Almost 50, lifting 30+ years, no aches or pains, look 20 years younger, and in better shape than 99.9999% of the population regardless of age. Lifetime natty though, which means no running my body in overdrive.
Any recent pics? I seem to recall you having a pretty good physique.
Have you eased off at all over the years, in terms of intensity?
73 years old now. Olympic champion Zygmunt Smalcerz.
looks flexible enough, but its hard to tell what kind of shape he's in from these vids (only skimmed the long one, though). natural?
It does seem that so many long time lifters have joint issues. Every 400lb bencher I knew in my 20 and 30's can't bench anything in their 50's because of joint issues. It seems the moderate weight volume guys have longevity and the power bodybuilders seem to have a lot of issues as they age. Of course there are exceptions.
I wish there was a study of long time recreational bodybuilders regarding joint problems. Empirically I can't think of anyone I know who has been lifting for decades that escapes without problems. How many pro's have had hip replacements before 60? I would mention names but I don't want to make any mistakes about it. How many shoulder, knee and elbow operations have you heard about with pro's and friends? Is it good for a 55 year old to be grinding heavy squats on his hip joint? I still squat but it's moderate weights.
I know my right shoulder is shot. It wasn't even from a single episode of lifting. It just started hurting and felt weak. It never goes away. My ortho guy wants to operate saying it's a slap tear but I don't want to deal with the long recovery. I just use lighter weights and deal with the pain for now.
Very interesting post. Especially the bold part -- this is how most of my joints feel these days. Most pronounced with my shoulders, though. Over a period of time my shoulder would just hurt more and more... nothing acute, just a general level of pain that i "managed". Then one day it was just
weak, and never recovered.
Same with my back, knees, etc. Frightening when I think about how much weight I used to use, how much volume, etc. in comparison to what I work with now. Luckily, the physique isn't gone yet...