Anyone's interest in lifting and physique drop off as the years go by?

[forthenoodz]

totally agreed.

no point doing so much unless you're looking to compete

[eddiehaskell]

Strong depressing thread. I still enjoy lifting and everything, but I'm cool with eating at maintenance and just maintaining my current physique



This

eek...the words eating at maintenance/surplus/deficit make me cringe when i hear people say it. i think even hearing a man refer to his physique does it

[EireGunner]

dont get married, and especially dont have kids then op

talk about a shift in priorities lol

[bsrkoacar2]

So far it hasn't. Im not really as into it mentally because I have so much going on but still force myself to push it to my limits. I used to go every night afterwork and was able to get bigger and stronger doing that. But now 4 days seems to be the sweet spot for gains. Sometimes I'll go a fifth day but don't obsess like I used to. Taking weekends off helps keep me from getting burned out as well. But if it's rainy I might go for something to do. Still hitting PRs consistently so that keeps me into it. I'm 7 years into lifting.

[BigGuyTruth]

Yeah sadly, looked at some old pics of myself and damn I had body dysmorphia.

[Bodhy]

My passion for exercising and lifting hasn't, and will never, go away. I also don't have much trouble staying to a good fitness diet, and I'm always experimenting with ways to make tasty and satiating fitness meals that fit a specific macro and calorie requirement.



I think the thing is, unless you are on some serious gear, you will have to accept a plateau for your gains and physique that just can't be surpassed naturally. Unfortunately, it looks very mediocre in today's age of BBing.

[EireGunner]

My passion for exercising and lifting hasn't, and will never, go away. I also don't have much trouble staying to a good fitness diet, and I'm always experimenting with ways to make tasty and satiating fitness meals that fit a specific macro and calorie requirement.



I think the thing is, unless you are on some serious gear, you will have to accept a plateau for your gains and physique that just can't be surpassed naturally. Unfortunately, it looks very mediocre in today's age of BBing.

No one cares chit smearing tranny fukker

[DuracellBunny]

I've been lifting for over 30 years and passion or motivation doesn't really come in to it. I'm somebody who lifts, in the same way that I am somebody who brushes their teeth. There is no internal debate about whether I am going to do it or not, as it is simply who I am.

[AshWar]

My motivation to lift has doubled over this last year (srs)

Have been making insane gains ever since I stopped chasing strength and started lifting for hypertrophy

Try a different style of lifting OP, you’re probably just burnt out

[Samraiwise]

Never.

[EireGunner]

Never.

this is impressive mate!!!

[legbroke]

Bingo. It's called autism to obsess that hard over literally any other hobby

I think there's some truth to this. You ever watch Alan Thrall's videos on youtube OP? He's got a few videos about putting lifting in perspective with the rest of life, and I really like them (even if I don't know when, if ever, I'll lift again - see username). I really feel like he's got good perspective on lifting and life in general.

The below is an example. I know it's a longer video, but it's hard to give it a tl;dr since I think the delivery is more important than the concepts. It specifically goes into why he stopped being a powerliftingcel and worrying about chit like mealprep all the time.

[SpeakethTruth]

Training wise I keep it simple by being efficient with my exercise selection. For pushing muscles the flat bench is by the far the best exercise as it hits everything hard and to the correct proportion. The other presses simply aren't as efficient because they don't hit at least one of the pressing muscles as hard. The sample principle applies to choose exercises for other movement patterns.

As for the diet I keep it reasonably clean for health reasons. If it was purely for building muscle and strength I'd have a lot more junk food in my diet because it makes getting in the required calories easy mode.

[bigbtree]

Training wise I keep it simple by being efficient with my exercise selection. For pushing muscles the flat bench is by the far the best exercise as it hits everything hard and to the correct proportion. The other presses simply aren't as efficient because they don't hit at least one of the pressing muscles as hard. The sample principle applies to choose exercises for other movement patterns.

As for the diet I keep it reasonably clean for health reasons. If it was purely for building muscle and strength I'd have a lot more junk food in my diet because it makes getting in the required calories easy mode.

If you do just bench you will run into problems. Talking serious shoulder and back issues. Thats why fierce 5 is pretty good because it has bench and military press but lots of pulling movements from every angle. And lots of squats but romanian deadlifts to counter that.
Personally I get pretty weak hams so I will do some back extensions and leg curls too though.. and I just do squats instead of front squat and I will do db presses a lot.
A few other things I do are band pull aparts and external rotations for my shoulders.

[SpeakethTruth]

If you do just bench you will run into problems. Talking serious shoulder and back issues. Thats why fierce 5 is pretty good because it has bench and military press but lots of pulling movements from every angle. And lots of squats but romanian deadlifts to counter that.
Personally I get pretty weak hams so I will do some back extensions and leg curls too though.. and I just do squats instead of front squat and I will do db presses a lot.
A few other things I do are band pull aparts and external rotations for my shoulders.

I do a fair bit of back work to balance out my pressing but I've always wondered if some other exercises, including overhead pressing would be helpful. I have external rotations in my routine as well. Small exercises like that are quick to do so. My minimalist approach is more for big compound movements which are both time consuming and energy sapping so I prioritise the best/my favourite ones.

[LinuxJon]

Yes. As long as the wife still wants to bang and I still don't look like a twink someone is going to mug, it's hard to find the reason to spend 10+ hours a week lifting now.

[Devin459]

Took 4 years off after turning 27 and gained 30lbs of fat.

Felt my blood pressure going up and overall health was chit. No libido, stopped grooming regularly because I felt like what’s the point? And even noticed I received less respect from strangers. I realized how horrible I felt and stopped drinking and eating whatever I wanted.

Got back into it again and lost all 30lbs in 4 months out of pure embarrassment.

As long as I have my limbs and my lungs draw breath, I’ll never let myself get fat like that again.

Whatever feeling you have right now about fitness, I equate it to having money.

Money doesn’t buy happiness but being poor has a laundry list of problems that people with money will never have to worry about.

Likewise, being fit may not be fun, but being fat and unhealthy introduces you to an entirely new list of issues in life that are completely avoidable

I would strongly consider a few different options.

Option 1. Start going for “bicycle rides”. They really are a huge game changer for energy, motivation and aggression in the gym

Option 2. Try a different fitness vessel. Focus more on cardio, body weight, boxing classes, cross fit, or really anything that’s different than what you’ve been doing this whole time. You might find something new that brings a little more excitement to the table.

Option 3. Get bloods done. Make sure your natural test production is at normal levels. You maybe be experiencing symptoms of low T

Option 4. Give up on health and fitness at an early age and watch your overall well-being fade away into a deep dark place

[infinityplus1]

Yep i hate lifting these days

I only go to the gym for something to do and to perv on gu..irls

[mryamamoto]

If one wants to mog 99.9% of other 30+ year old men you have to stay fit.

And staying fit does not require some supernatural work.. gym and cardio 3 times a week and watching what food you stuff in your mouth aint all that hard.

[SandalwooodRose]

Intensity > volume

No more geeking out at the gym wasting tons of time. Besides a warmup set, every set has meaning to it.

I only lift 2-3 days/wk and anywhere from 30-60 mins.

Once my pre-workout starts to wear off, I know it's time to leave the gym. The physique benefit of an additional half-assed set is nowhere near the negatives of the muscular imbalances and overall chit mood you get.

[PenorBrahNoHomo]

dont get married, and especially dont have kids then op

talk about a shift in priorities lol

This lol

My daughter is nearly 1 and I haven't been to the gym since she was born. Now I want to either work more to provide for my family or spend my time off with them and not in the gym, plus lack of sleep is not conducive to making gains.

I managed 5/4/3 plate lifts and could run a 6 minute mile in my 20s. I'll never be able to surpass that again, it wouldn't be worth it and vast majority of gymcels never get there anyway.

[Samraiwise]

this is impressive mate!!!

Thank you very much, brother. *bow*

If it weren't for the support from Bodybuilding.com and misc, I might have quit lifting long ago.

[DuracellBunny]

This lol

My daughter is nearly 1 and I haven't been to the gym since she was born. Now I want to either work more to provide for my family or spend my time off with them and not in the gym, plus lack of sleep is not conducive to making gains.

I managed 5/4/3 plate lifts and could run a 6 minute mile in my 20s. I'll never be able to surpass that again, it wouldn't be worth it and vast majority of gymcels never get there anyway.

We moved house, to somewhere with a home gym, whilst my wife was pregnant. Being able to train at any time, spend less total time for the same outcome (no travel, waiting for equipment etc) and split training up (do 2x30 mins or 3x20 mins, instead of 1x60 mins if necessary) make it eminently more practical when you have a munchkin.

Not everybody has the space for a proper gym, but just putting a rack in the garage (with dip, pullup etc attachments) goes a long way.

[renaissancebro]

real good take on this bros. appreciate it. bumping up for more wisdom

[omnip0tent]

As I've gotten older my goals and ambitions in regards to lifting have definitely changed. But my drive certainly has not.

I definitely don't lift as hard as I used too but there may be 2-3 months where I "turn it on" for whatever reason, then go back to maintaining. I try to focus on longevity now, I want to lift forever so no point is going too ham right now. I enjoy lifting, I enjoy being bigger than most average people, I enjoy the routine, I enjoy the health benefits. I still lift x4-5/week albeit as i said not as hard. I do about 45 mins of lifting and 20 mins of cardio each workout day.

225 Bench for reps
225 squat for reps
225 dead for reps
155 military press for reps
185 BB row for reps
etc etc etc im happy with all those numbers. Definitely stronger than ur average human. Like I said I have months where I "turn it on" and really focus on getting up to 3 plates for a few reps on all my lifts, or really work on hard high volume stuff. But save that for when im feeling it.

[OutdoorsBrah]

Just deadlifted 500LBs for the firs time in my lates 30's this year. SRS






Young women at the gym talk to me all the time, mainly for lifting form/advice, the older I get the more I'm looked at as a legit source for information (this applies in the workplace to).... I never really hit on women at the gym and don't see any other men young or old doing that either so not sure why that's a metric for getting older? Either way, I have lifted heavy and hard for the past 14 years religiously and in my late 30's am seeing some of the best gains and strength increases.






Gotta be disciplined and keep at it brah!

[NMS3]

Yup. I train at home with a pair of 30lb dumbbells. Been doing this since November 2021 when I got annoyed with the gym environment, haven’t looked back since.

[Maestro]

Anyone's interest in lifting and physique drop off as the years go by?

oh yes, significantly. Priorities change:

-You're no longer participating in HS/college sport (there's no more athletic competitive spirit with your peers because they themselves have moved on)
-education becomes more important especially in the final year of school so studying takes priority
-then when you graduate your job takes priority for a time

...then you start a family and it becomes all about the baby, and before you know it, you're 47 with a gut and it takes you 20minutes to jog a mile.

This isn't my life, but I completely understand how it happens so i'm not going to knock anyone that diverges into that route. If there's any consolidation, you will still be better looking than 90% of men if you're over the age of 35 and not fat, and you're better looking than 99% of men if you're over the age of 35 and have abs.