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The over 30's

I suppose I'm thinking, how you train now, (14 to 25) determines how well you will be by the time you are 40, I mean if you are training and injuring and re injuring, do you think that will impact your training by 40?

Still reflecting on the 200kg deadlift

Pulling 5 reps at 200kg at 50 is no big deal if it is something you have been doing all your life.
 
Active blokes are bound to carry injuries into middle age with them it's just part of the game. My backs fucked from making my living as a human mule when I was younger, my shoulders fucked from lifting like a dickhead when I knew no better. My neck plays up sometimes from crashing a dirt bike in my teens. My sinuses are fucked from getting pumelled in the snout boxing.

Honestly if you can get to 30 without some recurring injuries your either really lucky or haven't done alot of living.

My advice to any of the young fellas is
1. Enjoy been able to spend endless hours in the gym cause that shit is over once you get serious about having to earn.
2. Stop obsessing about keeping abs year round if you really wanna be huge you gotta eat to be big.
 
Some good points brick
I would say then that I am one of the extremely lucky ones at 50 and have zero injury issues, all the exercises I did at 20 I can and still do now.
Perhaps because the only physical activity I did was lifting weights with no other sports etc. I was able to stay injury free, unless you count having my hemorrhoids removed 8 years ago due to years of squatting which by way was the most painful experience in my life.

I was also fortunate enough in the beginning to have the guidance of an amateur bodybuilder back in the early 80's when things were a lot simpler and there was no Internet to confuse you.
One piece of advice from him has always stuck with me, if you aren't gaining or your poundages aren't moving then train less rather than more and start from there.
 

I see guys in comps having torn shoulders /pecs/hammies etc.. when they are 20-25.

I can bet money that at by mid - late 30s they will be feeling it as they get out of bed in the morning or shifting a 10kg box around. Most at that young age won't understand as the test is high and so with it comes the arrogance of invincibility. I was once like that.

And see it everyday at the gym. Telling a young trainee to slow down and watch the injury doesn't always register in their heads.



cheers Trent
 
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I wish I had trained smarter when younger, ad mentioned injuries have a habit of coming back to haunt you.

Life definetely gets in the way..... Well lets change that to your priorities, and things you love change.
 
Some good points made in this thread.
I too wish I had of trained smarter and eaten better while younger (mainly through my 20's) and not spent most weekends, or weekdays hung over and pissing my life into the wind and running a muck with mates and chasing tail, but then again that's part of living and life experience.

Now mid 30's and being the busiest I have been in my life, I feel the stronger than ever, time management is much better and nutrition has improved immensely which I believe is paramount in anyone's program.
 
My advice to the youngsters would be, think through your big decisions before you commit to them. Life will get in your way but you decide how much. It's a simple case of which you want more but it should at least be understood that there will be an impact on your training.

Apart from that, be impatient. Don't settle for slow gains, year after year because you don't have to. Get the information you need, change things and keep improving. The world is a different place since the web even for weight training.
 
The advice from this 46 year old would be : slow down every now and then, do nothing, and ask people close to you what they think of your physique. You might be surprised by the responses.. 2nd opinions are well worth collecting.

And read my sig...
 
Goosey said:
Who is over 30 and still making good advances in strength
Click to expand...
I'm nearly 43. I restarted training nearly 2 years ago. In that time my bench 1RM has moved from 80kg to 150. In recent months I've started to deadlift, and my working sets have moved from 90kg to 140.

Goosey said:
what advice could you give to the younger members on AUSBB?
Click to expand...
The older I get, the less qualified I feel to give advice. I can only relay my personal experiences.

Giving up weights is not the end of life itself
I took a full decade off from the gym in my 30's - knees were hurting, engineering career kicked into high gear, kids, wife. Especially the wife...

There's a lot of stresses in marriage when the kids come along. My wife gave up a hard-won career to raise them; the frustration and resentment are always in the background. I've always worked long hours and I would not be married still if I had kept going to the gym in that period. Working out was just one of many hobbies that came to be regarded as selfish indulgences during that period.

Depression is not some fairy-tale suffered by pussies
Or maybe it is and I'm a pussy. But I know a reasonable number of smart overachievers doing planetary-scale things in their careers who have had it or still got it. Late 30's & early 40s is the peak of the curve, I believe. Enough pressure over a long enough period of time can suck the happiness out of life. I wouldn't necessarily credit the gym with pulling me out of a mild depression (pretty sure the SSRI's did that) but seeing those weights go up from month to month was like something falling into place that I hadn't realised was missing.

Ego will quite naturally take a back step
Statistically, you'll probably be married and who needs to be ripped all the time when you're married? Not me (not that I ever was). You may find yourself focussing on strength, (a) so your training has a point, and (b) cos it's OK to carry some lard when you're training for strength. And (c) old, strong bastards are cool.


Goosey said:
As we age, one workout will never make you, but, one workout can certainly break you."
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^^^
I love this quote. Mobility and injury-prevention is now a part of my thinking like it never was in my 20's. But injuries sneak in from any direction, never where you're expecting them. I'm still hungry to lift heavier but I can feel the biological clock ticking - the one that says "you've reached your peak strength, no matter how much you try you'll never be stronger than you are now...".

I wish somebody older than me could tell me how they cope with that realisation. Where do you get your motivation from when your weights start going down in line with your age?
 
Zoot I am 44 (wow a whole year older so not sure if that counts lol) and you need to stop thinking that you have reached your peak in terms of strength - the reality is you have barely scratched it. Thats how I get my motivation - remember Fred Hatfield squatted 460kg at 47 years old. Jimmy Ambrose is 60 and at 75kg outlifting guys less than half his age (and you have to remember that Jimmy spent most of his working life in a very physically challenging job).

To go back to the OP my advice is

1. be patient and build a good base - the reality is that its takes 3-5 years to build a decent base of strength and conditioning from which to then start moving towards your goals (whatever they may be). Take the time to get your training right, to get your diet right, to get your rest and recovery right.

2. Pick a programme (whether its westside, sheiko, ppp - whatever) and work it hard for 6 months - dont chop and change programmes constantly in the search for the perfect answer to your poor work ethic. If you have tried different programmes and none of them worked remember the common denominator was YOU.

3. Never underestimate the importance of GPP and mobility - if you just concentrated on these two things you will have many years of injury free lifting. This somewhat repeats point 1 but I can never say it too much

4. Find someone who has acheived what you aspire to and get them to show you what needs to be done to get there.
 
Sumo said:
wow a whole year older
Click to expand...

Ah yes, but measured in gym years you are a tribal elder

All your points are spot-on but the story of Fred Hatfield is all the more inspiring because he (presumably) trained all his life. For someone like me (and any young blokes looking down the barrel of some serious time off) that represents all the more headroom we have when we restart.
 

I only started training again in December 2008 prior to that I had been doing rehab work for 3 years using very light weights and prior to that I hadnt done any weights for over 15 years so in many ways I am pretty much starting again (and beleive me its frustrating) I was just lucky enough to train with Henry Day and I started the right way rather than wasting time following unproductive methods so 26 years after first starting powerlifting I have just laid down my base.
 
Go slow. Once you get out of your beginner phase, concentrate on 2.5-5kg increases each month. This sort of progression keeps you motivated and allows the support muscle groups to grow at the same time.

Never stop. Roll back to 2 days per week if your busy. But don't stop lifting ever.

Ratio. Each week you should be doing 2-3 sets of legs and 2-3 sets of back for every press.

Core. Don't neglect sit ups or other core exercises. Do them as you rest between exercises if necessary.

Mobility. Do 10-15 min of both dynamic and static stretches each workout.

Ignore the bodybuilding mags and their bs. Work hard at your big lifts and any accessory work is gravy.

Find a sport you love and do it for life. One of my big regrets.


I am 38 and lifted off and on since I was 14.
 
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solarbear said:
Find a sport you love and do it for life. One of my big regrets.

I am 38...
Click to expand...

It's not too late for you : I started competitive soccer nearly 2 years ago aged 45 having not played since I was 12 years old.
Yes, my knees and feet scream at me, but you can do it.

Fun is still to be had.
 
candyflip said:
It's not too late for you : I started competitive soccer nearly 2 years ago aged 45 having not played since I was 12 years old.
Yes, my knees and feet scream at me, but you can do it.

Fun is still to be had.
Click to expand...

Haven't been doing anything since we had kids. Need to find something.
 
Grippy said:
Maybe have a crack at a martial art, Mrs started karate aged 34 and loves it.
Click to expand...

Yeah I did kung fu in my 20's and loved it. Had to move to a very isolated location for work and give it up. Was thinking about doing one again', but need to find something suitable.
 
I'm 32 and until the start of this year had never lifted anything. I had a serious back problem which plagued me for years and after 3 knee operations on the one knee, arthritis has kicked in. In the past seven months not once has my back been sore and my knees feel great! I've double my bench press and the squat is getting there, everything else seems to be progressing well. I push hard every session and never once leave the gym feeling good, I always hurt. Just my $0.02.
 
In my 20s I tended to do a heap of exercise for each body part. I recovered quickly and could back it up time after time. Now well into my 30s and with a few injuries on board from my invincible 20's, I give greater thought to what exercises will give me the best bang for my buck and allow me to back it up every time.

Training smarter, not harder, gives better gains in the long run. Unfortunately, for many of us, the point needs to be blunt before we can see it.

The wonders of hindsight.
 
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