I doubt you’ll regret it, but I’m biased as it’s one of my favorite exercises and piece of equipment.
There’re a bunch of them out there now ; ones that don’t weigh 45 lbs as they’re hollow, square tubing and most also have the raised handles for taller guys. This is the type my gym has and they call it the ‘Hex Bar’ . They look at me like I’m from another planet when I call it a Trap Bar, lol.
The original Gerrard Trap Bar and PDA Shrug Bar where the only ones available when I bought mine about a hundred years ago for $200. I still like my Shrug Bar best and carry it back and forth every Sunday from mid Jan through March which is my TBDL time of the year.
I still have managed to avoid taking out the front doors with it going in and out all these years … hopefully that luck will continue this year
‘A team’ from the University of Ireland looked at 13,452 ca of stroke in 32 countries … and found that heavy physical exertion was linked to a 62% increased chance of inter cerebral
haemorrhage. Less for men and for those of normal BMI… This extract is from today’s
Times of London… Lifting is by definition heavy physical exertion .Get out of that then!
This is conflating correlation with causation. Further, this doesn’t even specify weight lifting. Telling people not to lift is irresponsible. Enjoy your sarcopenia!
Id a stroke at the age of 24, am now 44, my doctor and the neurologists ive met never discouraged me from training in HIT style (am from Northern Ireland btw). The only thing i was encouraged not to do was long static holds. 20 years on since my stroke ive thankfully never had an more issues, ive done strongman training and HIT and all my health makers are thankfully good.
It’s like the old lazy guy who is never active that pushes himself to exhaustion giving himself a heart attack shoveling snow. Versus, someone active and trained for years able to handle that level of effort.
1.High rep work is way better than low rep work. It’s much easier on the joints. Keep shedule
2.Start supplementing his diet with creatine, fish oil, Wheat Germ, Joint support and vitamins A,B,C,D,K
Drop the intense isometrics and statics. Three people in the last month on other boards who’ve focused on that style of training have died of strokes – they were in the late 60s, 70s. I don’t know if there were other issues, but a friend who works in medicine and lifts weights said intense isometrics make no sense.
Drop all but a handful of supplements. B12, perhaps Vitamin C and D. The rest? Little proof there’s any benefit (except for the supplement companies making $$$$) and some can become toxic.
Start fasting. Dr. David Sinclair – PhD credited with unlocking the reasons as to why we age – in his book Longevity said the #1 recommendation he can make from his work is to eat less and fast more. Drs. Valter Longo and Mark Mattson also advocate fasting for brain health, reduced IGF-1.
Add aerobics and do them outside if you’re not walking (bicycling, running, swimming) already. Sinclair, Longo, Mattson are huge advocates and brain health researchers show being outdoors and moving triggers brain activity – working out inside has little benefit.
More plant based, less animal protein – Longo, Sinclair, Mattson, et al, have shown major benefits.
The most important things for older lifters are the same as for the rest of us, train hard with very strict form, do your reps slowly, and be conservative with your volume and frequency to avoid overtraining.
Contrary to uninformed opinion you do not need to avoid training to failure regularly. There is no downside to this as long as you aren’t compromising your form and you are using appropriate exercises and equipment and loads that allow for at least moderate set duration (no ego lifting).
Contrary to uninformed opinion you do not need to avoid statics if you do them correctly. The reason some people have problems with these is because most people have terrible form and do them just as horribly as they do their other exercises. Properly performed timed static contractions and static holds done for appropriate durations in the correct part of the ROM with proper breathing are very safe.
Contrary to uninformed opinion you do not need to switch to more plant protein, fast, or engage in any other diet faddism. Eat a variety of whole and minimally processed animal and plant foods, but not more than required for your energy needs. As we age we need more protein, and you’ll get more benefit from it when you spread it over 3-5 meals.
With the exception of Dr Darden and a small handful of people that seems to be the case quite often on here. There’s a constant barrage of questions about what diet I should use , carbs or no carbs or how many reps or how fast or slow etc etc, etc. Next I’ll hear someone asking how to take a piss between sets. Do you really need to keep asking how to eat and how to lift? Just try different methods and see what works for you. It shouldn’t take long to see what works for you and what doesn’t . It will be a long wait if you are waiting to get good usable advice on here.
Scott
One of the more balanced replies here. I agree completely. We are living in the time of opinions.
The most prominent changes to me, in becoming an older/middleaged lifter, is that recovery takes longer and that I need to make alterations for any old injuries.
During the years I did one-on-one training I put hundreds of people through tens of thousands of workouts, and many of them were older. After an initial break in period, almost all trained to failure on almost all exercises, except for timed static contractions since the concept of failure does not apply to them. Many did statics, including timed static contractions and computer feedback statics. None were injured in all those workouts, over all that time.
The most important thing for all of us in the long run, and sadly something I rarely see, is the use of proper, strict form. Almost everyone performs their repetitions way too quickly, and uses way too much weight, for sets that are way too short.
It would be better if he had his own web site separate from Biotest and T-Nation, which do not moderate properly and which in my opinion are a terrible influence.
Pardon my French, but fuck off with this nonsense. You (and everyone else) get tons of practical advice from plenty of serious, knowledgable lifters. It just doesn’t seem to sink in because you want to cling to long-held dogma rather than considering an “outside” opinion.
As a reminder, you’ve asked the people here important questions like which biceps curl machine to use and multiple threads trying to learn how your body handles recovery and training frequency.
I find myself being irritated by the tone of your post.
This seems like a not so clever way to cut off further discussion, i.e., if you disagree with me, it is because you are uninformed… mic drop… case closed! If you run your private Facebook page that way, that is your business. But in this setting, I think it comes across as arrogant.
As to the specifics…
Dr Darden has moved away from training to failure with his 30-10-30 protocol. Dr. McGuff has expressed reservations about chasing failure too aggressively as one ages, because the impact on recovery is disproportionately high relative to the rewards. Are these examples of the uninformed opinions that you seek to discredit?
On fasting…consider the opinion of Valter Longo. He is a biogerontologist and cell biologist, with a PhD in a relevant field of science, who has spent several decades studying the cellular mechanisms of aging and how these might be affected by metabolism. He is a proponent of fasting for health benefits that extend beyond mere maintenance of weight. The fact that he has good credentials and a lot of research experience doesn’t mean he has reached the correct conclusion. But you can hardly say his opinion in uninformed. I’d say his opinions on the subject are probably a lot better informed than yours….
I agree with you on the influence the crowd on this site has on folks like me. Dr Darden did have his own web site seperate from T Nation ( Although I think it was owned by T Nation) and I loved that site but it was mostly followed by old farts like me who wanted to keep talking about the same old ancient stuff about Arthur Jones and Nautilus and Darden sought out a younger crowd on T Nation. I could be wrong but I don’t think the young crowd gives a fig about Jones or Nautilus and why should they but I think Darden does present stuff that can help the youngsters if they’ll listen to him.
Scott
Yes, I did. To correct myself, I value most opinions on here. Many great responses from experienced fellow trainees. The few I dislike or disagree with I try to ignore. Usually, I tend to react negatively to somewhat extreme dietary ideas - but - we are different as individuals.
That being said, I happen to like when someone balances or question the outliers, like @DrewBaye did here.
