Ordinary guy, lifting at 60

[HomeGymChains]

Some solid benching, especially at those higher reps.

Thanks!
I appreciate the encouragement.

(I’ve been doing higher reps to improve my technique.)

[Cantplankwell]

For those of you who remember that I could have died when I dropped a bar onto my neck during a failed bench press... I am still a novice and an old fart, but nowadays I am repping weights that almost killed me a couple of years ago. (Take that, cosmos!)

Today’s bench workout had a few reps-PRs:
135x15
155x20
170x16
185x12
200x5

(And the BodySpace calculator predicts my 1RM as 328 pounds. Who the heck wrote that thing?)

Seriously though, I am just happy to be alive and healthy enough to work out.

Good work! some nice stamina under the bar!!!

[HomeGymChains]

As you know, for a couple of months now I’ve been focusing on high reps and trying to practice good form, but squats just felt so perfectly in the groove tonight that I decided to try 15 pounds more than my 1RM. Did two reps. (Still riding those old-geezer-newbie gains!)

[ElrondHubbard]

As you know, for a couple of months now I’ve been focusing on high reps and trying to practice good form, but squats just felt so perfectly in the groove tonight that I decided to try 15 pounds more than my 1RM. Did two reps. (Still riding those old-geezer-newbie gains!)

Yes! When you get that feeling, you just have to go with it. And that will lead to more progress down the road, I think.

[JohnButz]

As you know, for a couple of months now I’ve been focusing on high reps and trying to practice good form, but squats just felt so perfectly in the groove tonight that I decided to try 15 pounds more than my 1RM. Did two reps. (Still riding those old-geezer-newbie gains!)

Nice work! The old principle, what was it called? "Instinctive Training" I think.

[HomeGymChains]

Thanks for the encouragement, you guys!

Another good workout today. Increased the weight on my high-rep bench sets to 190 x11, x12, x10 and added ten pounds to my usual high-rep supersets of deadlift / calf raise / shrug.

[Athena]

As you know, for a couple of months now I’ve been focusing on high reps and trying to practice good form, but squats just felt so perfectly in the groove tonight that I decided to try 15 pounds more than my 1RM. Did two reps. (Still riding those old-geezer-newbie gains!)

NICE! this is awesome! there are so many different ways to break through a plateau and low-weight, high volume is one way of doing it. i look forward to experiencing those days again soon. *envious*

[HomeGymChains]

Thanks, Athena.

Wishing you the best with your workouts.

[Athena]

I need all the good wishes I can get!

[HomeGymChains]

I seem to finally have found a groove that is working well for squats. A week and a half ago, I was pretty happy that I had gradually inched my working sets of ten-rep squats up to 200 lbs x10 reps. Last night, 205x10 seemed just too easy, so I jumped up to a set of 215 x 10. When I got a phone call and found out I had to finish the workout and had time for only one last set, I did AMRAP for 215 x 20 reps.

I think that's telling me I need to bump up the weights for my working sets.

[ElrondHubbard]

I seem to finally have found a groove that is working well for squats. A week and a half ago, I was pretty happy that I had gradually inched my working sets of ten-rep squats up to 200 lbs x10 reps. Last night, 205x10 seemed just too easy, so I jumped up to a set of 215 x 10. When I got a phone call and found out I had to finish the workout and had time for only one last set, I did AMRAP for 215 x 20 reps.

I think that's telling me I need to bump up the weights for my working sets.

Oh, yeah, you're ready to move up. That's some great progress there!

[JohnButz]

AMRAP for 215 x 20 reps.

That is outstanding Brother!

[HomeGymChains]

Thanks for the encouragement!

[HomeGymChains]

Back in mid-June I celebrated hitting my first million pounds lifted according to my BodySpace logs. That had taken 20 months. I said that I aimed to get the next million in less than a year.

Three months later, I’m up to 1.5 million pounds.

[Athena]

I seem to finally have found a groove that is working well for squats. A week and a half ago, I was pretty happy that I had gradually inched my working sets of ten-rep squats up to 200 lbs x10 reps. Last night, 205x10 seemed just too easy, so I jumped up to a set of 215 x 10. When I got a phone call and found out I had to finish the workout and had time for only one last set, I did AMRAP for 215 x 20 reps.

I think that's telling me I need to bump up the weights for my working sets.

This is great! Nice work...seriously nice work, brother!

[HomeGymChains]

Thanks Athena!

=======

Here is a bit of history I posted in another thread that should be preserved here...

LOL, I actually had my first Olympic bench in the one bedroom apartment I rented after college. It was in my living room. Srs.

Brought back memories... In my first apartment after college, I was sharing a four-bedroom house, so I set up a weight bench in the dirt-floor basement that had too low a ceiling to even stand upright. Had no car, so when I needed more weight, I bought pairs of 25 pound plates and lugged them back on the bus.

My second apartment (just after getting married) was five rooms: bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen, weight room. (I guess she must have loved me a lot to give up a “dining room.” On the other hand, she wasn’t there much, since we had a commuter marriage living six hours apart, and usually I travelled to her apartment.)

[Athena]

Thanks Athena!

=======

Here is a bit of history I posted in another thread that should be preserved here...


Brought back memories... In my first apartment after college, I was sharing a four-bedroom house, so I set up a weight bench in the dirt-floor basement that had too low a ceiling to even stand upright. Had no car, so when I needed more weight, I bought pairs of 25 pound plates and lugged them back on the bus.

My second apartment (just after getting married) was five rooms: bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen, weight room. (I guess she must have loved me a lot to give up a “dining room.” On the other hand, she wasn’t there much, since we had a commuter marriage living six hours apart, and usually I travelled to her apartment.)

Everyone says, "If I won the lottery, I'd quit working."

I say, "If I won the lottery, I'd build myself the perfect gym...and then cut back hours at work." (Priorities, don't ya know.)

[HomeGymChains]

Everyone says, "If I won the lottery, I'd quit working."

I say, "If I won the lottery, I'd build myself the perfect gym...and then cut back hours at work." (Priorities, don't ya know.)

^^^^^ This! ^^^^^

[ElrondHubbard]

If I won the lottery, first thing I'd do is try to figure out where those lottery tickets came from and how the heck they showed up in my possession!

Then I'd build myself the perfect gym, AND quit work!

And then I'd spend the rest of my money fixing that 1997 Jeep Cherokee that has caused me so much heartache over the years.

[HomeGymChains]

I turn 61 this month. I feel very blessed to still be able to lift. Thank you all so much for your encouragement!!!

This past year has been a very satisfying one! At the beginning of November 2018 I set the following goals:

... I should aim to 1RM my bodyweight in those main lifts mentioned above (lat pulldown, squat, deadlift, and bench) by age 61. I am pretty optimistic about being able to make them, and it gives a secret added incentive: Right now my scale gives me readings from 231 to 235. This goal will give me an additional incentive to lose a few pounds by then.

In addition, I will aim for a curl of 105...

And here are the results...

1 REP MAX:
Lat pull down 235 (June)
Deadlift 235 (June)
Squat 300 (this month)
Bench 230 (this month, bodyweight was 229)
[due to bicep injury, didn’t do direct bicep training for most of the year, so didn’t test 1RM]

BODY WEIGHT: My own scale reads consistently below 230 now. Body conductance scale results were five pounds lower and decrease of 2% in body fat composition.

VOLUME: I started keeping logs on BodySpace on October 1, 2017. I hit 1 million pounds lifted on June 8, 2019 (20 months later). Now in Sept 2019, only three months further on, I am already up to 1.6 million.

LESSONS LEARNED: For much of the year (and especially after my vision disturbance scare of posterior vitreous detachment) I focused on higher rep sets to practice better form and better breathing techniques. I plan to continue that style, and in fact I SOLEMNLY PLEDGE TO NEVER AGAIN SET 1 REP MAX GOALS.

My self-cues for squat and deadlift: Keep back straight. Tighten core. Focus on the correct muscle group, especially for deadlift: hamstring tension and then hip hinge. Do the first rep deliberately slowly and smoothly, thinking about pushing the floor down rather than lifting the weight up. If not in the groove by the second rep, stop, reset, and try again.

My self-cues for bench press: Set up foundation by tightening legs, glutes, core, lats. Explode off the rack (since if I half-ass it on that, then the weight feels discouraging heavy). My new mental key is that I have to tighten my core enough (sorry if this sounds too sexist) so a sexy and athletic workout partner could sit on my abs during the lift. (And before the dirty-minded U35 miscers start giving me flak, yes, I did mean that I envision her sitting on my ABS.)

NUTRITION: My eating habits are still very bad, but not quite as terrible as they used to be. I bring two low-sodium frozen dinners to eat as midday meals with an hour or two in between, plus yogurt and fresh baby carrots. In addition, I now have a steel travel cup so I drink more water and I’m trying to come to work with no change in my pockets. These changes are to resist the temptation of the candy machine that I have to walk past several times each day.

HOME GYM PLANNING: I’m starting to make plans for upgrading my home gym. I hope to buy a real rack or cage and a good bench to replace my ratty forty-year old one. I have a 92” (7’ 8” or 2.3 meter) ceiling height, so if any home gym experts want to make recommendation, I’ll keep your advice on file until I clear enough space in the basement.

[bamazav]

Congrats on meeting the goals.

My wife has been dealing with similar eye issues this past year. NO FUN, so it is good that you are able to keep at it.

If you are considering a rack, I recommend REP Fitness. I have the 1100 and love it, rated up to 1000 lbs, easy to set up and very sturdy. They also make a 1000 in a short version for rooms with a low roof. Prices are pretty good too. I understand their benches are top notch too.

[ElrondHubbard]

I turn 61 this month. I feel very blessed to still be able to lift. Thank you all so much for your encouragement!!!

This past year has been a very satisfying one! At the beginning of November 2018 I set the following goals:




And here are the results...

1 REP MAX:
Lat pull down 235 (June)
Deadlift 235 (June)
Squat 300 (this month)
Bench 230 (this month, bodyweight was 229)
[due to bicep injury, didn’t do direct bicep training for most of the year, so didn’t test 1RM]

BODY WEIGHT: My own scale reads consistently below 230 now. Body conductance scale results were five pounds lower and decrease of 2% in body fat composition.

VOLUME: I started keeping logs on BodySpace on October 1, 2017. I hit 1 million pounds lifted on June 8, 2019 (20 months later). Now in Sept 2019, only three months further on, I am already up to 1.6 million.

LESSONS LEARNED: For much of the year (and especially after my vision disturbance scare of posterior vitreous detachment) I focused on higher rep sets to practice better form and better breathing techniques. I plan to continue that style, and in fact I SOLEMNLY PLEDGE TO NEVER AGAIN SET 1 REP MAX GOALS.

My self-cues for squat and deadlift: Keep back straight. Tighten core. Focus on the correct muscle group, especially for deadlift: hamstring tension and then hip hinge. Do the first rep deliberately slowly and smoothly, thinking about pushing the floor down rather than lifting the weight up. If not in the groove by the second rep, stop, reset, and try again.

My self-cues for bench press: Set up foundation by tightening legs, glutes, core, lats. Explode off the rack (since if I half-ass it on that, then the weight feels discouraging heavy). My new mental key is that I have to tighten my core enough (sorry if this sounds too sexist) so a sexy and athletic workout partner could sit on my abs during the lift. (And before the dirty-minded U35 miscers start giving me flak, yes, I did mean that I envision her sitting on my ABS.)

NUTRITION: My eating habits are still very bad, but not quite as terrible as they used to be. I bring two low-sodium frozen dinners to eat as midday meals with an hour or two in between, plus yogurt and fresh baby carrots. In addition, I now have a steel travel cup so I drink more water and I’m trying to come to work with no change in my pockets. These changes are to resist the temptation of the candy machine that I have to walk past several times each day.

HOME GYM PLANNING: I’m starting to make plans for upgrading my home gym. I hope to buy a real rack or cage and a good bench to replace my ratty forty-year old one. I have a 92” (7’ 8” or 2.3 meter) ceiling height, so if any home gym experts want to make recommendation, I’ll keep your advice on file until I clear enough space in the basement.

These are accomplishments to be proud of. You've far outstripped the huge majority of your peers in fitness, and undoubtedly in quality of life. Enjoy, celebrate, treat yourself, AND STAY AWAY FROM THAT CANDY MACHINE!

[HomeGymChains]

Congrats on meeting the goals.

My wife has been dealing with similar eye issues this past year. NO FUN, so it is good that you are able to keep at it.

If you are considering a rack, I recommend REP Fitness. I have the 1100 and love it, rated up to 1000 lbs, easy to set up and very sturdy. They also make a 1000 in a short version for rooms with a low roof. Prices are pretty good too. I understand their benches are top notch too.

These are accomplishments to be proud of. You've far outstripped the huge majority of your peers in fitness, and undoubtedly in quality of life. Enjoy, celebrate, treat yourself, AND STAY AWAY FROM THAT CANDY MACHINE!

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement! I appreciate reading your workout journal threads for examples of how to do fitness right and push through adversity.

I greatly appreciate the pointer to the REP Fitness power racks and benches.

And I’ll have to print that out and put it in my wallet so that I’ll see it whenever I get tempted to pull out the $1.50 for the candy machine.

[blue9steel]

If you are considering a rack, I recommend REP Fitness. I have the 1100 and love it, rated up to 1000 lbs, easy to set up and very sturdy. They also make a 1000 in a short version for rooms with a low roof. Prices are pretty good too. I understand their benches are top notch too.

I've got the AB-5000, if you need an all in one bench it's a pretty good choice. Make sure you tighten everything on arrival though, their QC for small stuff is still a work in progress.

[goodworkouts]

Hi HomeGymChains, I read some of the first page of your workouts, and then jumped to this page. You've gained a lot of strength, that's great. That's a good idea with the chains and the pulley. I hope you continue having good workouts.

[HomeGymChains]

Hi HomeGymChains, I read some of the first page of your workouts, and then jumped to this page. You've gained a lot of strength, that's great. That's a good idea with the chains and the pulley. I hope you continue having good workouts.

Thanks!

I have to say that with my past history of back injury and knee surgery, if two years ago someone told me I would be doing deadlifts and squats, I would have said they were crazy. Thank you all for the encouragement.

[Filmbuff81]

Hopefully your training is still going strong.

[HomeGymChains]

Hopefully your training is still going strong.

Hi! Thanks for asking!

I did have a significant interruption to my workouts. In October, a family member started developing a condition that required lots of doctor visits and diagnostic tests, so I was only able to work out about once a week. In November, a supposed-to-be-outpatient procedure turned into a week of emergency hospitalization and two weeks of my assistance with convalescence, so the first lifting I did was three days ago. (So it was a Happy Thanksgiving! ) Not clear anymore whether I’ll be able to raise my BodySpace total to 2 million pounds by the end of the year, but no big deal, it was just a fun target.

I’m thankful that the family member is feeling much better than before the procedure. I’m thankful that the interruption to my training wasn’t due to an injury to me, so I can start ramping up again.

Best wishes to all!

[charlievanriper]

Hi! Thanks for asking!

I did have a significant interruption to my workouts. In October, a family member started developing a condition that required lots of doctor visits and diagnostic tests, so I was only able to work out about once a week. In November, a supposed-to-be-outpatient procedure turned into a week of emergency hospitalization and two weeks of my assistance with convalescence, so the first lifting I did was three days ago. (So it was a Happy Thanksgiving! ) Not clear anymore whether I’ll be able to raise my BodySpace total to 2 million pounds by the end of the year, but no big deal, it was just a fun target.

I’m thankful that the family member is feeling much better than before the procedure. I’m thankful that the interruption to my training wasn’t due to an injury to me, so I can start ramping up again.

Best wishes to all!

Good to hear buddy, Merry Christmas and happy new year

[HomeGymChains]

So, it’s been almost two months since my last post. Lots to catch up...

I was able to work out consistently for the first three weeks of December, then a three-week gap while I drove across country, was busy with family celebrations for Christmas and New Year’s, and drove across country again, and then was able to work out consistently again for the past three weeks.

I crossed the two million pound mark on my BodySpace total and hit a few rep-PRs along the way. As a fun little side note, I discovered I live in a very competitive state for powerlifting. (I’m not sure yet whether that is unfortunate or fortunate. Maybe it’s better that I won’t be tempted to compete. ) In EVERY adjoining state except one (and even in a few other states nearby) I could move there and set bench press and strict curl state records tomorrow. (For the remaining adjoining state, though, it would take a few weeks, since I would have to lose ten pounds to drop one weight class.) (On the other hand, if I just stay here and wait a few years... the 65-69 age bracket looks like I could make some noise there. )

Due to scheduling constraints I’ve now had to break my home gym routine into five workouts of thirty minutes or less each. 1) Bench day ending with isolation for pecs and triceps. 2) Lats, ending with biceps. 3) Core and shoulders. 4) Deadlifts and calves. 5) Squats. It’s really stupid and I don’t like it, but I’m stuck with it for the moment.

I’ve had three very positive work-related events in that time, and my treat for each was to celebrate by going to a commercial gym for a long and heavy leg day workout. I find it very satisfying to do leg press, leg extensions, and leg curls as a pleasant change from just barbell exercises at home.

As explained earlier in this thread, it wasn’t until two years ago that I started trying to lift for real after forty years of inconsistently goofing around. I do think I’ve made progress on my own learning from the internet and even made adjustments after videoing myself a few times. The big news though is that I’ve *finally* connected with a trainer who has agreed to give me a few coaching sessions on bench, squat, and deadlift. (Also shoulders, since I have some old injuries there.) My goal is to improve my form so I can keep progressing heavier at home without risking injury. In a few weeks I’ll try to post an update about that.

Until then, best wishes to all! (Even when I’m not posting here, I continue to follow your journals for good encouragement.)