You don’t even need to lift a lot of heavy weights. Just pushing your limit a few times per session is enough to trigger your body into building new muscle.
You don’t even need to lift a lot of heavy weights. Just pushing your limit a few times per session is enough to trigger your body into building new muscle.
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Yep. Resistance training is a relative thing. All you really need to be doing is challenging your muscles to a level higher than simple endurance exercise. The maximum number of reps that you can do is best indicator.
And building new muscle isn’t even necessarily the best reward, although having more functional strength is a good thing for almost anyone. There are metabolic and endocrine changes all over the body as a result of resistance work. The change can be systemic, and not just some targeted muscle groups.
At age 81, I have more energy and flexibility than when I was 60 years old. First I started playing 5 rounds of 18 every week pushing my golf cart over hilly golf courses. At age 75 I quit golf and took up gym routine minimum 5 times every week.
All my health issues at age 60 have long disappeared. Don’t need any prescriptions. Just 1-aday vitamin pill is all I take now.
Agree 100%. Did nothing but super heavy weights for over 20 years. About 5 years ago I started having massive injuries from it. Tricep tendons torn off the elbow. Shoulder surgery only to have it rip again 11 months later. Herniated discs that will need fusion surgery soon. The list goes on. Best shape I was ever in was when I couldn’t go heavy all the time. Hit a few semi heavy sets to spark the muscle and then pump it full of blood. I turn 51 in a week. I have done so much damage I don’t even want to look at heavy. I do miss the feel of heavy sometimes but not the feel of tendons ripping and your elbow swelling up the size of a football. I watch the older people get talked into doing heavy CrossFit stuff and a month later they are in a sling or a brace. Heavy is a young persons game. But I am a male and was stupid. Look at ronnie Coleman.