Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Old man weightlifting

Age is undefeated. But you can give it a fight to the finish nevertheless.

Actually, all of the "exercises" you mentioned (including squats and bench) are measures of capabilities for life. Each exercise may be a somewhat different capability but all of them can help a person stay in better shape. If a guy only lifts heavy weights and does nothing else, they might lose some flexibility. If a person only ran and nothing else, they might get too skinny or risk blowing out their knees (seen that happen to a few people). This topic was started by an older guy with a lot of comments by older guys. A lot of older people tend to have some issues with knees so jumping and sprints may or may not be something they can do with their knee limitations. All of the exercises listed are good for a body and longevity. Just have to figure out what works best for you and what you like doing enough to stick with it.

Lifting (as heavy as you want) does not decrease flexibility. Never using a range of motion leads to (or may lead to) decreased flexibility.

Sir, (Mr. Benchman)

"Rounded" is the key here. I also need to clarify that the stuff I talked about way up there ^^^^ is intended for older people. You just ain't gonna convince a youngin or gym rat that strength training shouldn't be often.

I do know people that can bench heavy weight but can't do 50 pushups in a set. I know folks with huge lats and biceps that can't do 10 chinups. I know folk with huge thighs that can hardly put shoes on. I know folks who have large triceps that can barely hang a set of mini blinds over their heads. So I still disagree that max weight is a measure of overall health or capability.

I will say for the intended purpose of your first post that "youth" is indeed wasted on the young. There is no substitute for youth, as you know well.

I'm 58 and do a mix of activities to stay fit. Cycling, 30-35 mile rides at a 17-21 mph pace, running 4-5 miles at a 8 minute or less per mile pace, and moderately light free weights at least twice per week. Each one of these are usually done twice a week as well as push ups, crunches, body weight squats, and jumping rope. I always have an off day as well. Certainly life gets in the way some days. There are times when an off day turns into several.

I had an 85 lb weight loss 6 years ago. I have maintained 180 for the last 5 years with this routine and sound nutrition.I always listen to my body and push hard on good days and back off when I don't feel as strong.

Calhunter, I am an "older guy" too. Very few big weight guys that I know of make it this far without injuries which limits their life capability even more.

I friend of mine at the base gym has always took the moderate approach -vs- stressing the body with max weight. He recently blew a knee from twisting it on Mt Everest. He is 89 years old.

Using the moderate approach to stressing the body with maximum weights may result in less injuries.

Generally speaking, medium sized people do best at virtually everything that is not size specific. They are usually most efficient. Coordination and flexibility allow you to maximize positioning and technique, for most efficient performance. There is more to strength than the actual size or density of the tissue. Neurological efficiency is very important, and everybody develops that a little differently. My former lifting partner is a strongman competitor. At 6' 2.5" and 335, he is massively powerful. Until we trained it, his pushups and situps were extremely inefficient. Most big guys don't get to practice stuff like that. They depend on weight and sheer size. That stuff works against them in bodyweight exercises. Once we determined where he was getting in his own way, and fixed it, his numbers shot up, and the energy he used was far less. At 335, he was around 70 pushups in a minute. I was impressed. So often, people do things in a way that is inefficient and pass it off as "I'm not strong enough". They need to make sure they are exploiting whatever strength they have, for the most result. The young, with hormones bouncing around nearly unabated, tend to use brawn instead of brains. Because they can! Doesnt mean it's the best way. Coaching them can be difficult at first, but once they see gains, it gets easier. You just have to keep steering them though. 100%, 100% of the time, doesn't work. Sure wish I knew this stuff when I was younger.

Shoulders kept hurting when doing normal bench. Switched to a reverse grip bench and my shoulders feel great again. Same thing with military press. Changed grip angles and back to no pain. Doing a lot of stairs, stairs while packing 38 pounds, some light jogging and a bunch of walking for legs. Should be ready to carry dead things again this fall.

Exactly the thing to do! A lot of people would have just hung it up, or put up with the pain. Sometimes, your noggin is your most important workout machine. ..

Me too.