Muscle mass diminishes as you age, thereby increasing your percentage of body fat, says physician Edward Laskowski of MayoClinic.com. Unless you take action to reverse this process, your body will become flabbier with each passing year. The best way to replace lost muscle mass is to lift weights. Lifting weights will not only build muscle mass, it will also raise your resting metabolism so that you burn more calories every day. Although the basic principles of weightlifting are the same for any adult, the older you are, the slower you should start.
Step 1
Join a local gym. Check it out first to see how many different weightlifting exercises you can do on their equipment, how many people are working out at the times you prefer to lift, and how many gym employees are working on the floor.
Step 2
Select about a dozen exercises that cover all of your body's major muscle groups--calves, thighs, midsection, back, chest, arms and shoulders. You can use training machines, barbells, or dumbbells.
Step 3
Group your exercises into two groups--upper body and lower body. Alternate your workout between these two groups--upper body on Monday, for example, and lower body on Thursday. MayoClinic.com advises against working out with weights two days in a row.
Step 4
Record your planned exercises on a training log provided by the gym. The training log should include a place for you to write down the number of repetitions that you actually complete for each exercise every time you work out.
Step 5
Warm up for a few minutes with just enough low-intensity exercise without weights to break a sweat, advises the McKinley Health Center.
Step 6
Test various weights for each exercise to find your training weight. Try lifting and lowering it smoothly without jerking the weight as many times as you can. If you can't lift it at least eight times in a row in this manner, reduce the amount of weight. If you can lift it twelve times in a row without stopping, the weight is too light, according to Laura Seuferling of the Valley Medical Center. One set is completed after you do a certain number of lifts.
Step 7
Perform one set of each exercise, according to the day of the week--it is either your upper body day or your lower body day. Record the number of repetitions you actually completed in your training log. Once you have performed one set of each exercise, terminate your workout. Wait a couple of days and see how sore your body is.
Step 8
Perform your second workout by doing only one set for each exercise. Wait a couple of days to see how sore your body is.
Step 9
Perform your third workout by doing two sets for each exercise if your first two workouts didn't make you very sore. If they did, continue to do one set for each exercise until your body adapts.
Step 10
Increase your number of sets for each exercise every week until you can perform three sets for each exercise without excessive soreness.
Step 11
Increase your training weight every time you are able to complete twelve repetitions. Do not increase it so much that you are unable to perform eight repetitions. This step is critical for building muscle mass--unless you continue to increase your training weight as soon as you can, your body will not be stimulated enough to progress, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Be sure to record your new training weight in your training log.
Tips and Warnings
- Get plenty of sleep every night, because your body rebuilds muscle every time you rest.
- If you have any doubts about your health, consult your physician before beginning a weightlifting program.
Things You'll Need
- Training log
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