I’d love to see an article on this. There seems to be a pretty good consensus that .7 grams per pound of bodyweight is what’s needed for hypertrophy, but everything I’ve read on that never seems to discuss how age impacts that.
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Love this topic… @Chris_Shugart - I keep waiting for articles/recommendations on how to continue to increase my big 3 lifts at 60+ years of age, but those articles seem to be non-existent… maybe that’s a feature for a later day, but not all of us are in wheelchairs and drinking prune juice into our 60s. I started lifting 47 years ago, so my ‘training age’ is up there, too.
As a freshman in high school in the 1970s, my only guides were Bob Hoffman’s “Strength & Health” and Joe Weider’s “Muscle Builder & Power” magazines… I waaaay overtrained using bodybuilding programs out of the muscle mags (15-20 sets per body part, 2-3 times a week!); my high school had no weight room, so I worked out at home with my buddies using the old concrete weights encased in plastic and a wood bench press my dad helped me build. I ate anything and everything I wanted to back then, like we all did…
From age 20 until about 30, I also competed in arm wrestling, which meant I increased my focus on grip exercises/wrist curls/hammer curls, and arm wrestling practice and competition really did a job on my elbows, plus the physical training associated with my military service didn’t help my joints much, either.
In the three decades between ages 20 and 50, I did basic bodybuilding exercises, 3-4 days a week, but gradually reduced the numbers of work sets per exercise, and always used moderate to heavy weights, fortunately with very few injuries. After I quit competitive arm wrestling, I was able to get back to lifting heavier without a lot of elbow pain; there’s occasionally a creaky shoulder or knee, but that usually subsides with a good warmup, even if my mobility sucks.
At age 50, I entered my first bench press meet, and 12 years later, I still train for powerlifting 3 days a week (I compete about once a year). I go heavy on my main lift of the day, where I tend to do more warm-up sets and keep my reps in the 1-5 range, with lots of rest between sets; then I will do one or two additional assistance exercises, 4-8 sets total, with moderate weight and reps in the 6-15 range. I also focus on recovery, with heavy workouts on Saturday & Sunday, accessories on Tuesday, and three full days of rest Wednesday-Friday.
Supplement-wise, I’ve been using Cissus Quadrangularis for about 12 years for my joints, and they hurt less today than when I was 40; I also take creatine in my coffee every morning, and a daily multi-vitamin. My cardio is mostly walking on the treadmill, and I try to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. I’ve reduced my caloric intake alot through the years, and these days I moderate my diet, but still eat whatever I want… I feel pretty good, and I attribute that to the lifestyle adopted almost 50 years ago when I picked up that first muscle magazine… My wife and son also workout regularly, so I guess I have been a good influence!
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Honestly I wish we had some articles from folks like yourself who have been at this hobby for that many years, are still motivated, and what lessons you can pass on to us less experienced people what we can expect in 10-20 more years of training and what has helped you.
RT_Nomad put up some of the best threads I recall in recent memory where he basically covered his entire history of training. Those posts were so enlightening and enjoyable to read even if I couldn’t relate to everything he posted personally.
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47 here, have done weights since early teens, but didn’t get very serious with focused programs until around 40. Now I try to keep one focus per day - no full body weights and then several intervals or long runs. I go for PR sets less often, as they take a lot out of me. I did, however, just finish Even Easier Strength by Dan John, and set one rep maxes in OHP, front squat, weighted chins, and TBDL, which I didn’t even train! So I’ll probably return to those principles again - it was nice not being sore, tired and drained. As a neurotype 2a, I enjoy switching things up from cycle to cycle - keeps things fun and interesting.
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I’m 50 and lately I’ve been putting more and more emphasis on Kettlebells. Mainly I just clean and press. I also do low rep chin-ups when I can, but I’m still heavy (230lbs) and careful. I don’t know if this is enough to maintain the musculature in most of the body, but I like it. I feel much more athletic compared to bodybuilding training.
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I have a rider mower. So far so good.
I use one of those on large places too but, that isn’t very good exercise. 
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What? 
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I was being a dork. I have a large lawn now, which I ride. But, when I lived in California and had a small yard I pushed the mower. There is something about the pride of accomplishment after cutting the lawn with a push mower. It looks nicer, the smell of freshly cut grass. I am heading back in a few years and back to the push mower.
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