[MMM]

I lift three to four times a week, with the objective to gain moderate mass, strength and definition.  I also jog for a half hour on my non-lifting days, for general cardio health, stress relief and to help keep the fat down.  Although at my age, I can run nine minute miles, I run at a slow pace, 4.5 miles per hour on the treadmill, so as not to burn out my legs on the non-lifting days.  Does this make sense?  Am I wasting my time by running so slow?  What speed do you run at on your off days?  Are you all out running, or a slow jog?   What do you guys do on your non-lifting days?  

MMM

[Fortis]

How old are you? A lot of my in-shape older friends do some low-intensity to moderate intensity cardio a few times a week in addition to lifting. It sounds solid to me. You just have to make sure your diet is dialed in that you don't end up undereating on your non-lifting days.

[H1N1]

(04-29-2015 10:16 AM)MMM Wrote:  

I lift three to four times a week, with the objective to gain moderate mass, strength and definition.  I also jog for a half hour on my non-lifting days, for general cardio health, stress relief and to help keep the fat down.  Although at my age, I can run nine minute miles, I run at a slow pace, 4.5 miles per hour on the treadmill, so as not to burn out my legs on the non-lifting days.  Does this make sense?  Am I wasting my time by running so slow?  What speed do you run at on your off days?  Are you all out running, or a slow jog?   What do you guys do on your non-lifting days?  

MMM

For the goal you've stated, it is a perfectly sensible approach. If you found yourself needing to burn a bit more fat at any point, you could try doin your cardio fasted, or doing (unfasted) HIIT training a couple of days a week. If you're where you want to be with your goals though, and they aren't performance related, then your approach looks very sensible.

[MMM]

My age is early fifties. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting time with the cardio, or worse, having it be counterproductive.

[Seanchaí]

Most of the older guys in good shape in my gym are big on 'low intensity cardio' are they phrase it, usually jumping on an elliptical for a warm up/cool down and also just doing it as a day in it's self. Whereas younger guys, myself included will just go in and jump right into the weights, nothing wrong with that either but I think everyone reaches a point where longevity comes into play. Your protocol sounds pretty spot on for your goals.

I personally have just started running again, for several reasons the weather is nice, a lot of girls run along the river valley by my house and started training Jiu Jitsu again after about a year off. I had just basically been lifting weights and while I'm significantly stronger then I used to be my cardio is no bueno. So as a means to extend my gas tank I have taken to running in the woods, mixing in some hill sprints. Running has been getting such a bad rap in recent years, but provided your not pounding out 15 miles on concrete everyday you should safe.

[vinman]

(04-29-2015 10:16 AM)MMM Wrote:  

I lift three to four times a week, with the objective to gain moderate mass, strength and definition.  I also jog for a half hour on my non-lifting days, for general cardio health, stress relief and to help keep the fat down.  Although at my age, I can run nine minute miles, I run at a slow pace, 4.5 miles per hour on the treadmill, so as not to burn out my legs on the non-lifting days.  Does this make sense?  Am I wasting my time by running so slow?  What speed do you run at on your off days?  Are you all out running, or a slow jog?   What do you guys do on your non-lifting days?  

MMM

Do sprints at least twice a week. And when I say sprint, I mean run like a tiger is chasing you.

Sprint 100 yards at a specific time
Rest 1 minute
Sprint 100 yards at the same pace
Rest 1 minute

When you can't keep the same rate discontinue.

Do this twice a week on off days. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a lot better than slow mo cardio.

I'm almost 47, so it sucks. But it's effective. I also have access to a rowing machine too, so I'll bang out some interval training on that. I'm finally getting a handle on my nutrition, and some joint issues are clearing up nicely. I still need to do a MUCH better job of foam rolling and stretching.

[MMM]

Doing sprint intervals on the off days sounds great, but wouldn’t one be burning out your legs by all-out sprints?  I’m doing the SL 5x5 so I’m squatting at every workout.  Or does MMM just need to sack up?

[Designate]

^^^this. In terms of cardio for fat burning, I've had better success with HIIT. Granted i'm in my 20s and can do this in conjunction with my normal lifting routine and recover just fine.

Alternatively, if you want to make things more interesting you could join a men's O50 or even O40 soccer league that plays a couple times a week. If you join a competitive league, matches will be a 90 minute interval of varying degrees of sprints. You could even just find a group of guys who play causal pick-up to get a similar effect.

[vinman]

(04-29-2015 11:02 AM)MMM Wrote:  

Doing sprint intervals on the off days sounds great, but wouldn’t one be burning out your legs by all-out sprints?  I’m doing the SL 5x5 so I’m squatting at every workout.  Or does MMM just need to sack up?

Yes and no. I've done heavy squats with 3 sets of 5 reps, and afterwards I did sprints. My old legs protested, but it was a short time and distance.
Example

Sprint 5 yards out then 5 yards back, then 10 yards out, then 10 yards back.
rest 30 seconds to a minute

Sprint 5 yards out then 5 yards back, then 10 yards out, then 10 yards back.
rest 30 seconds to a minute

Sprint 5 yards out then 5 yards back, then 10 yards out, then 10 yards back.
rest 30 seconds to a minute

Depending on how your legs feel determines the distance. After most weeks of hard use/ abuse I'll use this shuttle run protocol. But at least once a week I try to do the 100 yarders on a grass field. On a good week I'll do it twice.

[MMM]

So, vinman, I'm not clear. Are you doing the sprints on the same days that you squat , or on your rest days?

[vinman]

I was squatting on Monday and Thursday. On some of those days I would do the shuttle runs.
I rested on Wednesday (no weights) and did 100 yard sprints x 2 or 3. And I did sprints as well on Saturday.

[MMM]

^ Gotcha. Sounds good. I'll give it a try.

[StrikeBack]

If you like running (jogging or sprinting) go for it.

Personally I get bored running by myself, so either I run with a group of friends or play a sport. It doesn't affect my squat training, but I have really good recovery and I'm also younger.

My dad (64) likes to jog and play table tennis a few times a week in between his 3-5x weekly squat sessions (he's a bit addicted to squatting whenever he likes). I think he's doing 5 reps at 225~242lb at 140lb bodyweight these days.

If you want lower intensity that wouldn't interfere with your leg training, take up partner dancing. I do that too after some heavy lifting sessions, in place of cardio.

The key, if you haven't recognised yet, is to do something you enjoy.

[Ingocnito]

(04-29-2015 11:13 AM)Designate Wrote:  

^^^this. In terms of cardio for fat burning, I've had better success with HIIT. Granted i'm in my 20s and can do this in conjunction with my normal lifting routine and recover just fine.

I'm 40, was doing HITT style lifting for just 6 weeks late last fall when everyone else starts bulking, and it changed me enough in that short amount of time I was getting comments from others in the gym who knew me who could see the change. Dropped about 7 lbs, but a whole 1-2 inches off my waste.

On the non-HITT lifting days I was super-setting all my other movements.

4 days a week, 2 HITT, 2 Supersets

When you get over 40 regardless, I believe some cardio is in order just for overall body health. 3 hours a week would trash what's left of my joints however.

[birdie num num]

(04-29-2015 12:27 PM)vinman Wrote:  

I was squatting on Monday and Thursday. On some of those days I would do the shuttle runs.
I rested on Wednesday (no weights) and did 100 yard sprints x 2 or 3. And I did sprints as well on Saturday.

Vinman, do you have any concern about tearing a hamstring during sprinting? From what I've read, the likelihood increases as you age. Perhaps you are stretching enough so that it isn't a concern?

[vinman]

(05-01-2015 02:52 PM)birdie num num Wrote:  

(04-29-2015 12:27 PM)vinman Wrote:  

I was squatting on Monday and Thursday. On some of those days I would do the shuttle runs.
I rested on Wednesday (no weights) and did 100 yard sprints x 2 or 3. And I did sprints as well on Saturday.

Vinman, do you have any concern about tearing a hamstring during sprinting? From what I've read, the likelihood increases as you age. Perhaps you are stretching enough so that it isn't a concern?

I warmup really, really good. And I'll do some runs at half speed to get the body going. Also, at my age a sprint for me is a brisk jog for you younger cats to be completely honest