What would you have done differently?

[claimyourgains]

this is mostly directed at people who have trained 10+ years.

still a young lad, and after seeing what years of training can do to someone, I really want to be careful and not make the mistakes injured people do. Why is it that every major bodybuilder or powerlifter have bad injuries when they're older, is it because heavy lifting affects the human body long term? Now I want to get big and most importantly i also want to be able to walk at 60-70 years old without discomfort or requiring multiple surgeries.

Thank you

[Charly41]

i started a similar question some weeks ago.....here are some opinions/answers.

myself train close to 40 years now with weights...of cause training and diet changes.....

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=174232001

60 years is not far away for me....and i can still walk.....ok, after some leg-Workouts it´s hard to do the first steps in the morning when i get out of bed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_3_ppUV9e0

[mslman71]

Well, don't get to ahead of yourself but if I could go back I would take a lot more rest days and not treat every single visit to the gym as a day to do maximum weight and volume. It always felt like taking an unscheduled day off was the end of the world. I kept the pedal to the floor all the time and didn't rest enough or eat well enough for a couple of decades before it came back to bite me.

[Old-Time-Lifter]

When pressing or pulling behind your head never go lower than your ears.

Upright rows with a narrow grip are the death to healthy shoulders.

Pay no attention to what others are lifting or think you should be lifting.

Most injuries are due to your ego... get rid of your ego.

[CommitmentRulz]

1 - Be consistent. I'm not particularly strong. Never wanted to be a "body builder" but wanted to look good naked and not be embarrassed to peel off my shirt at the beach or pool. Over the years I did some stupid workouts and took many non-optimal approaches. But I was consistent. At 58, I think I'm doing better than the average 58-year-old.

2 - Listen to people smarter than you. (Be willing to take advice.) Honestly, I've probably made more progress over the last 10 years than I did the previous 15 to 20 years. Why? Watched and listened to other guys who I could see were "doing things" in the gym. We shared approaches, compared what worked for some and not others (we're all different). and was... (see #1) Consistent.

[Leddyman]

Warm up before you lift! Warm up twice! Listen to your shoulders. If they hurt stop what you are doing and lower the weight. I'm about to be 54. I've never been injured lifting weights. Hurt my knee playing softball and weightlifting fixed it. I actually was suffering from a lot of joint related issues, shoulders knees, low back. All of that pain is gone since I started lifting. I use proper form and don't lift more than I can handle. Today was back day. For deadlift I did 2 sets of 10 reps with the bar for warm up. 2 sets of 10 rows with the bar for warmup. 1 set of 135 warmup (that's a lot of warmup). 10 reps 185, 3 sets of 225 for 10 reps. Plus all the assorted seated rows/lat pulldowns/shrugs/etc.

Secret to longevity for me. Lots of warmup, good form, not too heavy for me. I'll go up to about 350 on deads as I work into it.

[Tricon7]

Warm up properly and don't get in a rush. A great way to get an injury is to rush into heavy weights. And the older you get, the more thoroughly you have to warm up.