When I first started a program a few months ago at age 40 I really liked my gym. It is cheap as it is affiliated with a local hospital, and so it made sense that some of the people there are under “doctor’s orders” post MI or whatever….

Also it is less intimidating than the early bird dinner seating at Bill Knapp's, or if you don't remember Bill Knapps think Norwegian Cruise Line, Vegas nickel slots, you get the idea.

My real question is can I really expect to "bulk up" or look "swole" starting at 5’7", 175lbs and 40 yrs old? Am I starting to late to “get ripped”?:confused:

The thing is when I go to this gym and I look at most of these people and they are there every damn day on their ellipticals and treadmills, 50-80 yrs old, and 40 - 80 lbs overweight? In the locker room I hear them say they've been coming there for 3-5-10 yrs and they still look pathetic, big ole beer bellies, everything sagging…..

I start to think is this impossible? Are we “too old”? Are they doing something wrong? Is it really that hard?:bang:

Most are doing one helluva lot of cardio, and no lifting, or some low weight, high rep “toning” a lot of the cardio is certainly “non-target” as some are merely walking, but others are pedaling and sweating like mad and still they look like Dennis Franz or Mickey Rooney.

It was watching this that told me I was not likely to achieve my goals using cardio (stairs) alone. So over the past week I started looking around found this site, started to eat better (less fat primarily), and lift.

How hard is it to get ripped at 40?:moon:

My real question is can I really expect to "bulk up" or look "swole" starting at 5’7", 175lbs and 40 yrs old? Am I starting to late to “get ripped”?:confused:


So you're a young lad :p. I'm a touch taller and almost 20 lbs lighter. I wouldn't call myself "ripped" but I'm down to about 10% BF. I find 32" jeans loose. All this starting from a point much worse then you are currently. At 43 years of age currently.

I'm sure it's harder the older you get. I really made sure I didn't push too hard. Knowing it would take longer to recover from any injury.

Steps are fun. Just do them with a pair of dumbells :D

A lot of anything is diet. You can't eat like a 20 year old.

My real question is can I really expect to "bulk up" or look "swole" starting at 5’7", 175lbs and 40 yrs old? Am I starting to late to “get ripped”?:confused:

No.

The thing is when I go to this gym and I look at most of these people and they are there every damn day on their ellipticals and treadmills...

Most are doing one helluva lot of cardio, and no lifting, or some low weight, high rep “toning” a lot of the cardio is certainly “non-target” as some are merely walking, but others are pedaling and sweating like mad and still they look like Dennis Franz or Mickey Rooney.

See a pattern? If those actions don't produce the desired result, don't follow in their path. Chose a different one.

Eat well, lift heavy barbells and dumbbells hard, don't waste your life doing excess cardio (some isn't bad).

How hard is it to get ripped at 40?:moon:

Check out carguy (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=34067). I think he just posted his two year anniversary here working out.

Don't give up before you try. You can most definitely do it.

Don't let the losers get you down. Of course you can bulk and look ripped. Diet and hard work are the keys.
Ask any of them about their diet and it will probably not be too good.
Work out hard and line up your diet and you will see great results. Especially compared to the others there. They soon will be looking at you like you are some sort of Superman!!

Get a plan together. Base it on some sort of progression. Enlist the help of a trainer if necessary (make sure you check out credentials and references) or do a lot of research up front if carrying this out yourself.

Most fail because they don't go in with a plan. They continually do the same thing over and over and are doomed to stay the same.

It's never too late to make changes.

It's certainly not impossible. Like MannishBoy said, check out carguy. He's done an amazing job.

John Stone was 34 when he started, and he's 38 now. Not starting at 40 mind you, but 34 is certainly not 20 as you know.

I just started, and I'm 38. I've never been ripped in my life, but I'm not going to stop now until I get there!

To further reinforce what MannishBoy said about what the others do, ignore it! Lift, lift, lift! (It's a lot more fun than cardio!)

My real question is can I really expect to "bulk up" or look "swole" starting at 5’7", 175lbs and 40 yrs old? Am I starting to late to “get ripped”?:confused:

Kenchi's pretty ripped at 71 (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=27910)...so I think you can reasonably expect to get ripped at 40. :nod:

You're merely seeing people who go through the motions, don't excercise very hard, and more than anything I'm sure, have bad diets. I have witnessed plenty of people who workout forever and do not look it because they are going through the motions and not trying.

40 isn't too old at all. I am in great shape and there are 40 year olds who'd put me to shape walking down the beach. But even a total couch-jockey starting from scratch at age 40 could, if he honestly wanted to, look very respectable. Just don't do what the old, failing people are doing.

And the biggest thing to compromise your goals is doubt that they're attainable. I'm telling you now they are if you want it. Get inspiration from people you want to be like, not from those you're trying to move away from.

I don't want it to sound easy. How hard is it to get ripped at 40, you ask? Hard. It's also hard at 25. Very hard in both cases for most guys, in fact, but it's still attainable, but you need to change your entire life. Workouts should not feel like hated work, and those times they do, do them anyway. Your diet needs a 180 almost certainly. A 40 year old's biggest problem vs starting at 30 is not how his body has deteriorated but how he's dug his trench deeper and getting out of it into a healthful one is more difficult mentally. If it was easy everyone would look like carguy, but instead most people look like the guy in King of Queens. But then, achieving the goal makes it all the better, and from my end, it's really as good as people think it is being lean and fit :) People waste time and hope on a useless dream like the lotto, but I'd rather have my money and a fit, healthful lifestyle/physique than stinking rich and still suffering from a degenerating body. In the case of fitness, it's accessible to most people, but most people are simply indoldent, so they never go for it. Never take the hard path, and never have much to show for themselves.

Even at 40 you should be able to get a pretty good body. I go to the gym at UMBC, and I see people in their 20's who've been going there for a at least a year and they don't look like it. A lot of people fail, and for a variety of reasons. To succeed you really need to have the following down:

- Consistency: Don't let yourself skip a work out. If you do, make it up.
- Diet: Don't eat crap, and make sure you get a lot of protein.
- Good training program: you should enjoy it and look forward to it.
- Pushing yourself in your training: Always try to do better than your last workout. I actually bring a notebook with me to the gym and record how I do.

A good training program is important. Some people just go in and do random stuff. You'll never get anywhere doing that. I'd recommend a program developed by someone else. I've had a lot of success using this:

http://www.leehayward.com/workout_programs/index.htm

I just finished up the 12 weeks and am a hell of a lot stronger (I've decided I'm going to run it again). If you don't like that, you may try looking into the Mark Rippetoe program. There are a whole bunch of out of the box programs out there though.

The only thing I'd be worried about at 40 is low test, but if you're worried about that, you should probably talk to a doctor.

Also, after reading your post a second time:
- High reps for toning is a myth. Muscle is muscle. If those people want to look toned, they'll need to lose weight.

Don't let the losers get you down. .....
Ask any of them about their diet and it will probably not be too good.


As I get to know them better maybe I will, I just don't know many of these guys that well, and haven't figured out a way to ask...

"WTF you say you've been coming here for 3 yrs and you still look like s....What the h... do you eat and drink?"

Maybe I can start with "Why do you come here?, or what are your goals" Any suggestions?

It's just a lot easier to ask personal questions about diet on this forum than in a naked locker room full of people who theoretically are "working out".

:bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: then you can:bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: :bb: :read: :read: :read: :tucool:

I would outlaw cardio equipment in any gym I owned. If people want to walk, they can get outside and do it.

"Those who believe they can do something are probably right — and so are those who believe they can’t."

...

Unless you plan on training 6+ hours a day, training alone is not what is going to make you "ripped" The main thing here is your nutrition. Second in importance is resistance training and if you've got spare time after those you're welcome to pursue a cardio bunny career. :)

Shahar.

Wow, thanks to all of you, I really appreciate it :bow:I did need that boost of enthusiasm, my first two posts here were probably a bit to SSDD to some of you and didn't get a lot of responses

I introduced myself here
http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=35787

As I couldn't figure out why the "stair climber" cardio wasn't paying off at all after 2 months.....You guys (and gals) have answered that here.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!

Actually in starting to read other posts and stickies here I realized it was my diet, I've since started a food diary
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=dabagboy
to find out what was wrong with what I thought was "reasonable" well it was fat, pure and simple. I entered Sunday's diet or "control" just to find out what I was doing...Well I love "fat" foods.....but can certainly live without them....As to me "high protein was red meat :doh:plain and simple.

I've gone and bought two different Whey Protein mixes (one for work, one for home). I'm going to eat more often and smaller portions especially of stuff like the excellent (but fatty) bean soup I made 3 gallons of Sunday.


Now that I have your attention my next question is ....I really don't know what to lift? I am checking out
http://www.leehayward.com/workout_programs/index.htm
as PAT suggested, but I'd really like a cheap software application to help me plan/track/stay motivated.....any suggestions????

I have a Palm Treo and was checking out the Body for Life Palm application here http://www.cellica.com/palmbfl.htm
A Palm application would be nice as that Treo is my MP3 player, using it as a notebook makes some sense?

Thanks Again....

40 is definitely not too old. However, you might just have to take all the exercise and nutrition info you've picked up over the years and flush it down the toilet. If you ask the folks at your gym what their "plan" is, they will likely say "Oh, I watch what I eat, and I take the stairs whenever possible". "Watching what you eat" will not get you ripppt. (Doesn't that sound awfully passive?) You have to plan and control what you eat.

As one who is guilty of overtraining, I would advise you to listen to your body, and allow for recovery time, in other words, don't overdo it. We don't recover like teenagers anymore. :(

Also, do your research. Understand what you are doing/eating, and why. Compliance comes much easier when you've fully bought into what you're doing.

If you ask the folks at your gym what their "plan" is, they will likely say "Oh, I watch what I eat,
Yea..... I watched what I ate all the way up to 255lbs of fat.... I watched the frozen pizza in the oven, I watched it go down my pie hole, I watched the potato chips go down my pie hole, hell I even used to get the battered and fried chicken sandwiches instead of a burger cause I thought they were healthier.... then watch them go down my pie hole :rolleyes:

As Fet said you REALLY cant be passive about something when you want results especially something like your diet (which is the #1 factor in body recomposition).

40 isn't to late to get ripped, if you want it go out and get it, you can do it!


Chris.

Dont worry about all those other people, just have faith in yourself. IT all begins with a single step and thats how you should take it, one at a time. Set short term mini-goals for yourself and you'll get there. There are world class atheletes pushing 40!

:gl: