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Best Routine for building muscle

RichieB

First Post
This may seem like a silly question at first but hear me out. I have not been able to do any resistance training since the middle of Feb due to a surgery and an unrelated injury - but I am feeling good enough to get back into it. I am 60 years old, have never gone that long without resistance training, and i have atrophied during the downtime. I have easily lost 10 lbs of muscle - so how can I get that back, given my age (very hard to build muscle) and the downtime? I have bought most of Geoff's programs over the past 15 years or so.. I am thinking Giant X is the way but looking for opinions.

I do not need to lose weight, I need to gain weight.

Thank you for listening :)
 
I wouldn't get too hung up on any particular program. In my personal experience, grinds are going to be your bread n' butter (Presses, Push-ups, Rows, Pull-Ups, Dips, Squats etc) with some ballistics mixed in to compliment them (swings, snatches etc).

My Suggestion:
Designate Upper Body days and Lower Body days. MWF, MTThF or whatever works for you. Pick one or two lifts per day and go nuts. 5x5, 10x3, 3x10 whatever. Just stick to it. If you stay consistent, have good form, eat and rest there is no way you won't gain muscle.

My thoughts are that it's better to get started than it is to get stuck planning. Get rolling, learn the lifts, own the weight and listen to your body. You'll gain insight and experience and maybe in time you'll find a program that fits your goals, but if not - you'll be doing just fine.
 
I am 50 years old with lots of mobility and joint issues. I recently started working with Heavy Clubs or Clubbells following Mark Wildman's tutorials on youtube. I have been surprised how much meat is has given me on my chest and shoulders (Shield Cast movement). Of course nothing build muscle and strength like the Big-3 with heavy barbells. But at my age I no longer mess with those. I stick to Clubs and Kettlebells and, at least for upper body size, I think Clubs are great. Be warned, there is a major learning curve, more so than Kettlebells.
 
I have been using Kettlebells and resistance bands exclusively since covid shut down the crossfit gym I was attending. I am intrigued by clubs, need to take a closer look!

My biggest concern with getting back into it is re-injuring myself, trying to figure out how to start slow enough and build into it while also getting back some of the weight and muscle I lost.

Thanks all!
 
jayjo said:
I am 50 years old with lots of mobility and joint issues. I recently started working with Heavy Clubs or Clubbells following Mark Wildman's tutorials on youtube. I have been surprised how much meat is has given me on my chest and shoulders (Shield Cast movement). Of course nothing build muscle and strength like the Big-3 with heavy barbells. But at my age I no longer mess with those. I stick to Clubs and Kettlebells and, at least for upper body size, I think Clubs are great. Be warned, there is a major learning curve, more so than Kettlebells.
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I really want to get into Clubs but don't know where to start.
 
Gaining muscle when you are 60 seems difficult, if you ask me. Maybe a goal could be to maintain muscle mass ?

Irregardless of age, I would have a conservative approach to training where your first priority is to not damage yourself. Try to prevent an injury at almost all costs. Listen to your body. For some this is harder than it sounds.

My father is 70. He swears to a program consisting of doing the same exercises 2-3 times a week. Deadlifts, benchpress, pull-downs, ab exercises and some training for the biceps. I think he is somewhat muscular considering that he is 70, but what is more important for him is that he keeps himself healthy and happy and can work in the garden and with wood for a long period without getting tired.

Hope this helps.
 
KingBeans said:
I really want to get into Clubs but don't know where to start.
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Mark Wildman’s YouTube channel is a great resource. His playlist for heavy clubs presents things in a logical progression.

I’d recommend learning Inside Circle & Outside Circle, and then shield cast. All on both sides.

Those 3 are a great foundation and become the starting point for more complex progressions when you feel like expanding.

10# was a good starting point for me (single arm club), and I now use a mix of 10 and 15#, depending on movement complexity and how I’m feeling day to day.

I hope that helps.

By the way, I love the club training. It’s not my main dish, but it’s a fantastic side dish.
 
I can empathize (and older than you to boot)....

3 Reasons You May Need to Pick Up Barbell Training | StrongFirst (see #2)

Kettlebell - Kettlebell AXE - general discussion

Costas, jerks prioritize the knee extensors; swings the hip extensors. Thanks Pavel! Just to clarify! I was mentioning jerks as an upper body exercise, opposite to swings, generating the same effects of AXE (muscle mass, power, etc) to the body in different muscle groups. Great book with...
www.strongfirst.com

Other/Mixed - EASY MUSCLE (Geoff Neupert)

We had some excellent and immediately useful answers in the thread already. I am still curious to hear what @Geoff Neupert has to say specifically on his program. As someone using swings and dips without a large collection of KBs or a dip belt I will probably need that answer too on the day...
www.strongfirst.com
 
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Golder said:
Mark Wildman’s YouTube channel is a great resource. His playlist for heavy clubs presents things in a logical progression.

I’d recommend learning Inside Circle & Outside Circle, and then shield cast. All on both sides.

Those 3 are a great foundation and become the starting point for more complex progressions when you feel like expanding.

10# was a good starting point for me (single arm club), and I now use a mix of 10 and 15#, depending on movement complexity and how I’m feeling day to day.

I hope that helps.

By the way, I love the club training. It’s not my main dish, but it’s a fantastic side dish.
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This is good advice. I started with these three movements with a 10 lb sledgehammer myself and followed Mark Wildman's tutorials on the movements. I think it's a great option for off days from barbell or kettlebell lifting. It fills the gaps quite nicely in the planes of movement that kettlebells and barbells don't hit. At the time I felt like it added quite a bit of muscle to my shoulders, upper back, and biceps.
 
The most straightforward program to build muscle is Built Strong Minimalist by Fabio Zonin IMHO.

As long as you are alive and able to move you are capable of building muscle. Especially after a long lay off, you will build muscle with whatever exercise you do. I was recently able to convince my mom at age 78, who lived a sedentary life, she is attending community fitness classes in which they do dance, yoga and pilates and she is getting stronger amd building muscle.
 
jayjo said:
I am 50 years old with lots of mobility and joint issues. I recently started working with Heavy Clubs or Clubbells following Mark Wildman's tutorials on youtube. I have been surprised how much meat is has given me on my chest and shoulders (Shield Cast movement). Of course nothing build muscle and strength like the Big-3 with heavy barbells. But at my age I no longer mess with those. I stick to Clubs and Kettlebells and, at least for upper body size, I think Clubs are great. Be warned, there is a major learning curve, more so than Kettlebells.
Click to expand...
In your opinion what would be the biggest bang for your buck / least learning curve move to do for the 2-h mace? I have an adjustable mace and don't really know where to begin. I'd like to take a minimalist approach with the mace.
 
Geoff's Easy Muscle has been working fine for me. I like the choice of 3 different schedules: C&P only, C&P + squat + calisthenics, calisthenics + KB swing.
 
RichieB said:
My biggest concern with getting back into it is re-injuring myself, trying to figure out how to start slow enough and build into it while also getting back some of the weight and muscle I lost.

Thanks all!
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I missed this part.

Have you looked at Geoff's Sore Joint Solution? Peeps here also call it "P3 method". Like his other programs, this one is well thought out.

Coming off of injury, I did only P3 for a few weeks to restore lost mobility and regain confidence in my body. Then I bought Kettlebell Strong! but didn't dive into it right away - I instead spent some time practicing cleans, presses, and front squats with one KB at a time, then gradually transitioned to double KB before doing Kettlebell Strong! Foundation.

And then I got into Easy Muscle after completing all 6 weeks of KSF.
 
RichieB said:
I have been using Kettlebells and resistance bands exclusively since covid shut down the crossfit gym I was attending. I am intrigued by clubs, need to take a closer look!

My biggest concern with getting back into it is re-injuring myself, trying to figure out how to start slow enough and build into it while also getting back some of the weight and muscle I lost.

Thanks all!
Click to expand...

The tough guy would grit his teeth, dig his feet to the ground and get to work..

The smart guy knows he can build a buffer in a given weight and volume range, give himself some wiggle room and build momentum

I've been learning more and more to pick the opportunity to be the second guy.

If you get stronger in a given rep range (say 6-12 reps) it also affects the proximal ranges (5 to 13) so just be patient and slowly add volume and load over time..

Given that, if you told us more about your training history, current levels of strength and mobility we can give you better answers
 
KingBeans said:
I really want to get into Clubs but don't know where to start.
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Personally, I just put some mace 360’s into my mobility or warm up. Start with 10 pounds and build up to however much you feel is desirable for 10-20 reps. It’s much like swings and snatches. People who grow up around the mace and wrestling in India seem to swing heavier than what we would find normal. The average person would probably never find a need to exceed 12kg.
 
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RichieB said:
I have been using Kettlebells and resistance bands exclusively since covid shut down the crossfit gym I was attending. I am intrigued by clubs, need to take a closer look!

My biggest concern with getting back into it is re-injuring myself, trying to figure out how to start slow enough and build into it while also getting back some of the weight and muscle I lost.

Thanks all!
Click to expand...
Getting back into and starting slow....not easy. When I had my hernia surgery I began working out with a 5-lbs. weight. I was disciplined and did not let myself go heavier. I think I increased the weight every few days, but very slowly...5 lbs, then 8, 10, 12, 15, 18.....then I started with 5 again but harder movements. It took me a full year to get back to the strength I had before my surgery. What is my point....for people like us the discipline comes at going slower or lighter than we would like. I don't have to get motivated to excercise, I have to get motivated to take a rest.
 
dfanelli83 said:
In your opinion what would be the biggest bang for your buck / least learning curve move to do for the 2-h mace? I have an adjustable mace and don't really know where to begin. I'd like to take a minimalist approach with the mace.
Click to expand...
Mace 360 Swing is the same as the Club Sheild Cast. That movement is great for the shoulders, chest and upper back. I started with a 15 lbs. Club and with Mace 10 lbs. Now I use a 25 lbs. Club but for Mace just 15 lbs.
 
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