59 and want to add 10 lbs. of muscle

After moving from Tucson to Daufuskie Island, S.C., I've spent the last 4 1/2 months eating very cleanly and biking with some mild pt. I finished a cleanse a couple of weeks back and will continue eating primarily live foods with nuts, seeds, oils, supplements, etc. until the first of spring - all of this carefully orchestrated.

I've usually been around 5-20 lbs. over my favored high school weight of 170 - 175 lbs. Right now I'm at 165, pretty skinny for 6'2". I feel better but the muscles need a boost of 10 -15 lbs. as I anticipate losing 5 more lbs.

I have the time over the next 2-4 months to spend getting fit and would like to utilize biking, pt, a training room with machines and dumbbells. The pools are just too cold right now (I tried 52 degrees and, just no) but really want to integrate swimming asap.

I will start this weekend with creatine, with the knowledge that it's solely for fast twitch muscles and a little water weight. About 10 gms. per day for a week and then 5 gms. daily.

I'm looking for a basic workout regimen and any other suggestions. Thanks in advance.

start here for inspiration.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=Over40

and

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=Over60

HGH.....don't you see all those commercials?

http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2015/01/13/cardell-and-dr-coleman-my-biggest-regret-as-a-strength-coach/?singlepage=true

"The most significant loss in physical capacity with advancing age is strength — the ability to produce the force of muscular contraction. Your ability to interact with your environment effectively is predicated upon your ability to exert the force of muscle contraction against the system of levers that comprises the skeleton, and therefore to control your own body’s mass and the masses of the physical objects you interact with.

All the other physical problems associated with age — the loss of muscle mass and balance and bone density, the increased risk of diabetes, and the much higher risk of physical injury — are related to either the loss of strength itself or the process by which this loss occurs. Balance, endurance, power, accuracy, and speed are all aspects of strength. And the things we do to remain strong — the use of our muscles to do physical work, and the associated use of carbohydrate as the fuel for muscle contraction — keep our metabolism functioning normally, thus preventing the acquisition of Type II diabetes, and perhaps even dementia.

I am aware that this seems like a rather lavish statement. But the facts are rapidly emerging, and those of us who have been in this business long enough to see the patterns already know that the opposite of sitting on your butt is not running — it is lifting weights. Walking is the way you get from your car into the store — it’s not really exercise unless you’re already two-thirds dead. Running is fine; it keeps your heart and lungs working pretty well, but so does strength training. More importantly, lots of older people simply cannot run, and running absolutely fails to convey the other benefits that strength training enjoys as a monopoly."

http://startingstrength.com/

You may have to cut down on cardio and do more strength training. Adding mass gets harder the older you are.

I'd start with the 100 pushup challenge thing. Add something on your back (small child) for more resistance. Do 100 situp challenge at same time. Don't forget legs, but with your biking you'll have that covered.

Eat lots of lean meat, make sure that your giving your body enough protein to actually build the muscle.

Also, even though you didn't ask for it: Cleanses are BS. Does your digestive system, kidney's, and liver work? Yes? Ok, you're getting your cleanse in. A more accurate name for them would be fasting. (Source: a Gastrointerologist and a Registered Dietitian)

Honestly at your age get your Testosterone checked out. Its astonishing the difference it can make if you are very low.

Watching this as I could really stand to put on 10lbs of muscle. (currently 6'2" and 147 at 29)

Been looking at doing rock climbing to get strength in. (usually I tend towards biking or swimming) What says those more in the know? Is rock climbing a good sub for someone who hates lifting weights?

I have done exactly the same thing. I was 210 last November, and I did the bearmtnmartin version of the paleo diet (nothing white unless its chicken or fish) and spent 45 minutes 5 times a week in the gym. Dropped to 180 by April, and then went back to 195 but mostly muscle now and not flab. I am 49 and it was really very easy to do once I got into the mindset. One thing I did that helped was use a calorie counter app on my phone. I got a good baseline of what I was consuming and after a while I kind of always knew where I was at so did not need it anymore. Nice thing about the nothing white diet is that you eat a lot of protein so you always feel full and the fat cancels all the carbs and sugar you always crave. And of course protein = muscle and suger = flubber.

Edit: two Novembers ago, or just over a year and a bit

Massive caloric intake (~10,000-15,000) a day combined with constant exercise to muscle failure worked for me to put on 35 lbs in 8 weeks. Basic training. YMMV

Eat well and exercise. Forget about the supplements and fads.

I have nothing much to add other than the fact your almost 60 and DD a Civic Si hatchback....which is pretty much awesome.

Also, when you hit the gym, stay away from the machines. Squats, curls, benchpress etc with dumbells and barbells. You need about 6 or 7 good exercises to get started. Upper body one day and lower the next.

I've never been one to follow paleo or South Beach, etc... I just eat clean, making sure I have a good mix of protein, healthy fats and some carbs. When I started eating clean I initially dropped weight but have since added nearly 20lbs, most of it being muscle. I'm 42 years old now.

First and foremost, it's simple....to gain mass calories in > calories burned. So you'll need to eat in an excess. Doesn't mean stuffing your face non-stop, but eat above maintenance levels. Get a good healthy mix of the three basics (protein, fats, carbs). Find a good lifting routine...more focused on weights than long cardio. Get plenty of rest.

There are plenty of good suggestions on the Bodybuilding website.

EDIT: Oh, be patient. It'll take time.

In reply to Apexcarver: sort of. It won't make you bulky like pure weight training will but the muscles are much more useful that "mirror muscles" that you'll see in the gym rats.

Construction materials are good too. Get a pile of rocks or cinderblocks and move the pile around your yard. It will work grip strength, core muscles, balance, legs, everything.

If you can find a gym with a treadwall it's pretty good to get consistent climb training in. I did 400 vertical feet on one once as a trial but decided against a membership.

Jeez, 14 responses in under an hour. Quickly gleened through them as I'm off to the fitness center, which is 1/3 mile away. Thanks!

I did not really follow a diet. I just stopped eating anything white. The idea was to stop eating wheat products. When you have a burger or a sub its half bread which does not do anything for you. Its the meat we want anyway.

What works for me is eating huge amounts of protein, and working out high weight, fast low-ish rep counts, and taking no breaks in between sets. If i'm resting from a curl set, i'm doing tricep extensions during that time period.

I aim to work out hard enough that i can just barely muster the strength to walk out to my car after 45 minutes in the gym. 15 minutes of that is getting the heart rate up/sweat going on the treadmill. If i don't feel like i've been run over after 30 minutes if lifting, then i did it wrong.

Some of you have met me, i'm not a huge guy, but doing this got me up to a fairly brick-E36 M3house-y 185lbs pretty easily.

Disclaimer up front: this is based on my personal experience. YMMV.

All creatine is not created equally based on my personal experience. I have used it at three different times, and only once had good results. I think that brand was cell tech, but I cannot recall for certain.

If you have not done weight training before/recently the first 3 or so weeks will show significant gains in what you can move, but no new muscle. This is because your body is recruiting more existing tissue to do the work. During this time I like to focus on compound moves (squats, deadlifts, etc.).

During the time when you are trying to gain weight I would avoid heavy cardio more than twice per week.

Finally, make sure that you take off at least one day per week. Make sure that you really rest, not just skip the gym.

Few thoughts, based soley upon myself.

I have a habit of overdoing it and hurting myself. Injuries prevent building up. Moderation would help me greatly.

Nautilus type machines really encourage me to stupidly overwork specific muscles. I've torn things on these machines just because I could. Something I can't do nearly so well with free weights.

Silly classes are fun. Body Pump, CX Works, etc. I'm more likely to actually do a good and strong workout in these classes than I am left to my own devices in the weight room. Plus the coaching from the instructor really helps. For example, I had no idea you weren't supposed to lift on the balls of your feet.

My joints aren't as young as they used to be. Cartilage is thinner now. I have to take a little more care to not hurt myself. Care being less impressive looking weights, Aleve, and glucosamine and chondroitin.

I actually bulked up back in the day eating lot's of protein rich food's, focusing on heavier weight lifting using about 8 reps each set. Also, I had to keep other exercise to a minimum so I wouldn't burn too much calories. Rest is very important for growth. I've heard squats boosts your testosterone. Protein right after a workout and before bed helps. I did creatine and protein shakes. My blood tests got better after I got off that stuff. I'm actually looking into a routine just using my bodyweight so maybe I don't tear my body up and pay for it later. At the present time, I have a 14 month old boy. That's my workout. I like this guy and his push/pull routine: http://greggavedon.com/fitness/13/31

Do some type of weight training that doesn't hurt you and hits everything fairly evenly. Work hard enough to progress in strength with decent form on all your big (multi joint) movements. 10lbs is just regaining what you lost due to inactivity and aging so it's a fairly easy goal. Supplements have their own religion so take all claims with skepticism.

https://www.trxtraining.com/

Trust me, at age 60, 5'11" and 200 lbs, I'm certainly no health nut; but have recently started TRX training. I see benefits much better and faster than nautilus type exercises and in a group of others I will push on where working by myself it's too easy to wuss out.

YMMV, but my arms & shoulders are better defined, gut is gone but I've put on a few pounds (muscle weighs more than fat?)

I do carbs before the class and protein after, love a nice 93% er medium rare after!

Hasbro, again I'm not an expert, but I would tone down all the cardo (breaks down muscle) and look at weight training with a reputable trainer.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Dan

4-6 eggs for breakfast, brown rice or a sweet potato in the morning (carbs) and a protein shake (I like sfh Recovery) immediately after you workout.

Lots of good stuff, thanks, and I'll keep reading.

I'm pretty much stuck with machines and dumbbells. The machines are very nice and provide 9 upper body routines and four leg. I'll get started on those and integrate some dumbbell stuff soon.

I'm pretty well set for nutrition and started upping the protein today. No meat yet but plenty of protein anyway. I'll use only creatine monohydrate as it's what has been researched successfully.

Getting back to my original question, how should I schedule all of this? I'm very flexible and don't need to operate on a weekly time frame so I can do whatever is optimal; legs one day, upper the next, bike the next or legs/upper/off/legs/upper/bike or whatever. I can do 2 sessions a day, whatever works. However, I would like to bike somewhere in the mix.