Anyone have any insights on this “phenomenon?”
I know a few guys who have desk jobs and have never lifted weights, but are still really strong. Obviously they’d be stronger if they lifted weights, but still, I find this concept interesting. Anyone have a scientific explanation on it? Around what ages? How does it work? Can’t be from extra testosterone, right?
Tubesteak boogie
[quote]elevationgain wrote:
Tubesteak boogie[/quote]
haha-yeah. I don’t know what concept you’re refering to. Some just have great genetics and are naturally strong. Obviously training would still improve their strength and size exponentially.
[quote]engerland66 wrote:
Anyone have any insights on this “phenomenon?”
I know a few guys who have desk jobs and have never lifted weights, but are still really strong. Obviously they’d be stronger if they lifted weights, but still, I find this concept interesting. Anyone have a scientific explanation on it? Around what ages? How does it work? Can’t be from extra testosterone, right? [/quote]
They are just genetically strong. Your testosterone level doesn’t have as much impact on your strength as you would think, because there are so many other factors involved:
Sorry, I submitted it w/o a title. I meant to title the thread, “Old Man Strength.” Not sure if any of you have heard about this…
[quote]engerland66 wrote:
Anyone have any insights on this “phenomenon?” [/quote]
I know exactly what your talking about. Me and my buddy realized this while doing yard work with our fathers. We’re both avid gym goers, and consider ourselves to be in pretty good shape. But it seems when doing chores with our fathers we’re the first to get tired. I do GPP, my father watches TV. I go to the gym and eat a good diet, my father eats crap and has a gut.
WHY? WHY? WHY?!?! My buddy asked his father how he can do it, and his response was, “It just has to be done.” I think it has alot to do with the work ethics they have, and us younger guys (Im speaking for myself at age 21) dont. Maybe there is also alot of pressure to show up a guy that works out?
gauss has a great answer above.
I can only state that I have seen something like this before. Perhaps not exactly as you stated as the “old man” in question did a lot of hard manule labor in his day.
When I was 19 (a long time ago) and deadlifting in my Parents basement my father came down to see what “all the hollering was about.”
I told him we were focusing etc. He walked over to the bar and without asking how much was on it bent over and lifted it up as if he were picking up a box of cookies.
Granted the weight was only 250lbs. (I was doing reps…yea that’s it…very high reps) but that should have looked harder than it did.
I called that “old man strength” at the time.
My father just laughed and went back to work.
Part of the answer is genetics and part is a survival mechanism. Fred Hatfield in his writings for ISSA explained this phenomenom. An individual who has developed some level of fitness at some point in life and then stops training, has certain slow twitch muscle fibers (I forget which) convert into another form of slow twitch muscle fibers. This takes awhile (6 months +). Let’s say the individual, while a teenager, participated in High School sports, got into shape, and because of good genetices; got into pretty good shape. 5 - 10 years later after no training now has these new slow twitch fibers. He is surpising strong for someone who does not train HOWEVER these new muscle fibers self-destruct when used. The next day after moving furnature around, he will be no-where near as strong or have any endurance like he did the day before.
These muscle fibers are put into place as a survival mechanism. Early man didn’t exercise like we do today. He/She would go through periods of exertion, get strong and then go through periods of less exertion. Mother Nature gave man these conversion fibers so that he/she would not get as weak as kitten, be surprised by a bear and eaten. These fibers give the individual similar strength of when the individual was trained, but at a price, the destruction of these fibers.
I have experienced this seemingly inexplicable show of strength by my friends when I could lure them into a little lifting contest or when doing impromptu actual physical work like moving furniture. The trick is not to challenge the genetically gifted detrained individual the first day but challenge them the second or third day when their muscles have self destructed.
Hope this helps!
My Dad had great old man strength…
When I was 16 I had been playing football for a couple of years and lifting for about two (it was my second year on the high school powerlifting team).
I was taller than my Dad about four inches and out weighed him by at least 25-30 pounds. One day when I hit my new max on the bench at 280lbs. I decided that we should wrestle. Need less to say he had me bending like a pretzle and taping out like 5 times in 10 minutes. He never lifted weights, smoked two packs a day, and drank whiskey like it was going out of style.
This is the first time I discovered that Old Man Strength was true.
Very interesting, McFadden. After thinking about it for a while, the evolutionary purpose did come to mind. Thanks.
as my dad says, “Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill”
he still outbox me, wtf. lol