Young Jerry
Training is a never ending learning process, as is diet, recovery, etc. The problem as I see it is that cookie cutter programs don't take into account the individual differences/lifestyles/age of the trainee. If one is writing programs, the programming will be different for a 21 year old college student with nary a care in the world, versus a 56 year old who owns a business, has 3 kids and is on his feet for 10 hours a day. I'm thinking of my buddy Jerry here who owns a bar and is stressed to the max with kids, dealing with servers and cooks, etc. It's much easier for the youngster to get strong and to make gains in hypertrophy. Now this doesn't mean that it can't be done for the older person. It just means that they have to be smart with their training, while still hitting the cardiovascular training and weights intensely and because of their lifestyle, reduce the total time spent training. I am of the firm belief that training more often is usually better as long as the volume of training is modulated. So what would be a sample week for this 56 year old with a myriad of responsibilities and a busy lifestyle? Here is a sample template:
Day 1 (busy day at work, only 45 minutes to train)
5 minute bike warm-up
Squat 10x3 at 70% of their 1RM with a 2 minute rest between sets
Leave
Day 2 (this is another short workout, busy day ahead)
5 minute bike warm-up
Press 7x5 at 70% supersetted with Lat Pulls or One Arm Rows 7x6-10
Incline DB Press 3x6, 1x12
Day 3
Sprints at a local field. 10x60 yards at 80% intensity with a walk back rest
Day 4 (45 minutes to train, cook called out sick)
5 minute bike warm-up
Deadlift 10x3 at 70% of their 1RM with a 2 minute rest between sets
Leave
Day 5 (everything in order, a little more time)
Assistance Day-All 3x10
Lat pulls
Curls
Chins
Lateral raises
DB shoulder Press
DB triceps extension
Pushups
Day 6 & 7- Sprints or bike workout (20 minutes total)
As far as when to go up in weights, when to change exercises, the template on the basics should probably stay the same (squat, press, deadlift). What should change would be the percentages. The training should be done within 70%-85% of intensity and the total rep range should probably (this is not set in stone) stay between 15 and 30 total reps. So as the percentages go up, the reps should drop accordingly. Where one can get a great workout from 10x3 at 70%, 10x3 at 85% would be a training session that would put tremendous demands on your recovery ability. These type of high intensity workouts should only be done once in a while, maybe once every 6 weeks.
Hit me back with any questions that you may have about this training template.
