Expert: David Dickeson, A.S. - 11/2/2009

Question
Hello David I am a 45 year old man. I have been very active my whole life. I work out usually 6 days a week. 3 days I do strength training with dumbbells and machines along with core strengthening. The other 3 days I do cardio which is 1 hour on the treadmill at 4.5 to 4.7 mph (usually about 4.5 miles). When I do weight training my goal is overall fitness (not bulk). By this, I mean I want to keep tone and also be able to have the ability to do other things-like golf. I have never had a problem motivating myself to workout-I do enjoy it. Now my question- I have noticed in the last several months that I am beginning to need a little more rest than before. For example this past weekend on Saturday I woke up a little tired and thought maybe my body was trying to tell me to slow down a little so I did not work out over the weekend. I did resume today (Mon) and had a very good workout(strengthening). So I am curious about a few things. First, how many days should I work out? Second, how long should I workout to get the maximum results(is 1 hour on the treadmill too much)? am I going too fast?(4.5mph)Third am I doing too much strengthening (3 days a week at pretty good intensity)? Do you have any recommendations for a training routine? As I said earlier I am 45 yrs old. I am 6'5" tall weighing 215 pounds. I am in excellent shape according to my doctor(Thank God). I take glutamine as a supplement and I try to eat right(fruits and veggies). Sorry if this a long -winded question but I wanted to be specific.Also I want to know how best to get the most out of my workouts even if I were to cut back on how much I do or how often I do it.  Any recommendations you can give would be appreciated(even on nutrition). Thanks Ken


Answer
Hello Ken

What happens to all of us, is as we grow older, our metabolism slows down more and more. One part of aging. It is unavoidable. With exercise, we greatly SLOW the slowing down of our metabolism.

This "slowing-down" directly affects the process where we recover from exercise. The slower our metabolism, the longer time it takes for our bodies to recover from exercise.

For you, as you grow older, you will have to modify your exercise program. That is, when you do your strength training, lift heavy. This is your INTENSITY program. No resting between any exercise! Your goal is to completely exhaust your muscles. I spend 45 minutes to 1 hour total during this exercise.

Then rest! I find that I can get completely recovery after a full 7 days of rest.

The other 6 days, focus on your treadmill and other aerobic exercises. This keeps the metabolism up the entire week. Include LIGHT weightlifting in your program. Do these programs with a bit of slower movements. You want to be in control of all movements. FEEL your muscles work and stretch. This is to allow more blood flowing through the body, and give even more complete and faster recovery.

And continue to exercise for the rest of your life. You will age, like every one else, but your aging will be considerably slower, and less, than every one around you.

Now to supplements. Take at least 1,000 iu's of Vitamin D each day. Right now, there is no other supplement I recommend. All others are based on advertising, not any studies.

Food; portion your eating to 1 food every 3 hours. Such as apple, 3 hours later, bananna, etc. I eat 5 portions of food a day. For protein, canned white chicken breast in water or fish, works well. Fluids to drink; water is all I drink. I drink when I am thirsty.

Include nuts such as almonds in your diet.

Conclusion; keep getting physicals. I continually amaze my doctors as to my physical shape, strength, and mass.

Thanks for the question. Keep lifting!