How to slow down?

[Bigwilly556]

For all the "mature" gent's out there. How do you physically slow down when your brain isn't letting you?

I recently hit 40, trained since high school, football, basketball and motocross. A few broken bones over the years. My job isn't particularly physical but can go from 0-100 on occasion. With the exception of stressful situations I don't allow it or drama into my life.

I train 6 days a week with one of them being an active recovery day. Still squat over #350, deadlift #450 and bench #350.
I'm 6"4' about #250 and in fairly good shape.

As of late I've had some chronic fatigue, tendonitis in my joints and just feeling like I'm in a fog. My diet is lower carbs/higher fat and usually do a refeed on my days off. Blood work shows all my number are good with T levels about where they should be for my age. My brain is still telling me I'm 18 and won't let me slow down.

Anybody with some experience/advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Hoodie]

Those are good numbers. I'm a decade behind you (so no personal experience), but have accumulated some wear and tear from a very physical job. Maybe looking to slow down per se isn't the best bet.

My plan as I age is to do my best to make progress on lower volume and lower frequency. I think recovery intervals tend to get longer, so maybe stacking more of your training volume into fewer sessions with longer breaks will help.

I've had a lot of success with full body 2 day a week strength programs. I can accumulate a large amount of stress, then have a full 72 hours to recoup. I try to intelligently schedule my conditioning around the lifting. This approach has been the best for me for accommodating old injuries.

I think doing heavy compound lifts is a very good idea for people well into old age.

 

[5MilesBack]

My brain is still telling me I'm 18 and won't let me slow down.

I'm the opposite. My brain is telling me to slow down, and my attitude it telling it to "shut the heck up........and try to keep up". I'm almost 57.

 

[*zap*]

Strength is great but you listed no aerobic capacity training which imo should be #1. LISS daily may work wonders for you. Also 40 is not old at all compared to people over 65 who still train/play hard. One thing I have noticed is that older folks need more recovery time....but you can still do liss on those days. Rest fro weights more and work up to 1.5 hrs 5x a week of low intensity aerobic capacity training that never exceeds conversation pace you should see a big difference.....

 

[zacattack]

More recovery and days off. Your body simply can’t maintain the pace it could when you were half the age you are now. I would agree some cardio will help if you aren’t already doing some.

Physically your body peaks in your mid twenties for most people. Then it’s downhill from there. You need to play the long game at this point. Train for the rest of your life, avoid injuries and maintain fitness level to be able to enjoy what you want to do.

 

[JimGa]

Doc saying numbers are "good" means nothing. Numbers would help. How long are your workouts? Are you trying to failure? How is sleep?
Could be over training but what does your programming look like?
I'm 54 and train 5 days a week. DL and Squat is around 405 or so, I'm 5-9 175lb. Never come close to maxing or training to failure.
I eat high protein, high fat, Lowish carbs, probably 50g or less a day. Pretty much zero sugar, wheat, processed junk. Fat comes from raw almonds, walnuts, butter, olive oil, coconut oil. I mix in lifting, sprinting, rucking, BW stuff.
I do take a thyroid med and Test so I know a good bit about hormones and aging that's why I said "normal" levels mean nothing.
Just a few things off the top of my head.

 

[Bigwilly556]

I may not have explained situation enough. I have always been involved in sports and am very competitive with myself. I push myself very hard.

T levels were 678 with free T at 12.6. I get between 7-8 hours sleep.

Today's meals.
Breakfast 4 egg whites with chicken sausage, 4 oz pineapple and 2 pieces of Ezekiel bread.
Post workout redcon 1 mre lite shake.
Lunch 8 oz bison, peppers, onion and Greek yogurt.
Late dinner as I work afternoons 4 eggs over easy in coconut oil, 1/2 avocado and a cup of cottage cheese.

Back workout yesterday. 20 min warmup and hour workout.

Back day.

Warm up.
100 cal air bike.
Foam roll, GHD back/hip extensions and cable pullovers.

Neutral grip pullups 2x12 and 2x8 weighted.

Heavy axle bar rack pulls just below the knee 8x8.

Lat pulldown 4x20/15/12/10

DB rows 4x15/15/10/10

KB pullovers 4x 10 SS dead hangs 30 sec

EMOM
10 cal air bike
100 ft sandbag shoulder carry right side w/#150.
30 sec plank.
100ft sandbag shoulder carry left side w/#150.
For 16 min.

Posted on the WOD thread. This would be a typical training day. Warmup, strength followed by some HIT/conditioning. I've done this type of training for 20+ years. Training is my therapy and enjoyment. But my mind won't let me rest nor slow down even though my body is feeling it.

 

[Mojave]

This is going to sound crazy, but I am 47, spent 20 years in the military hurting myself.

I only eat meat, bacon butter and eggs.

My arthritis is gone, and I sleep like a baby.

Also gone is my gerd.

You need way more fat in your diet, and git rid of that oil. Use bacon grease or beef tallow to cook your eggs.

Getting rid of carbohydrates will decrease your arthritis.

I have gout so bad I can't walk if I stray from this diet.

 

[Bigwilly556]

This is going to sound crazy, but I am 47, spent 20 years in the military hurting myself.

I only eat meat, bacon butter and eggs.

My arthritis is gone, and I sleep like a baby.

Also gone is my gerd.

You need way more fat in your diet, and git rid of that oil. Use bacon grease or beef tallow to cook your eggs.

Getting rid of carbohydrates will decrease your arthritis.

I have gout so bad I can't walk if I stray from this diet.

I've almost completed Shawn Baker's book and still can't quite rap my head around the idea.

 

[Mojave]

Just do it for a month.

If it doesn't work for you go back to what you were doing.

I say meat, and I mean red meat. Not chicken, turkey or pork other than bacon.

Beef, lamb, wild game, I eat a lot of Alaskan Salmon.

It doesn't have to be expensive you can buy 5 pounds of salmon at costco for $20 where I live in New Mexico.

We only eat grass fed beef or bison hamburger.

I buy big tubes of pre packaged grass fed burgers from Costco too.

I don't have a good source for grass fed steaks, I buy steaks at Sam's club. They have better beef than Costco does.

You are eating bullshit and expecting to feel good.

It wouldn't be any different if you were eating McDonalds.

Why are you not eating the yokes?

Fat is your friend.

 

[Mojave]

Oh, stop eating fruit too.

 

[*zap*]

what you have done from age 20-40 may not be best for age 40-60.

from what you have posted it seems you are doing all glucose fueled exercise and no oxygen burning fat exercise....I would recommend again that you do fasted liss 5x per week, longer duration and before strength.

 

[jimh406]

Excuse the analogy ... I think it's like going out and drinking for dinner. You have to make a plan before you get drunk, and also make a plan before you get hurt. For drinking, you have to plan how much you will drink. For exercise, you have to plan how much you can do. I think a written plan will help you to not overdo it. Don't make an aggressive schedule. It's better to ramp up a bit slower without getting hurt. Recovery time from an injury stinks at 40, but it's even worse at 60+.

 

[tacotim]

For all the "mature" gent's out there. How do you physically slow down when your brain isn't letting you?

I recently hit 40, trained since high school, football, basketball and motocross. A few broken bones over the years. My job isn't particularly physical but can go from 0-100 on occasion. With the exception of stressful situations I don't allow it or drama into my life.

I train 6 days a week with one of them being an active recovery day. Still squat over #350, deadlift #450 and bench #350.
I'm 6"4' about #250 and in fairly good shape.

As of late I've had some chronic fatigue, tendonitis in my joints and just feeling like I'm in a fog. My diet is lower carbs/higher fat and usually do a refeed on my days off. Blood work shows all my number are good with T levels about where they should be for my age. My brain is still telling me I'm 18 and won't let me slow down.

Anybody with some experience/advice would be greatly appreciated.

i spent alot of time on a bicycle from mid-20s until late-30s. some of the anaerobic work on the bicycle was sort of an extended form of misery. just got tired of all of it. to be honest i did not transition out very well into my 40s. but related to your post-- i have learned to deal with joint pain with some different supplements. you're an experienced athlete, so maybe you're aware many of the supplements, but i'd suggest glucosamine + chondroitin for protecting joints. i take cosamin asu. it saved me from physical theory on my neck and has been so effective that i don't even need a full dose. amazing really. although i have read that some people see no benefits at all from it, so it could be hit or miss. i also take tumeric daily and fish oil, but those don't have the magic like cosamin.

 

[JimGa]

Definitely agree with Mojave that you need more fat and arthritis absolutely comes from sugar and cabs. Never tried total carnivore diet but may have to.

 

[Wrench]

I've almost completed Shawn Baker's book and still can't quite rap my head around the idea.

I'm 47 and spent 3 years doing the meat and fat diet. My body never felt better and I had zero inflammation. I had blood panels that showed counter intuitive to what we're told.

I switched to more carbs as my wife couldn't pull off my diet and almost instantly had issues with inflammation and it got to the point where I had to stop shooting my bow (big deal for me).

Not saying it's for everyone, but it certainly does work for me.

 

[Dmann]

what you have done from age 20-40 may not be best for age 40-60.

from what you have posted it seems you are doing all glucose fueled exercise and no oxygen burning fat exercise....I would recommend again that you do fasted liss 5x per week, longer duration and before strength.

I totally agree with THIS. Review your plans and routines, your older body might need totally different things compared to your younger body.

 

[Mojave]

I'm 47 and spent 3 years doing the meat and fat diet. My body never felt better and I had zero inflammation. I had blood panels that showed counter intuitive to what we're told.

I switched to more carbs as my wife couldn't pull off my diet and almost instantly had issues with inflammation and it got to the point where I had to stop shooting my bow (big deal for me).

Not saying it's for everyone, but it certainly does work for me. View attachment 405864

My panels also suck!

The bio feedback scans show I am the healthiest 47 year old man my doctor has ever seen.

 

[tacotim]

My panels also suck!

The bio feedback scans show I am the healthiest 47 year old man my doctor has ever seen.

i don't understand how you fellas can execute a diet like this. just a different situation i suppose. in my case i'd be making my own dinner while the wife is making a family dinner. that would probably break the entire timeline of the weekday evenings.

 

[brimow]

i don't understand how you fellas can execute a diet like this. just a different situation i suppose. in my case i'd be making my own dinner while the wife is making a family dinner. that would probably break the entire timeline of the weekday evenings.

This becomes part of the routine. My wife and kids eat entirely different than I do. I do try to incorporate whatever protein I am eating into their meal. Lucky for me they don't prefer wild game so I get it all! They want carbs, veggies, and sauces so I make those for them. It is very easy to make my eggs and meat along with their meal. One of the reasons I eat so many eggs is that they are quick and easy to finish. Grill or cast iron my meat while I finish their meal and cook my eggs while they are plating. The most important part that I have gotten them converted to is eliminating vegetable/seed oils for the most part. Butter, Tallow, and bacon grease are cooking essentials in our home.

Worse part is trying to go out and eat with friends and family. Most places everyone wants to go are difficult to order the way I want to eat.