T Nation

Over the Hill?

Over 35 Lifter
#1

?&%## I just turned 35. Life is not fair. ?&%##

I’ve been intelligently training ever since i followed the ISSA certificate course for an Athletic Trainer, which has been for quite some time.

Aside from injuries, i know that recovery will be the only significant difference that I will need my attention. Gains are still possible, but there is a voice in my head that is telling me I�??ll never see strength increases. The same voice is telling me that every injury I�??ve ever had will come back to haunt me.

?&%#$#

Someone please post to give me some hope.
Currently I feel fine.
I have a respectable Bench Sqaut DeadLift and all my joints work, and are pain free. Yes sir, I played it smart and have worked hard to get to this place of prosperity and health.
Now I fear that im about to lose it.

Can anyone post to tell me what I can expect in my advancing age?

#2

35 is advancing years?

#3

You are still young. I am 54, and look better naked than I have at any time in my life.

#4

Thanks guys.
Im woke one day and realized that i was going to be 35.
I turned 35, and now i worry about my continual strength gains comming to a halt.

How do you guys do on high protien diets? Any problems that extra water wont fix?

#5

There is no reason you can’t continue to make gains. The 15% drop per decade you here about is for sedentary people. People who continue to train with the same intensity as when they were younger can continue to make gains. I suppose at some point it will down turn but it will be minimal and you’ll be the toughest dirty ol man in the nursing home.

#6

[quote]stuward wrote:
I suppose at some point it will down turn but it will be minimal and you’ll be the toughest dirty ol man in the nursing home.[/quote]

Im looking forward to it.

#7

[quote]Nine wrote:
Thanks guys.
Im woke one day and realized that i was going to be 35.
I turned 35, and now i worry about my continual strength gains comming to a halt.

How do you guys do on high protien diets? Any problems that extra water wont fix?[/quote]

Dude, I have always heard it’s forty when that Mac truck aging feeling hits you smack in the face. My uncle told me it hit him at forty and stood with him for about a week and then it was gone. I will be 37 in a couple of weeks and the way I look at it I have at least 25 years of hitting the weights and hiking the mountains ahead of me. As long as I do my part by eating right and exercising I think I will be just fine. My dad is 64 and hits the mountains harder then many in their twenties could.

35 is young, young man!

D

#8

If you have time to worry about shit like that you probably will get old and stop improving. Keep training “smart” and you will do just fine. 61 next march.

TNT

#9

No crystal ball to foretell the future…be proactive and take charge of your life as you are doing and reap the benefits. No guarantees, BUT, it’s “not the years in your life that is important, it’s the ‘life’ in those years!” Good Luck in your journey through life!

#10

You are lucky you posted “Over the Hill at 35?” in this section, where most folks are nice and supportive. Because this is a flame-worthy complaint.
You are allowed one whine per year, that’s it, so you’re done, start a new log and post your new goals. I thought I was not only old but disabled at 50, and now I’m enjoying training more than I have in twenty years.
The question of how late can one peak is legitimate, it’s on another thread here. In strength, for many it’s around 40, but physique and endurance can peak even later according to many T-Nation folks. Doc

#11

I dunno here is a a couple year comparison from 2002, 2003, and 2005. In 2002 I was 39. And I’m not even a BB I’m a power lifter who eats clean. I don’t think I’m over the hill just yet. I know I’m no Jay Cutler but I continue to get stronger and build quality muscle…

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o125/phattman1179/3_year.jpg

#12

Whenever I’m feeling old, I read something by Clarence Bass, Art De Vany or Jack Lalanne. I’m the same age as Dan John and he seems to get younger every year.

#13

The question isn’t what problems are you going to have, the question is what are you going to do about them?

Men aren’t afraid to face facts and deal with them. Men find a way to reach their goals regardless of roadblocks.

Little boys bitch about life not being fair.

#14

Generally speaking 35 is when a man attains his physical peak. I suppose you could choose to look at this from the point of the beginning of a downward spiral, but you’ll be better served if you instead look at maintaining and building upon this solid foundation.

You should be doing better today in every way than ever before. Maybe that’s part of your problem? Mid-life crises are usually about what a man hasn’t done with his life rather than something he’s lost…

#15

Thanks guys. The mission of this thread was to see what older lifter experience so i know what to experience soon.
As far as the whining, that’s just my sense of humor.

The truth is that i have had cardiomyopathy for 10 years ever since the age of 25.

The Doc told me never to lift, but that is like asking me to roll over and die.

I began experimenting with what i could do.
It wasnt long before i regularily trained with 1RM.

I also continued my martial arts against my doctors advice.
(I dont recommend anyone following my habits- I am not giving advice!!!)

I now do both endeavors to a very high degree considering my limitations.

However, with age the cardimyopathy gets worse, and i wanted to know what roadblocks you guys ran into so i can prepare for them-especially considering that these roadblocks may be amplified by the cardiomyopathy.

Thanks for the huge turnout of replies. It helps.

#16

[quote]Colin Wilson wrote:
I dunno here is a a couple year comparison from 2002, 2003, and 2005. In 2002 I was 39. And I’m not even a BB I’m a power lifter who eats clean. I don’t think I’m over the hill just yet. I know I’m no Jay Cutler but I continue to get stronger and build quality muscle…

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o125/phattman1179/3_year.jpg
[/quote]

Congrats! The improvemnts show!

#17

Thanks, I’m still a Phat Bastard but I’m getting there…lol

#18

[quote]Dr.PowerClean wrote:
You are lucky you posted “Over the Hill at 35?” in this section, where most folks are nice and supportive. Because this is a flame-worthy complaint.
You are allowed one whine per year, that’s it, so you’re done, start a new log and post your new goals. I thought I was not only old but disabled at 50, and now I’m enjoying training more than I have in twenty years.
The question of how late can one peak is legitimate, it’s on another thread here. In strength, for many it’s around 40, but physique and endurance can peak even later according to many T-Nation folks. Doc[/quote]

Congrats on your training.
Sorry to hear about the disability, and im glad to hear that you are enjoying training.

#19

How does everyone do with Squats?

#20

It’s normal to get some degenerative disk disease in your late forties or so. By about 75, everyone has it.

If you watch your form they shouldn’t give you much problem as you get older. I find mixing up back squats, front squats, deadlifts, etc keeps the compressive stress down. Some people recommend decompression stretches, basically hanging from a chin up bar, helpful.

Staying away from machines is important too. I have never found one that doesn’t put some weird stress on my back.