When to Retire?

Training Powerlifting
1

Hello my brothers in iron, I have been bothered by the question of when to retire from powerlifting for quite a while now, and i am looking for guidance. I started off powerlifting at a young age, I was always fascinated, with being strong, I was a weak person in grade school, but my work ethic was rea; scary. I busted my ass off, and now after many many years i feel like i have accomplished a decent level of strength.( at least in my mind).

Over the years hitting the weights heavy has taken its toll on my body, I always strive for better ( and being a powerlifter better is in numbers) now when i hit a PR in the deadlift or the squat, i may be getting stronger but i feel weaker, my flexibility has gone down the tubes with every PR, My joints are in pain and my body aches.

Some mornings after a hard session i have diffuclty bending down and touching my waist, These are the days when i wonder what if i had not ever started lifting? I would have been a skinny adult but without the problems im faced with, such as being fairly large, heart problems and joint aches.

Then there are the mornings when i feel like im on top of the world, when i feel i accomplished many obstacles in my life. The days with no pain. The days when i have people staring in the gym in amazement at the numbers i put up, the days when i get questions on my routine, the days when i feel proud to be larger then the average person. Lifting has taught me many things, how to be a man growing up, how to have self worth. These are the days i live for. But over the last few years these days are getting smaller and smaller, and im forced with the decision to stop lifting to save my body, or to continue my path and face serious complications. Powerlifting is in my blood… I dont know what to do. When do i say enough is enough?

L.P

2

Do you really need people on the internet to answer this question for you? If your lacking in other areas maybe try to improve on those yet maintain your current lifts (not increase) if that is an option. Basically make some other fitness goals, you can give up power lifting to some extent but that doesn’t mean you stop going to the gym.

3

This is definitely a very personal decision. A few thoughts/possibilities:

Maybe you just need to take a little break mentally and physically, and come back refreshed and focused.

Maybe you need to change how you train. Lower the volume, put more work into flexibility/prehabilitation and staying healthy. Maybe do some foamrolling or ART.

Maybe you could continue to strength train but focus on different lifts that won’t make you ache as much. E.g. close grip bench, push press, trap bear deadlift, etc. Or change the focus of your training more dramatically - olympic weightlifting, strongman, etc.

Maybe sending in a question to Dave Tate or Jim Wendler (both have retired from powerlifting) on the EliteFTS Q&A would help you figure out what you want to do.

Best of luck figuring it out!

4

Just stretch man. Even as a young guy (20) I see how inflexible I am getting…my hips are so fuckin tight from all the squats I’ve done. I’ve done 405x15 on the squats. I did my first powerlifting meet in HS and it was awesome I loved it but seriously…I can’t imagine what you’ve been through doing it for so long. You need to stretch your quads, hips, groin everything every single day. EVERY DAY no matter what. I also do mobility workouts before my lifting so I stay limber. There’s no point if you can squat a house but can barely move. You don’t have to quit! Maybe you can ease off the heavy lifting a bit ( switch from a few weeks of heavy shit, to a few weeks of lighter stuff (more so bodybuilding) and this will give u a bit of a break. I recently am switching to a bodybuilding type split and the workouts are much more “fun” lol.
But seriously, don’t quit man. You just gotta change it up a bit…flexibility everyday, mobility, focus on moving better…play some sports! Tennis, whatever your cup of tea and you will feel better…you will still be able to lift heavy and powerlift.

Stay strong!

5

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This guy hasn’t retired yet (granted he may not have any of the issues you have) he’s 79 and 80 in June.

Why dont you try a year out, different training style etc. Also check out Dave Tate’s history, his body was seriously F’d up but he got it fixed and continues to lift.

6

Maybe i should have elaborated more in my origional post. I do stretch like no other often, and every couple weeks i do go for massage. I would go more often but financially im not able.

sufiandy- yes, as strange as it may seem, i am asking for help on the internet. Who else would i be able to ask? who else can understand what i am going through? only fellow brothers in iron.

Lavi- thanks for the suggestion, i will give dave tate a ring and see how us geezers need to train, haha.

Resturai- Squatting 405x15 at 20 years old? MAN, your one strong kid.

I have switched over for a little while- to follow a more bodybuilding type split (yes dont shoot me), One day i realized im here doing bicep curls and machine presses, everything that is not what i do (my heart was not into it), I then went back to powerlifting in a hurry.( this was about threee years ago)

When i did the bodybuilding split and came back i became weak as hell, that was extremely discouraging. And as lavi said i could switch to trap bar deads instead of regular, or lift to just maintain, i dont know how to do that, to be able to maintain the strength levels i have at my age i have to constantly push and strain, if i back off a little my lifts suffer.

Where i live, Football and lifting are huge for us. I have friends who are 50-60 years old whose highlight of their lives was the time in highschool when they went to the state championship. I have friends who were powerlifters who cannot even walk with their grandson, their life is spent living in the past “glory days”.

Thats why i am torn, Do i want to continue powerlifting, see how far this old man can go? who cares what happens? Then there were the days when i say i want to be able to walk with my grandson. I could lift in a different way, i could lift lighter just to lift or change my routine, but to experience day in and day out as i lift lighter,and watch my lifting numbers slowly go down is too much for me to take mentally.

I am probably far too old then the majority of posters on here, but there will be a time for all of you if you stick with this sport, when you will know what i am feeling.

I feel in the same situation as a fighter who is at the top of their game, do you keep fighting when you know its time to quit? do i want to get beat up by less skilled fighters then i once was in my prime ( in my case lighter weights) or do i want to quit while im on top?

L.P

7

I have a good friend that described a story similar to yours. When he turned 40 everything started to go down hill. His joints all started aching and his flexibility went down. He was tired with little energy. HE also developed a case of psoriasis. He wasn’t a serious lifter but lifted for fitnes and was a serious squash player. He told me that his 40s have not been good for him.

Then it turned around rapidly and pretty much completely when he was diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency and the the deficiancy was corrected. Any possibility you have an underlying nutritional deficiency??

8

Do you compete in powerlifting? That may be something to look at. If you just do it as a hobby why kill yourself over it? If you have a chance at winning a national title or something then I could see why you would want to continue punishing your body.

Just take some time off? Learn a new sport or switch to a different type of workout. And there’s no reason you need to be fat to be strong. Maybe just try to cut some weight? You have plenty of options without just totally giving up.

9

My two cents…If I ever get to the point it sounds like you’re at where massage, stretching, mobility work, foam rolling, etc. doesn’t work to keep me feeling good, I’m going to retire from competitive powerlifting. I’ve seen too many older lifters shuffling around or bent over at the waist to want that experience to be mine. Now, if you’re not doing everything you can within your budget to keep yourself healthy, that would be something to address before you actually pull the trigger and retire. If you already are and you still feel the way you describe, I’d switch to a different style of training.

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powerliftingwatch.com/node/15134

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www.powerliftingwatch.com/node/15136

Another impressive total by an older lifter.

12

You may not like to hear my answer.

Quit whining.

I dont care if you dont even have legs anymore. If its truly in your blood, then you will find a way to do it. If i was in your state and my joints where killing me, i would be a damn joint expert, cause i would be online 4 hours a day researching everything about helping my joints. What ever troubles you have, louie simmons has it worse, but its it his blood. He gets in there and gets it done. If you cant put a bar on your back and squat it, put it in your hands and do a zercher squat. If your shoulders hurt use a fat bar and bench with a closer grip. How about get a football bar. Do you use a reverse hyper? Foam roller? Do mobility work?

Get off the forums and go read some more articles, and get off the powerlifting forum if you giving up on it!

13

I dont think you really retire from powerlifting, unless you do something awesome. All time total, multi national/world championships/etc. You just quit. And you can quit whenever you want. Thats what im going to do. Quit.

Jason

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[quote]WalkingGunShow wrote:
You may not like to hear my answer.

Quit whining.

I dont care if you dont even have legs anymore. If its truly in your blood, then you will find a way to do it. If i was in you state and my joints where killing me, i would be a damn joint expect, cause i would be online 4 hours a day researching everything about helping my joints. What ever troubles you have, louie simmons has it worse, but its it his blood. He gets in there and gets it done. If you cant put a bar on your back and squat it, put it in your hands and do a zercher squat. If your shoulders hurt use a fat bar and bench with a closer grip. How about get a football bar. Do you use a reverse hyper? Foam roller? Do mobility work?

Get off the forums and go read some more articles, and get off the powerlifting forum if you giving up on it![/quote]

I think the above might be accurate if powerlifting is more than a tool in your toolbox. If your ultimate goal is to be bigger and stronger, and not necessarily healthier, happier, and more able to do other things that are arguably more important (spend quality time with your grandkids), then continue on the path you are on. If your goal is to feel better then you do now, something might have to change. Determine your priorities and act accordingly.

15

I will be 40 in June. My first meet was in 1987 when I was 16. Do I plan on retiring? I think not. I do hurt and sometimes getting in my training sessions can be a pain in the ass. After June 5th training will be and should be easier to get in. I graduate with my B.S in IT. I plan on doing this crazy shit as long as I can. I will never give up and I will never surrender.

16

[quote]armchairexperts wrote:
Where i live, Football and lifting are huge for us. I have friends who are 50-60 years old whose highlight of their lives was the time in highschool when they went to the state championship. I have friends who were powerlifters who cannot even walk with their grandson, their life is spent living in the past “glory days”.

Thats why i am torn, Do i want to continue powerlifting, see how far this old man can go? who cares what happens? Then there were the days when i say i want to be able to walk with my grandson. I could lift in a different way, i could lift lighter just to lift or change my routine, but to experience day in and day out as i lift lighter,and watch my lifting numbers slowly go down is too much for me to take mentally.

I am probably far too old then the majority of posters on here, but there will be a time for all of you if you stick with this sport, when you will know what i am feeling.

I feel in the same situation as a fighter who is at the top of their game, do you keep fighting when you know its time to quit? do i want to get beat up by less skilled fighters then i once was in my prime ( in my case lighter weights) or do i want to quit while im on top?

L.P

[/quote]

I can relate to some extent. I was a fighter. I lived and breathed martial arts, thought I was going to do it forever. It defined who I was. But after three concussions I had to be honest about what it was doing to me. Three concussions, all of them accidents. Would there be another accident in the years to come? Would it leave me as a vegetable? Would I be scared to continue? Hell yes.

I loved fighting. But if I couldn’t do it 100% it wasn’t worth doing. So I quit. It was terrible. The first few years I felt like shit and didn’t know who I was or what I was supposed to do. Eventually I found something else to focus on.

Should you quit? No one can tell you what to do. But first a reality check. Could you deal with your numbers going down over the years, because you know, they will? Don’t fool yourself with the reality of old age. You’ll be weaker. We all will. You have to deal with it. If that means quitting or just working with what you got, so be it. Perhaps you could just change your goals to something that isn’t measured in lbs (or kgs).

I don’t know what a lifetime of lifting does to your body but I’m sure it takes it’s toll. If it’s causing you more pain than pleasure then why do you keep doing it? How can you change that situation? Quitting is one alternative. But perhaps there are other ways to ease the pain. Keep your eyes open to the possibility.

17

[quote]WalkingGunShow wrote:
You may not like to hear my answer.

Quit whining.

I dont care if you dont even have legs anymore. If its truly in your blood, then you will find a way to do it. If i was in you state and my joints where killing me, i would be a damn joint expect, cause i would be online 4 hours a day researching everything about helping my joints. What ever troubles you have, louie simmons has it worse, but its it his blood. He gets in there and gets it done. If you cant put a bar on your back and squat it, put it in your hands and do a zercher squat. If your shoulders hurt use a fat bar and bench with a closer grip. How about get a football bar. Do you use a reverse hyper? Foam roller? Do mobility work?

Get off the forums and go read some more articles, and get off the powerlifting forum if you giving up on it![/quote]

Would you give this same “advice” to Dave Tate when he retired a few years back due to shoulder problems? Do you not think that powerlifting is in DT’s blood? What about Wendler?

Admit it, you’re talking completely out of your ass with no life experience (20 years old? LOL!) to back it up. You should probably stop doing that.

OP, if announcing your retirement would cause everyone to say “who is that?”, then you can’t retire, you just quit. Just a semantics argument, but anyhow…

If the lows are getting lower and the highs less frequent, then I’d say it’s time to either make some changes to your training (shorter meet prep, cruising on higher reps between meets, etc) or take some time off, see how you feel, then make a decision. The great thing about nobody giving a shit whether or not you compete is that you can just decide to pick it back up again after a hiatus.

18

[quote]armchairexperts wrote:
Where i live, Football and lifting are huge for us. I have friends who are 50-60 years old whose highlight of their lives was the time in highschool when they went to the state championship. I have friends who were powerlifters who cannot even walk with their grandson, their life is spent living in the past “glory days”. [/quote]

If the best moments of your life were when you were 17 or 16 then you have let your life pass you by. How about the day their child was born? or When their son won the State Championship?

I think when you get to be in your 40’s and 50’s you have to factor in more than just how your feeling, be it good or bad on that day. As you said do you want yo be able to play catch with your grandson? Or would you rather be a cripple and have to have you loved ones wipe your ass for you? So this isn’t only going to affect you but your loved ones.

Im not saying quit, not at all but I would say you need to do things differently. What that is i can’t say, I don’t know what it is you are doing and what your aren’t. But my old man will be 52 this year and and he tells me all the time “if he knew now what he knew then”(he’ll be doing a BB comp in June if the diet dosen’t kiil him…or mae him kill someone). Maybe try doing the “Big Three” less and try some variations.

And GunShow go fuck youreslf…if its in your blood. Any sport can be “in your blood” but ppl get old that is life. No one can out run time.

19

I told you, people wont like my answer. I will see you in 40 years then, i will either be the biggest 60 year old, or the old guy in a wheelchair wearing my westside shirt. (and have a crazy awesome beard)

Also the OP didnt even say how old he is. If he says he is 42, then my answer beats all of yours in my opinion.

20

[quote]Steel Nation wrote:

[quote]WalkingGunShow wrote:
You may not like to hear my answer.

Quit whining.

I dont care if you dont even have legs anymore. If its truly in your blood, then you will find a way to do it. If i was in you state and my joints where killing me, i would be a damn joint expect, cause i would be online 4 hours a day researching everything about helping my joints. What ever troubles you have, louie simmons has it worse, but its it his blood. He gets in there and gets it done. If you cant put a bar on your back and squat it, put it in your hands and do a zercher squat. If your shoulders hurt use a fat bar and bench with a closer grip. How about get a football bar. Do you use a reverse hyper? Foam roller? Do mobility work?

Get off the forums and go read some more articles, and get off the powerlifting forum if you giving up on it![/quote]

Would you give this same “advice” to Dave Tate when he retired a few years back due to shoulder problems? Do you not think that powerlifting is in DT’s blood? What about Wendler?

Admit it, you’re talking completely out of your ass with no life experience (20 years old? LOL!) to back it up. You should probably stop doing that.

OP, if announcing your retirement would cause everyone to say “who is that?”, then you can’t retire, you just quit. Just a semantics argument, but anyhow…

If the lows are getting lower and the highs less frequent, then I’d say it’s time to either make some changes to your training (shorter meet prep, cruising on higher reps between meets, etc) or take some time off, see how you feel, then make a decision. The great thing about nobody giving a shit whether or not you compete is that you can just decide to pick it back up again after a hiatus.[/quote]

Give Tate my advice? My advice is the same as Daves Tate’s. Find ways around the problem, become knowledgeable on rehab, take long warm-ups, take your joint supps, wrap your knee or whatever. Tate still lifts heavy, and he’s huge. He hasnt competed, but has never stopped lifting heavy, and thats what i was getting at above.