A lot of us men are over 35 and it no longer works for us to do long cardio or eat like a bird to get that Athletic build of a 25 year old. Long cardio just does not work and actually may increase the dreaded fat layer over the abs due to stressing the body from caloric deficits. I have been looking around for exercises that are really good for us as our t levels naturally are decreasing. My diet is fine as is the supplementation I am on.

Every time I run an hour and burn 1000+ calories, it seems like I lose some lean muscle that I worked hard to gain previously from lifting. It makes me think that cardio is much better for the WLS weight loss phase ( leaning out the fat) , but not for the maintain phase (building up the lean muscle). I am tempted to cut way back on running and increase exercises that combine cardio benefits with strength training from body weight or light weight (10 lb barbells) exercises.

I will continue to use cross fit as my primary HIIT and strength training of choice. Cross fit is really helping me, but I only do it 2 days a week (Tuesday, Thursday). I have been running Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. I like to run and do about 10 k every running day, but it is not helping my desire to build a body like a boxer. Have any of you done any programs that specifically target men over 35?

What are your thoughts?

Women are welcome to respond, but be aware the answers should target specifically men over 35.

I apologize I know you are seeking a serious answer, but my husband is 59 and he continues to go with love making as his exercise of choice.... have a nice day hope someone answers with a real answer.

I apologize I know you are seeking a serious answer, but my husband is 59 and he continues to go with love making as his exercise of choice.... have a nice day hope someone answers with a real answer.

Lol....I was thinking the Same thing!! At least it's fun!!

I'm serious guys!!

I apologize I know you are seeking a serious answer, but my husband is 59 and he continues to go with love making as his exercise of choice.... have a nice day hope someone answers with a real answer.

I bet it right forearm is huge

On a serious note, your a young guy at 35 years old. You would be following the same lifting routines of 25 year old. Those long 10k running days are burning some of that hard earned muscle. You gotta decide what you want more... a boxers physic or a runners.

If you want a boxers physic you need to look at the cross fit you do as a form of some insane HIIT cardio routine, follow a weight lifting schedule and axe the running.

Mon- Chest/Shoulders/Triceps

Tue- Cross fit + 2 different ab exercises 3 sets each exercise

Wed- Back/Biceps/Traps

Thurs- Cross fit + 2 different ab exercises 3 sets each exercise

Fri- Legs + any muscle you think needs added attention

Your gonna need to start eating at a caloric surplus if you want to start building more muscle. I only advise that since your already at goal. I would make sure you know exactly what your BMR is... not through an online calculator but professionally through your local gym or doctor. Start eating about 250cal above your BMR and work your way up to about 500. Make sure you are bringing up those calories with good choices. Maybe an extra serving of lean Protein plus another Protein shake should get you there. Maybe start thinking of upping your carbs up to since your at goal.

Although I do notice I am getting bigger with the lifting routine I am following my main goal right now is to drop weight and lift to maintain the muscle I do have. Without the lifting I probably would have loss quicker but how much or that would have been muscle. Once I am at goal, like yourself, I plan to eat at a caloric surplus to gain more muscle and slowly adjust to a 40/40/20,protein/carbs/fats diet. Slowly increase my calories to well above 2000cal per day. Its going to take a little while to build it back over that amount but I will also be slowly charging my metabolism up. I am going to cut back on the cardio sessions. I really only use cardio now to play with my daily calorie deficits. Gonna cut it back from 5 days a week to probably 2.

You are at a place right now where everyone on these boards wants to be. You also seem like fitness is going to be part of your life forever. You can always switch things up if the above is not working for you. Following a lifting program coupled with your crossfit and 2 years from now you have that boxers body and will be shredded. Without the diet and certain outlook exercise wise you might be doing things that are counter productive to your personal fitness goals.

Look up Bob Harper (biggest loser) he is well over 35, he has a lot of info out there, he is into crossfit big time not o mention he has an awesome body!

Look up Bob Harper (biggest loser) he is well over 35' date=' he has a lot of info out there, he is into crossfit big time not o mention he has an awesome body![/quote']

Thanks! I am a big fan of Bob Harper and have a few of his biggest loser workout and yoga DVDs. I also enjoy doing his "inside out" DVD workout with 10-12 lb hand weights. It is intense along the same line as cross fit. I usually have trouble making it through the whole hour, but it is one of my goals!

Mike- thank you for the wonderful information. I like your use of the word transformation as that is what I feel like VSG and the downstream habits have helped me start.

I do not think my transformation is done yet even at goal weight, not until my body-for-life type goals are met. I do want to have strength of an athlete, specifically a boxer so think my long distance running days are numbered. I have really enjoyed the running so far and how it has dropped me to goal weight (BMI).

Achieving goal weight is only the first phase of the transformation and continuing to run 20 miles a week is far too catabolic to achieve the body type of, say, Bill or Shawn Phillips from the fitness world. It will be sad to let that go, but now my focus will turn entirely on strength and HIIT activities that will help me complete the transformation. Life is truly a dynamic experience and it can be whatever you set your mind to. We can and should continue to adjust strategies when reaching towards goals.

As an aside ( not really important), I am 37 but geared the discussion towards men 35 and older because that is when our youthful hormones start to decline and it becomes harder to lose weight and build muscle

Why not talk to a trainer or exercise physiologist?

I'm interested in this as well, particularly the strength exercises. I have never been an exercise person other than walking, but have gotten going on my wife's long neglected elliptical for the last year and can bang out 30 minutes fairly consistently now, which I know is not much in the grand scheme of things, but huge for me. I literally couldn't do five minutes the first time I used it in early 2012. Have signed up for my first 5k this fall and start Couch-to-5k this summer.

So, I'm feeling OK with cardiovascular. But I'd like more definition in my chest, under my man boobs, which are sadly mostly loose skin right now. The elliptical has helped a bit there, though.

However, I'd love some suggestions for at-home chest exercises.

I agree, those really long cardio sessions are not good for muscle retention. Other than this once a year 5k mud run (Warrior Dash) coming up that will probably be a good 40-45 minutes for me, I limit my cardio to 30 minutes or less and just twice a week. Like "MikeRoss" stated, to add mass (fat or muscle), you need to be at a caloric surplus and you'll need to have a good idea of how many cals you need to maintain your current weight, then add. Our bodies have no problem adding on massive amounts of fat quickly and we all can testify that we can add fat to our frames at an alarming pace. But our bodies don't have the same ability to pack on muscle as quickly (short of illegal supplementation) as it can fat. So if you jack your calories way above what you need for maintenance while lifting several times a week, sure you'll put on SOME muscle, but most of the mass you'll be adding will be fat. I've been there.......done that. So I think the key is to go slightly over one's daily maintenance calories. Mine are somewhere in the range of about 200-300 calories over maintenance on days that I lift, which are at least 5 days a week. On these days, I try to make sure to get a higher percentage of those calories from lean proteins and complex carbs and less fats. The days I don't lift, I'll go about 100-200 cals below maintenance or stay at maintenance while reducing complex carbs and raising fats. Of course that's what works for me and people's bodies do tend to react differently, so I think there's some trial and error involved as well.

Man I hate to say it but I've been wrestling with this same dilemna for the last few weeks. I have really come to love long distance running but it wastes alot of muscle. The more I run the worse my strength to weight ratio is getting. I've got another half marathon coming up in 2 weeks and after that I'm gonna cool it for a while on long runs. Just in the last couple of months I've increased my weight lifting and HIIT runs, while decreasing the mid level mileage runs as they seem to be redundant. They are a good calorie burn but not much more.

For now I'm doing Starting Strength again. Did it before and it's a great way to increase strength and power. I'm going to keep running but it's going to be more HIIT running and hill repeats, with maybe a twice monthly long run and that's it. No more junk mileage. I think I may have already told you but I discovered the local high school keeps a big tractor tire sitting outside for training. I've been going up there once or twice a week and flipping the tire strongman style as many times as I can. I flipped it 103 times today in just under 20 minutes, and I can safely say that is the most intense workout I've had in quite sometime. I looked up the tire online and it is a 280 pound tire. That really makes me wanna go out and find a heavier one to bring home, one that I can't flip 100 times. But still, incredible workout. I now know what my aorta tastes like.

A lot of us men are over 35 and it no longer works for us to do long cardio or eat like a bird to get that Athletic build of a 25 year old. Long cardio just does not work and actually may increase the dreaded fat layer over the abs due to stressing the body from caloric deficits. I have been looking around for exercises that are really good for us as our t levels naturally are decreasing. My diet is fine as is the supplementation I am on.

Every time I run an hour and burn 1000+ calories' date=' it seems like I lose some lean muscle that I worked hard to gain previously from lifting. It makes me think that cardio is much better for the WLS weight loss phase ( leaning out the fat) , but not for the maintain phase (building up the lean muscle). I am tempted to cut way back on running and increase exercises that combine cardio benefits with strength training from body weight or light weight (10 lb barbells) exercises.

I will continue to use cross fit as my primary HIIT and strength training of choice. Cross fit is really helping me, but I only do it 2 days a week (Tuesday, Thursday). I have been running Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. I like to run and do about 10 k every running day, but it is not helping my desire to build a body like a boxer. Have any of you done any programs that specifically target men over 35?

What are your thoughts?

Women are welcome to respond, but be aware the answers should target specifically men over 35.

[/quote']

SEX IS THE BEST EXERCISE ANYONE CAN HAVE, YOU USE MUSCLES YA DIDN'T KNOW YA HAD. JUST TRY NEW AREAS OF YOUR HOME,YARD SHOWER, BE SPONTANEOUS . WE ALL WILL SWEAT & REBUILD MUSCLES NEEDED &BURN CALORIES...

SEX IS THE BEST EXERCISE ANYONE CAN HAVE' date=' YOU USE MUSCLES YA DIDN'T KNOW YA HAD. JUST TRY NEW AREAS OF YOUR HOME,YARD SHOWER, BE SPONTANEOUS . WE ALL WILL SWEAT & REBUILD MUSCLES NEEDED &BURN CALORIES...[/quote']

My word! you must feel very strongly about this!

I've never heard and one here yell at someone to have more sex!

My word! you must feel very strongly about this!

I've never heard and one here yell at someone to have more sex!

Just think of the CALORIES ppl could burn & build MUSCLES...