Don't Usually Feel Old...

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

I am going to be 35 pretty soon.

I never feel too old, I mean I’m in pretty good shape, I’ve never been married or had kids or bought property, so I don’t have the massive mortgage, or any of those things that people often associate with middle age, and girls younger than me have expressed interest over the years.

But when it usually hits me is when I am filling out forms with boxes like:

Age
18-25
25-32
33-99

I get hit with, “Oh my god, I’m in the old guy category!”

Or when I see a forum like this where guys 35 and up are singled out as a whole other class of people. I look at it and go, “My god, my status in life is going to change any moment!”

Seeing this forum here suddenly made me feel old!

2

Bullshit, John K.

Disregard the old fart comments. Over 35 folks have different goals, different recovery times and different bank balances thatn those that are not in this elite group.

Think about it - how many punk-ass kids lift? Tons of them. How many of them make it this far in life and are still dedicated to iron? Not very damn many.

What the hell do you gain in the first 13 years of life? Little League, Pop Warner, and the three R’s.

What do the next 5 years net you? A drivers license, the right to vote, some football/baseball/basketball glory, the awakening of libido, and tons of pimples.

The next 5 sees you changing majors 14 times, the ‘pleasure’ of keg parties, and maybe a bachelor’s degree.

Your 20’s are spent figuring out that you didn’t learn shit in college, that you have no idea what you want to do with your life, and maybe finding the ‘one’ you want to spend the rest of your life with.

Dude - you are in your 30’s. Do you really want to go back? Honestly, I’m bigger, stronger, funnier, and just flat out better looking than I’ve ever been in my life. I refuse to look back. I refuse to feel old. You should do the same.

3

Damn straight.

4

Rainjack,
WELL SAID!

5

[quote]zedhed wrote:
Rainjack,
WELL SAID![/quote]

ditto.

That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like a do-over though.

6

[quote]John K wrote:
I am going to be 35 pretty soon.

I never feel too old, I mean I’m in pretty good shape, I’ve never been married or had kids or bought property, so I don’t have the massive mortgage, or any of those things that people often associate with middle age, and girls younger than me have expressed interest over the years.

But when it usually hits me is when I am filling out forms with boxes like:

Age
18-25
25-32
33-99

I get hit with, “Oh my god, I’m in the old guy category!”

Or when I see a forum like this where guys 35 and up are singled out as a whole other class of people. I look at it and go, “My god, my status in life is going to change any moment!”

Seeing this forum here suddenly made me feel old!
[/quote]

You should have seen the forum and realized the exact opposite. This forum is the first wave of the exercise genre finally realizing (and having the guts to do something about it) that our age bracket is the most influential there is.

Look at the posts up right now, not only are they about fitness and health but find common ground on activities that we have confidence to enjoy and quite possibly the economic freedom to take part.

Embrace your age with confidence, enjoy the great experience you have and charge forward today. Besides…in-truth the young pups can never keep up.

In faith,

Coach Davies

7

You ain’t seen nothing yet! I am old. Take it from someone in their mid-40’s, with three teens, that big mortgage, credit card debit, and all the other evils of middle-age…you want this to happen.

Hard to believe. Not really. While I have only recently discovered this great site, I’ve been a life long student of health and fitness. Not a saint, nor perfect, but always aware of the important relationship between the mind and body. If the body is strong and healthy the mind usually follows. For all the times when stress, depression, indecision, or any of the noise that we all face in this journey through life, begin to rise to uncomfortable levels, returning to gym and hitting it hard reminds me of what’s important. It centers and brings clarity, it’s simple and focused, and almost spiritual.

While that may be a little heavy for a lot you it, I believe it defines the subtle change that will occur as you go from your 20’s to your 40’s to your 60’s.

I’m not saying that body image isn’t an admirable goal. Vanity is a part of what drives any of us in the sport of bodybuilding. As a matter of fact, if wasn’t for the grey hair-that started in my twenties, but has been greatly accelerated by teenagers-I could easily be confused with someone in their mid-thirties. That’s largely due to a consistent focus on the types of things I see on this site i.e. living the T-Nation lifestyle.

As you get older and the recovery times get longer, the joints stiffer, and body just doesn’t seem to respond the way it did at an earlier age–not to worry. In the subtle shift I alluded to earlier, you will see the mental aspects become increaingly important. You will gain wisdom, that only occurs with more years on earth, and will gradually see the noise in your life diminish to a whisper.

You will be you, I’m still 19 at heart, but (and I can believe, I saying this) aging is really a good thing. The key is aging well. By doing what your doing now, and living the T-Nation life-style, you can be confident that when your my age and beyond you’ll be among the very few who have aged well and will seem to all others to be the wisest of all.

8

[quote] Besides…in-truth the young pups can never keep up.

In faith,

Coach Davies[/quote]

or, if they can, the old guys can block with their walkers and trip with their canes.
(I just turned 34…!)

Hey Coach, thanks for the good morning squat. I’m glad I didnt’ get more carried away yesterday with it though…
(ouch!)

9

Being “old” is certainly better than the alternative.

10

[quote]Joe Weider wrote:
Besides…in-truth the young pups can never keep up.

In faith,

Coach Davies

or, if they can, the old guys can block with their walkers and trip with their canes.
(I just turned 34…!)

Hey Coach, thanks for the good morning squat. I’m glad I didnt’ get more carried away yesterday with it though…
(ouch!)[/quote]

lol…no walkers - just kids trying to compete where they don’t have a chance against us.

Hope you had a good birthday and glad you “enjoyed” the GM Squat.

Talk with you soon,

In faith,

Coach Davies

11

Well put, Rainjack et al.

I recently walked away from my career after 10 years and am exploring options for “starting over”. Most people would think of the 30’s as that time in life where you stabilize, and that does make me feel like I have less margin for error than I would have at, say, 21. You need that stability if you want to have the mortgage, or buy shoes for those hypoethetical kids.

12

[quote]John K wrote:
I recently walked away from my career after 10 years and am exploring options for “starting over”. Most people would think of the 30’s as that time in life where you stabilize, and that does make me feel like I have less margin for error than I would have at, say, 21. You need that stability if you want to have the mortgage, or buy shoes for those hypoethetical kids.

[/quote]

I know exactly what you mean. I went back to grad school when I was 32, married, two kids. It was certainly worth it for me.

13

It’s great that you knew what you had to do, got it done, and came out the other side satisfied with the result.

So all I need to do is find a wife, some kids, a home, and go to graduate school all within the next year and rather than feeling “old” I will instead feel “accomplished” ! :slight_smile:

14

Gteting in shape as we get older is much more rewarding than it is in your younger years. Yeah, the body doesn’t recover as quickly but you have a chance to apply all the knowledge you’ve gained over the years (and, as rainjack alluded to, hopefully have the time, discipline, money, etc…to train properly) and see it all come together.

Get a skjateboard, BMX bike or whatever and celebrate athleticism. One goal I always keep in the back of my mind is maintaining the ability to climb in a tree as we did when we were young. Sounds stupid and no, I don’t have a desire to climb trees, but as I ride by folks’ yards and see kids playing around, I lnow I can still do so if I wanted to and will always fight to maintain the ability to do such basic athletic feats.

Of course, I’m only 30 so I maybe I’m full of shit and will be bedridden by 35 :slight_smile:

Eat right. Squat deep. Get younger.

15

I get a kick out of 30 somethings saying they are old…What the heck are you guys going to say when you hit 40, 50, 60, and older? You have to change your mind-set guys.

16

[quote]ZEB wrote:
I get a kick out of 30 somethings saying they are old…What the heck are you guys going to say when you hit 40, 50, 60, and older? You have to change your mind-set guys. [/quote]

I agree. Until this section went up, I didn’t consider your thirties as old at all. I considered 45 middle age. These guys make it seem as if you fall apart as soon as you hit 35 and thusly need a whole section all to yourselves. I have yet to read anything in this section that justifies its existance…aside from issues of juggling a family with finances, career, and training. Longer recovery? At 35? What the hell have you done to yourselves that your body is falling apart at 35? I hang with guys that age. We all ride motorcycles and none of them act like they are about to pass out or that they have different needs than someone younger. If anything, any topics concerning age usually surround most people not believing they are actually in their 30’s. All of them stay fairly active even though not all lift weights regularly. Hell, one of the docs at my clinic just turned 60 and I swear I thought he was in his 40’s until he announced his age. He also rides a motorcycle (sportsbike…Honda 1000) Maybe you all should get motorcycles.

17

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Maybe you all should get motorcycles.[/quote]

Hey Prof, good call!

18

At age 24 I smoked cigarettes and drank a lot of beer three to four nights a week. I would have struggled to bench 150 pds. I couldn’t do a pull up to save my life (genetically weak upper body)! I was the definition of skinny fat with the beginnings of an undesirable beer belly!

At age 26 I started to educate myself on proper weight training and nutrition. I lived the basics compound exercises, eating good carbs, fats, proteins, keeping a food and weight training log. I began to undergo a transformation I never thought possible! After two years of doing this I started receiving positive comments and feedback from people that new me in the past that blew me away. I felt great.

in the proceeding years I for short times drifted away from such a structured program and at times got into unhealthy or lazy habits, but the weights were always there when I got fed up with my condition. I am not trying to be melodramatic, but I can honestly say the iron has always been the best medicine for me when I needed it.

Well even though I continued to go to the gym for the past two years it was kinda of a half assed routine I was doing. This year I made the dreaded New Years resolution and told myself I would recapture the discipline and fire I once had. I started lifting with a partner who has a high level of intensity and committed to the discipline of monitoring my diet and getting adequate amounts of food and rest in addition to regular workouts. I am back to a level I was at roughly two and a half years ago.

I am thirty four squatting 315 for ten clean ass to grass reps. I am benching 275 for reps, I can dead-lift 405 for reps, I can do weighted chins or dips for reps, I am starting to reach a physique that I am happy with, but that work will always continue. I mention this not to brag for I know there are many on this site whose numbers dwarf mine.

I mention this because it reminds me of where I came from age 24 to 34 there has been a profound change… one that I didn’t think was possible! So, to summarize I am much better now on a health and strength level then I was ten years ago… and I plan on only getting better in the next ten!!! I will not surrender to the couch and dominoes pizza and a twelve pack of bud! I will continue to train and I will be chasing Elk through the Colorado mountains well into my sixties and beyond… just like my dad is doing now!

19

[quote]Professor X wrote:
I have yet to read anything in this section that justifies its existance…aside from issues of juggling a family with finances, career, and training. Longer recovery? At 35? What the hell have you done to yourselves that your body is falling apart at 35?[/quote]

As a lurker on this forum (since I am a young whipper-snapper of 32), I think the one thing about this forum that is kind of nice is that you tend to avoid some of the immature idiocy found in so many of the other forums. Just my 2 cents.

Kuz

20

I’m not old. At 40 I think I’m just starting to hit my stride. There are plenty of examples of strength athletes excelling beyond this age. Being a little wiser can overcome the time challenges and nagging injuries. I’ll be better (bigger & stronger) at 50.