Strength gains and age

[kaiden77]

So in your opinion till what age can you continue making strength gains? I know a guy that said his lifts didn't suffer until he was almost 60!

[mcapote3]

Im 40 and still making gains so i would say as long as you can push yourself.

[MetalMiscer]

I don't remember what it is called, but there is a video of a 60 year old guy pulling in the 600's in a USPF meet.

[mcapote3]

think it comes down to your test levels. but there is always ways around that.

[CROMAGS1985]

I think it comes down to having to be smarter. Knowing your body, what works and what doesn't and how you recover effectively are more important the older you get IMO.

[BIG_Griff]

I was strongest at 17

[Hardlifter9]

2 things make a difference:

1) Injuries - This can certainly slow things down big time when it gets harder to recover as you age.

2) Life - Harder to train if you have a tough job (whether it's physical labour or just long hours) and/or family commitments.

If someone can stay healthy and have ideal time to train, then you can certainly continue to progress into your 40s unless one of those 2 factors comes in.

[headrek1]

I had some old school boxing trainer trying to recruit me to fight, and he was asking how old I was. At the time I was about 24, and I'm telling the man I'm too old to even consider boxing. He throws out a rebuttal, that goes something to the affect aww **** you're not even your strongest til you're 30 (or in your early 30's). So along those lines, I know he was talking about boxing and not neccesarily strength training, but given steady, consistent training and nutrition do any of you guys think there's any truth to it?

[BigStewTheJew]

I had some old school boxing trainer trying to recruit me to fight, and he was asking how old I was. At the time I was about 24, and I'm telling the man I'm too old to even consider boxing. He throws out a rebuttal, that goes something to the affect aww **** you're not even your strongest til you're 30 (or in your early 30's). So along those lines, I know he was talking about boxing and not neccesarily strength training, but given steady, consistent training and nutrition do any of you guys think there's any truth to it?

Late 20s to mid 30s makes sense

[headrek1]

Late 20s to mid 30s makes sense

Yeah you're right for the most part it does make sense. But you'll aslo hear guys say 30 is the falling off point. But, looking at most proffessional athletes (granted we aren't) but across sports except maybe baseball, 30 is usually looked at as the point when skills start to decline, I wonder why is that? I guess, maybe it's the difference between training recreationally, and training for one's livelihood???

[naturalguy]

Who knows just keep pushing. At a local meet recently I saw a 72 year old woman deadlift 275 and she just starting competing.

[GinjaNinja85]

Who knows just keep pushing. At a local meet recently I saw a 72 year old woman deadlift 275 and she just starting competing.

That's incredible!

[melvin2345]

I'm currently 35, and I've only been lifting a little over a year. When I started in Jan 2013, my total was 655. 175 squat, 200 bench and 280 deadlift. My current total is 1330. 480 squat, 285 bench and 565 deadlift. I've been training slow, started with SL 5x5, switched to madcows and now I'm on 5/3/1. I'm still making gains, watching what I eat and doing what I need to recover. I feel better now than I have in my whole life. I see no reason why I can't keep getting stronger for another 10-15 years as long as I take care of myself.

[rawelite]

i continue to get stronger as I age and I'm in my 40's now. I train a group of guys that range from 20 to mid 30's. none of them are even close to me on any lifts and they are all competitive powerlifters.