Old man strength is bullshit after what age?

[monsoon]

Anyone can talk to him. He's quite accessible and a very nice guy. I've learned a lot from the little chats I've had with him (the are not in person unfortunately).

Yes, he takes a very scientific approach to training and will find individuals smarter than himself and learn from them which is exactly what I have done in my approach as well.

What’s his number? He pretty much saved me. I kept squatting even when I wasn’t supposed to be walking

 

[BrotherIron]

What’s his number? He pretty much saved me. I kept squatting even when I wasn’t supposed to be walking

I don't have his personal #. I talk to him through social media. He's always been very helpful. Even invited me up to train with him but unfortunately school, 2 jobs, and a wife makes that difficult.

 

[Bobby Cole]

Adding size and/or strength are almost irresistible motives at some point in our lives. Much later, just feeling young again becomes the main goal. A bit later still, just reaching the finish line without needing other people's assistance is your prayer.

The trick is to decide where/when your sweet spots are as to guiding yourself through training, dieting, and supplementing schemes as smoothly as possible from cradle to grave. Being a swole beast with all the attendant euphoria you worked so hard for before your 40s - 50s don't count for shit if you spend your remaining years pathetic, and painfully aware of it. Look at some older relatives if you have that option, or do a brief volunteer gig in a local nursing home if you can stomach it ... "perspective" is easily available if you look for it.

To start, I have a nearly 90 years old gym friend who goes by the nickname of Buddy.
He has a past history of being a competitive powerlifter during a day when everyone in the world was watching the likes of Paul Andersen and such.
Whilst still competing, he took on the job as a football coach at a local high school and later, after his competitive days were over, as a Pastor of a small church.

When I first met Buddy about 8 years ago, he was still squatting 350# and outwardly, he seemed happy about it although I could see that he wasn’t really content, probably due to the fact that his past numbers were considerably higher.
The thing is, now that he’s almost 90, he feels safe going at about a hundred pounds lighter than just 8 years ago but he says that at least he’s able to do what others his age cannot do.
The bottom line is that he can still look at his wife and say to himself that he’s still the protector, he’s still a man and he will continue to have a quality of life that his peers probably do not have.

Most recently, as of about 6 months ago, I started a regimen of dead lifting with a trap bar and before I did, I asked Buddy for some advice.
Man……ya’ll should have seen the look on his face! He had a grin on him that I hadn’t seen in a long time and when he told me that he’d be happy to and agreed to meet me on the next Tuesday, I couldn’t have been happier either.

Since then, even though we have our own gym agendas, we still meet on Tuesdays with me spotting his squats and he coaching me and urging me on. * last Tuesday, my last lift was 375# x 8 and it felt fantastic!*
I think what I’m getting at is that Buddy has helped me reach better goals and in some ways, maybe his quality of life has improved also.
Long and short of the matter is that whilst age definitely does have ability to strip away some of what you used to be able to do, but it can’t take away the knowledge and memories that can be passed on to others………maybe to even an aging 74 year old aspiring bodybuilder.

 

[Bigtex]

It’s not old man strength… it’s “this is as hard as I can do this particular thing without hurting myself” strength and it goes down with age after what number?

I’m already experiencing it before 40 so I’ll say 34yr is the cutoff where, all else being equal, your body just won’t function at as high a level as it once could, strength/speed/power wise.

What was that number for you? Keep in mind I’m talking about highly trained athletes here, not some avg desk joe who picked up a weight for the first time in his 40s and is making gains and stronger than ever.

It is honestly a very individual issue. I competed at a top level in powerlifting until I was about 54 years old and had a bad injury. I was still peak size and strength until I was about 62 but had stopped competing in 2010. Then I started seeing the effects of age set in along with osteoarthritis. Now my goals have had to change and I am just trying to stay in the gym and keep healthy. I picked up my 1st weight in 1972 as a teen. Turn 68 this year.

 

[rawdeal]

. . . . Long and short of the matter is that whilst age definitely does have ability to strip away some of what you used to be able to do, but it can’t take away the knowledge and memories that can be passed on to others………maybe to even an aging 74 year old aspiring bodybuilder.

You and Buddy are fortunate to have found each other. Saw a guy in one of my past gyms once ... not IFBB level but still drew stares from others present. His tee shirt read "Under Construction 1956 - 20??"

Anytime during the 2nd half of our lives that we can be still aspiring instead of just remembering is a good time.

 

[Dawgpound Hank]

I'll be 60 soon and still dreading when/if that day ever comes. I'm as strong as I ever was with the exception of pushing movements due to rotator cuff issues. I mean not like I gotta go "light" on those exercises, just not as strong as 10-15 years back. However on back, leg, arm day, still strong as I have ever been. Oh yeah also I can't squat anymore due to not being able to get under the bar due to the RC issues. Only one gym in town has a safety squat bar, which I can use, but they don't allow kids under 13 in, so no-go for me. But yeah, heavy leg presses, hacks, SLDL's, rack pulls, bb & t-bar rows - same weights as ever. A couple things other than I guess good genetics is I never ever took a long hiatus from the iron, which helps a ton especially with legs being older, and I never came to the darkside until 40, so didn't burn out when young.

 

[Massive G]

I started noticing a lot more tension and stiffness in my forties. I continue to adjust tempo down reps up and reduce weight. Nothing under 8 reps. My range was 4 to 6 in my younger days.
Also doing more pre exhaust training with legs chest shoulders and back.

 

[Wallyd]

For me late 40’s. Over 50 now & after a few surgeries & injuries I’ve had to cut back on the weight. Still giving it hell but being cautious to avoid future injuries.

 

[Snachito1]

Same as Wally in my 40's strong as hell then I hit 50 everything went to hell!! But everyday I'm still fighting in that gym!!

 

[Bobby Cole]

It’s of note that I’ve only been working toward building muscle mass for going on 9 years, but I’m also probably older than just about anyone here and have had to fight against age related muscle loss from the start of my journey.

All I can really advise anyone to do is to get back to the very basics. I guess some folks have been going for so long lifting bone breaking weight and looking good that they didn’t prepare for an endocrine and other biological systems decrease as they get older.

How about sleep? Ya’ll knew that the party had to end some day and that we don’t build muscle in the gym but during rest periods, so have you started a regimen of melatonin in order to replace what isn’t being provided as we age? More than ever, you NEED that 7-8 hours of good sleep.
And, how about leg day? Leg day becomes one of the most important days because by working the larger muscle masses we also create more testosterone and with that we have more free testosterone which governs muscle contraction.
Speaking of testosterone, at my age, every time I have a blood test I tell them I want a full hormone panel so I can see what I need to do through supplements and diet to keep those levels as high as I can get them.

All I’m trying to spit out here is that age doesn’t have to be as devastating as the books say it’s going to be. Especially if the genetics are there, there are natural ways to combat age related biological changes.
I guess to be totally honest, since I didn’t start until I was in my mid 60’s, I have no idea what it is to lose what I never had. I never had much in the way of hard, showing muscle and I never saw anything called ”abs” but I do now. It’s a given that I have a lot more work to do and a lot more supplements to chunk down but to be really clear, it’s proven that muscle mass and maintenance doesn’t have to stop because of age.

At nearly 3/4 of a century old, there thing about this muscle building stuff that I certainly wasn’t prepared for and that’s the fact that I stay horny as heck…….. but that said, as long as the wife doesn’t complain………..

 

[Bobby Cole]

I realized whilst I was at the gym today that anyone can write stuff but indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words. This afternoon whilst there was no one in the free weight room, I decided to do what I hate and I took a picture of myself in the mirror whilst sitting at the curling machine.
Again, I started when I was around 65 years old after being one sick puppy. At 6’1”, I weighed nearly 300# (belly fat for the most part) and my upper arms were only 11” and my waist was at 50.
Now, at 74 and a bonafide natty, I weighed 220# (today), my waist is a 33 and my arms…..well, they are no longer 11”.

Bottom line is that age is tricky but she can be beaten sometimes……

 

[genetic freak]

I don't know. I changed my style of lifting to save the joints and back. I slowed the tempo down and increased the rep range, but I would be damned if after a year or so I am not lifting the same amount of weight I was before, just slower and with more reps. My body adapted. Last year I would have benched 275 on the smith machine for 14-15 reps at a pretty fast temp. Today I did it for 26 reps and it was 4 count eccentric, 1 count pause and 2 count concentric. I can still deadlift 495 lbs for 20 reps and take 6 pps on the hack squat for around 25 reps. Granted, 18 years ago I would consider these baby numbers, so there is some decline. I was also 50 - 60 lbs heavier back then.