When I can’t get bigger or stronger, I will hang up my hat and do something else. So far, it seems like I still got some time left.
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You ever read any Camus?
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S[quote=“flipcollar, post:131, topic:228826”]
I remember when I started lifting, I thought that if I could ever get up to 175 lbs or so, and lean, I would have what I considered to be an ideal physique.
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Lol. I hope this isn’t the case with me but so far it is. 4 years ago I was a very scrawny 142lbs, after getting up to 160lbs I started to feel better about myself and figured if I could get to 170lbs but leaner I would look completely jacked. Lol
When I got up to 175lbs and lean I did feel amazing but decided I needed to join the gym since it was too cold in my garage through the winter workouts
I’m currently almost 190lbs but puffy and I have no idea what I would be happy with. I blame the gym I go to. Most guys there are in pretty good shape. I also started following fitness guys on IG
Do you think there is a limit of what you can achieve at all? As in there would always be a new way to set a personal record not just with more weight on the bar or more muscle mass.
I quite like the idea of peaking my potential sometime then slowly receding but still setting PR’s in other areas of lifting then dying. Seems like a fun life for me. Maybe I’ll pursue other interests in my older age and reducing training as my priority but continue it for the other net benefits.
You can always set new personal records, because by nature of them being personal, it is defined by you.
But that’s not my goal. I don’t want to desperately cling to my youth in my old age. I want to appreciate that age for its own unique experience.
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Everyone is free to do what they will. I understand Punisher’s perspective, although it is not my own; I train in part for the enjoyment and hope to continue lifting long after I’ve ceased setting PR’s. My father still lifts 3 or 4 days per week, even though he’s turning 61 and hasn’t set a PR in years. He just likes it. I’ll probably have a set of standards that I hope to maintain, re-evaluating my goals every few years as necessary. I’d like to hit a 600+ deadlift by the end of this year; maybe when I’m 60 years old, I’ll be happy to pull 405. I’ll figure it out then.
EDIT: I know a lot of Master’s distance runners who are in a similar boat. Since they’re long past the ability to break their PR’s from their 20’s and 30’s, what they usually do is either a) keep trying to win their age group at whatever local competition they can find or b) track their PR’s for their age group (i.e. when they turn 50, start trying to set a new “after 50” PR; when they turn 60, the same; and so on).
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https://www.google.com/amp/www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/workout-tips/ronnie-coleman-no-regrets/amp
Read this first and foremost
Second off, there a ton of people who have pushed their bodies to limits to prove anything is possible. I grew up with moderate hemophilia, scoliosis and was borderline obese. Kids with hemophilia are not allowed to play any sport besides swimming. most of them become obese. If scoliosis is extreme, you could not walk properly ever again in your life. My main goal is to break the Georgia deadlift state record to show that you can come from shit and still accomplish great things. @T3hPwnisher has successfully came back from a horrible injury to prove a point. People see that, change their lives and you help them. If you go through your whole life thinking only about yourself, you’ll never accomplish anything man. A lot of people here are trying to.change a generation to come.
This seems like a good idea. I’d quite like to when I’m a bit “aged” to still have fun as that’s why I train primarily. For me its just the enjoyment of the Training and the strength and size are side effects of the enjoyment I have while doing so.
There’s a guy whose over 50 in the Training Logs who just set a PR of 600 push ups in one set. Crazy
There are too many people to tag or quote so I’m just making a blanket statement.
I know a guy at the gym who is around 60, much larger and stronger than me, and spends hours there most days. He’s partially retired. The gym seems to be his social life. He talks to everyone. I think I’ll be similar to him someday. When I’m retired I’ll need something constructive to do so I’ll probably head to the Y and spend several hours there. No need to rush a workout because I won’t have anywhere to be.
I have no idea what kind of training I’ll be doing by then. With any luck it’ll be like @ActivitiesGuy 's training where I work up to a decent weight for the day and knock out a few reps before moving on to something else. For the record, I’m not saying you’re old. I like what you’re doing. Simple, to the point, and effective.
Once we all pass our biological prime we have to battle to fight the effects of aging. I’ll continue to battle as long as I can. Maybe you all will see me on Instagram or in some fitness magazine as the 70 year old who looks 40???
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Really like the discussion that’s going on so far though I do think it’s a lil too… Big 4 centric. Here are just some of my random thoughts…
4-5x bodyweight yoke
3.5-4x bodyweight farmer’s walk
over 2x bodyweight bar floor to overhead
1000lbs anything. I had a 1000lbs above the knee rack pull in mind for some reason.
Being able to do any of this would almost instantly qualify you as strong in my books…
I hope you don’t mind me playing devil’s advocate but how do you know when you can’t get bigger and stronger and it’s not just a plateau or something? I find this interesting.
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I haven’t hit a plateau yet, so it’s hard to say.
Keep in mind; I’m not a powerlifter. I’m not talking about hitting 1rms. When it comes to that, progress can halt due to technical issues, psychological ones, physical ones, etc. The issue can get confusing there. I’m talking about pure brute strength and size.
I suppose it’s a difficult thing to judge but ultimately I suspect it’s just one of those things you’ll probably know when it happens after all those years of training. Thanks for answering my questions.
I think just being able to move 500+ pounds someway makes you strong. Whether its a squat, dead, walking a few steps with that weight on your back its strong. Nearly all untrained people would crumple under all that weight or just not move it.
I think a good test of strength is grip strength, primarily crush bar grip strength. What weight constitutes a solid grip strength? Double Over deadlifting a certain weight, farmers walks with a % of BW for a set distance or something else. I’m unsure.
Well, who wants to be just stronger than untrained people? I was under the assumption that you’d want to be considered strong regardless of the situation. At least, I’d like to.
Maybe double overhead continental cleans?
No problem dude.
Learning what “strength” is has definitely been a long part of my training experience. It seemed obvious when I first started, became complicated, and now is obvious to me again, but it’s difficult to communicate back.
@yogi and @dt79 , despite being more physique focused in their training, have always known exactly what I was talking about when it came to what strength really is, which I think shows that it’s one of those things you just sorta “get” with enough time under the iron.
The best example I can provide is Paul Anderson.
Yeah, more people have come through and lifted more weight, but when is the last time you saw someone clean 435lbs in SLOW MOTION? Dude was just so inhumanly strong that he could overcome a lack of technique with sheer, brute strength.
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Well if someone would crumple under that weight and you can move it I’d say that’s pretty strong. Most people at the gym if they attempted a 500+ dead wouldn’t move it at all.
I’d like to be in the scenario where my strength would be outstanding for a person whose never stepped in a gym, like moving furniture with ease and such. While in the gym I’d like to be one of, if not the, strongest guy.
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That’s a great point you make. I think I’ve actually started going that way myself. I used to chase an arbitrary 1RM set on a perfect day whereas now I’m more interested in what I can get say five reps with any day of the week. I also see how some powerlifters would arch lots and use super wide grips but I don’t care for all that because that’s not what I’m training for. I think this is kind of what you mean.
I’ve seen a few examples of your train of thought in regards to building pure brute strength in your log and I think that’s the way I’d like to go too.
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Strength for me is being able to move a oddly shaped thing that weighs a fair amount. Like not using the proper “technique” for moving a sofa from one end of the house to the other around corners but doing so with relative ease.[quote=“caesium32, post:158, topic:228826”]
I also see how some powerlifters would arch lots and use super wide grips
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I see people training for rugby doing this and its just not going to translate well into rugby where you have to press with arms straight ahead normally. Getting good at arched wide benches makes you better at arched wide benches, not that applicable to sport.
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If you can clean press that much with shit technique, I’m pretty sure odd object lifting is no problem. Just look at Anderson’s other lifts. Dude was a beast