Questions from the Readers!

Q: Hi Dave I Just finished reading your articles on Iron Man Magazines Fast Muscle Building Tips. They are very informative. The more I get into this the better it gets. Do you have any advice on old people (50’s) like me? How about recovery for sore muscles? Are there certain stretches for that? What about supplements and Natural Food? – Tony Dimartino

A: Hey Tony it’s always good to hear from you. I’m flattered that you and Dom at ROC Boxing have both asked my advice recently.

On to your questions… I would have to know your goals of course to give you a comprehensive answer. However, with that said, in our 50’s we still have a lot left in us, we just have to be mindful of keeping our goals congruent with healthy joints. We also have to be even more diligent with optimizing our recovery. We aren’t going to recover as quickly as a 20 year old so more rest between workouts and nutrition are crucial.

I recommend taking an Essential Amino Acid/Branched Chain Amino Acid supplement before, during and after workouts. The body reacts to a workout in a similar way that it acts to an injury or a burn. It’s stress, so the body needs Essential Amino Acids and Branched Chain Amino acids during this time. I take a product that contains both. I mix in some Lemon Flavored Fish Oil (Heart Health and Fat Loss). I also take vitamin D3 6000 IE per day (Heart Health, better muscle pumps and fat loss) and L-Carnitine 6000 mg (Heart Health, and fat loss).

If you do not supply your body with enough Amino Acids and Calcium, your body will “steal” amino a acids from your muscle and calcium from your bones and that leads to a breakdown.

You may also try NO (Nitric Oxide) if you can afford it. It’s VERY good for your blood pressure, will give you wild muscle pumps.

Supplements are great but be sure to eat a meal of real food within 45 minutes following a workout. This is CRITICAL to recovery.

On diet every meal eat the following:

Protein – portion size – the size of the palm of your hand: Poultry, fish, lean meat, egg whites.

Carbohydrates portion size – the size of your fist: stay with brown rice, oatmeal, fruits, veggies, whole grains. Eat Veggies liberally, raw when possible.

Healthy fats – portion size – the size of your thumb (tablespoon): Lemon flavored fish oil, avocado, raw almonds, olive oil, coconut oil.

Raw… try to eat raw foods with every meal. That includes raw vegetables, raw fruit or raw nuts. Raw foods have all the enzymes intact and that’s an important part of overall health.

Drink plenty of water, water and more water!

Resistance training at our age is even MORE important than when we younger. We need strength, flexibility, balance and cardio. Be certain to include training for each of these in your workout plan.

Stretching yes… be sure to stretch EACH body part between sets and after training each body part. Look into Self Myofascial Release Techniques (SMRT) as well as Active Release Therapy (ART).

Be consistent!