Ok, I’m one of those lurkers that mainly just reads everyone else’s posts, but I have a serious question and hope I don’t get flamed for asking what may seem like a silly question, but here it goes:
I’m 47 and have worked out fairly regularly since high school, but been much more diligent in the last 5 years. My stats are as follows:
5’11" 200lbs; BP-285, Squat-345, DL-375 all raw (belt with dl and squat)
I am looking to keep my weight the same or even drop a few lbs, but before I die I’d like to get back to a 3 plate bench and 4 plate dl and squat like I was able to do in my late 20’s. Is that possible or am I chasing a pipe dream and need to focus on body composition and cardiovascular health?
If y’all (texas lingo) think it’s possible, what workouts and nutrition tips do you recommend?
Dude, I’m 44 and what you are talking about is possible. It’s totally doable. I’m working on the exact same thing. I just benched 295 on Monday, gonna get my 6 plates by my bday in March. Had knee surgery 14 weeks ago, DL’d 375 on Tues. Can’t squat yet, but will get back on it in a few more months. You know what to do. Eat clean, sleep lots, no booze. Work smart, don’t do a bunch of assistance stuff that will impede your recovery. Stick to basics.
Looks like you get a lot of Biotest supps, which I think are great. I use them almost exclusively. You can take a look at my training log that is posted here, maybe it will help. This will do your body recomp. Cardio health is a must, but those heavy sets will jack your heart rate, providing you with intervals. Of course you should do some traditional cardio. Do you use Anaconda and MAG-10? GPC/Power Drive? I think these supps have made a great improvement in my recovery. You can do this.
Hit it!
Your strength goals are not only possible, they are very doable. It just depends on your level of commitment.
Buy the 5-3-1 e-book by Jim Wendler. Its certainly not the only way to go about things, but its easy to follow, it works, and lots of guys here do some variation of 5-3-1, so there are lots of people to answer questions.
Nutrition depends on your goals. If you don’t mind gaining some fat, just pile food down your throat and hit the weights hard, you will get stronger. If you want to stay lean and make big gains, its a little trickier. The short answer is eat lots of meat, eggs, cheese, and veggies, and down carbs after you train. I just bought the carb back-loading e-book by John Keifer, and so far I think its worth the money I paid for it. John Berardi and Shelby Starnes also really know their sh*t, so look into articles by these guys as well.
I’d recommend posting a log as well and getting training feedback as you go. There are lots of knowledgable members who post here.
You may not build strength as fast as when you were in your 20’s but there’s no doubt you can build as much strength as you apply yourself to build. You have a good base. Wendler’s 5-3-1 is good, Dan John’s Easy Strength is good, Westside programs are good, so just stick with one you like and go for it. Good supplementation and lots of protein are always helpful.
Thanks guys for the encouragement! I’ll download the Wender book and give it a run! With two beautiful teenage daughters I have extra incentive to stay and look scary strong!
Diet is a little loose right now but I’ve been focused on putting 200 g of protein down daily. My carbs are up lately to around 200g as well.
I’m thinking that I should push the protein up closer to 300 and keep the carbs about where they are.
Ok, I just read the ebook and two things come to mind right away…A: I need to cook a lot more chicken breast today. B: I’m really good at being a worker-outer! Very enlightening!
My big fear is getting fat. I lost 30lbs last year and don’t want to regain the fat…I like my 32 pants! Ok they’re " relaxed" fit, but they say 32!
age 52 …174#s …and getting stronger…not strong just getting stronger…as GV said you can do it just probably not as fast a young guy…I think you could easily reach your strength goals without more BW…its just a thing called “work”…good luck…