Don't underestimate old guy strength

[CorbLand]

Similar, I got 4 yds of washed stone delivered today. It’ll be a fun weekend activity.

I am hoping mine is just a weekend.

 

[Mish-pop]

Yeah, there ain’t shit you can do about tendons and cartilage as you age. They break. The best advice for guys in their 30s and 40s is to forget about CrossFit. Dynamic loading is just not needed when you age. Get strong.

Pure barbell strength is overlooked. I’ve been doing Starting Strength for about 10 months. Adding weight to the bar is much more valuable than repetitive cardio year round. It’s an insurance policy as you age.

By the way, I’ve gained 40 lbs in about a year of barbell training. And I can hike uphill on the same trails I was using before at the same pace. My next deadlift workout is scheduled to be 395 lbs x 5. Get stronger and forget about CrossFit.

I agree with you on the tendons and cartilage. I overexercised and stayed in amazing shape in my early 20s. Problem was that I exercised or was playing sports in college 3-5 hours a day 6-7 days a week with minimal rest. It was a blast but now at only 32 my knees hurt walking up and down stairs. That crack and pop like walking on packing peanuts sometimes. I enjoyed my time in college but I wish I could have it back and train smarter and not harder. My tendons in knees are shot and now I have to deal with it rest of my life with being not very old

 

[5MilesBack]

I just had 14 tons of 2-3 inch rock delivered. If any of you old guys need to come show up a couple young bucks, Saturday morning around 830 would be a great time. Bring a wheelbarrow.

An old guy is smart enough to use a skid steer on that stuff. Shovels and wheelbarrows don't work all that well with that sized rock. But I did shovel and spread 4 truckloads of cow/peat compost on Wednesday and till it in. That was a decent workout for a 59 year old.

These days my biggest concern is a torn achilles, especially while elk hunting. My youngest daughter is always telling me that I'm not young anymore. And my reply is always "You keep telling yourself that while you're trying to keep up". I tore a patellar tendon when I was 25 playing basketball, but the achilles seems most likely at my age with my activities and attitude.

 

[Watrdawg]

I'm 60 and a typical workout week is Crossfit 4 nights a week, a regular strength workout the other 3 days, ride my bike 10-12 miles at lunch 3 days a week. I'm 5'5"165 and can still break 1000lbs total benching, squatting and deadlifting easily. I've been working out this hard since I was 12. The main thing that has changed is that I have to take more time warming up before a workout and I don't run as often as I used to. At least for me, at this age it's all about diet, recovery and not to stop moving. I think as people age they slow down and quit moving. This is mentally also. I do have to say I'm like the OP in that part of my drive is beating the younger guys during a workout. It's satisfying beating a 30-40yr old that is in pretty good shape also. Especially when they get pissed!

So to the OP go kick his butt and when you beat him just smile as he finishes up.

 

[Customweld]

I just had 14 tons of 2-3 inch rock delivered. If any of you old guys need to come show up a couple young bucks, Saturday morning around 830 would be a great time. Bring a wheelbarrow.

That's roughly 75 heaping wheelbarrow trips ,I'd be for renting a little Dingo

 

[mtwarden]

I was thinking the same thing. I'm 40 and don't consider myself old yet.

I’m 66 and don’t consider myself old either, maybe someday????

 

[Ucsdryder]

I'm 60 and a typical workout week is Crossfit 4 nights a week, a regular strength workout the other 3 days, ride my bike 10-12 miles at lunch 3 days a week. I'm 5'5"165 and can still break 1000lbs total benching, squatting and deadlifting easily. I've been working out this hard since I was 12. The main thing that has changed is that I have to take more time warming up before a workout and I don't run as often as I used to. At least for me, at this age it's all about diet, recovery and not to stop moving. I think as people age they slow down and quit moving. This is mentally also. I do have to say I'm like the OP in that part of my drive is beating the younger guys during a workout. It's satisfying beating a 30-40yr old that is in pretty good shape also. Especially when they get pissed!

So to the OP go kick his butt and when you beat him just smile as he finishes up.

Color me impressed. What’s your breakdown on the 1000 pounds? I assume you’re saying 1 rep of each to hit 1000.

 

[CorbLand]

That's roughly 75 heaping wheelbarrow trips ,I'd be for renting a little Dingo

I could get a tractor, skid steer and/or dingo if I wanted one but I don’t want to destroy my lawn.

Brother in laws are broke…which works well for me.

 

[Customweld]

I could get a tractor, skid steer and/or dingo if I wanted one but I don’t want to destroy my lawn.

Brother in laws are broke…which works well for me.

Perfect, put the BIL's to work!

 

[307]

I'm not that old. Only 36. But my fitness has definitely fallen off a bit in the last few years.

That being said, I still do the "Murph" workout every year. I've been getting gradually slower since my peak at about age 31.

Well, this young guy (23) that works for me started talking some friendly trash about beating me at Murph, and called me old. He's never done Murph before, and he's not a real impressive specimen, but he does some running and lifting a few days a week.

Anyways, I went with it. I agreed with him that I'm getting old and I've lost a step in my old age. I told him that he should come over this year and do Murph with us, even though he'd probably beat me. Then I started training with an extra fire that I haven't had in a while. It's been fun to have some extra motivation, and push myself a little harder, and I think there's a chance that I get a fair bit faster this year.


Anyways, that kid doesn't know the fire he lit, and he won't till memorial day. He keeps talking smack at work, and I just smile and agree with him.

Claiming "old" at 36 is a bit absurd... Competition can be a good motivator though as long as it doesn't force you to push past reasonable limits.

I'm attempting to embrace the idea of "hybrid athlete". I like the overall philosophy, and like to run far, though I find resistance training to be very boring.

I've never been limited by strength in any activity I wanted to do, including backpack hunting, but I'm often wanting more aerobic capacity.

 

[Z Barebow]

Make him cry.

I am old. (58). But I was at my peak fitness in my 40's. I could have kicked my 20 something @ss.

 

[WoodBow]

No one's hates on butterfly/skipping pull-ups, like guys that have never done them.

They have their place. No they aren't a substitute for strict pull ups. But in a crossfit type workout, when you hit failure on strict pull-ups, you are pretty much done. Butterflies allow you to keep the intensity high and the recovery time low. They are a skilled movement that takes time to learn to do well. They are a cardio movement more than strength. Do Fran strict and butterfly and let me know which one your HR is higher on.

 

[Watrdawg]

Color me impressed. What’s your breakdown on the 1000 pounds? I assume you’re saying 1 rep of each to hit 1000.

These are all 1 rep maxes. Bench 275, Squat 375 and Dead Lift 405. I'm not flat benching much any more. 10 years ago I tore a Pec benching 320. Every now and then I'll push it a bit and do flat benches. Typically though I'm using dumbells or machines of some type now.

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

No one's hates on butterfly/skipping pull-ups, like guys that have never done them.

They have their place. No they aren't a substitute for strict pull ups. But in a crossfit type workout, when you hit failure on strict pull-ups, you are pretty much done. Butterflies allow you to keep the intensity high and the recovery time low. They are a skilled movement that takes time to learn to do well. They are a cardio movement more than strength. Do Fran strict and butterfly and let me know which one your HR is higher on.

Agreed. I thought about a more in depth response to some of the crossfit hate, but realized I didn't start this thread to convince anyone to do crossfit. Staying active and fit in general is the thing that matters. Crossfit has been really good for me for the last 15 years, and I've not been injured once. So that's what works for me. I also do strength days where I just lift without getting my heart rate too high, and sometimes I just go run a few miles, or throw a pack on and hike. It's all good stuff.

Crossfit isn't nearly as dangerous as an inactive lifestyle.

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

Claiming "old" at 36 is a bit absurd...

I'm not claiming old. I was called old.

 

[WoodBow]

Agreed. I thought about a more in depth response to some of the crossfit hate, but realized I didn't start this thread to convince anyone to do crossfit. Staying active and fit in general is the thing that matters. Crossfit has been really good for me for the last 15 years, and I've not been injured once. So that's what works for me. I also do strength days where I just lift without getting my heart rate too high, and sometimes I just go run a few miles, or throw a pack on and hike. It's all good stuff.

Crossfit isn't nearly as dangerous as an inactive lifestyle.

Yep. You know what sport has the highest injury rate? Running. Ever heard anyone talk about how PTs and Orthopedic surgeons love runners? Yea me neither. It's just a phrase that people love to parrot. Do people get hurt doing CF? Of course they do. I work in radiology. People get hurt doing everything.


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[SWOHTR]

Agreed. I thought about a more in depth response to some of the crossfit hate, but realized I didn't start this thread to convince anyone to do crossfit. Staying active and fit in general is the thing that matters. Crossfit has been really good for me for the last 15 years, and I've not been injured once. So that's what works for me. I also do strength days where I just lift without getting my heart rate too high, and sometimes I just go run a few miles, or throw a pack on and hike. It's all good stuff.

Crossfit isn't nearly as dangerous as an inactive lifestyle.

Agreed. People wanna hate on CF, but it has its place. It introduced me to lifting, rowing, and other things. Does it do it all well? Maybe not. Cultish? Definitely, and a huge reason I left. But I am thankful for what it exposed me to.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Only 20 somethings are dumb enough to think mid 30s is old.

No comment on CF. Get active. Stay active. Lift hard and heavy. Have a reserve tank you dig into when others can’t.

Life isn’t a sprint. Last year I hunted a controlled hunt that was a 9 day season. By day 8 I think I was the last person in the unit. On day 9 I killed a bull, 30 minutes before sunset.

Finish strong.

 

[307]

I'm not claiming old. I was called old.

I didn’t say that you made the claim.

 

[307]

Yep. You know what sport has the highest injury rate? Running. Ever heard anyone talk about how PTs and Orthopedic surgeons love runners? Yea me neither. It's just a phrase that people love to parrot. Do people get hurt doing CF? Of course they do. I work in radiology. People get hurt doing everything.


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The difference is in the types of injuries. Overuse soft tissue injuries are a lot different than those that are more likely require surgical reconstruction.

Injury rate claims are only part of the story and can be very misleading.