Back off! hell I’m just gettin’ started!
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
Hijack on:
About your avatar, Turtello, you an engineer or from the Harbor? My great grandad sat and watched that bridge come down live from the harbor side, and he also walked the cat walks on the new one before the road was finished on the new one. Attached is a pic of my dad and boy from my sister’s house after they added on the most recent one from the Tacoma side. [/quote]
Not an engineer, not from the harbor. My avatar reminds me that human reason has limitations, and to not place too much faith in it.
Other’s responses have been interesting. In my forties I suspected something was afoot but could reason it away. I didn’t start lifting until I was 49, partly to keep up with my wife, but also to address those growing suspicions that I was no longer young and preventive maintenance was in order. Now, in my later fifties, there is no question that I am aging. My original question was: How have others dealt with this?
Denial works for a while but eventually reality intrudes. As for me, I’m backing off the 5x5 sets, dropping the weight, and adding a few more reps. It pains me to think that my present PRs might be it, but we’ll see. Avoiding injury seems more important than a new PR.
Call me an old fart and I’ll take my towel and snap your ass right out of the gym.
Screw backing off. I am 54 and I will back off when I am dead. Put another 45 on each side and I will do another set
[quote]Turtello wrote:
What do you think? Seems about right to me. High intensity and heavy weights are only good for short periods anymore, then I’m ready to leave the gym. And I need more recovery as the years go by.
My new trainer is emphasizing mobility/flexibilty/balance. I agree with her, it is somethng I need.
Please mention your age if you post, I’m 57.[/quote]
I think the article was designed to warn seniors who have a sedentary life not to start anything too drastic at 50. Also, he has a physical problem. I am 60. I used to do triathlons in my 40s. Six years ago I tore a meniscus and that terminated my running. So I lift and swim. I have decided to see how big I can get and after three years of doing absolutely nothing it feels great to get back in the gym and the pool.
Balance is important. my trainer stresses that and stretching, something at witch which I admit i am remiss.
The article also mentioned the difficultly at letting go of competing. I figure those of us who have played sports all of our lives will have bodies that are somewhat adapted to the lifestyle and we have also learned a few things along the way about the right and wrong way to do things.
I hope I can bench 200 by June. Ia only now up to 135. Anyone know of any amateur contest for lifting?
Finally, I am glad to hear from someone 57. Hang in their Junior!!! 
[quote]deveronaustery wrote:
Screw backing off. I am 54 and I will back off when I am dead. Put another 45 on each side and I will do another set[/quote]
D-I-T-T-O!!!
Make a well thought out plan that works for you. Not someone else.
Follow said plan with intensity, intelligence and preseverance.
I am turning 40 at the end of november. I have more physical ailments than all of you guys put together.(look at my first page of my log) I am still in the gym 3 days heavy with 2 sled days.
Father Time can kiss my ass!!!
[quote]kmcnyc wrote:
Im 37 but do need to “back off”
If left to my own devices Ill push too much, too hard, and that impacts recovery.
I see no reason not to employ both intensity and the mobility,flexibility,balance portion.
I am a big pusher of mobility- cause once it is gone its hard to get back.
I try to train in a fashion that lets me both be intense and do some preventative maintenance
at the same time. Its not hard to integrate the two concepts.
For all the time spent under the bar, make sure you are actively working on imbalances,
spending some time on mobility, and recovery.
I have also become a fan of programmed deloads, every three weeks. Still train but at a lower intensity
to give the body time to regroup. The Deload has changed how I train.
kmc[/quote]
Well said KMC.
[quote]Turtello wrote:
Now, in my later fifties, there is no question that I am aging. My original question was: How have others dealt with this?
Denial works for a while but eventually reality intrudes. As for me, I’m backing off the 5x5 sets, dropping the weight, and adding a few more reps. It pains me to think that my present PRs might be it, but we’ll see. Avoiding injury seems more important than a new PR.
Call me an old fart and I’ll take my towel and snap your ass right out of the gym.[/quote]
I don’t know anything abgout being young and lifting, I didn’t start until I was 50, and I started with a 5 x 5 program. Everyone has their own personal reasons for what programs they do and how they do it. I’m 55, and while I do want to avoid injury, I also want to get stronger, and heavy weights are the only way for me to achieve my goal. I’ve learned from experience when I need to back off, so I go easy for a while.
You’ve already made up your mind what is important to you right now. Training to avoid injury and training for PR’s don’t have to me mutually exclusive, you know.
[quote]Yo Momma wrote:
I don’t know anything abgout being young and lifting, I didn’t start until I was 50, and I started with a 5 x 5 program. . . snip . . . Training to avoid injury and training for PR’s don’t have to me mutually exclusive, you know.
[/quote]
You lucked out on the 5x5 program, Yo Momma. At 49 I was started on machines and it took years before I figured out that a barbell was vastly superior. My first trainer very reluctantly showed me how to squat, incorrectly I must say, and advised against deadlifting. Probably thought I was too old.
Now at the gym I see newbee middle-aged people starting out on machines and dorking around for months with no visible progress, if they last that long. Maybe I’ll start a new thread about that, it’s a slow day here.
I have agreed with all sentiments here expressed at one time or another. None of us are going gentle into that good night. That’s a good thing. Good company to be in.
Do heavy sets of 1-5 cause more injuries? Maybe not in a perfect world, but I sure felt they were beating me up too much. I’m now working in the 5-10 range with lighter weights and increased enjoyment. I’m not saying I won’t someday go back to heavy singles in search of a new PR, but right now that’s not a priority.
Good luck to you all, whatever your program.
i started lifting about 2 years ago. i was 48 going on 49, survived 4 heart attacks.
today i lift nearly 1.5x my bodyweight - i haven’t lightened up. 3x a week it’s as heavy as i can - the other 2 days - i will lighen up the weights and combine with bodyweight exercises.
i will back off when i die. then again maybe not. no going gentle into the night for me…