I was reflecting on last weeks workouts. As I age I discard exercises that cause problems and substitute. I think that's a good practice for a lifter at any age. If anyone tells you an exercise is mandatory staple know you are talking to a fool. I discarded barbell squats awhile ago. Last week I revived them. My lower back always seems bullet proof the last decade. My lower back was bothering me and I blame the barbell squat.
Another exercise that I loved was the barbell bench. When one shoulder went then the other I shelved it. Seems every six months I get the urge to do them. Always ends up with me discarding them. Here I am again.
Don't ever feel an exercise is a mandatory staple. To use drug pros as an example Yates at his peak years didn't flat barbell bench. The flat barbell bench isn't the greatest exercise in the world as one would falsely conclude looking in gyms at the bench and curl crowd. It's a relatively new exercise in the world of lifting. People like doing an exercise while laying on a bed. It causes a loss of shoulder flexibility because of the very nature of the bar hitting your chest after inflating your chest, doing an arch and benching with a wide grip to shorten the range of motion. Olympic lifters that bench are a rarity. They won't do it because of the loss of flexibility.
Paul Dilette and Yates both didn't barbell squat. Their main thigh exercise was the leg press. So many bodybuilders keep doing skull crushers tricep extensions till they grind their elbows to dust. Many other examples. Sometimes just changing the way you do an exercise leads to healthier joints and even better muscle simulation. A doctor of physical therapy told me delt laterals with a dumbbell can eventually lead to shoulder impingement and tendon damage for many. He said bent over slightly and lift the dumbbell with thumbs up.
If you started to workout in your teens and have been truly dedicated through the decades there will be a lot of wear and tear on your body. True some escape it. You just can't floor the pedal of a car every time you drive it and expect the car to last.
I think the moral to the story is if an exercise causes you grief get rid of it with no looking back. A good source to find substitutes is Bill Pearl's master piece, Keys to the Universe.
The key is to minimize wear and tear while building your body. Arnold, Zane, Draper, Corney and a host of others had shoulder operations. Anderson, Grimek, Bass, Big Lou and many others had hip operations. Hey, I get it. They are pushing their bodies to the max and something has to give. Just knees, shoulders, pecs, elbows and hips damage can ruin your athletic life.
It brings me to all the heart problems with lifters. Testosterone and their by products like Anabolic steroids make blood thick that can cause strokes and heart attacks. Most users have a raise in blood pressure that can cause heart attacks, strokes and kidney damage. Some say it can thicken the heart too. This is where someone brings up Fixx the guy that wrote the best selling running book way back. Yes, for every heart attack running has cause it has prevented a huge number. The first rehab after a heart attack is walking one treadmill. If it was bad for you they would tell you like the old days to rest till you die. Nope, cardio doctors tell you to do cardio exercise after recovery from a heart attack.
Why am I writing this in the early morning hours? I was awakened by a thunder storm and looked out at my pool that was about to over flow. Here I was with the hose back washing it to lower the level before it over flowed and flooded my basement. Because the way my house is situated I have to physically hold the hose like a fireman shooting it over the fence.
I then hit the basement gym for chest and arms. I started with the barbell bench. First the empty bar. Second set 135lbs, third warm up with 165lbs. Something didn't feel right. I canned the workout. For many years I haven't started a workout and finished it to the best of my memory. In my 40's my last bench set was always with 275lbs to 285lbs. Never claimed to be a world killer strong guy. Now in my 60's that 165lbs felt it was damaging my shoulder. Back to declines and other exercises that work with my body. Naturally you have to pick what works for yours.
Off to work. The hottest girl in the office yesterday wore a mini skirt. Think a hotter Jennifer Aniston. Yes, I'm a dirty old man.
