My expeience, over 50, decades in the gym. FIRST, re-read over and over - DO NOT GET INJURED. PERIOD. This is the top element I suggest paying attention to. Simply don't get injured. Whatever you need to change to decrease the odds of getting injured, do it. SECOND, more frequency, consistency, and time under tension (think slow reps) has worked better than intensity and heavy loads which increase risk of injury. THIRD, vary thing and listen to your body. Finally, KISS. Just keep things simple.
Yep. Im 50 and always not much of a gym goer. So it’s about gaining. And after some health scares now never do train to failures. I do 10 mins sorta exercises with some effort and at home and parks. Works much better.
As a 46 year old who keeps having to stop training for weeks at a time because of random joint injuries, I agree (edit: not actually gym injuries in my case, weekend DIY projects, lifting unexpectedly heavy bags etc 🤦)
Bottom line was Mike Mentzer was right. I am 58 and train to failure twice a week in the gym and do ruck walking during the week and have only gotten stronger. You do need recovery time and you don't need high volume. That being said I have never seen anything picked apart more than fitness. I believe almost any routine will work and keep you in shape if you ACTUALLY do it. Consistency is the key. Not the start and stop people do and I know because I have been one of those people
the issue is, if you take ego out of the equation, there is no need to 'get bigger'. if anything as we age we want to get smaller and tighter. giving organs a break from digesting huge amounts of the mythical protein.
I’m pretty sure the general consensus is that you can certainly gain a lot of muscle with Mentzer advice. It’s also pretty clear that his low volume to failure approach is not optimal for all, especially competing in bodybuilding at the highest level. He probably could have won if he adjusted his training a little to optimize. He was also a meth head, so maybe not the most reliable source for ideas
I am 59, using the HIT protocol, twice a week, progressive overload, with a warmup using bands. I also eat mostly carnivore with carbs on workout days. I also use HIIT, bike sprints and running sprints twice a week. I walk my dog every day for a total of about 15 miles. Going very well. I am stronger, slightly bigger 7-9 pounds and more cut after 4-5 months. My only complaint about Heavy Duty, is the abs, where I am getting slightly larger. I think I need to add an abs, lower back isometric or something to tighten up my core. I am 5'10", 170. Goal is 175, with about 12-15% body fat.
Intensity and volume have an inverse relationship. The higher the intensity, the less volume and frequency required. My 2x per week FB workouts take 30 minutes per session or less. High Intensity Training (HIT) makes a lot of sense for most people.
I'll be 60 soon and agree with most info here. However, even at my age I was able to gain muscle with much less volume. Alternating between 2-3 full body workouts per week, to guarantee recovery, and doing 3-4 sets per exercise at 10-15 reps was enough to see weekly gains as long as the last set is to failure. However, as said more volume, less intensity seems best for maintenance. But I think you still have to bump it up to muscle building once in a while to hang on to your muscle.
Agreed, @hicoteo! While the 10-20 sets per week guideline may look great in studies of isolated body parts, only a dedicated bodybuilder (like Arnold) could do 20 sets for the full body (~10 exercises), and it would take hours each day in the gym. I hope no one lets those unrealistic guidelines dissuade them from getting into the gym regularly to do *something*. I shoot for 2-3 times per week, 45-60 minutes, 6-8 exercises, 2-3 sets each exercise and even that moderate volume (4-9 sets/week/muscle group) does wonders. I'm 62 and still able to do sets of full stretch pullups, bench my weight for reps, etc. Getting in there is half the battle!
I love the way you compared muscle tissue to managers in the department store. I can tell you that this exact scenario takes place with fat too. I’ve observed people who have gained weight to a certain body weight when they lose weight from a diet, those managers hang out until they resume their normal activities and the weight comes back if not even more.
My experience, (I’m 49 and have been doing this my entire life), there’s more than one way to get the results you want. But there’s no way around being consistent. The issue you can have with training to failure is increasing the risk of injury. Especially if you’re going heavy. I personally prefer Jay Cutler’s style of more volume, training hard, but not necessarily to failure. Again, you have to find what works best for you.
Hello and love to all! New here and sent here from Zach Bauer. You have my support, love and prayers for your channel to flourish. Subscribing from Loveland, Colorado ❤
Im surprised that fasting wasnt mentioned in the video. At 48 yrs, i incorporated fasting once or twice a week for year and a half. Resistance trained at high intensity (5 - 10 reps to failure, 2 -3 sets per muscle group) and broke my fasts with 50 to 75 g of protein. My Dexa scan showed that i lost 2 lbs of muscle while i maintained my bodyweight. From my experience, you shouldnt fast if you are trying to build muscle. You should be trying to keep your body in anabolic state as long as you can during the week. Has anyone else experienced the same issue with fasting and building muscle?
Fasting does not affect building muscle really,it is just a matter on how much protein,calories you consume during your eating window,if you are losing muscle while doing Fasting,you should consider add 200 -300 more calories above maintenance and consume at least 0.8 grams protein per bodyweight (lbs) I do it that way (Fasting)and got 4 pounds of muscle In 5 weeks,also sleep is super important,when you workout you estimule muscle,but while sleeping is when the magic happens.
@@waltervillacorta32 I thought I could hack the caloric deficit and recomp by resistance training and eating more than 1 g protein per bodyweight. Unfortunately, being in a caloric deficit was not good for muscle building. When you are fasting, it is difficult to not be in a deficit. Placing your body in a catabolic state frequently (especially older individuals) is good for fat loss but not hypertrophy. Currently, I stopped fasting and I'm just focused on resistance training.
@@nwmxrider it's weird because I've been getting stronger during the same period. This is after the neural adaption that occurs in the beginning. But the DEXA scan results point to a decrease in lean tissue. Someone explain that to me. 🤔
What happens when you start day 1 training 70-80% to failure in all sets as total noobie? Well, i'm finding out in live time using my own body as my own experiment. I'm my own Frankenstein and it's so cool. High protein, Moderate fat keto, combined with Deep Fasting and INTENSE training is Amazing. It's insane how fast my body is changing. I literally just saw all 3 deltoids at 455lbs (started last November at 546lbs) ...I can see the full outline of my horseshoe triceps. Course ive been over 300lbs since I was 11 and thats my end goal is 300lbs at 15% bf. I couldn't even comprehend what that would look/feel like...but the past month or so has started to just barely give me a taste/show me what that will feel like. I know youve done a kinda 180 on fasting...but it truly is magical when combined w/ keto and especially high protein moderate fat keto imo. I actually increased my strength 25% 60-111hr fasted and have maintained it. I cant wait to see where this leads and doing my own study using my body =D
That's incredible. Im going back and forth between 180 and low 170s and fasting has helped me get down from 205 which at 5'7 is obese for my height and age and plus with my injuries being to heavy hurts like hell.
### Key Takeaways from "How to Build Muscle 2x Faster and Maintain it Easily" by Thomas DeLauer featuring Dr. Andy Galpin: 1. **Newbie Gains**: - Rapid muscle gains can occur when you first start working out, regardless of age. - Untrained individuals can build muscle with relatively low intensity. 2. **Importance of Intensity for Maintenance**: - Intensity is more critical than volume for maintaining muscle mass. - Training to failure or near failure is essential for maintaining muscle, especially as one ages. 3. **Frequency and Volume**: - For individuals aged 20-35, one to two strength training sessions per week with 5-10 sets per muscle group are sufficient for maintenance. - Older individuals (over 35) require more frequent sessions and higher volume to maintain muscle mass. 4. **Protein and Supplementation**: - Increased protein intake is necessary for older adults due to decreased muscle protein synthesis efficiency. - Creatine supplementation can help maintain muscle mass and support higher training intensity, particularly for those over 35. 5. **Exercise Structure**: - Younger individuals can maintain muscle with minimal effective dose: two sessions per week with multiple sets per exercise. - Older adults need more sessions and moderate intensity to avoid losing muscle mass. 6. **Muscle Memory**: - Once muscle is built, it’s easier to regain if lost due to the muscle memory effect. - The infrastructure of muscle cells (like additional satellite cells) remains even after muscle loss, aiding in quicker regrowth. 7. **Cardio and Vascularization**: - Cardio should not be neglected as it improves vascularization, which helps deliver nutrients to muscles. - Balancing cardio with strength training ensures it doesn’t interfere with training intensity. 8. **Scientific Support**: - Studies indicate that maintaining muscle might require less exercise than previously assumed, particularly in younger individuals. - For older adults, maintaining muscle requires both higher protein intake and more frequent, intense exercise. 9. **Practical Tips**: - Adjust protein intake based on training volume; decrease in training should be accompanied by an increase in protein. - Creatine can be taken in small doses throughout the day to avoid water retention and support muscle maintenance. 10. **Overall Strategy**: - Focus on maintaining high intensity during workouts. - Ensure adequate protein intake, especially if reducing workout volume. - Incorporate cardio to support muscle maintenance and overall health.
By the way Thomas I just wanted to say I’m a big fan of your’s been watching the channel for over a year now & really love the info! You do an excellent job of explaining everything in very easy to understand terms thanks for your videos! I appreciate all your time & effort! Keep up the great work God bless you & your family sir 🫡
I’m only 1 1/2 years into lifting again after taking a 6 year hiatus & have already 2.5x most of my compound lifts while being in a 500 calories deficit for 18 months the entire time I’ve just been going TO & BEYOND failure doing forced slow negatives even sometimes at the very end for extra hypertrophy. I lift literally ONCE a week do FULL BODY & I’ve seen great results… oh & I’m almost 35! If I can do it anyone that’s able bodied can too! It’s 100% mind over matter! Your brain is your most powerful / valuable muscle in your body!!! THIS IS ALL STUFF MIKE MENTZER SPOKE ABOUT SOME 30-40 years ago & people laughed at him! Who’s laughing now Arnold?! 😂
I'd prefer more muscle - than hair on the chest. 😂 No doubt placing the focus on the stretch, the elongation as you have rightly mentioned, will add those hairs to the chest.
It does when you do cardio too close to strength or hypertrophic workout. Keep them apart, and they both have their beneficial effect. Talking about anaerobic cardio here - aerobic cardio doesn’t interfere, like walking with up to 120 bpm (varies individually, 120 works fine for me, trending downward though the more trained I get).
@@Ed17151 Dr. Mike from RP Strength mentioned it a few times. Right now I‘m on vacation for 4 weeks and taking a break from my usual weight training mesocycle: Not taking creatine for 3 weeks, going running instead of walking, only maintenance for the muscles so my impingement can heal out, not being as strict with eating clean (hard on vacation anyway), but continuing with intermittent fasting 16-8. The body needs a different stimulus every now and then. Come August I‘ll go on a mesocycle mainly targeting my identified weaknesses in the last mesocycle, triceps, chest, legs, and hip mobility. I‘ll do that for 12 weeks, keeping the IF and the walking going, then another 4 week break in routine, maybe more HIIT elements then to introduce other stimuli again and get different muscle adaptations. Also a nice variation in walking (always targeting to get close to a 120 bpm average, so swift speed) is to to that with a 45 lb weight vest and optional kettlebells. I can tell you that a 3 mile walk with this vest and a 15 lb kettlebell in each hand is no joke when you strive to not stop and not set the bells down 🥵 but a great whole body workout - and forearms on fire 🔥😂 I firmly believe that the wide the range of stimuli you can introduce the more balanced the muscular interaction becomes and the better your aerobic and anaerobic adaptation will be. Combine that with clean eating and a bit of constant weight loss, and within a few years you‘ll be a lean mean fighting machine - or at least look like one 🙈😜
@@Ed17151 Dr. Mike from RP Strength mentioned it a few times. Right now I‘m on vacation for 4 weeks and taking a break from my usual weight training mesocycle: Not taking creatine for 3 weeks, going running instead of walking, only maintenance for the muscles so my impingement can heal out, not being as strict with eating clean (hard on vacation anyway), but continuing with intermittent fasting 16-8. The body needs a different stimulus every now and then. Come August I‘ll go on a mesocycle mainly targeting my identified weaknesses in the last mesocycle, triceps, chest, legs, and hip mobility. I‘ll do that for 12 weeks, keeping the IF and the walking going, then another 4 week break in routine, maybe more HIIT elements then to introduce other stimuli again and get different muscle adaptations. Also a nice variation in walking (always targeting to get close to a 120 bpm average, so swift speed) is to to that with a 45 lb weight vest and optional kettlebells. I can tell you that a 3 mile walk with this vest and a 15 lb kettlebell in each hand is no joke when you strive to not stop and not set the bells down 🥵 but a great whole body workout - and forearms on fire 🔥😂 I firmly believe that the wide the range of stimuli you can introduce the more balanced the muscular interaction becomes and the better your aerobic and anaerobic adaptation will be. Combine that with clean eating and a bit of constant weight loss, and within a few years you‘ll be a lean mean fighting machine - or at least look like one 🙈😜
What is the difference? What about testosterone levels? And protein intake? Wouldn’t that make a huge difference in outcomes for the two age groups? Most people as they get older, unfortunately begin to reduce their protein intake.
So I do believe in a maintenance workout routine that can be done 1 day a week. One excersize per body part till failure. If you do 10 muscle groups 5 minutes each and rest 5 minutes between that would 2 hours total. This is just for MAINTENANCE (keeping your gains) I do this sometimes when I'm very busy, and I've been training for 12 years.
I know everyone is different, but I'm 53 and still gaining muscle (admittedly, very slowly) doing one or at most two sets of any given exercise... and no more than 2 exercises for a muscle group. But I take those sets to complete failure, or beyond - - the last rep is a slow, excruciating rep, all reps done to avoid any momentum, even slower negatives, and sometimes partials when I can no longer do a full rep. I like periodization (upper/lower and working out basically every other day)and while for most of the year, I do a split... for a month or 2, per year, I switch to full-body, twice per week. At 53 I can handle intensity better and know what failure really is, better than I could in my 20s. I don't have particularly good genetics... I've had minor injuries and had to rehab them... and learned ways to avoid them (the slower reps). It works.
Thomas, I've been following you for 4 yrs, but for yrs now I have muscle atrophy down my left side leg all the way down to my foot, creating drop foot from my sciatica attacks. Is there anyway for me to get my muscle mass back from the muscle atrophy?
I am having the same problem, I had my sciatic being pinched in both legs, I didn't have a foot problem but extreme atrophy in my legs they got so skinny and bony. Having a hard time building them back up. Any little leg workout I do if my legs are in massive pain for 4 to 5 days.
I love studies, I only go by studies. I won’t even try anything unless there is a study on it. I’ve been studying about doing things for over ten years now. When I finally decide to hit a gym I’m gonna crush it.
I can understand why wanting to know what the MEA (Minimum Effective Amount) of Exercise - be it Volume, Intensity, Weight Used, etc might be a good thing to know if you want to either BUILD, or MAINTAIN muscle - especially for those of us who are older (Over 60); but what if you actually ENJOY working out, and aren't trying to just do the Least Amount Necessary, or Bare Minimum? Is there any downside(s) to pushing ourselves beyond the bare minimum? Especially if we don't mind a few minor, temporary aches & pains, or a little bit of DOMS? As long as it does not prevent us from completing our every day tasks, or our next workout. I enjoy working out, and don't just want to fo as little as necessary. Is there a MAXIMUM amount that older individuals can do "safely", before there would be no beneficial reason to continue? (Again taking into consideration the willingness to accept a bit of temporary "soreness"/D.O.M.S.?
You got to listen to your body especially as you get older. Anyone who is at this point of maintaining already especially due to aging understands what works for them.
The fastest gain was 60% over two weeks. In lab. I did that to me. 10 ya. Myostatin inhibition. Now Im 50 and it’s about gaining. I research rejuvenation for 15 y. One can gain at the older age
What do you think about canned salmon, I've been ripping down like two cans at once with some potatoes or white rice , it's like 200 grams of protein at once .. I've been having awesome results ..
At 66 gaining muscle seems to be a bit of a challenge. One one hand I do 3 to 5 different exercises and 3-5 sets per exercise per muscle group with at least two exercise being compound and three being isolate. Getting injured seems to be the problem as I lift heavier weights, which can happen so easy without you realising you are doing it. Then it's a long lay off as you try to recover. Eating enough protein can also be a bit hit and miss. I was doing isolated whey powder to increase protein intake and all I did was get fat on it put on 14Lb of fat. It is very frustrating to know where the sweet spot is as we are all different and react to muscle stimulus and protein intake differently.
🤔 *Instead of trying to determine how much exercise we can tolerate perhaps we should be trying to find out how little exercise we actually require.* 🤜🤛
So I’m 57, I train three times a week. I do 3 set 15 reps on all my exercises but different amounts of weights. Is that good or bad? I’m probably some what building but not as big as I would like to be.
I workout 1-2 sets to failure each exercise upper body with just 1 set each legs then 2 days later sprints then 3 days later do it all over again so I lift only every 5 days and then sprint every 4ish days
Bottom line is your body will adjust to it's needs. If you don't need (not want) need that muscle to do what your asking it to do you'll lose it no matter age. You body doesn't look at it's muscle mass the same way you do. You have to consider the way it thinks. Keepemcoming
So unfortunately i was paralyzed for 3 years and never lifted anything after getting to 230 lb 5% body fat and I’m still over 200 lbs after not lifting a finger , so keto and IF and definitely muscle preserving, i did lose most of my strength just not much size zero steroids
After doing HIT or Mikes ideal Routine, I knwo the high volume needs are BS. I’ve gotten stronger almost every workout since starting. And feel great and not beat up all the time because I’m always fully healed by the next workout.
Consistent extra meal everyday + deadlifts (3x a week high, med n low intensity). Deadlift help maintain appetite n ensures weight gained is muscle. Worked for me as a former hard gainer + skinny fat who now has muscle mass🎉
I wish all I had to do was put on muscle because it is so easy, even at 43! Trying to look like someone who has been on gear for years when you're natty, THAT is hard, actually it's impossible!
But why does muscle synthesis drop? Why do you need more protein as you get older? This gets further toward the answer BUT really doesn’t get to the root
As with most other functions of the body as we age, our ability to utilise protein also reduces as we age. So we need to feed more in to elicit the same response we did when our body utilised a lesser amount better when we were younger.
@@GeeeEm61 I was asking the question in a bit of a rhetorical way. Yes I understand that according to conventional wisdom aging causes issues like reduced absorption of protein. But why? Just like it was always thought that losing muscle and falling metabolism is due to aging. I’m reality that is generally false. So, there must be some function that reduces our bodies’ ability to utilize protein. I suspect the degradation causing this is linked to the dysfunction due to excess visceral fat.
@@stevenjacks9966 I don't know if you have ever watched Dr Berg on RU-vid, but he has discussed many bodily processes that reduce in efficiency as we age, eg, the ability of many peoples stomachs to maintain correct acidity, which in itself can cause malabsorption issues leading to many common age related problems. If you believe you do not fall into what Thomas is talking about, I'd perhaps not say generally what is being conveyed (by Thomas) is false, but perhaps you are an "outlier" because everyone is different.
@@GeeeEm61 yes. I know Dr Berg, Ekberg, Pell, Azadi, Binkman, Remi and many more very well. I may be an outlier. But I don’t believe it’s due to genetics. I believe it’s due to effort out in and results seen from effort. That’s also how I beat stage 4 cancer. Most of what they say is correct. But I always ask why. Is it simply the natural state of things or due to an underlying cause. For instance typically as we age our metabolism drops. But this isn’t due to age. It’s due to loss of muscle mainly due due to suboptimal diet and lack of effort to maintain muscle. Anyway. Thanks for the input.
LOOONG VIDEO LET ME SAVE TIME FOR YOU: 1. The beginner build and keep muscle with less effort because it is jew for the muscle. 2. The most muscle you have the most intense training you need to keep and even build muscle 💪 3. Both new and not new people need proper nutrition and rest to see results. THAT'S IT, YOUR WELCOME.
This is not fully on topic, but the video let a question pop up in my head: What is the difference between that Anatoly gym guy and the jacked dudes, who cannot lift as much as him? Is it that he trains and eats for maximum muscle function and they train some for being jacked with steroids? As a triathlete, I don't get it, because in the endurance world there is no distinction between the route of being fast or the route of looking good through endurance training. Even though, obviously there is also a doping issue. Or maybe there is a distinction, which is delineated differently in endurance sports. The ones who walk the line to overtraining will likely be faster, while the ones who hold back on intensity more often than not, will be metabolically healthier and look healthier in the long run.
The experts usually say that less reps (1-5) and longer rest times between sets (3-5min) it's better if your focus is only to be stronger. For hypertrophy (bigger muscles) it's recommended going for higher reps (8-15) and less rest (1-3min). But ofc genetics are also a big factor, some people will just be stronger than they look or vice-versa
Hmm, unless you are elite athlete no way could you get 30 high quality, high RPE sets (6 exercises x 5 sets) done in 30 mins, especially with squats in the mix. Plus you need to warm up for all these different exercises. Please explain..
You can't do anymore. Most people think they are at failure but they can still push out 3-6 more of that particular lift. It's like going for a run or a sprint and you collapse and your like I can't not go a single step farther.
5 sets per exercise, per body part in 30 minutes is wild. Squats RDLs Calves Bench Press Shoulder Press Pull-ups Rows Biceps Triceps 40 sets in 30-60 minutes 🤔
@@Dom-bn1ru I was more alluding the the impossibly of that. Let’s say you take on average 3 second to do 1 rep on every movement. 2 down, no pause and 1 up. Say every set is 10 reps and you take exactly 30 seconds rest between sets, which is way low if you want to keep intensity relatively high. That alone is 40 minutes, not counting time to set up equipment, load weights and move around the gym and drink water lol. Even if you somehow manage to sprint through all those sets, the workout will be dogshit in terms of getting sets close to failure.
Newbie gains are real.......they just dont amount to much, lol. Its great to add 15lbs or so of muscle......but it takes like 40-60lbs of muscle to actually start looking good. Its a long road to get to the point where maintenance is even a concern. Before that point, theres hardly even a point in keeping it if you arent going to go all the way.
That's why you need to find what works for you, for me I prefer going to failure more sets per workout instead of going for more volume but I feel fine the next day, some people won't
What bothers me about the "research" is a "set" is very ambiguous. A set of bodyweight squats isn't the same as high bar squats as heavy as possible 6-8 reps to 1-2 RIR. I'll take 6 sets a week of heavy high bar squats over 10 sets of body weight squats all day. What is the 'intensity' of these sets when they say 10-20 sets per muscle group per week? I call bullshit. In the research, they count every muscle worked in compound exercises as 1 set for that muscle, even secondary and tertiary muscles. So how is secondary muscles worked in a compound exercises count the same a set of isolation exercise for the same muscle?
Creatine does NOT make a human able to create more leverage. It does NOT cause bones to become shorter or longer. It does NOT cause muscle/bone attachment points to migrate. Differences in leverages ARE differences in bone lengths and muscle attachment (aka insertion) points.
Feel better about yourself? When I feel down and low self esteem, I usually do something productive, but lashing out at successful people on the internet works too 🤙🏼
Try to eat more, don't skip meals, sleep better (7h minimum or preferebly more) and increase your workout intensity (going to failure more often) instead of just doing lots of volume
@@user-ns2dt3le1e A general practitioner or an internal specialist is a good starting point. Hyperhidrosis points towards an hormonal imbalance in a lot of cases, which might be responsible for you not being able to make gains. But thorough testing is needed there for sure. All the best!
the more volume you do the more cortisol you WILL release cortisol breaks muscle down its a fact unless you take anabolics how tf you want to do 20 - 30 work sets per muscle group to grow in a week ? no Thomas very disappointed in you
So what I'm hearing here is that the testing is hilariously awful -- one set per muscle per week? Why not just have people do jumping jacks once a week, as it seems like a foregone conclusion as to what the results would be for retaining muscle mass 😂 Also there's never any focus on flexibility, mobility and functionality factored into the test groups -- did you keep your muscle mass is far less interesting when also combined with "can you dunk a basketball", "can you squat sit and play with your kids", "can you walk 4 or 5 miles", "can you run at all", etc. I also feel like so much of this is done to shake out the average responses, which can be semi-useful in some cases and completely meaningless in others. Going back to the individuation of cardio zones because of base metabolic rate and VO2 Max being specific to the individual, these big averages take on less meaning (and can be harmful to use). The huge "likely true" trends are good to know for a reference point, but really carrying out your own individual experimentation is key. How much do I need to lift? What can I do before I have to take a recovery day? What does a recovery day look like? What happens when I do X, Y or Z in my diet? So on and so forth.
