Big Guy Going Light!

Training Bodybuilding
1

A guy at my gym said this to me today when I asked him what his current training was like:

“I am going to stop going heavy from now on and just go light, since I’m getting older and want to avoid injury and I feel that I have gotten big enough.”

The guy looks pretty good, I’ll give him that, and he is strong (so his “light” is a lot of people’s “heavy”) but I just thought it was a sad thing to say.

“I’m comfortable where I am and don’t want to be bigger.”

I mean, wow…I don’t know if I’ll ever personally feel that way. Maybe it’s because I’m not very big right now (5’7 - 183), but it struck me as an odd and sort of a “packing it in” comment that I wouldn’t want to say out loud.

The guy is only 36, and I think he has a lot left in him if he wanted to push it. He trains instinctively and does not follow any set guidelines or programs, yet his max bench is 350 at a bodyweight of 190. He says his light benching will only be as high as 275 now. Anyway…just thought I’d put that out there.

Kinda just made me scratch my head. As one contributing writer to this site put it, “don’t take advice from big guys, because they were probably genetically designed to get that big.”

I am not saying that the guy is not intense, but he doesn’t exactly adhere to ANY routine except “Lower or Upper Body day” kind of training. It’s amazing what some people can accomplish without ever delving into anything aside from hard physical work and instinct.

Also, my older brother is a violinist and I was asking him questions and hoping for answers that might carry over into my training. He told me that he has in fact become a “practice maniac” before and it’s just a mental thing that any musician will run into but must get past; this directly connects with my current and stupid actions in the weight room.

I know that I need to be doing less and should be recovering better. It’s evident from my strength plateaus and sense of being run down, but I press (literally) on…

I’m rambling.

2

Dude, in all seriousness…
What’s it to you? I certainly understand what you are saying, and I hope that I am going strong into my 40’s as well. But if I hit 35 and my joints hurt like hell, well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Would I lighten the load to make sure I can play catch with my kids in the backyard without by shoulders killing me? Of course.

If you need some time off, TAKE IT. Don’t be stupid, man. Chances are you will recover better and be stronger when you return. For example, I took a week off last week and didn’t so anything but lounge around with a ladyfriend.
I went back today and set a PR and can’t wait to get in there tomorrow. Learn to chill, it’s soooo important!!!

3

Good call Bambino, you’re absolutely right.

It’s true that what that guy does is no business of mine, but it just struck me in a way that made me think about things a bit differently. Sometimes maybe it’s good to have a reminder that nothing lasts forever.

4

I’m 34, and I don’t train anywhere near the way I used to say 10 years ago. Yeah, I’ve put in my time, and yeah “light” for me is enough for the local high school kids in the gym to drop their jaws, but I like to think I’ve reached the point where I dont give a shit how much weight I’m lifting.

I still incline 265 for 10 easy reps, which I do realize is a ridiculous amount of weight for some newbie lifter, but I recall Shawn Ray years ago saying that once you understand how your body works, and how to feel the muscle working, you can get a great workout with nothing but a 35 lb dumbell.

You have to remember that everyone’s body is different, and the training strategies you use to buld your foundation will differ greatly from what you’ll be doing 10 years from now.

If this guy who’s obviously been training a long while can safely say that he can get chest stimulation with 275lbs instead of stressing his joints with 350, then it’s something you probably just cant understand yet. LIke you said, its “amazing what can be accomplished with hard work”, but “instinct”?

I don’t think so, I think at this point in the game, he’s relying on experience and knowledge.

-Stu

5

[quote]The Bambino wrote:
Dude, in all seriousness…
What’s it to you? I certainly understand what you are saying, and I hope that I am going strong into my 40’s as well. But if I hit 35 and my joints hurt like hell, well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Would I lighten the load to make sure I can play catch with my kids in the backyard without by shoulders killing me? Of course.

If you need some time off, TAKE IT. Don’t be stupid, man. Chances are you will recover better and be stronger when you return. For example, I took a week off last week and didn’t so anything but lounge around with a ladyfriend.
I went back today and set a PR and can’t wait to get in there tomorrow. Learn to chill, it’s soooo important!!! [/quote]

Ah, brings back memories…

Circa 1983, I started lifting weights at the base gym while in the Marine Corps to improve my power when fighting (AAU Tournaments), after 3 years of Martial Arts…

Anyway, I was about 23, and I clearly remember doing benches one day, when a Major, much older, maybe, 40 (ha ha), who used to work out with us, commented that he was just doing a maintenance routine.

That really struck me as odd at the time, and I’ve obviously never forgot it, even 24 years later. I guess, I thought like you, what the hell are you working out for, if you just want to “maintain.”

But if you think about it, IF you’ve built a nice physique and decent strength through years of hard training, that’s not such a bad thing. In fact, it is probably because he’s never let up…so he wants to relax and enjoy the fruits of his labors.

Moreover, perhaps, he intuitively knows that his body and CNS needs a break/rest.

At any rate, I’m 48 now, but have no intention of just “maintaining.” But that’s probably because I’ve had a long layoff, and a renewed hunger for bb.

In the end, you’ll be surprised how your priorities change as you age…really surprised.

6

I think “listening to your body” is a smart move. If this fella feels that he shouldn’t go as heavy as he used to in order to prolong his efforts in the gym, good on him.

You may not understand it now at your age but in time, you will.

7

At age 64 the guy sounds lke he is using his head. While I have exercised for 40 years, I never really went heavy. My goal was to be in areobic shape, and two percent stronger than anyone I had to go up against.

Over the years I took on a number of r knee, hip back and shoulder injuries, none from lifting weights. Using good supplements and common sense really works. Your 35 year old friend is doing the right thing. At my age I still go into situations/housing developments where the local police go with two units and one of them is a K-9 unit.

As for being older and lifting weights…recently a senior at the local college asked to work out with me. Today was chest day. That day we did tri-sets of pull overs, flyes and press to neck. We used 15lbs for the first set, 30 lbs for the 2nd, and 45 for the third set, freps were 10 - 15 & 20. Two days later the student came into the work out area just as I was getting started, she shouted “Gaway from me, I am just starting to be able to more without pain”.

I’m sorry, just a olde man struggling to stay in shape…