Changing routine

Hi all,
 
Being a recent over 40 i am thinking of changing my routine, I have trained for many years and have allways gone heavy with between 8 - 10 reps in sets of three and allways acheived good gains in strength and muscle, however over the last year or so i have noticed more and more joints starting to ache and clicking particularly in the morning.
 
My question is, if i go lighter and do sets of fifteen keeping form propper strict am i likely to still make gains and yet put less pressure on my joints ? 

astonvilla6621


Hi all,

Being a recent over 40 i am thinking of changing my routine, I have trained for many years and have allways gone heavy with between 8 - 10 reps in sets of three and allways acheived good gains in strength and muscle, however over the last year or so i have noticed more and more joints starting to ache and clicking particularly in the morning.

My question is, if i go lighter and do sets of fifteen keeping form propper strict am i likely to still make gains and yet put less pressure on my joints ? 

i should`nt think so.
the pressure will still be on your joints, with even more movements, and less weight generally means less mass.
sorry to sound a bit negative, but there you are.

You dont have to lift heavy to make gains,since joining the 50s club i have reduced weight and increased reps per set,in total the poundage i lift within a session is usually higher than that of lifting heavy per se,
 
So i still increase mass,but have better definition.i also have increased sets, my usuall routine is sets of 20/25 reps.
 
Now and then i lift heavier with less reps ie:5/10 reps.rare now though.

It's really no harm to train with lighter-higher rep weights from time to time. I train in cycles like this, usually going from progressively higher reps (Loading Phase) to heavier lower volume reps (Growth Phase) and the stick in a Rest week in between these cycles. I find it actually allows be keep making gains with hitting a plateau.
 
I still make some gains when on the Loading Phase but once I hit the Heavier weights I seem to come on really strong again. No harm in keeping your body guessing and it keeps me interested and motivated to train hard.