So, what's a Baby boomer to do that wants to achieve a high physique goal at a gym that only employs young clip-board trainers? Follow our Legendary Fitness advice to create your own legendary physique!
Many Baby Boomer readers contact us each week seeking information about designing a resistance training program that takes into account their special needs. Far too often, our readers are discouraged by twenty-something-year-old "trainers" with perfect physiques that have never experienced age-related metabolic slowdowns and/or injuries and impingements that are often part of daily life for those of us born before the 1960's.

So, what's a Baby boomer to do that wants to achieve a high physique goal at a gym that only employs young clip-board trainers? Follow our Legendary Fitness advice to create your own legendary physique!


Diane's Training Recommendations


Richard and I share many of the same beliefs about training and the aging process. We both acknowledge the need for increased recovery time and the need for periodization training to maximize growth while minimizing the risks of injury.

However, we each take a different approach to training a new client. With this in mind, we are each presenting our favorite beginning workout routine for a healthy, injury-free 40-year-old client.


What Are Your Goals?
>Lose Fat
>Build Muslce
>Improve Energy
>Other




Most clients that are over the age of 40 are interested in adding muscle and losing weight. While it is very difficult for advanced level gym rats to achieve significant gains in muscle mass while losing weight, most beginners can achieve both goals at the same time.

Cardiovascular exercise will be utilized to burn calories, while the resistance training builds lean muscle mass which provides a natural boost to the metabolism.

My favorite beginning routine alternates three days of cardio with three days of resistance training each week to provide the beginning gym member with a balanced approach to physique transformation.

Beginners should set a goal of thirty minutes of cardiovascular exercise, three times per week. Add five minutes to your cardio routine each week, until you reach 45 minutes.

Treadmill walking, recumbent bikes, elliptical machines and outdoor biking are all great examples of cardiovascular exercise that will take you toward your physique goals. Changing your mode of cardio exercise each session helps relieve boredom and will be beneficial in achieving long-term goals.

Resistance training routines will be utilized on alternating days, working each body part once per week. This will allow plenty of time for recovery and eliminates the need to graduate from a circuit training routine to full-blown weight training.

In my favorite workout plan for beginners, you will be using primarily dumbbells and barbells, as they do not force the lifter into a predetermined range of motion that has been designed to fit the model physique used to design the machine. In essence, you'll learn to be a lifter at your very first training session!

Things To Know As A New Gym Member!
Please work with a nationally certified trainer to learn to properly execute the movements. The investment in a good trainer will help prevent training related injuries that like to find their way into a baby boomer body.

Diane was recently nominated to the National Board of Fitness Experts (www.NBFE.org) where she is involved in the design of the first National Board certification exams for personal trainers to create a national standard for trainers. Look for more information in an upcoming article that discusses hiring a qualified trainer, soon!

Do NOT be intimidated by advanced trainers. Everyone was a beginner at one time.

Keep going and enjoy the process!