Weight Training Program?

[Atkins&Rebel]

It's been 4 years since we've talked about any kind of fitness here in the forum.
My last full time stint at the gym was the winter of 2019. And after injuring myself walking (well hiking some serious elevations on the AT) and watching a 110lb girl keep up with me laying bricks on a driveway, I really came to see the need to be back in the gym.
I started back up in December and was struggling to do much because my joints are pretty inflexible and my body didn't want to do much. Started by struggling to get the 50's off my chest for reps, but in 6 weeks I was hitting the 100's for a set of 3 with my eyes on the 130's. Last week I went back to trying the bar again because my left side is a bit weaker and there's a bunch of guys that can actually spot you if you want to push to 1 rep failure.
I have been doing a general free weight workout, basically deciding when I walk in what body part(s) I want to hit that day and just seeing what I can accomplish. But I've decided it's time to put together a real program.
I see some guys do 3 sets per exercise and call it a day; others are doing multiple sets for multiple exercises at each body part hitting low reps for most but 1 set of "heavy" which still seems lighter than they're capable of.
I know there's way more research out there than when I last had a program...so...

Anyone who's done a power lifting program want to share exercises per body part with reps and sets?
I want to dedicate myself to a 3 year program to see what I can accomplish before age closes in on me and I start losing out to nature.
I have no desire to bodybuild. I don't care what I look like. But I want build strength and be able to sling bricks and still play O line in my rec league so my sone can play with me when he turns 18.
It's easy to find workouts online, but things work different when your 21-26 vs me being 46 and having to work around a bad back, bad shoulders, and arthritis setting into my hands affecting my grip strength.

If you don't have a program feel free to post your own workout progress or plans to do so!

[wab]

March of 2020 was my last time hitting the gym hard. 2021 and 2022 weren’t kind to my body.

I broke my foot in the fall of 21 and had to have a plate put in, then I tore the meniscus in my left knee in the fall of 2022. Rehabbing those lower body injuries at 43/44 wasn’t awesome.

I’m not in terrible shape by any stretch, but there are definitely things I need to work on, so I’ve made my way back into the gym 3 days a week.

[Otis Day]

No where near being a power lifter by any stretch. I have worked at home for years in the past. I swore off gyms, thought no way in hell I would ever do that.

Joined Planet Fitness in 2021 and glad I did. Machines are kinder to my joints than free weights. I will do some dumbbells, maybe a straight bar for a few exercises but that is it.

My workouts vary but I mainly focus on the cardio aspect of working out, lighter weights more reps. I generally do a push/pull workout. I may do a set of seated chest presses then go immediately into a seated row (or pullups). After 3 sets of that I will ride the recumbent bike for 2 minutes keeping the RPM at about 90. I will usually do 3 different sets of 2 different exercises. I usually end my workouts with a half hr or so on the treadmill. I jog for a minute the walk a minute or two, repeat.

There are other days I will do 2 minutes on the rowing machine then do 20-25 pushups. I will do 6-7 rds of this and then hit the treadmill or recumbent.

My mom died at 60, 22 yrs ago from a heart attack. At that time I found out that high blood pressure and heart disease runs on both sides of my family. Dad died 10 yrs ago of a heart attack.

I am 60 this July. I want to live way past 60 so I am more conscious of the cardio aspect than getting big. I will admit I am probably in better shape now than 20 yrs ago.

My problem is my diet. I love bread and treats (cookies, cake, pies, chocolate, candy). I have been doing pretty well cutting back on that shit.

[Atkins&Rebel]

March of 2020 was my last time hitting the gym hard. 2021 and 2022 weren’t kind to my body.

I broke my foot in the fall of 21 and had to have a plate put in, then I tore the meniscus in my left knee in the fall of 2022. Rehabbing those lower body injuries at 43/44 wasn’t awesome.

I’m not in terrible shape by any stretch, but there are definitely things I need to work on, so I’ve made my way back into the gym 3 days a week.

I didn't think I was in terrible shape either, but all things are relative to what you want to accomplish.
The hardest reality for me is the need to warm up over the course of a few warm sets and stretches.
After straining my calf last year, it took a good 3 months before I wasn't limping at all.

[Atkins&Rebel]

No where near being a power lifter by any stretch. I have worked at home for years in the past. I swore off gyms, thought no way in hell I would ever do that.

Joined Planet Fitness in 2021 and glad I did. Machines are kinder to my joints than free weights. I will do some dumbbells, maybe a straight bar for a few exercises but that is it.

My workouts vary but I mainly focus on the cardio aspect of working out, lighter weights more reps. I generally do a push/pull workout. I may do a set of seated chest presses then go immediately into a seated row (or pullups). After 3 sets of that I will ride the recumbent bike for 2 minutes keeping the RPM at about 90. I will usually do 3 different sets of 2 different exercises. I usually end my workouts with a half hr or so on the treadmill. I jog for a minute the walk a minute or two, repeat.

There are other days I will do 2 minutes on the rowing machine then do 20-25 pushups. I will do 6-7 rds of this and then hit the treadmill or recumbent.

My mom died at 60, 22 yrs ago from a heart attack. At that time I found out that high blood pressure and heart disease runs on both sides of my family. Dad died 10 yrs ago of a heart attack.

I am 60 this July. I want to live way past 60 so I am more conscious of the cardio aspect than getting big. I will admit I am probably in better shape now than 20 yrs ago.

My problem is my diet. I love bread and treats (cookies, cake, pies, chocolate, candy). I have been doing pretty well cutting back on that shit.

Sounds like you got a good routine going!
As long as your heart rate gets up during your workout you're good.
I see older retired guys stumble around the gym and do the exact same thing every day then go sit and drink coffee in the sitting area and talk for an hour. The gym is more of a social hour for them than an actual workout.

[Otis Day]

No social hour. I have told people I know that go there, "Do not talk to me!" I want to get in, do my stuff and leave. I don't want to cool down, I want to keep moving. There are also the people that will do a set then sit there for about 5 minutes or more checking their phone or talking before they do their next set.

I go early in the morning, 5a, so there is not too many people there. I have went a couple of times after work, hated it. Too many damn people.

[wab]

No social hour. I have told people I know that go there, "Do not talk to me!" I want to get in, do my stuff and leave. I don't want to cool down, I want to keep moving. There are also the people that will do a set then sit there for about 5 minutes or more checking their phone or talking before they do their next set.

I go early in the morning, 5a, so there is not too many people there. I have went a couple of times after work, hated it. Too many damn people.

5am is when I go too. Otherwise I'm just standing around waiting for a machine.

[karhu]

Commiseration time.

Mid-50s here. Wrecked my foot a few years ago and put on 30-40 bad pounds just waiting for it to heal up so I could pick up where I left off. It never did, and I still haven't.

I got some real results from lifting dumbbells (30-35-40 pounds) three different ways to failure as quickly as possible. That and turning myself into a walking haggis with a steady diet of oatmeal, flax, and chia seed cut 10 pounds pretty quickly and ended a ten-year run of blood pressure consistently in the Hypertensive Crisis category. It's nice not to feel my pulse in my eyeballs anymore.

And then, out of the blue, completely unfairly and without any way for me to have foreseen it, I tweaked something in my elbow. Just getting back on the horse after a week.

I've also had serious tendinitis in both knees since I was a teenager, and lower-body stuff has become tricky with a foot whose Lisfranc almost certainly healed up funny and whose Achilles is, in the words of my podiatrist, "reattached but highly disorganized." So I'm looking for ways to put a load on my legs without overloading them. If I was still in Chicago or NYC I'd be riding my bike everywhere, but here in the exurban PNW I've got nothing but hills and narrow roadways. Any thoughts for someone who keeps bouncing between overdoing it and not doing it at all?

[Atkins&Rebel]

Welp, did something to my left shoulder. Normally I have some exterior pain somewhere if I prod around, but this is all internal. Can't bench without pain. Can't lift my arm for rotator testing without discomfort. So while it appears nothing is torn, there's some damage in there that will put me on the shelf for a few weeks regarding anything upper body.
Sucks getting old and fragile.

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

Commiseration time.

Mid-50s here. Wrecked my foot a few years ago and put on 30-40 bad pounds just waiting for it to heal up so I could pick up where I left off. It never did, and I still haven't.

I got some real results from lifting dumbbells (30-35-40 pounds) three different ways to failure as quickly as possible. That and turning myself into a walking haggis with a steady diet of oatmeal, flax, and chia seed cut 10 pounds pretty quickly and ended a ten-year run of blood pressure consistently in the Hypertensive Crisis category. It's nice not to feel my pulse in my eyeballs anymore.

And then, out of the blue, completely unfairly and without any way for me to have foreseen it, I tweaked something in my elbow. Just getting back on the horse after a week.

I've also had serious tendinitis in both knees since I was a teenager, and lower-body stuff has become tricky with a foot whose Lisfranc almost certainly healed up funny and whose Achilles is, in the words of my podiatrist, "reattached but highly disorganized." So I'm looking for ways to put a load on my legs without overloading them. If I was still in Chicago or NYC I'd be riding my bike everywhere, but here in the exurban PNW I've got nothing but hills and narrow roadways. Any thoughts for someone who keeps bouncing between overdoing it and not doing it at all?

Being a total layman at this kind of thing I think swimming is a good option if you have any local facilities

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

Welp, did something to my left shoulder. Normally I have some exterior pain somewhere if I prod around, but this is all internal. Can't bench without pain. Can't lift my arm for rotator testing without discomfort. So while it appears nothing is torn, there's some damage in there that will put me on the shelf for a few weeks regarding anything upper body.
Sucks getting old and fragile.

That’s awful mate.
It really does suck getting old and not being able to push your body as much, or recover from a workout so quickly.

As I said above, swimming is great exercise for people ‘just past their prime like us’
Non-load bearing so spares the joints.
Exercises all the big muscle groups so burns the calories.
Also good exercise for your spine.

[karhu]

Welp, did something to my left shoulder. Normally I have some exterior pain somewhere if I prod around, but this is all internal. Can't bench without pain. Can't lift my arm for rotator testing without discomfort. So while it appears nothing is torn, there's some damage in there that will put me on the shelf for a few weeks regarding anything upper body.
Sucks getting old and fragile.

Shit. Sorry to hear about that. It's weird: we spend decades making our bodies hurt and telling them "Aw, shuddup--you're fine." And it is, mostly. Then somebody flips a switch and our joints get their payback.

[Atkins&Rebel]

Welp, did something to my left shoulder. Normally I have some exterior pain somewhere if I prod around, but this is all internal. Can't bench without pain. Can't lift my arm for rotator testing without discomfort. So while it appears nothing is torn, there's some damage in there that will put me on the shelf for a few weeks regarding anything upper body.
Sucks getting old and fragile.

Shit. Sorry to hear about that. It's weird: we spend decades making our bodies hurt and telling them "Aw, shuddup--you're fine." And it is, mostly. Then somebody flips a switch and our joints get their payback.

Yep, between sports and work, I've way overdone it more times than I can count.
Saw someone doing tricep dips a week ago...thought to myself I haven't done those in forever...might as well give em a try. The bars were a bit wider than I was used to from past gyms. First drop and I felt a little pinch.

[Atkins&Rebel]

Welp, did something to my left shoulder. Normally I have some exterior pain somewhere if I prod around, but this is all internal. Can't bench without pain. Can't lift my arm for rotator testing without discomfort. So while it appears nothing is torn, there's some damage in there that will put me on the shelf for a few weeks regarding anything upper body.
Sucks getting old and fragile.

That’s awful mate.
It really does suck getting old and not being able to push your body as much, or recover from a workout so quickly.

As I said above, swimming is great exercise for people ‘just past their prime like us’
Non-load bearing so spares the joints.
Exercises all the big muscle groups so burns the calories.
Also good exercise for your spine.

I live between the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario. Ice should be gone in a few weeks! But my shoulder hurts now, so no holes in the ice for me!

[karhu]

Being a total layman at this kind of thing I think swimming is a good option if you have any local facilities

Good idea; thanks for the nudge. I never learned to swim properly...but come to think of it, that might make the exercise all the more strenuous. All I've got to work with is the Pacific Ocean, but on a clear day you can see Canada. Also, there are no clear days.