Question for the aging men and those who train for strength..

[bodyhard]

Getting old is inevitable and while we can not stop it, we can sure as hell go out with a bang and continue to stay as fit as we can till we can no longer do it.

With that said, I have a question for those, who are getting older, and train more for strength than aesthetics. How will you feel, or handle, when your strength starts diminishing due in part with age?

I for one do not train for strength but I am also wondering how am I going to handle not being able to lift the weights I normally lift to sustain my build. I wonder if when I can't squat, deadlift, bench, etc etc xx weight will it start to mess me with me psychologically which in turn will mess with me physically?

[Iceman1800]

I don't think it does. The only reason I stopped lifting heavy was due to my back injury. I was still deadlifting 600# at 50. I still competed on a national level in strongman at 50. I just paid more attention to recovery.

[bodyhard]

I don't think it does. The only reason I stopped lifting heavy was due to my back injury. I was still deadlifting 600# at 50. I still competed on a national level in strongman at 50. I just paid more attention to recovery.

But 50 is not old though.

[mtpockets]

Just started actually, my lifts were still progressing, but I made the decision years ago that when I hit 60, the going heavy days will be over. So, I have never seen a decline in my lifts and the decision was totally mine, I didn't switch because my lifts were declining. Makes the change psychologically easier. On the same note I do a lot of cardio, I will be increasing that. So all is good, I should be healthier in the long run for my decision to change my goals.

[shootmike]

I'm getting ready to be 54 and I'm already going down hill. I don't lift the weights I lifted 4 or 5 years ago. Some of it has to do with desire and goals but some of it is my ability as well. My joints just don't like heavy. Its not worth the pain in my joints. I still bench 225 for reps and squat 300 for reps. I lift more than some and less than others... As far as how it affects my brain, it really doesn't. I don't think about it. I just keep going each day and doing what I can do.

[bodyhard]

Just started actually, my lifts were still progressing, but I made the decision years ago that when I hit 60, the going heavy days will be over. So, I have never seen a decline in my lifts and the decision was totally mine, I didn't switch because my lifts were declining. Makes the change psychologically easier. On the same note I do a lot of cardio, I will be increasing that. So all is good, I should be healthier in the long run for my decision to change my goals.

That's a good way of looking at things be proactive than reactive. I might just do the same, start lifting lighter as I get older maybe give a milestone number of say 70 (God willing I live that long)

[dragman72]

As we get older we look at things different it's inevitable and we do it in all walks of life. The "OLD GUY" thing at my gym that I can promise I wont ever fall into is just showing up walking around touching stuff. They don't actually do anything and they always use some lame excuse on why they don't this or don't that.
Strength, Aesthetics, Whatever direction you want just pound it out with passion and put everything into it. Then I believe you will be satisfied with the outcome. The few guys I know that have kept this attitude are the happiest men I have known.

[Karl_Hungus]

I've mostly trained for strength, and my strength has declined in the past several years. I was strongest in my late 30's. I am not sure whether it is due to age, or the fact that I am no longer willing to weigh 250+ pounds in order hit my strength goals. I'd be lying if I said it didn't bug me a little bit, but it is what it is. Now, my goals are shifting somewhat. I still want to be strong, but I want to be healthy and look reasonably good. There is always a new goal to pursue.

[KeepItMoving]

The other day I was on vacation and in a local gym. I was training shoulders and there were a bunch of younger guys (30's) who looked like they trained regularly. So, I walk in, total stranger in a strange land, and warm up a bit in the free weight area. I was working shoulders. I was doing some dumbbell military presses, and, obviously, had no spotter, so I got to my last front delts set and grabbed a couple 70's to press. I got them up and pushed up 11 reps. Maybe I had 2 left in me if I had a spotter, maybe more. I put them down and re re-racked them, feeling pretty good about my 52 year old self. I then moved into doing some lateral delts work.

Within 10 minutes, one of the guys next to me sat on his bench and got up to 80's doing dumbbell military presses. No spotter, and he handled the weight well. I don't know how many reps. I used to do that and more.

My point? Yeah, I'm 'getting' old. I'm not as strong as I was and never will be again. I can't fk twice in an hour anymore. My eyesight is going (Although I think yours is getting better, right John?) I can't hear sh!t. I'm losing the hair I have on my head and it has migrated to my upper back. I have way more moles than I used to. Etc.

What can I do about it? Just be a man, not a child. "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

BTW: That AVI of mine is age 44. When I last got banned, my AVI got changed, somehow, and not by me. I'll get around to putting a new one up (maybe even before I get banned again! LOL!), but I don't take a lot of pics of myself. It seems vain to me, but I know I'm overthinking it.

[Old-Time-Lifter]

I was probably my strongest overall at 55. The main reason I'm not as strong now as I was then is with my current job I have difficulty training as often as I did then. I was without a doubt my strongest lb for lb back in my mid 20's.

[ElrondHubbard]

Getting old is inevitable and while we can not stop it, we can sure as hell go out with a bang and continue to stay as fit as we can till we can no longer do it.

With that said, I have a question for those, who are getting older, and train more for strength than aesthetics. How will you feel, or handle, when your strength starts diminishing due in part with age?

I for one do not train for strength but I am also wondering how am I going to handle not being able to lift the weights I normally lift to sustain my build. I wonder if when I can't squat, deadlift, bench, etc etc xx weight will it start to mess me with me psychologically which in turn will mess with me physically?

My motivation is more curiosity than anything. Since I only started lifting relatively recently, and then had that interruption for treatment, I've never maxed out on my progressions, so I have no idea what my strength limits are. I'm sure they are gradually declining while at the same time I'm gradually progressing to meet them. At some point, they'll converge, and then I'll know that I'm as strong as I can be for that combination of age, health, weight, diet, and programming.

When that happens I probably won't train for strength anymore, I'll concentrate on overall health, aesthetics, and robustness. I'll want to keep the strong muscles and bones, keep the posture and activity levels up, and keep my mind clear. With luck, I can continue that until the end, whenever that turns out to be.

It's not really an end in itself, but its a big part of how much I can enjoy life, which right now is probably more enjoyable than its ever been. You can't keep going forever, but you can always enjoy what you've got, and make it work for you. When I do check out, I'm pretty sure it will be too soon. But it won't have been wasted.

[ElrondHubbard]

That's a good way of looking at things be proactive than reactive. I might just do the same, start lifting lighter as I get older maybe give a milestone number of say 70 (God willing I live that long)

70 would be way too young IMO. Those of us who are healthy now should be shooting for at least the mid 80's to beyond. Any slug can make it to 70, barring unforeseen circumstances. Take care of your body and mind, and not only can you live longer, but you can live longer as a happy, healthy, productive person.

[Old-Time-Lifter]

70 would be way too young IMO. Those of us who are healthy now should be shooting for at least the mid 80's to beyond. Any slug can make it to 70, barring unforeseen circumstances. Take care of your body and mind, and not only can you live longer, but you can live longer as a happy, healthy, productive person.

None of us is promised tomorrow.

[bodyhard]

70 would be way too young IMO. Those of us who are healthy now should be shooting for at least the mid 80's to beyond. Any slug can make it to 70, barring unforeseen circumstances. Take care of your body and mind, and not only can you live longer, but you can live longer as a happy, healthy, productive person.

I think you misunderstood what I was saying, I didn't say use 70 as a dying point, I said use 70 as my mark when I would start to lift lighter weights.

[melDorado]

I know one day not too far away i will be powerlifting purely asa hobby because im too old to be competitive anymore
It does make me kind of sad. It makes me moderate my long term goals too because I've a limited time to attain them?

That said im 44 and still compete in open, expect to still improve at least the next couple of years. Got to watch the volume and really be clever when it comes to staying injury free.

And when its over...the weights will still be there. We'll still see each other on the regular til i die or totally sieze up with arthritis

[bustasinclair]

I can't fk twice in an hour anymore.

^^^This scared the shiit out of me!!! So I only have six years left???

BTW: That AVI of mine is age 44. When I last got banned, my AVI got changed, somehow, and not by me. I'll get around to putting a new one up (maybe even before I get banned again! LOL!), but I don't take a lot of pics of myself. It seems vain to me, but I know I'm overthinking it.

I was going to ask about this. Thanks for clarifying. My Avi is from 2015 when I was dieting for my last show. I'm working hard to get back there!

[bodyhard]

^^^This scared the shiit out of me!!! So I only have six years left???


!

Nope I am 53 and still fck like crazy, and masturbate almost everyday, but then again I am a fcking horndawg....

[KeepItMoving]

^^^This scared the shiit out of me!!! So I only have six years left???

LOL! I KNEW that out of all I wrote, this one sentence would be the only one that stuck! Well, I take the good with the bad. I can't do it twice within 60 minutes, but, if I'm enjoying myself and have the time, I can now do it for the better part of 60 minutes!

[Bando]

I know one day not too far away i will be powerlifting purely asa hobby because im too old to be competitive anymore
It does make me kind of sad. It makes me moderate my long term goals too because I've a limited time to attain them?

That said im 44 and still compete in open, expect to still improve at least the next couple of years. Got to watch the volume and really be clever when it comes to staying injury free.

And when its over...the weights will still be there. We'll still see each other on the regular til i die or totally sieze up with arthritis

1st PL meet I ever went to I watched this 88 year old squat 350. May we all be as fortunate as him!

[Jtbny]

Injury will take me out long before age does.

[wesleysh21]

I’m not at that point but my dad is 65. When it comes to anything that injuries keeps him away from going heavy (squats, deadlifts) he’s completely fine with it. When it comes to something like bench that he did for decades and maxed out a long time ago, it doesn’t seem to bother him at all that he’s nowhere close to his old weights.

If I were to narrow it down to one thing that really, really bothers him...its DB bicep curls. It really bugs him that he can’t curl what he used to curl, and the lower weights he’s using now feel so much heavier than they used to.

[Karl_Hungus]

I dont understand the point of being overly strong, we have lots of lifting aids in this day and age, why is being very strong an advantage in everyday life?

You could apply that logic to nearly any sport. Some people find it intrinsically motivating to be strong. You could also ask what advantage being overly muscular has in everyday life. Use whatever motivates you.

[Karl_Hungus]

Injury will take me out long before age does.

^^ Going out like a gangster.

[DuracellBunny]

I think that as we become older, it becomes more important to track high intensity volume and none high intensity volume separately.

High intensity volume has a hard limit for all lifters, both natural and assisted, in that the recovery of ligaments/tendons/soft tissue in general, is separate from muscular or CNS recovery. If you look at how aging affects the elasticity of arteries and skin, it has a similar affect on soft/connective tissue (i.e. aging fks with elastin and collagen), becoming less resilient as we age.

I don't believe that there is any need to stop doing high intensity work as we age, but there is a need to lessen the volume of high intensity work, due to soft tissue recovery worsening with age more than contractile tissue recovery.

As volume migrates from high intensity to none high intensity, protein consumption will need to increase, due to the increased protein demands of the muscle types further down the loading order.

Cliffs: do less volume of low rep work and eat more protein as you age (assuming total volume stays the same).

That's just my 2c, but hey, what do I know.

[Bando]

I dont understand the point of being overly strong, we have lots of lifting aids in this day and age, why is being very strong an advantage in everyday life?

Chapter 1, Paragraph 1 of Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength:

"Physical strength is the most important thing in life. This is true whether we want it to be
or not. As humanity has developed throughout history, physical strength has become less critical
to our daily existence, but no less important to our lives. Our strength, more than any other thing
we possess, still determines the quality and the quantity of our time here in these bodies. Whereas
previously our physical strength determined how much food we ate and how warm and dry we
stayed, it now merely determines how well we function in these new surroundings we have crafted
for ourselves as our culture has accumulated. But we are still animals - our physical existence is, in
the final analysis, the only one that actually matters. A weak man is not as happy as that same man
would be if he were strong. This reality is offensive to some people who would like the intellectual
or spiritual to take precedence. It is instructive to see what happens to these very people as their
squat strength goes up."

[Bando]

Mark sounds very insecure....

Different strokes for different folks I guess.

[Old-Time-Lifter]

Mark sounds very insecure....

Yep...

[Mark1T]

A couple of years ago I was 54 and hit my highest ever on flat bench press at 360 at 204 BW and have a video here somewhere to prove it. Did 130 DB inclines for 4. Never got to 405 squat, but made it to a clean 385. I think my hormones are out of whack because my strength has tapered. Going to get them checked.

But, in the meantime, as I mentioned some days ago, since I know what was like to be semi-strong, I changed my workouts to maintaining my strength, but doing different exercises and higher reps for aesthetics to see where it takes me.

[Bando]

Yep...

Neat how your one word reply on an anonymous internet message board so eloquently captures the driving factor behind a strength coach who has written 2 books that have been published for 3 editions each.

[Karl_Hungus]

Yep...

I like some of Rippetoe's philosophy, but the cranky old man routine combined with his utter disdain for any training method that differs from his own, gets a little old.