Bulk Program For Middle Age Male
Q: I was looking on your website, I think it awesome. Do you have any workout program for middle age male trying to bulk?
A: Thanks! To bulk up in middle age a few things are going to be key:
- Relatively low volume (meaning fewer sets) because for most of us our bodies simply cannot recover from heavy physical stress as easily as when we were younger. Limiting total number of sets will help prevent over-training and injuries.
- Because we have to limit the total number of sets, we need to make the ones we perform really count. They should be focused on largest muscle groups and compound exercises: squats, lunges, deadlifts, rows, pulldowns/pullups, bench and shoulder presses, shrugs. If you are an advanced lifter or have a good trainer you could also incorporate olympic lifts such as cleans, snatches, and jerks.
- As with any bulk, diet is key. Without sufficient calories and protein your body will have no way of building new muscle no matter how good your workouts are. But if you eat too many calories, then you will end up gaining weight too quickly resulting in a lot of new fat -- probably not what you want. You will want to zero in on a diet similar to what's described in http://www.mikesfitness.com/content/nutrition with just enough calories to gain weight at a very slow pace of no faster than about 2 pounds per month.
With those keys in mind, I would recommend http://www.mikesfitness.com/content/exercise-program-weights-low-volume-... as the program -- it has relatively few sets but focuses on the big compounds exercises. After 2-3 months you should switch up to a different program. http://www.mikesfitness.com/content/weight-training has a few training programs to choose from.
It's hard to me to recommend the exact diet since I don't know your height or weight, but you can use http://www.mikesfitness.com/content/fitnessguide to get a sample diet which you can then customize to your tastes while keeping calories, protein, carbs, and fats roughly the same . Remember to keep track of your weight (weigh yourself on empty stomach in the morning after using the restroom) and adjust calories up or down every few weeks to keep yourself on track to gain about 2 pounds per month. Good luck!