Age Is Nothing But A Number

[Inf777]

I am writing this post for those who use there age as an excuse or reason on why or why not something with there physique is taking place. I grew up playing soccer and even played at the college level. I worked out my entire life the way my coaches and had shown me and did not stop that regimen until age 28 when kids were born and life changed. I definitely gained weight in the later years. I even obtained the good pop belly / beer belly gut to prove it. 15 years later I decided to get back in shape and for the first 4 months I did running and calisthenics. Then I started playing soccer again and that is when i realized how much out of shape I really was. I played in an over 40 league and in the beginning it would hurt / strain my leg muscle just to kick a ball. It was amazing how all the training and previous exercising I was doing did not prepare me for this moment. I could not sprint like I wanted to. I could not cut or juke opponents like I use to. Being the new guy on the team I wondered if my team mates where experiencing the same issue. I asked them all one question "What is it called when your brain knows what to do but your body just can't do it" I thought someone would say coordination but instead i got the one common response "over 40".

I could not buy into the response that it was because of my age I could not do what I could do just 15 years ago. So i did my research and found out even more about the type of training I had been doing. Seems that long distance running builds slow twitch muscles and most athletic sports demand more fast twitch. So all that 4 months of running 7 miles everyday did nothing to prepare me for a 10 yard sprint. I also learned so much more about muscle development and training. No where in my research did it say I was just getting old. After a few weeks of training a different way I now do much better on the field. Still not back to where I was years ago but I am well on my way. I urge all of us old timers to never let our age be the answer. Never use the reason you cannot do something because you are old. Never buy into the philosophy that your age is why you are the way you are. Age is nothing but a number. "It is not the age your at, but the stage you are at". if you want to accomplish something then treat it like a child who is learning to walk. The child builds up the muscles and then tries over and over. Sure it will fall along the way but imagine if that child were to say " no I can't do that I am too young". Eventually the child learns to walk and you will as well.

[clive]

You're probabily preaching to the converted here but it's a great story and well done!
I was always a skinny guy and started working out at 40 when most guys are starting to slow down a bit, I'm now 56, I don't actually think of my age too much, I just get on with it and enjoy the results and how I feel.
It is a great shame so many older people don't workout, none of my friend do and most of them are fat and losing muscle mass fast.

[supramax]

Inf777,

I agree with Clive that you're likely (but in other words) preaching to the choir.
As to the running; include maximal velocity intervals and supra maximal intervals to attune you to fast running and sprinting and burst distance.

[waco]

This is awesome thanks OP! Yes age is only a relative number. lm in the Army Infantry at 40!( soon to get out). last year I volunteered to carry the M240L normally I have the M-4. and we did m240 sprints, (I'm up he sees me im down, sprint stuff) we did a foot ball field length. This stuff will kick your butt, however being in relative shape compared to my friends, I was still able to beat 90% of the 18-20+ year olds! haha! Another guy in my Platoon 38 was kicking their butts too. They all said it was Old Man muscle but it was a hoot and motivation for all! Good stuff!

[ljimd]

Glad you figured it out OP. Good luck with your training.

[txchipk]

I am often get asked advice from guys in their 30s and 40s about lifting or competing. They tell me they are too old, and then I point out that I am older than them. Old man muscle!

[ElrondHubbard]

Age is more than a number -- it's a real issue. I think age is actually an even better reason to get into the best condition that you can. It's not an excuse NOT to work out, it's a very important reason TO work out!

[carrollcarroll]

Age is more than a number -- it's a real issue. I think age is actually an even better reason to get into the best condition that you can. It's not an excuse NOT to work out, it's a very important reason TO work out!

Amen to that brother!

[Inf777]

Thanks for the feedback. I am so happy to be surrounded by "The Choir". Sometimes being healthy seems like the world is against you and can appear to be very lonely. I appreciate your camaraderie!

[Jtbny]

Age shouldn't be used as an excuse, that much I can agree on. If we are talking health than no, age shouldn't matter much at all. If we are talking strength I'll have to disagree that age is nothing but a number. I simply do not recover now at 41 like I did at 21. To combat that I work "smarter" which helps - but the simple fact is age plays a role in how I can structure my training. To ignore it would be foolish on my part.

[TimKridel]

About a year ago, when I was 44, I started wondering where the past 20 years had gone so suddenly and thinking that my life was more than half over. That was one of two reasons why I started working out again. (I stopped in grad school after mono knocked me out for a few months. Shortly after, I started my career, which derails a lot of us.)

Since then, I've gone from about 215 to 180, most of which came off in the first three months. I didn't realize it until I read an article on here the other day, but I was -- and still am -- practicing intermittent fasting, which is a big factor. Walking 6 or more miles daily five days a week, plus lifting for another 75 minutes five days a week, were the other two big factors.

I was planning to get down to 175, but now I'm focused less on weight and more on getting my body fat down from a current ~23 percent to at least the mid-teens. If I could do it over again, I would have bought a scale that measures body fat when I started because I'd love to know what my percentage was. Anybody know if there's a way to calculate a ballpark percentage based just on height and weight?

Anyway, long story short: Mentally and physically I now feel better than I did in my early 20s.

[medequip123]

Age is more than a number -- it's a real issue. I think age is actually an even better reason to get into the best condition that you can. It's not an excuse NOT to work out, it's a very important reason TO work out!

Exactly. One of the main reasons I work out is I REFUSE to look like anything close to the average 52 year-old. When I first started my wife kinda snickered and joked about "mid-life crisis" etc. She quit joking once she saw my dedication and results.

[DrFlexologist]

Good post, OP.

[scottw63]

I totally agree. Age is just a number. I just turned 52 and I'm in better shape and feel better than I did at 32. Like everything else in my life I got a late start in working out. Never did it in high school, very rarely in college, kind of got into after my divorce at 25 but dropped it and didn't go back until about 6 years ago. At first it was just to help with my diabetes, but I found I really, really enjoyed it. I've been pretty serious about it now for the last 2 years. I ran my 1st OCR last fall and I plan to run at least 2 this year along with a 5k and 50 mile bike ride for American Diabetes Association. I'm even considering a amateur contest this fall.

[philipj]

i always believed age is but a number.....on 1 5 2016 I had an operation on my dominate right hand, palm, index + ring finger + thumb.
Screwed me up more than I ever thought possible. Pain like I never experienced, and PT makes it worse. Over a month and still in bad pain, loosing muscle......... I can't wait for this to get better. Thank God I an a Veteran and they are paying for it. While I never would kill myself, I now understand why people pain do commit suicide.

[Fishman15]

Age shouldn't be used as an excuse, that much I can agree on. If we are talking health than no, age shouldn't matter much at all. If we are talking strength I'll have to disagree that age is nothing but a number. I simply do not recover now at 41 like I did at 21. To combat that I work "smarter" which helps - but the simple fact is age plays a role in how I can structure my training. To ignore it would be foolish on my part.

By the looks of those guns you must be getting smarter by the day! I wish I knew what recovering was like at 21...can't imagine. After trying like hell to change 46 years of bad dietary and physical habits in the last 4 years, I'm not going to lie...it has taken a toll on my body. I tried to do too much too fast and now I just come in the gym and try not to hurt myself. Yes, age does matter OP...but I'm glad I'm where I am and not where I was.

[MikeNick]

Age is a number but as almost anyone said recovery is nothing close to how it was in my young years. But I still have the same or more passion in weight training and love it more and more.

[Jtbny]

By the looks of those guns you must be getting smarter by the day! I wish I knew what recovering was like at 21...can't imagine. After trying like hell to change 46 years of bad dietary and physical habits in the last 4 years, I'm not going to lie...it has taken a toll on my body. I tried to do too much too fast and now I just come in the gym and try not to hurt myself. Yes, age does matter OP...but I'm glad I'm where I am and not where I was.

Fish, I can't speak for anyone else but I really beleive it's about programming smart. I have microcycles in my training where my focus is volume volume volume, others where it's intensity focused. Now a days it's ALL done using auto regulation rather than out of the box program numbers. I think going toward this will aid in my ability to recover session to session and still have the volume/intensity to move the needle. That has been the single limiting factor for Me as a get older -recovery. Second would be minor injuries, third kids

Doesnt do curls crew checking in
***disclaimer I do about 3 sets of curls a week.

[squatnonymous]

Totally agree, I'm close to 40 and I'm in better shape than I've ever been. I can do stuff now that I didn't even think was possible at 21. It's all in the mind, eat good, train right, and sleep well and you're good to go!

[Bo_Flecks]

Must be a bunch of supermen in this thread or guys were really in crappy condition in their 20s. I am in better than average shape for a 53 year old, but there is no way in hell I could do now what I did when I was 21 years old. Age is real and the sins of youth catch up with you. IMO, to believe anything else is just delusional.

[HY45]

Must be a bunch of supermen in this thread or guys were really in crappy condition in their 20s. I am in better than average shape for a 53 year old, but there is no way in hell I could do now what I did when I was 21 years old. Age is real and the sins of youth catch up with you. IMO, to believe anything else is just delusional.

I agree with this somewhat ^^^ I was skinny always in shape... But didn't have muscle mass I do now, from last 2 and half years lifting and eating right...

[jmeister234]

Age is more than a number -- it's a real issue. I think age is actually an even better reason to get into the best condition that you can. It's not an excuse NOT to work out, it's a very important reason TO work out!

Exactly. Somewhere in my 30's I realized that my body was a sinking ship. And I had the choice to either start patching holes, or let it sink. At the same time, I realized that I might retire one day, and looking in the mirror gave me an indication of what retirement might look like. Will it be backpacking through Europe? Or staying close to the hospital to treat mah diabeetis.

[stobco]

Heck, I wish my body was like it was in my 20's. I could eat anything and still have a size 30 waist!

Age is a number, that part is correct, and if you don't do something about it, getting old will most likely suck.

[bodyhard]

Immortal man checking in....

I am 51, still can do everything I did at 20 and even better. I am not sure why I just don't seem to age and and I just keep counting my blessings. I will ride this wave until I can no longer do so.

I know folks on here who have never met me would probably say I am talking out of my ass, but folks who have met me know what I am saying. Just recently I went to Texas and met up with Bill and Jeff and they saw me dancing my ass off and just acting like a kid. It is just who I am and I believe I am bless and I thank God every day.

[sugarmaple11]

Age has been a motivator for me, since at 45, I want to preserve health, strength and mobility and I can't kid myself that I can postpone that any more. I'm more or less OK with getting older, but I just don't want to get old, if you know what I mean.

I was never in great shape in my 20s. I was always a chubby, uncoordinated kid/teen/young adult, never athletic, never thought of myself has having any sort of athletic/sports/physical ability. So I can legitimately say I'm in far better shape than I ever was in my life. It has been nice to know it's never too late, even for those of us who were couch potatoes from the get-go.

[Rickck48]

I have to say at my age everything I do is fun. Training is more fun now than it ever was so I think age only matters when i meet the Lord in the air. RTR!