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We all know someone who "doesn't look their age." Most times we say this in a complimentary way, as in, "You're forty-eight! Wow! You don't look it!" This Month MuscleMagFitness spotlights 61 year old Simi valley California native Lynn Glenn .
Do not let your age keep you from achieving your fitness goalsI will be 61 years old in May. I am a native Californian and currently reside in Simi Valley in Southern California, just a few minutes from Los Angeles, beaches, hills and the mountains.
At the age of 48 I started weight training, I have always been interested in lifting weights and what you could look like when you are tone and fit. I had always admired both men and women body builders and their dedication to fitness as well as all others in the fitness industry. I had been married at a very young age, right out of high school, with that came the responsibility of supporting and raising a family. I did not have the time or energy to dedicate to weight training and never knew what I was missing until later in life. I was divorced at the age of 42 and my kids were now grown up with lives of their own. I started to have an interest in weight training again but still did not have the time. I had always been a construction worker, very active all the time, and was able to keep in shape.
In 1990 I started my own business and became a pencil pusher. After a couple of years I realized that I was gaining weight and out of shape. I had decided that if I was ever going to be successful in business, I wanted to be healthy and around to enjoy it. At 61, I started to get back into shape by walking and jogging around the neighborhood, then at parks and the hillsides. With weather and time always being an issue, I decided to join a gym. When I first joined a gym I started out by doing a lot of cardio and watching people weight train. After time I started to lift weights not knowing exactly what I was doing but still saw some of the benefits that came from it. From that point on I was hooked!
I started watching and studying people as they worked out, I read books, magazines and everything that I could get my hands on in order to gain the knowledge that I needed to build muscle. I was now 48 and on my way to being a new me! When I had gained muscle size and as I watched some of the people lifting, that I use to admire, it became apparent to me, after a while, that most of them did not know what they were really doing! As time went by I saw that they had very little or no muscle gains. With the knowledge that I had gained I continued to put on size and muscle. Soon after the people who I used to watch and try to learn from were watching me, following my routine and asking me questions! Remember that I was no spring chicken, by now I was pushing 50!
As I saw the results of weight training I became even more enthusiastic and wanted more! Weight training was a hobby of mine which I very much enjoyed, but with work and other things going on in my life I only had so much time to devote to it, pretty much the time the average person would have to devote to staying in shape. What I had to eventually do was to incorporate my gym time in as part of my daily work schedule, i.e. work 5 hours eat lunch go to the gym workout go back to the office and continue to work. That seem to help and that is the same schedule that I still keep today.
With the now bad economy and the slowing of my business I decided to try to accomplish as much as I can in weight training. In the past 4 months, at the age of 60, I was able to add approx. 5 more pounds of muscle and have the admiration and respect of many at the gym, mostly when I tell the m my age. Telling them my age is the fun part, as I watch there jaws drop in disbelief. More than on one occasion I had to pull out my driver's license for the proof of my age.
In the next few years I am still going to push myself and see how far that I can go with my muscle building and fitness. There is a possibility that I may not gain much in size, but I do not want to believe that, I should at least be able to maintain 6'4" frame at around 230 pounds for the most of the rest of my life.
I am so interested in the fitness industry because I have seen what it has done for me and others. I want to be an inspiration for other people showing that age does not matter or even need to be a factor with staying in shape, all you really need is the desire! I also like being around the people who are in the fitness industry for I know the sacrifice and commitment that is needed for them to accomplish what they have achieved. If you surround yourself with people that you admire and would enjoy being more like them, that alone will help motivate you to continue forward. It is like an addiction, if you are around the people that you admire, in time, you eventually become more like them!
For anyone who asks for my help, I enjoy giving them tips on there training, diets and setting up a workout program for what they want to accomplish. I receive a great deal of satisfaction and have a good feeling inside as I see their body and attitude change as they see their accomplishments. God has given me this gift of health and fitness, so I feel the desire to share my knowledge which I have gained over the years and to be an inspiration for others.
When I was growing up I had always played and was around organized sports, baseball and track was my main interest through High School. Then for the next 20 years, after High School, it was football on the weekends with friends and water skiing. My son always wanted me to snow ski, so at the age of 46, I learn how and at the age of 56 I finally got up the nerve to go to the top of Mammoth Mountain and jump off the cornice and ski down the face of the mountain. I have always been athletic and good at anything that I had tried but most things never held my interest long enough for me to excel at one any particular sport. Weight training and fitness has now been my interest for the past 13 years and enjoy it! I am also still very active in other physical activities. Besides the gym, I walk, hike, ride my bike and take my Harley, which I learned how to ride just little over a year ago, out on the weekends. As new friends come into my life and want me to try new things, I will not limit myself from doing them because of my age. But if I also know that I am not going to like doing something, I just do not do it. At my age, I really do not have anything to prove to myself or anyone else anymore!
My typical training schedule, I will go the gym 5 days a week Monday through Friday, Saturday if I miss a day. I know that working out 5 days in a row goes against the belief of 2 days on 1 day rest, but this just works better for me with my schedule and also frees up my weekends for other activities. Monday and Tuesday I'm at the gym for 2 hrs, Wednesday 11/2 hrs, Thursday and Friday 11/4 hrs. I work my larger muscle groups at beginning of the week when I am the strongest and most rested, the smaller muscle groups on Thursday and Friday. Typically Monday is chest, triceps and abs, Tuesday back, traps and biceps, Wednesday legs including calves. By doing legs on Wednesday it gives my upper body a day rest that is needed to rebuild. Then Thursday triceps and abs, Friday biceps forearms and traps. I will usually work out alone, it is easier for me to concentrate and stay focus that way. When training alone if I need somebody to spot me then I just ask. If there is someone who does share the same desire and goals in training, then I will workout with them and we can help to motivate each other. Now that I am older, I use my knowledge and technique rather than seeing how much weight I can lift, but by no means is the weight light, my body is use to lifting.
The weight that I use is generally lighter than the younger generation because there bodies can handle it without as much of a chance of injuries. I do use more machines and cable machines now than I use to, in order to help prevent some accidental lifting injuries with the more controlled form of lifting. I still do use free weights because I believe that is still the best form of weight training, I just incorporate the equipment into my workouts. I do very little cardio, if any, I save that for the weekend with the other activities that I have. My workout is pretty taxing and my heart rate level is already elevated during my workout. I can still climb 5 flights of stairs, which I do on an occasion with my work, without stopping and/or gasping for air.
My weekly diet is pretty consistent and with my daily intake being of at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight with a little less than 1 gram of carbohydrates per pound of body weight. Breakfast I will eat 5 egg whites and 1 yoke, natural fruit juice, a 12 oz. glass of low fat milk and a bowl of oatmeal, mid morning snack 40 grams of whey protein and fruit, lunch a chicken sandwich and fruit, pre workout 25 grams of whey protein about an hour after lunch, to give me the extra energy that I need for my workout, post workout, 50 grams of whey protein in a glass of milk and some natural fruit juice, for dinner chicken, salad and vegetables, before bed a small bowl of mixed nuts, without peanuts. Besides of the natural benefits which the mixed nuts have, they also give me the protein that I need to help my muscles to repair and rebuild them while I'm sleeping. On the weekends I eat pretty much the same with substituting the chicken for fish or a lean steak. I do believe in splurging on one of my weekend dinners, usually with my favorite, which is Mexican food including chips and salsa and topped off with one of my favorite margaritas. I do have cravings for all types of food but with that one dinner I can control the cravings for the next 6 days.
I do not believe that I get all the nutrients that are needed in the food that I eat so I take natural supplements to help make sure that I receive enough of the nutrients to sustain a healthy diet. I take a multi vitamin, B complex, green Tea, vitamin C and E and the rest of your amino acids, CoQ-10 for your heart, Glucosamine Chondroitin with MSN for the joints and DHEA. Additional supplements for my weight training are NO2, Glutamine and Creatine which I take for 6 to 8 months out of the year. I stop using Creatine during the summer months for a couple of reasons, one being that I believe that my body adapts to the use and I received very little benefit from it, the other being with the water retention I get from it leaves me with a softer smoother look. When I stop using Creatine I do not lose much in size but people tell me that I look bigger, I would imagine that is because I am more define and cut. The best way for me to take Glutamine and Creatine is to mix it with my whey protein before and after my workouts. My strength and endurance is incredible during my workouts and it helps my muscles to start repairing themselves right after my workout. I have tried other ways to use and the timing for these supplements but this way for me is far superior over the others.
I am very proud of my mind set and what I have achieved in fitness and health. It feels great to be able to walk around feeling good and feeling good about yourself. Others do notice when you have that kind of confidence within yourself. It is also very nice to be able to go to the beach or pool and do not have to hide under a shirt because of being overweight. I get a kick out of people when they do a double take while I am at the beach. I believe that is because at first look they notice the shape that I am in, and then they notice my age. Even just recently I attended a fitness expo here in California and my achievement and dedication was acknowledged by the people that I admire in fitness. I never felt more comfortable in my life. I love it and I never want to stop training!
For anyone that who wants to get started getting fit later in life, as I did, just remember that you are not a kid anymore and are more prone to injuries. Do not go in there thinking that you can lift heavy weights and build large muscles overnight. I know that the enthusiasm and adrenaline rush is great but wisdom and knowledge will keep you from injuries! I know from by my own past experience when I injured my shoulder by lifting heavy and without using proper form. My Doctor says that my shoulder will never get better it will need to be replaced, so now I live in pain most of the time. I had to learn how to workout around the pain and the lack of my shoulder's mobility. So study up on weight training exercises, ask questions and most of all be smart about it!
Do not try to learn everything before you start, it will just get confusing. Learn as you go and use the first few weeks gaining knowledge and experience. Work all your body parts equally, if you do not you may end up with a non-reversible damage as I did! When I was bench pressing my chest was strong but my shoulders were lagging, so one day I was benching about 235 and my shoulder gave out. It was too late for me, for the damage had already been done to my shoulder, but from that day on I trained all body parts equally and it has kept me from any further injuries. Use more controlled movements by using cable or machines, once your body adapts to training and you gain some strength then go with the combination of free weights and machines. In order to get the most benefit out of your workouts you have to incorporate some form of free weights. Again remember we are not as young as we use to be so we will be using more cable and machines now.
One of the most important things to remember is to be consistent and keep working out, that is where it will be the most beneficial to you. In the 13 years that I have been lifting I never have missed more than 2 weeks at any one time and that was either due to illness or vacation. Even when I was gone on vacation I would manage to workout a couple of times, just so when I got back to the gym I would not be so sore when I started working out again.
Being a little older it does take more time for your muscles to recover, so make sure when you train a particular muscle group that rest them 2 days or more before working them again. Muscles will grow at our age; I have put on approximately 5 pounds of muscle over the past 5 months mostly because I have had more time to devote to the gym. With the combination of my enthusiasm for fitness and muscle gains over the past few months I'm going to keep on pushing myself to see how far that I can go for as long as I can! I will never be able to compete in fitness or body building because of my shoulder injury even in the senior division. Although I have! found ways to work around my injury, if there is a will there is a way, but I cannot develop my shoulders enough in order to compete, trust me if I could I would. So now I have to be grateful and satisfied to be able to do the best that I can, with what I can, for as long as I can, or until I die. My friends joke with me and say; if I was ever hospitalized that they would have to bring me a set of dumbbells to workout with in order to keep me there.
Now that we all know that you cannot use your age as an excuse anymore, let's get off that couch and get started! You will never know until you do it, you might like it, but at very least your health will benefit from it!?
Lynn Glenn is a 61 year old natural athlete who started training at the ripe young age of 48. Lynn lives in southern california, and serves as a tremedous inspiration for many "mature" weightlifters in the gym that are trying to look better, feel better, and beat the crap out of father time. To contact Lynn, visit Lynn at http://www.muscleMagFitness.ning.com
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