A funny thing happened the other day at the gym. I was talking to this guy about losing weight and he said, “Yeah, it’s easy for you to lose weight! Just wait until you hit fifty, then you’ll see that it’s not that easy anymore!” I am 41 and I can still remember people telling me to just wait until I hit thirty . . . then forty . . . and now fifty! He went on to tell me that my metabolism is going to slow down and before I know it, I am going to gain 15 lbs of fat. So apparently if someone is older than me and more out of shape, it’s strictly because of their age.
Sorry, but I don’t agree.
I’ll admit that it may seem like the older you get, the harder it is to lose weight, but is it really because your metabolism slows down? No, in fact studies have shown that a man in his 60′s will burn calories much the same as a man in his 20′s that is the same size with the same amount of muscle.
So, what is the key to staying in great shape no matter what age you are?
The common thing between our two men above is the same amount of muscle. If you maintain your muscle mass through the years, there is no reason for it to be harder to lose weight. So, what happens to most people that start out strong and athletic in their twenties, only to get overweight and weak in their forties? The most probable answer is that they do not do any consistent resistance training as they get older. If you don’t use it, you will lose it. This is a common thing for most. Life gets in the way, we get busy with our work, the kids, etc, and we don’t exercise like we once did. As we quit doing exercise, specifically resistance training, we start to lose muscle mass.
[I see more and more women using weights in the gym than I ever have. The reason is because resistance training works for men and women, and will not only help you to tone up, it will also help you to lose fat.]
You eat the same amount of calories that you normally do, but now you’re gaining weight!
So now as you start to lose muscle mass, your body will not burn the same amount of calories that it used to, and you will gain fat. Did your metabolism slow down or are you just losing muscle mass? It is most likely from losing muscle mass. As we age and quit exercising as much, we usually don’t cut down our calories, which will also cause us to gain weight. So if we have less muscle mass and are burning less calories, it stands to reason that we will gain weight.
Resistance training is the key to losing fat, regardless of your age.
So now it is obvious if we want to stay in great shape, we need to eat less calories than we use on a consistent basis. And as we age, we need to maintain our muscle mass with some type of resistance training. I actually talk about this often in my posts and here is one that will help explain it a little more, Is cardio training a waste of time? I was watching the guy that told me about gaining weight at 50 workout the last few days. I watched him walking on the treadmill for around 40 minutes both times I saw him this past week. When he was done doing his cardio, he left the gym. He has never done any form of resistance training the entire three months that I’ve known him. I know why he has gained weight through the years and it’s not all because his metabolism has slowed down.
So now I need to be a muscle head?
Most people when they hear about doing resistance training, think they need to lift like Arnold Schwarzenegger and spend hours in the gym each day. This isn’t at all what I am talking about. If you have followed my blog for any amount of time, you know that I do not support the big blocky, muscle head look of most steroid popping bodybuilders. Doing any form of resistance training three times a week will be all that you need to maintain muscle mass as you grow older. In fact, with so many courses out there teaching you about body weight exercises, you don’t even need to join a gym if you don’t want to. There are many different types of resistance training out there and you should find what fits your lifestyle.
But everybody does cardio when they want to lose weight!
What do most people do when they decide to lose weight? They walk on a treadmill, start jogging, or ride a bike. How often do you hear of someone wanting to lose weight, start some kind of resistance program? Hardly ever, right? Society as a whole automatically thinks that to lose weight, they need to run, jog, or ride a bike. These are all types of cardio training and these are all “parts” of a successful training program. The sad thing though is that without the resistance training, they just won’t produce the results that most of us are looking for. If the majority of people that exercise are doing cardio and the amount of obese people in America is at an all time high, please don’t follow the majority. Resistance training is going to help you reach your goals faster, no matter how old you are. I hope this sheds some light on why so many people gain weight as they grow older and also how you can avoid it.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
People in my family have been telling me stuff like this since I was a kid! Almost everyone on my father’s side is either overweight or obese. Now, I haven’t always been in good shape, but I’ve always been a smaller guy. So ever since I was young, everyone used to tell me, “just wait, you’ll be big just like everyone else one day…” Wow! Truth be told, that may have been my biggest motivation to get into all this health stuff all those years ago. To “beat destiny,” so to speak.
.-= Darrin´s last blog ..More “Health Foods” That May Be Making You Sick =-.
I agree with all that plus as I get older 60+ ( now 47) it wont matter how good my cardio is, what’s going to stop me from moving around or falling over will be my strength level, so doing weights is a must! …
.-= Raymond´s last blog ..Is your Downward Dog on Steroids? How Yoga helps Muscle Building =-.
Darrin,
It is almost like if you get enough people to believe it, then it must be true. People have been saying this for years without really knowing why they gain weight as they get older. The more that we share what is really happening, the more we can change peoples beliefs so they can feel more in control of their body and health. Remember people used to think that the world was flat!
Raymond,
The best thing about working out is that we can do it our whole life and it will help us all live a healthier, more active lifestyle. I plan on lifting as long as I am alive. There is this guy at my gym that is 83 and he is in better shape than most people I see in their sixties. He is proof of what resistance training and a reasonable diet can do.
Kelly
Great post Kelly! I was thinking about this recently actually. Is it a wonder most kids are in great shape compared to adults? I mean they get to run around and play all the time, whereas the adults don’t do anything other than walk.
In any case, I really hope you can change the way that gentleman trained, I’m sure he’ll be amazed by the results he gets from doing resistance training and not just cardio!
Amin
Amin,
Yeah I will probably lead by example with him. I know some people don’t like to be told what to do, but if they can think that it was their idea, they will do it.
Kelly
I totally agree. Also it’s not just the fact that people are losing muscle mass. Its the fact that they slow down in general as they age. Less activity with the same calorie intake will cause weight gain.
Do you know if the rumors that growth hormone decreases as we age are true? and wouldn’t that affect muscle gain and weight loss as we get older?
.-= LD@DSD´s last blog ..Making Calorie Counting Easier =-.
I totally agree. Even when I was training to be a personal trainer, I asked one of the tutors if it was possible to stay in good shape as you age, she said “no,because you would have to workout a lot more to counter act your metabolism slowing and as you got older that would be unsafe”.
To be honest I just didn’t believe that. If you stay active and workout regularly as you get older, while eating healthy and making sure to include resistance training, you will be able to stay in great shape. In fact the fittest guy there was 40.
.-= David´s last blog ..An Excellent Food That Can Help You Build Muscle =-.
This is great for workout ideas Kelly. I’ll be back here daily to check it out.
Yeah, the reason metabolism dips is because muscle mass reduces. Build more muscle and you turn into that fat burning machine once again that you were in your youth!
Jon´s last [type] ..Full Body Weight Training Workout Split Over 3 Sessions
In my opinion loseing weight is not too hard as long as you exercise everyday and stay away from bad food. Unluckily, many people fail to do such simple things.
Finally got a chance to read this and now I have to agree. It’s not the metabolism that slows that but build and maintain muscle mass. It’s all about healthy lifestyle. Now that I know I do not feel so freak out about aging. haha Time to hit up the gym more.
Leslie
You’re definitely right in saying “if you don’t use it, you will lose it.” That’s a very true statement when it comes down to physical health. You emphasize the importance of resistance training even as you get older, and I agree that it is very important in keeping shape. I also would like to add that what people don’t realize is that as they get older, metabolism isn’t as big of a contributing factor when it comes down to weight but more so about your hormone levels. As you age, your hormone levels experience a shift. So other than diet and exercise, also make sure your hormone levels are always balanced.
I’m so glad I found this article, I always had heard that getting older slowed your metabolism down, too. But then I see people like Arnold who are older and in GREAT shape. So I think there is at least some truth to what you say, as long as you continue with working out and healthy eating habits I think it’s possible to be in great shape at any age!
That’s an interesting thought – I think that age causes our lifestyles to change – we stay in the house and watch TV when we come home from work. Play with the kids, that sort of thing, so don’t have the energy consumption that we did when we were younger.
I don’t buy into age having anything to do with weight – you get out what you put in. If you do intense workouts, and build up decent functional muscle, you wil burn calories, and hence fat for fun.
You’re absolutely right about people going on the treadmill or doing cardio – it’s not effective is it? As soon as you’re finished, pretty much, you finish burning calories, and it takes like an hour to burn 300 calories, which isn’t much at all.
Great blog, keep up the great quality posts!
David@visual impact muscle building´s last [type] ..How To Get A Six Pack Fast!