I began weight training in earnest in my 50’s and I am now 68. I have been doing it long enough to know how to squat and below thighs parallel to the floor slowly to make it harder but with maximum effort holding 50 # dumbbells on my . The same is true for military presses and I put dumbbells in a back pack for parallel dips for strength and pullups for strength. I have a difficult time imagining myself strong enough to hurt myself, nevertheless, I do warmup movements and study how to workout with punctilious form. I typically exercise 5 to 6 days a week depending on change up of my workouts that take me about an hour.
I go for protein shakes embellished with cinnamon, the flavor of which I esteem in great measure and I have a stash of BCAA but I will use it on non-workout days when I fast part of the day. On workout days I workout early in the morning and shortly after I finish I have a breakfast of pancakes I make from oat bran, coconut flour, almond flour, eggs, more whey powder, and I put a few strawberries and Fage Greek yogurt (beware of Yoplat, Dannon, or any that are made by giant corporations that contaminate their so-called yogurt with added sugar and things like sucralose.) I usually eat a lime an hour or two before I workout (lemon water is suppose to be good for you first thing in the morning but the only lemons I can find are labelled by a giant food corporation and I do not trust giant food corporations) and I take a scoop of creatine and beta-alinine and I might try something with 150 grams of caffeine and l-citrulline because I like the effect or sensation that follows exhausting a muscle group that it seems to cause.
So far I took second place in the men over 60 bodybuilding contest held by OCB. I will try to outdo myself next year.
Due to ceilac disease I had been in the hospital and when this happens I can’t get food down for several days so I try to make up for it by taking BCAA to supplement the IV the hospital gave me. But this is different from when I can take whey isolate from cows that have not been given hormones or antibiotics and the whey is cold processed before I workout and I will try it between sets during workouts.
I am very careful with what I eat, adjusting protein to just over my 170 # maximum fed weight, 80 gm of such fats as macadamia nut oil and olive oil, and carbohydrates from broccoli, black bean pasta or shirataki pasta when I cycle down carbohydrates and cheeses. (I am vegetarian.)

You won’t be sorry. You can always add stuff later if you feel confident and your muscle groups can take the pounding. Otherwise take it conservatively and do everything that you can, as vigorously as you can, without injury, and progress from there, at your own pace. You’ll still look better than 99% of all the 55 year-olds out there!
Bottom line? Don’t wuss out and use non-productive pansy workouts, just don’t kill yourself either, trying to keep up with the “kids.” Mark, please comment? You’re the expert.

What do you think?

I take my post-workout shake immediately after finishing my routine. This also contains 30 g whey, 5 g creatine and 5 g glutamine. This regime seems to be working well for me. Do you think this is ok?

Big fan of yours 🙂

Here in Syria we don’t have any supplements. So if I could only eat food what would you recommend for pre-workout, intra-workout, and post-workout?

Thanks 🙂