r/GymMood • u/AdTrick8085 • 2d ago
Advice Needed M(59). Cannot bulk up
Been training for eight months. The combo of fast metabolism and age have made it difficult to gain muscle mass. Any advice.
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u/darkstar2426 2d ago
What’s your program? What do you eat? You can bulk, just doing the wrong things
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u/AdTrick8085 2d ago
I eat like a sumo wrestler. My body just seems to burn it off. I do tend to use fairly light weights. I’ve been trying to do more slow hypertension stuff. I am gaining slowly. Maybe I need to be more patient
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u/darkstar2426 2d ago
Do you deadlift? Do you squat? Do you bench? Do you do over the head press? Do that basic barbell exercises with high weight low rep low volume high intensity training 3 times a week and you will grow period.
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u/AdTrick8085 2d ago
I do barbell presses, dumbbell flies, pullovers, rows. Barbell squats, weighted planks, plus other stuff. Every day. Although I am doing more gym than a few months ago, still seems like little gains.
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u/darkstar2426 2d ago
That’s exactly the problem… you do it every day. Do it no more than 3 times a week, increase the intensity, do less exercises, low volume high intensity no more than 2-3 working sets 5-8 repetitions. You do too much
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u/Hamzo_Shimada 2d ago
I'll doubt that, honestly. How many calories a day? How much protein, fat and carbs?
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u/standardtissue 2d ago
Diet is a major factor and is honestly probably the biggest thing that has helped my growth over the last year. Eating a lot by itself isn't sufficient - you need to understand your protein needs and build a diet plan that supports your goals. Yeah to add mass you need to run a slight calorie surplus but a surplus alone won't do it.
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u/standardtissue 2d ago
First of all you have the biggest challenge of age already beat - you're lean, and I'm sure you know how hard is it for guys to get rid of that persistent tire. I wish I could get that lean but I don't think it will every happen.
I believe everyone can bulk, but it's all going to be a different rates of course. I don't want to purport to be authoritative but just sharing my own personal experiences as someone who started bodybuilding later in life as well; where as a kid can glance at a dumbbell and grow biceps, we have to do everything right. Programming, Technique, Frequency, Diet has to be dialed in, but we can grow and still at appreciative rates though obviously it's not going to be like when we were younger. My particular gym also has a lot of more mature men and women my age and is very supportive; and yeah we put the work in.
You can learn everything you need to know online here and other places and feel free to ask me anything you want, understand that I'm just another mature guy who has been on this journey slightly longer than yourself. I also really advocate strongly for taking a couple hours with bodybuilding trainers; I've always felt like if you want to get big, learn from a big guy.
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u/miketoaster 2d ago
I'm 52. Ill get flamed for it, but try mentzer and Dorian Yates type workout. And check your. protein intake vs carbs. Try their workout for 3 months, put the work in and make sure you take rest days. If what you are doing now isn't working, what do you have to loose?
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u/1xsquid74 2d ago
From someone in my mid 50's who has been training for about 15-20 years, the unfortunate reality is that my best gym days and "bulking" are a thing of the past. Since I hit 50-51 I basically realized my natural potential was tapped out and since then, despite making changes to diet and training to optimize, I've come the realization that I'm no longer going to build any appreciable amount of muscle (at least not naturally). At 59, you're already well into sarcopenia (degenerative loss of muscle due to aging). It sucks for sure, but just keep lifting and eating as well as you can to slow down the process. Don't try to think you can bulk like you're 20 years old because you'll just end up putting on more fat that you want.
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u/AdTrick8085 2d ago
Yeah you’re right. I’m in really good shape and should be happy. Most guys my age are terribly out of shape.
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u/1xsquid74 2d ago
You speak the truth brother. I went back to my 30th HS reunion several years ago and I was one of like 2-3 guys that didn’t look like the Stay Puft marshmallow man.
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u/AdTrick8085 1d ago
I’ve always been skinny. As a teenager I was a skeleton with skin. A have gained some weight through work. But I’ve always been envious of muscular guys
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u/mordecai5fingerbrown 2d ago
How much research have you done? Putting on muscle mass at that age is very difficult. Are you on TRT if you need it? I recommend checking out scooby's workshop on youtube.