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First
of all, I will reveal what I personally use for supplements,
followed by how I eat and train. These things aren't anything
exotic, because I believe the more simple you keep food
and supplement intake and your training, the more you
can control growth factors, the aging process and your
outer appearance. Simple is better here.
1.) I do supplement protein, because I feel as though
most days I don't get enough. When I am getting ready
for a photo shoot or a contest, I mix one scoop of pure
whey powder (no flavor) with equal portions water and
apple juice three times a day — in conjunction with
or between meals. This seems to work best for me when
I want to get ripped. During the offseason, I might use
straight apple juice or Gatorade and throw in a banana.
Calories are not all the same, but I will get into that
more in-depth shortly.
2.)
Even in the "offseason," I try to eat as Dr.
Barry Sears has studied and written about. For those of
you who aren't familiar with his theories, he calls this
type of eating being in "The Zone." This means
that if I weigh 220 lbs. and have 10 percent bodyfat,
I should take in about 200 grams of lean protein a day
spread over 4-5 meals. I also eat .25 times that amount
in the form of low-glycemic carbohydrates. This basically
consists of vegetables, low-sugar fruits and rice.
I
try to ingest only monounsaturated fats — these should
only make up about 10-20 percent of your caloric intake,
depending on whether you're building up to a photo shoot
or a contest or just staying fit. Monounsaturated fat
sources include avocados, macadamia nuts, olives, olive
oil and canola oil. Do not forget, however, that it doesn't
take much fat to add up to 20 percent of your diet, so
use small amounts at each meal. Try to stay away from
saturated fats, as they contribute to insulin resistance.
3.)
I try to eat and train at the same time each day. This
gets my body into a rhythm. The more you can do this,
the better your body will function. Not only metabolically
— you will have a better psychological perspective
about all your daily activities. The body seems to thrive
on such consistency.
4.)
I also take all the antioxidants. These include vitamins
A, E and C, alpha lipoic acid and selenium. Along with
these, I take magnesium, coral calcium, fish oils, coenzyme
Q-10, a multivitamin and mineral, and a B-complex. If
I need extra roughage, I use psyllium husks. There are
various other remedy-type vitamins I use if I am coming
down with a cold or flu. As I have mentioned in the past,
I never use anything that will enhance muscle growth through
raising testosterone levels. Men over 40 should be warned
that these supplements can and will raise PSA levels,
which can lead to prostate cancer.
5.)
Before a workout, I usually mix Gatorade or water with
protein powder and a banana. I try not to drink the sugar-based
carbo drinks, for this forces the hypothalamus to send
a message to the pancreas to raise insulin and drop blood
sugar levels. It also sends a message to the pituitary,
which then sends a message to all the various hormonal
glands involved to not release growth hormone. This would
not be good, for you will have basically worked out for
nothing. The workout may help your cardiovascular system,
but your body will not release growth hormone if high
levels of insulin are present. The way I make the pre-workout
shake basically balances the glucagon/insulin axis, and
I rarely feel tired; I always seem to pump my muscles
to their fullest potential.
6.)
Now let's look at my workout, in brief, so you can understand
how and why I train the way that I do. First and foremost,
I reserve all my stored glycogen and the glucose that
is bursting from my muscles for weight training. I do
not warm up on the aerobic machines and I don't do many
warm-up sets before getting right to business. This has
come through years of training and knowing my body. The
one thing I will do first is stretch my muscles very carefully
from head to toe. Once that is done, I am on to the weights,
and I may do one or two warm-up sets for the muscle group
I am about to attack. Once I feel blood is in that area,
I go for a weight that is moderately heavy, but not so
heavy that I can't use perfect form, and do rep after
rep until the muscle is fatigued.
7.)
In the past, I have tried to point out that you should
find the most biomechanically powerful exercises for your
own body for each muscle group. Do not listen to anyone
but your own body. Try all the exercises and machines
and find out where you feel the most powerful — where
the form is perfect without shaking. Finally, choose weights
that allow you to do at least 6-10 reps with the upper
body and at least 15-20 for the lower. No cheating, no
squirming, no yelling — just one smooth beautiful
repetition after another.
8.)
Do not do a lot of sets for each muscle group. Find the
perfect two exercises for the upper body and the perfect
three for the lower, and find weight that you can handle
smoothly without any help or stoppage. When you can reach
a point in your training where your form is perfect, then
you can apply greater velocity and force to move larger
and larger amounts of weight.
9.)
Do not work out too often. The most I work out is three
days over an eight-day period. Usually, I work upper body
on day one and lower body day three or four, depending
on how I feel (i.e. muscle soreness, general energy level,
etc.). After the lower body workout, I give myself at
least four days of rest. Then I work my back and arms
on day eight, nine or 10, depending on how the week went.
Remember, if any muscle is sore on your body, you shouldn't
work out, because your body is still in a recovery mode.
On my days off, I do brisk walking and/or swim for 30-minutes.
I
have tried to give you an overall view of how I work out
and carry on with a now-46-year-old body. Just remember,
everyone is different, and one person may need more or
less rest between training days, more or less weight and
so on. I believe some people go to the gym far too often
and do little but break muscle down. If you are smart,
you will listen to your body.
If
you have questions, go to exercisegroup.com
and click on "Fitness Over 40,". Good luck with
your training, and continue investigating your body's
full potential.
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Taken from Exercise
For Men Only (Paul Burke's Over-40 Fitness Column)
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