I believe I’m in better shape than most men in their mid 40’s. But I believe that when people see me, they likely think, “he takes care of himself,” or “he keeps in shape,” not some unusually muscled man. But if they think otherwise, that’s fine.
I’m not really hung up about it, sort of how I’m not hung up if we’re behind on laundry and I put on socks of different shades of the same color (I’m not sure how else to put it.) It’s kind of like, “I’m not what I once was. Who cares?”
But, the perception of ordinariness admittedly might be from what I once was capable and what I looked like, my avatars for example. Maybe I should use a current photo.
In that respect, you’re right. That experience isn’t the norm.
I think it was 325 x 20 to be exact. I don’t think I said 25 reps, but no biggie.
Thanks!
I think it’s an amazing feat.
Thank you very much.
I look at my current physique and just see a guy who does what I do—lift for general fitness and health, does cardio—and I’m fine with that.
For some time, from say 2017 to 2020 (that’s a long time) training was all over the freaking place and inconsistent. Now I’m consistent, although life does take away some days here and there.
Thanks. I think my physique looks alright and even some of the lifts I even think some lifts I do show decent strength. However I’m aware of what some other men are capable of, which puts all this in perspective. Even some people on T-mag have me thinking, “Damn, that’s freaking strong!”
But again, I don’t get hung up on this, or jealous. I see other bigger and stronger people in the gym and think, “cool,” and go about my business. It’s similar to being reminded of my age. Most of the crowd at my gym is made up of young, attractive people. A passing thought that has sometimes crossed my mind is, “Yes, you actually are a balding middle-aged man with some gray hairs. But again, it’s not something I get hung up on. I have minimal care for it.
I don’t want to do what it takes to get considerably bigger and stronger these days: bulking, unwavering discipline, and more lifting days and volume.
As said, it’s likely a skewed perspective or maybe even some vanity. But it doesn’t affect what I do. I go shirtless outside for activities and the beach and wear clothes that suit my physique.
I actually know someone who I’ve suspect to have an image disorder. I think he lost his mind to bodybuilding. Doesn’t a thought process have to disturb someone or interfere with life for it to be disordered?
‘He takes care of himself’ is more/less usually a slim figure that isn’t overtly muscles. Usually mediated by diet and perhaps aerobic exercise (running, coach to 5k type routine) without the muscle tone that you have.
To the naked, untrained eye you look like an athlete who partakes in anaerobic dominant contact sport. Think NFL Running back
This triggered me… my alzheimers ridden grandma irritates the living hell out of me over different pairs of socks.
Opens room door without knocking
“Unreal24278… my poppet! This sock is grey but this one is grey black. Do you know where the other grey black sock is?”
“No, sorry”
“And what about this OTHER grey black sock”
(Picks up sock she was looking for)
“Thats the sock you’re looking for”
“What? This one? I think i’d know which sock is which!”
“What? Look! That’s a pair!”
Grandma rolls her eyes and insinuates that I’m insane before telling me that she feels sorry for the poor woman that ends up marrying me… My head explodes…
Most on this forum know you well enough to respect your degree of knowledge pertaining to nutritional advice, training advice, and bodybuilding.
Those who don’t know you aren’t necessarily going to respect or refute the advice you give on the basis of a profile picture.
To the new user, I’d argue written words matter more than a photo provided the individual has no way to know your backstory, if the photo is even of you etc. I look at that pic and I see a physique that turns heads
If I were to look at a current pic I’d still see an individual who looks like he walks the walk and talks the talk
BUT if I didn’t know you (or even if I did), the picture itself is only one factor regarding whether I take your bodybuilding advice seriously.
Given that I do know you, i’m more inclined to take your training advice seriously because you’ve studied dietary protocols for many, many years and you have a background in training that I know about.
If I hadn’t spoken to you before, given that an avatar can be anyone… I’d rely on the quality of your posts to gauge whether I should listen to your training/dietary advice.
You could have that physique in your photo, but be trenning hard and dbolishing your goals! But otherwise have little insight or info over advanced dietary protocols (macronutrient breakdowns, meal timing, benefits and disadvantages of specific dietsry protocols etc)
If I were a new user, I’d think perhaps the photo isn’t even of you (I know it is). With a current photo… no one is going to think you don’t know how to train lol
Anyone who picks on you for a lack of muscle mass when you clearly look better than the vast, vast, vast, vast majority of men (not just your age) is a troll, a bully or an insecure pissant.
My bad. Still considered an elite lift for your retrispective stature at the time.
I think perhaps you have very high standards for yourself and aren’t comparing yourself to other normal men your age.
It’s never good to obsessively compare and contrast physical characteristics such as height, weight, muscle mass etc. It seems you are somewhat criticial of yourself, particuarly considering you were at one point a competitive bodybuilder which in turn has led to a skewed perception of your own physique.
Perhaps you should take a look around and compare yourself to other 43 year old men (not at the gym… but even at the gym). Exclude those who are eating clen, trenning hard and dbolishing their goals.
You might not be Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. But for a 43 y/o man who only exercises 3x/wk (and has been inconsistent from 2017-2020) you look very impressive.
Yeet. I think it’s impressive because I managed to do it despite having a degenerative, connective tissue disease (ehlers danlos syndrome) that is notorious for making people weak and brittle. Wasn’t diagnosed yet (only diagnosed about a month ago).
My lifelong pursuit of resistance training is the reason I’m not human pudding! While I am very likely to be human pudding in 10-20 years from now, I have brought myself time that I otherwise wouldn’t have had if I wasn’t into bodybuilding.
Natural bodybuilding is actually good for longevity provided you avoid insane loads. Look at an MRI of the leg of a 40 y/old who works out and a normal 40 y/old… if you look at the same two individuals 30-35 years later, the muscular size, density and the morphology of said muscle will be almost identical in the guy that continued working out whereas the sedentary/non active elderly male will frequently have a degree of fatty infiltration and permenant wasting!
It has been said continual resistance training may serve as a preventative modality to substantially lower rates of sarcopenia in the elderly.
Remember strength is also a relative construct. Being strong at a particuar lift means you are effective at moving a heavy load from point A to point B within a given plane of movement. Gym strength does sometimes carry over to functional tasks within reason. But I’d argue strength endurance is more important than how much you can lift for a 1rm i.e your kettlebell workouts etc have a lot of carryover.
The huge, jacked guys tend to gas out quicker than you’d think.
Neuromuscular adaptation primes our muscles to become particuarly efficient following repeatedly training identical movement patterns. Rock climbers have some of the strongest hands in the world, but you’d never think it from looking at them.
A gym bro might be able to row a heavy stack of weight. He is gym strong, a boxer might be able to punch 3-4x harder than the gym bro but can’t even bench 200lbs. He is strong in his own way
A water polo player might have a strong stroke (swimming) and be able to perform 50 pullups without stopping… but he can’t squat 315. See what i’m getting at? Strong is relative, gym strong is one type of strong… and there is carryover, but it’s not the be all end all.
I’d rather have a set of well rounded capabilities (strength, strength endurance, aerobic endurance, agility, explosive power etc) as opposed to being one of the permabulking powerlifters in my class who can deadlift 495x1 at a bw of 240… or even bodybuilder v athlete?
I’d honestly rather be athletic. I can’t imagine it feels good to be a big bodybuilder. Even you’ve told me you felt/feel MUCH healthier at a lighter weight without the emphasis on pulverising barbell workouts.
It’s very unfortunate when this happens as severe body dysmorphia can mediate a lot of harm.
Not necessarily. I have plenty disordered thought processes that have zero impact on my life.
Being hyper analytical or critical of ones physique absent of being self conscious or having an inferiority complex over it doesn’t necessarily eventuate a problematic outcome.
It just seems a little bit odd when a very muscular man with decades of lifting experience states “I feel like I’m the mean representation of men in their 40’s”.
Oh, and I wouldn’t rely on 1RM calculators for much. The closer the set in question is to 1 rep - the more accurate they are, but still not all they crack up to be.
I’m waiting to see how many editors and chief content officers grab a photo from the stock image sites without looking at it closely.
I do like some of the generative AI images though and will be using them for T Nation, but you really have to look at them closely: how many fingers does that person have, does the shirtless man have nipples, does she have two belly buttons, is that barbell passing through her quads, why does that guy have extra biceps on his biceps…?
I don’t think I said 25 reps, but no biggie.
