Losing interest in keeping up this training log. Like yesterday I went out on my bike on a beautiful sunny day and when I was in the middle of nowhere on an isolated trail miles from my house the sky got dark and a thunder storm happened. Here I was riding on a dirt trail getting covered in mud cause my bike has no fenders. I came back and my wife was shocked by the mud on my clothes, lol.
I've been thinking about my training and aging. Yes, there are a few guys over 65 still doing the big deads and squats but they tend to be one trick ponies with their fat Buddha bellies that doesn't exactly scream they are fit. Also as you age we are all throwing the dice of injury hoping it doesn't happen. I was never a big bencher but I always tested my bench at the end of my bench sets with that single. I know it's nothing to brag about but I always was good for 285-300 at around a 180lbs body weight into my late 40's. I've had a messed up shoulder for a long time so every six months or so I get on a bench press kick and it always goes the same way. I start picking up strength but I feel a tweak coming on and at my age I'm experienced enough to shut it down quick before the big injury comes. Weight rooms are filled with guys with damaged joints.
Led me to think of my changing goals. I surely don't want to be big. I look at boxers, wrestlers and MMA guys my height and they are usually around 155lbs or less. Now I weigh about 164lbs down from my top weight at over 190lbs. Being lean always is a better look than the permabulker that looks great as long as he keeps his shirt on. At my age, health has to be a priority as a choice when exercising and eating. In my 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's and my early 60's I ate what ever I wanted and as much as I wanted. Now I monitor my eating carefully as I log everything. It has made a huge difference. I mainly drink water with the occasional fat free milk. When I indulge in adult beverages twice a week I choose low calorie and low carb options.
I don't use any hormones or so called TRT. I get compliments for being in shape but no one would at my age would confuse me with being a bodybuilder. What does all of the above has to do with training for the aging guy? It's just that unless you are some kind of elite trainer with zero problems in your mid 60's and beyond you have to make smart decisions.
Some of the things I adhere to is if it hurts discard it and don't look back. Too many hold on to an exercise like the bench press knowing it's wrecking something like their elbow to pec/delt tie in. If the bar hurts there are so many ways to skin a cat like using dumbbells instead. Sometimes my shoulders give me problems even with the flat dumbbells bench so I move to the decline. When I use the decline I have zero issues. I'm even using the decline fly movement. It's so much healthier for bad shoulders. Your mileage may vary. Just trying to say if a movement hurts get rid of it and substitute. Never think you have to do a certain exercise. If the bench press hurts try dumbbell benches. If dumbbell bench press hurts try using dumbbells on a decline. If that doesn't feel right use a bench machine. If that doesn't work use pushups. The message is to apply it to every body part. All exercises will benefit you. Never be in a marriage to an exercise if that exercise treats you like a scum bag. Divorce it and move on.
Sometimes doing something like using controlled high reps is the answer for some aging athletes. Just saw a clip with Arnold saying the same. Nothing wrong with doing an exercise for 12-15-20 or more reps. Don't measure your body by that red hot one rep max as you move into your senior years. If you hit failure at 21 reps and progress to 23 reps you are making improvements that your body will respond to. Your muscle has no brain. It only knows it has to adapt for survival from a stressor. Go to youtube and look at all the body weight trainers. So many are build like a Greek god and they are using plenty of high rep bodyweight exercises. Some might say look at 100 meter sprinter build compared to a distance runner. Yes, a valid point but even an elite 100 meter sprinter is doing around 22 strides per leg during a 100 meter sprint. Not exactly the one rep max that seems to be the measure of accomplishment in the lifting world.
I will get off my soap box soon. I've been thinking it might be for me at least a good idea to train really hard for fitness at this stage of the game. The hard core training to failure for low sets is not a plan for longevity. How strong can anyone get? If we started curling with just the bar at 18 years of age does that mean through progression we will be curling 500lbs at age 30? I know a ridiculous sentence but I'm trying to make a point on training. A more sustainable goal is trying to increase muscular endurance. How quick can you do say 5 sets of 12 with an exercise with X amount of weight. How much time did it take? How long did the entire workout take? If you didn't change the weight used, exercises, reps and sets but finished a workout 5 minutes quicker you increased the intensity.
Around 1975 a rising amateur broke on the scene and what was amazing that separated him from the crowd was his blinding definition. His name was Joe Means. I think it was the 1975 AAU Mr. America contest where he beat out the mass monsters for the the most muscular award. I believe he also beat out another up and coming bodybuilder named Tom Platz for best legs if my memory serves me. As a teenager I was fascinated with him because he wasn't a mass monster competing at 5'9" and 174-180lbs. I could relate to that. From what I learned is while he was very strong he didn't use big weights back then. He use to superset, tri set and giant set everything. He would pick something like four exercises for chest and run them one after another. That was one cycle. I bet every cycle he got less reps or had to lighten the weight used. Funny but as an adult I have had a couple of conversations with him. He has competed in bodybuilding, power lifting and sprint triathlons. He is in his 70's and he still hits the weight room.
His training got me thinking about changing up how I do things in the weight room. So many ways to train and it's all good. Clarence Bass uses a phrase he took from someone whose name I forgot. It's the ownership principle. Meaning you have to train in a way that's best for your body, mind and spirit. So many and varying approaches. It's all good. A phrase I keep hearing again and again from lifters who also run is hybrid training. It's what I try to do lately. I will comment more on this as I experiment my workout for my own ownership principle.
More to follow.
