No tonicity

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archon
archon Posts: 10 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi - I've been on fitnesspal for years - I've religiously logged food and exercise - even when i was in a bad place and eating 4000 calories day i still logged. Lately ive taken things a bit more seriously and ive lost weight but im finding that im just not building muscle like i used to. Im older now so maybe the old tricks just dont work for me anymore? If i could build muscle i feel like my metabolism would be more hungry and it would help towards the whole process but i have no muscle tone at all. Im on the net 1500 calories a day setting and ive been eating chicken breast/steak/poached egg/protein shake/nuts/fruit and veg/rice/wholemeal bread/full fat milk/whiskey (Hey i still log it!) and im doing around 200 minutes exercise a week which is based on kettlebells/jump rope and bodyweight training (adrian james apps). Initial weight loss is great - very pleased - but can anyone tell me how an older guy can increase his muscle tone?

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  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
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    You might want to consider exchanging the bodyweight work for a free weight program. Building muscle works best when there is progression and if you've been at the bodyweight work for a while it's possibly you need to increase difficulty.
  • archon
    archon Posts: 10 Member
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    Thanks - makes sense

    If I got a 100kg bar set with a bench would that be a good start? I ask because there's on going cheap at argos!
    I notice from your photo you have a well defined back - how would you do that?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
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    archon wrote: »
    Thanks - makes sense

    If I got a 100kg bar set with a bench would that be a good start? I ask because there's on going cheap at argos!
    I notice from your photo you have a well defined back - how would you do that?

    Sounds like that set would be a great starting point.

    I started lifting when I weighed 200 pounds. My weight loss was slow because I suck at sticking to a deficit, but the lifting paid off when I was finally lean. I followed a few different programs along the way and eventually hired a personal trainer. Here are some of the programs I followed in the beginning:

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/lee-labrada-12-week-lean-body-trainer.html
    https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Basic-Barbell-Training/dp/0982522738
    http://stronglifts.com/
    http://hypertrophyspecific.com/hst_index.html
  • archon
    archon Posts: 10 Member
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    thanks for the response - i got a cheap bench and ive been using it all week focusing mainly on the basic 4 exercises for about 45 minutes - took me a while to get everything set to the maximum weight i could manage for different exercises but I've already started to put some extra plates on which is good! - its a shift in attitude to start eating more - im concerned that ill blow up the results i got from eating at deficit and kettlebell training but i am feeling stronger - and im enjoying finding new ways to train. Appreciate the response.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    Keep in mind that you're going to have difficulty building muscle on 1500 calories per day.

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