There’s no doubt that training less frequently as one gets older works better. Since you don’t work out as often, you have more desire and stamina to train harder. With the hormone slowdown that occurs with age, called andropause, recuperation from hard workouts takes longer and longer.
Younger athletes often train six days a week, working upper body one day and lower body the next. The feeling of recuperation and well being is present after each workout. In many cases the total workout lasts up to three hours. Then the workout and training system evolve and becomes more sophisticated.
In time many athletes and bodybuilders find that shoulders needed more rest, and switch to other tools like switched to back, delts, chest on day one; abs, thighs, calves on day two; and triceps, biceps, forearms, abs on different regime.
What seems to work best for people of older age, 50 or 60 years old men that want to continue to work out and rest in shape? Here is an example of training program for the elderly:
Days: day one, torso; day two, rest; day three, legs; day four, arms; day five, rest; day 6, begin cycle again. After that you can take two days off after completing the three workouts, thereby training each bodypart (except abs) only once in six days. You can find that program on “Train with Zane” video, a very detailed, informative demonstration of all the exercises and arranged according to this most productive three-way-split routine. Try it, you’ll like it.