Dan John: ''Mass Made Simple For Older People''

[@pdrawe]

Plug: 54 yr old here 5 ish weeks into Armor Building Formula with Barbell. Man it's fantastic. Doing it with ES recommendation. Buy the book you won't regret it

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

I really appreciate this. Thank you.

[@Milpower]

I use your program as part of my routine. Indian clubs EVERY day. KB and clubbell rotated every other day. Farmer walk every day. Mace work every other day. I am strong AF at 57 and only see myself getting better and better as I add 2.5-5% weight every eight weeks. Will see gains for many years to come.

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

It’s always good to read something like this

[@rahulraje673]

I love the high rep goblet squat idea because a: It can be done anywhere, any time; no racks needed. b: There's a lot of room for promoting it further to a similar barbell variant like zercher squats. High rep zerchers seem to be the bridge between the barbell and kb squat variants here. Again, they seem to get the job done with much lower weight and volume than back squats.

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

And that’s the key for a lot of people. Thanks for sharing that.

[@johnscott3893]

Heel elevated bb hack squats are a staple for me. When first started doing them in earnest about six years ago after ditching the machine version sure, the knees were somewhat ginger immediately after and few workouts following. But tendons like muscles can be strengthened over time with improved blood supply and use. Have also started into nordic curl regressions using a high bench recently and am sure the the same acclimatisation process will have to occur before the tendons will be able to tolerate unassisted reps. Will move onto low bench once get proficient at these.

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

Excellent point here...

[@patrickbeck4062]

Man, how delusional do you have to be to do a 14 lb bulk over six weeks, and be upset that a whole 2 lbs of it was fat. I think most people who have tried to put on a bunch of muscle would be happy with that ratio. Especially over such a short time.

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

Honestly, you should read the comments I delete

[@jimlimberakis8115]

I am 70 years old and follow a program done by John Haack. It’s five days a week with a lot of volume. In my 30’s at a body weight of 177 I squatted 465, benched 370, and deadlifted 525 lbs. Today at 190 lbs I can squat around 330 lbs, bench 250 , and deadlift 350 . My bench suffered due to a shoulder injury in a hockey tournament. I love to train and recommend it all the time. I am new to your site so forgive me . I don’t feel like I need to gain much mass. My waist is at 34. If anything I would like to lean out a bit. I do feel at times my current program has too much volume, but I handle it. Is it possible to do too much ?

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

That’s always the toughest question. It really does depend on how you recover. If you decide to make weightlifting the center of your life, then you can endure more work. So it’s all the balance on how you do things.

[@jimlimberakis8115]

@@DanJohnStrengthCoach Thanks. I enjoy my workouts,but always wonder at my age if I am pushing too hard. I wouldn’t say it’s central to my life,just an important part. I owned a business for 38 years and am used to being quite active. I don’t like sitting around.

[@bluefire6]

Do you use TRT?

[@jimlimberakis8115]

@@bluefire6 No I don’t. I eat a balanced diet and don’t use any supplements.

[@bluefire6]

@@jimlimberakis8115 That’s awesome, mate and inspirational.

[@billbredeck1249]

Do you ever get tired of being right? Many thanks!!!!

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

I blush

[@boogiywoogiy]

love your tips, advice and content. I have bought the ABC and planning on starting it in a month or so. I have a knee problem and cannot do deep squat or goblet squat. What would your recommend to swap it out with that will have similar impact. I hope to recover in 6 weeks and then I can try squats again. I can do squat with up until near 90 degrees, but nothing deeper than that. Your input will be highly appreciated. Thanks

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

Well, maybe swings. I’m really not sure because I don’t know the whole situation with the knees but experiment with a few things. Deadlifts perhaps?

[@boogiywoogiy]

@@DanJohnStrengthCoach right ok, thanks. I am able to do squats, but cannot go a deep squat or more than a 85 degree dip...hopefully will recover in time.

[@j.k.5008]

One question about program 2/barbell ABC: should you put the barbell down on the floor before every curl? Or do pronated curls:⁠-⁠)? KB ABC works very good so far! Thanks in advance. BR

[@robt631]

From what I understand, you would do your eight clean and presses, put the bar down, turn your hands around and do your eight curls. That is one set.

[@j.k.5008]

@@robt631 Yes, that would be program 1. But there's one short week after where you do supersets.

[@robt631]

@@j.k.5008 program one you do all 5 sets of clean and press followed by all your sets of curls. Program two, one set consists of 8 clean and presses, then 8 curls, rest. Then repeat that 5 times.

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

Thank you everyone for clearing this up

[@j.k.5008]

@@robt631 Thanks for the reply. Hihi, i overread that you do the whole set😁.

[@timothym2241]

Unless the guy who gained 16 pounds, 2 of which was bodyfat, was already leaner than 12.5% bodyfat, he didn’t get any fatter with the gain of 2 pounds of fat.

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

Excellent math

[@johndonson1603]

How does he even know 2lbs was fat ?

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

I have no idea idea. I just answer the questions as they come in. Maybe a scan.

[@phlips11]

Is the website down for the ABC book? I just tried going to it cause I'd like to buy the book. Edit: found it on DJU

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

You got me worried at first

[@rinkuhero]

Hmm, I was wondering the same thing. I'm 45 and was also considering mass made simple since I'm often underweight, e.g. around 150-155 lbs at 6'3. Do you think that even if there's no danger of someone becoming fat on it (e.g. if they are fairly underweight to begin with) that it's still a bad idea for anyone in their 40s and 50s? It's not like I'd bulk up 80 lbs to 230 lbs in 6 weeks if I ate a lot when the most I've ever weighed in my life is 170 lbs. But yeah I suspect I'll try the new Armor book first, just saying that I am doubtful that getting too overweight is a concern on mass made simple for older people provided they start out underweight.

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

That’s why I wrote the ABC book. It’s more appropriate for most people from Mass building program.

[@rinkuhero]

@@DanJohnStrengthCoach and thank you for writing it, i intend to purchase a copy within a week or two, after i near the end of my current easy strength 2 month period.

[@michaellowry7675]

2 pounds of fat to support 12 pounds of muscle, sounds awesome.

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

I thought so too

[@mikeellis4838]

Hi Dan I suffer from arthritis of the knees does the program include any kind of squats

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

Almost nothing but

[@whitney2280]

Does this work for females?

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

More experience at the gym, yes

[@whitney2280]

@@DanJohnStrengthCoach thank you...meaning what?

[@whitney2280]

I'm a 62 year old mesomorph body type athlete who hasn't done much in 20 years. Seeing muscle and strength loss due to that makes me want to pack on as much muscle as possible so I'm not a feeble old lady..lol.

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

Sorry that was a issue with me, pressing the button too fast. From my experience it works very well.

[@hernanisilva5574]

I’m currently recovering from an injury in the elbow tendon and I recently bought the ABC program (and love it). The problem is that doing the press day it’s to hard for me to. Is it ok if a change the press for squat work maintaining the rep scheme and everything ? To much squats ? To hard on the lower back ? I feel good doing it but I did feel good before the injury and I was already abusing 😅 thanks for the content , I literally try to listen as much of your content as possible

[@DanJohnStrengthCoach]

In the situation and I can understand why you would do that. It’s gonna be a lot of work, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens.