3 Workout Mistakes Old Men Make at the Gym

Phil looked exactly like Mr. Kruger, George’s boss in season nine of Seinfeld. Dieter was a mountain of a man, over 6-and-a-half feet tall with a giant belly dwarfing his skinny legs and arms. I watched Phil and Dieter waste an hour of their lives at the YMCA on Sunday morning.

“I’m off to the gym to workout,” they likely told their wives that morning, but in reality, they stood around ‘shootin the breeze’ like a bunch of farmers watching the corn grow in the dog days of August. You wouldn’t believe what they were talking about (I’ll reveal it below…I was shocked.)

Any working out that they did was half-hearted and useless. It’s not uncommon to see old men in the gym doing everything wrong, and here are the 3 biggest mistakes you’ll see:

#1 – No Warm-Up

The older you get, the more important this is. I’m 39 years old and feel like I’m 17, but that’s because I do a ten-exercise ‘old man warm-up’ prior to all of my heavy lifting sessions. That’s how I stay injury free. Too many old men walk in, slap on 45 pounds on the bench press, and try to recreate their college days. That’s bad news. They’d be better off doing a series of bodyweight mobility exercises followed by my bodyweight bodybuilding program.

Everything you need to get a REAL fat-burning and muscle-building workout is here

#2 – Training Through Pain

Dieter looked like Robocop. He had a brace on his elbow and wraps on his wrist as if he needed armor just to hold him together. He complained to Phil about elbow pain, and then spent an hour training arms! No wonder women shake their head at old men. They sure are stubborn.

If you have joint pain or injuries, don’t lift heavy weights. Your first step is to have a doctor and rehab specialist fix your injury. Then you should start back with bodyweight exercises to develop better mobility and functional strength. Thirty minutes of biceps curls is not a good use of almost anyone’s time, let alone an old man.

#3 – The Worst Ab Workouts Ever

I don’t know whether to blame the Army or phys-ed classes from the 1960’s, but old men have the most atrocious ab exercise routines. They go from jerky sit-ups to bizarre leg tuck-ins to ridiculous crunches that look like an upended turtle flailing around on its shell. And don’t get me started on the inappropriate workout gear they wear that leaves nothing to the imagination as they relax into strange positions on the ground. What a scene.

Crunches and sit-ups belong back in the 60’s, not in workouts of today. Science has proven that those exercises are downright dangerous (which is likely why both Phil and Dieter have back pain). The solution to getting rid of your belly at any age is to use bodyweight workouts.

Everything you need to get a REAL fat-burning workout is here <= with bonus ab secrets

When I was done my workout Phil and Dieter were still yakking away. The conversation had turned to, of all things, marijuana. They were thinking about getting a prescription for medicinal Mary Jane to help their pain, or more likely to relive their wild and crazy college days.

Whatever happened to guys talking about building muscle and getting stronger in the gym? I can only shake my head. Old men these days, geeez.

Let me know if you ever see ‘old men’ doing strange things in the gym. I’d love to hear your funny stories.

And I know, I know, I’ll be an old man too someday…too soon, I’m sure…but for now, I’m going to keep kicking butt and staying lean. They can have the marijuana and biceps curls all to themselves. I’ll stick with bodyweight exercises as my secret weapon.

Get the bodyweight exercises you need to stay young and healthy

Helping you look and feel younger every day,

Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer

PS – Social support is a huge key to success.

So is removing the negative influences & temptations in your life. This may be painful. You might not want to give up hanging out with lazy friends that eat junk all the time, but if it is killing you and making you fat and unhappy, it MUST stop.

Same with work friends. If all they do is sit round and complain, then you can’t be in that environment. Don’t hang around losers who don’t want you to succeed. Cut the cord quickly. Quick is less painful than drawing things out. Search out more positive people and experiences. They are out there. You’ll find them. Trust me. Keep looking and never give up on what is important to you.