts of the plant, such as CBD oil, helps treat chronic pain, lowers chronic pain and can allow you to sleep much easier.

Marijuana isn’t the scary substance it was made out to be, and for the casual bodybuilders out there, it’s a fantastic tool and alternative to many medications.

We all remember that scene in Pumping Iron where Arnold Schwarzenegger is smoking a joint and eating fried chicken.

Arnold Schwarzenegger smoking a marijuana joint in Pumping Iron
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I’ve spent over $2500 on Protein Powders – These taste the best

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I’ve transformed my body from a fat, pack a day cigarette smoker to a 6 days a week, work my ass off, wannabe bodybuilder. To get where I am today, I had to pack on lean muscle. What do you do to pack on lean muscle? Lift heavy shit and get your protein in. What’s the easiest way to get protein in? Whey protein shakes.

Unless a friend recommends a flavour or you sample it beforehand, trying a new protein powder is taking a risk for your tastebuds. I can’t count how man times I’ve tried a new whey protein powder flavour and it tastes like literal garbage. Orange creamsicle? You’re better off licking the sidewalk. You think plain old vanilla is any better? Unless it’s naturally flavoured, the stevia taste is going to sit at the back of your tongue for the rest of the week.

I’ve spent over $2500 on protein powders over my fitness career trying to find the ones that taste the best that I can actually stomach. Trust me, this is harder than you think. If you’re going to drink something twice a day you might as well enjoy it, right? 

Alright enough jibber jabber, here are the BEST tasting protein powders available right now.

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Cheap Protein Foods for Muscle Growth

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Getting your daily protein in shouldn’t be expensive, nor should it hinder your overall muscle growth. Bodybuilders get stuck in their ways and get stuck on the “plain chicken breast, white rice and broccoli”-train and never venture out. Don’t get me wrong, boneless skinless chicken breast is a fantastic choice but it gets old and boring after a while. Just like your training, you should switch up your diet as well to keep things fresh.

But if you’re bulking on a budget, one of the things top of mind is finding the least expensive meat for muscle growth. Protein sources come in many forms, and it doesn’t always have to rack up a high bill.

For the rest of us, it’s time to try something new. Start your year off right with these cheap protein sources for optimal muscle growth.

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Best Tricep Stretches For The Gym To Avoid Injury

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We’ve all been there: you get so pumped up going to the gym you don’t properly stretch and you end up injuring yourself. You say “next time I’ll stretch more!”. But you don’t.

Chances are if you’re working your triceps, you’re moving some heavy ass weight. And when you injure yourself moving heavy ass weight, the results aren’t good. Stretching your muscles prior to warm-up is crucial in preventing injury, increasing range of motion and mental focus. Start your workout with these easy and effective tricep stretches.

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ZMA Benefits: Get Better Gains

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There are a million different supplements you can buy that will claim will help you get more gains or help you lose fat. Most of the claims are pulled straight from someone’s rear end but the one supplement that lives up to the hype is ZMA. I’ve never gotten such good sleep and better performance in the gym with a single supplement.

Sleep is such a crucial aspect of muscle growth, and without quality sleep, you could be losing out on gains. Think about it: sleep is the time for your body to recover and actually grow. And if you have crappy sleep, what do you think that does to the recovery aspect? You’re missing out on muscle growth. In the article, I’ll speak about the benefits of ZMA and why you should add it to your supplement regime.

Much Ado about ZMA

ZMA is an organic mineral supplement that comprises zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6. In ZMA supplements, zinc supplementation occurs in form of zinc monomethionine aspartate, magnesium occurs in form of magnesium aspartate, and vitamin B6 in form of pyridoxine hydrochloride.

ZMA benefits

The traditional formula consists of 30 mg zinc monomethionine and aspartate, 450 mg of magnesium aspartate and 10.5 mg of pyridoxine hydrochloride. However, some manufacturers might choose to alter the composition of the aforementioned nutrients by adding some other ingredients. All components of the blend are essential in biological processes, numerous studies have proven that a vast majority of Americans have enough stores of zinc and B6 but about half of the population do not meet the daily recommended intakes of magnesium. [Read more…]

Your Guide To Upper Body Bodyweight Exercises

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You’re at home with no equipment and you want to work out; what do you do? No matter where you are, bodyweight workouts are your best friend. Today  I’ll go over the best upper body bodyweight exercises so you can still get a pump in when you’re away from the gym.

 

Bodyweight exercises also can be classified as callisthenics, are exercises that use your own bodyweight. Meaning no external equipment, just you and your limbs. While you’re not going to look like Arnold after doing a few sets of dips, it’s still going to stimulate your muscles.

 

Bodyweight exercises can be performed anywhere, whether you’re travelling or just sitting at home. Since these exercises require no tools or equipment, you can increase the difficulty easily depending on your skill level.

 

Chest

 

Gold standard: Push ups

 

Push ups are the go-to exercise to working your chest with no equipment. Like the bench press, push ups work your shoulders, triceps and chest muscles.

 

Tips: Keep your legs straight and brace your core. Your body should be tight and rigid, don’t lose form as you complete a push up!

 

Variation: Stretch Push Ups

 

Stretch push ups are a modified push up with an increased range of motion. Start by getting yourself in a normal push up position. Now put your hands away from your body, approximately one foot from where your hands would normally be. Another way to perform a stretch push up is by having your hands elevated.

You can see that from the start the stretch push up puts tension on your chest. From the stretched position, you stretch out your chest, even more, recruiting more muscle fibers.

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What are Rack Pulls and How Effective Are They? Gain Back Mass

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Lower back exercises are constantly neglected, so you end up with a weak back because you don’t do any. How do you fix it? Rack pulls are the answer.

What The Hell Are Rack Pulls?

You’ve probably seen guys do rack pulls at the gym but you may have thought they were doing barbells rows funny. I don’t find it’s a very popular exercise in of itself, but it’s definitely effective.

In short, rack pulls are a modified deadlift with a limited range of motion.

Rack pulls are performed in a rack (duh). The bar is set on the safety guides at about knee height, depending on how deep you want the range of motion.

Rack pulls are effective at really working your lower back since you’re not limited by leg strength like deadlifts. This way you can target your lower optimally, without relying on your quads or hamstrings.

How Are Rack Pulls Different Than Deadlifts?

When you deadlift, whatever grip it may be, the bar is set on the ground. In some instances, you can step on a platform or plate to increase the range of motion of the deadlift.

As you straighten up with a deadlift you metaphorically push your feet through the floor, using the strength of your legs and back to raise the weight.

Now for rack pulls, the barbell is resting on the safety guides of the rack. For most, the safety is set to around knee height. If it’s too low, you’re just doing a deadlift and if it’s too high, the range of motion will be too short.

Just like a deadlift, you want to hinge your hips as you complete the exercise. Since your legs will be left out of the equation, your lower back will be constantly worked during the exercise.

Since the range of motion is shortened, you can overload the weight on rack pulls. Having said that, if you have a sensitive or weak lower back, this will be the last thing you want to do. Warm up with a lighter exercise such as hyperextensions, with or without additional weight, before you jump into rack pulls. This will reduce the chance of injury by literally warming up the muscle.

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The Best Damn Feeder Workouts for Chest

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It’s 2018, have you heard of Feeder workouts? If not you’re missing out on the best damn way to grow your chest!

Feeder workouts work, and and it was the main method of Rich Piana’s workouts. But if you’re new to this concept what the hell are Feeder workouts?

 

 

What Are Feeder Workouts?

This is an excerpt from the original article The Truth About Rich Piana’s Feeder Workouts

The idea behind a feeder workout is that you are going to pump your muscle like crazy with high repetitions.

This will then force blood, oxygen, and other nutrients into the muscle thus ‘feeding’ the muscle.

When performing a feeder workout you use very light weight, very minimal rest, and focus entirely on the pump.

What’s the point of a feeder workout?

Good question! The point is to grow your muscle.

“BUT DON’T I NEED SUPER HIGH WEIGHT TO GROW MY MUSCLES?”

Not entirely true! Like always there are many different philosophies and we’ll dive into the reasoning behind this and why it actually works.

So you pump, pump and pump up your muscle full of blood for ultimate muscle growth. You can hit your chest with heavy ass weight for years on end and get no growth. What most guys do is throw some plates on the on the bar, bench some ungodly weight and pat themselves on the back.

You can’t just simply move the weight and expect a huge barrel chest!

One of the core concepts in bodybuilding is the mind-muscle connection. You have to really think about how your muscle feels during the exercise. By creating a strong mind-muscle connection, you can distinguish different muscles easier. This will allow you to really target the muscle group you’re after, whether it be your chest, arms or legs.

It wasn’t until I started hitting my chest with tons of volume that I noticed growth

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