As you get older it can’t be denied that training hard isn’t what it used to be.
Where in your younger years you could bounce back from a tough training session with relative ease, as you advance in age it becomes harder and harder to push your body to the limit without some significant consequences.
As it stands training at an advanced age, whether being experienced or a first timer, requires the right nuance and ingredients to excel. So how should one go about training once they have reached an advanced age? Patience, planning, and preparation are the name of the game.
That’s exactly what veteran bodybuilder and strength and conditioning coach Sean Royer believes.
In an exclusive interview with Sean Royer, we unpacked what it takes to excel at training once reaching an advanced age for both beginner and experienced trainees.
Jonathan Salmon: How long have you been training?
Sean Royer: When I first really started was probably my freshman year of high school. That would have been 1986, is when I was first introduced to lifting and it was a series of exercises that were done through a strength and conditioning coordinator at our high school. He was a former powerlifter and taught us the lifts and proper form.
JS: So what would you say is the best or most important aspect of weight training?
SR: I think as I mature as an athlete and get older, some of the things that I have to really stay focused on are choosing the lifts and then the technique of the lift and form of that lift. I think those are really the pieces of that puzzle and realizing that one has to be careful. What my goals are for that day and what I want to accomplish will determine the weight that I use, the depth of a squat, of that deadlift, things like that.
I’m a much more careful lifter in regards to hefting huge, heavy amounts of weight around like in my competing days. Now it’s about technique, making sure I hold the squeeze, making sure I get good circulatory blood flow and compression throughout the lift, those are things I focus on a lot more now.
We touched on Sean Royer’s experience as a competitive bodybuilder, particularly his preparation in the off season and before an event.
JS: What would you say is the more difficult aspects of both bulking and cutting?
SR: If I got back to 2010, 2011, and leading up to 2012, some of the toughest part was bulking, getting so many calories in to get your weight to push so far. I was a light heavyweight so I competed 198.25 Lbs. My off season weight, it wasn’t uncommon to get up to 248 or 249 Lbs. Doing that I had to really make good selection in foods, but then also find the right supplements. I try to get a majority of my primary nutrition sources in whole foods, but to get all the macros, to get everything together, you’ve got to have something to fill the gaps so that’s where I would really start to focus on something else.
A lot of what I did then was Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass. Some of the reasons why that worked for me is because of the amount of calories per scoop, the amount of protein and carbs fit in perfectly for what I needed. Also utilization of Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey.
Then I started going through a cutting phase and I would have to take a long time to do it. It would usually take me about sixteen weeks for cutting. I would usually do a show before my national level show. I would continue to diet, come into a show in May, compete at that show first, then have a few refeed meals after the show was done, then get back on my diet on Monday and then really start to work myself down.
JS: What kind of program would you suggest for a lifter getting started at an older age?
SR: If I were to have someone approach me and say they were forty-three years old and maybe they had played some high school sports, and they’re looking to get started some of the first things to do is really keep stuff simple and also find out with them what do they enjoy or what are you looking to get out of this experience, what are you looking to get out of lifting. Are you lifting for health, are you lifting for endorphins to feel better, are you lifting to give your body some motion to try to lose weight, gain strength? Once you figure out what the goals of that athlete are, it helps us formulate a little bit better.
Some of the simple things I think we can always start with is, let’s say this athlete had run track and maybe done some minor lifting in high school, let’s say they dabbled in the lifting in college but not a lot, we can start them with some stuff that simply works on form and teaching them about the basic lifts first. If this means we have to start with doing some very light dumbbells or therabands and rubber bands, that’s a starting point. There’s nothing wrong with starting there and getting really good form.
What we don’t want to do, we don’t want to push them towards potentials for injury or potential for an adverse reaction. So, keeping it simple and having them understand the lifts. And then giving them some structure. Instead of doing an all-around body workout, we can pair some groups of muscles together, and if we pair those off, I think then that has the potential for getting a more successful plan.
And then lastly would be is providing them with some opportunities to say listen if you’re going to do that type of lifting, what other things can we do in order to replenish and to repair. So that’s when I would look at something directly like Gold Standard Whey and how it’s helpful to maintaining protein and talk to them about diet.
It’s clear that Sean Royer has a fair share of knowledge for training as both an advanced lifter and a beginner. To learn more about Sean Royer and gain further knowledge on lifting and dieting, head over to his Instagram page to field some questions.
For the full interview check out the audio below.
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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
Header image courtesy of Instagram
