Age in Bodybuilding

[Shelby]

Bodybuilding is a marathon, not a sprint.



Here are the ages of some of the top contenders at the NPC Nationals last year:



1st place Bantamweight: Richard Siegelman - 46 years old (earned pro card)

2nd place Bantamweight: George Gibson - 51 years old

1st place Lightweight: Leonard Pacheco - 41 years old (earned pro card)

3rd place Welterweight: Jesse Sabater - 46 years old

1st place Middleweight: Roger Ferrer - 41 years old (earned pro card)

2nd place Middleweight: Stoil Stoilove - 45 years old



It's never too late to be the person you want to be.

 

[ojs]

This is good stuff Shelby.

...And really, it just drives the point home. If you don't think long term, instead of getting better each year, you'll just burn yourself out by your mid thirties and tell people stories about how good you "used" to look.

 

[VTliftVT]

Do you feel that the age lowers quite a bit more for the LHW through the SHW classes? Where more muscle is needed, more weights used, probably more supplements etc?

 

[kscowboy]

I think it takes time to build that dense muscle fiber. We have all seen guys that are young and big but their muscle lack that hard dense look.

 

[PHIL HERNON]

Well

Bodybuilding is a marathon, not a sprint.



Here are the ages of some of the top contenders at the NPC Nationals last year:



1st place Bantamweight: Richard Siegelman - 46 years old (earned pro card)

2nd place Bantamweight: George Gibson - 51 years old

1st place Lightweight: Leonard Pacheco - 41 years old (earned pro card)

3rd place Welterweight: Jesse Sabater - 46 years old

1st place Middleweight: Roger Ferrer - 41 years old (earned pro card)

2nd place Middleweight: Stoil Stoilove - 45 years old



It's never too late to be the person you want to be.

If being the person you want to be means by the way you look..............you will never be the person you want to be and life will pass you by because you are looking in the wrong place for happiness.......its sad that we seem to associate greatness and self esteem with muscle mass..............muscle mass goes away and will be gone for the 2nd 1/2 of your life..............thats a long time........you need a backup plan for self esteem and happiness.

 

[petedw]

Great post Shelby. There are many people on this board that could do with reading your first sentence over and over again!

 

[Shelby]

Do you feel that the age lowers quite a bit more for the LHW through the SHW classes? Where more muscle is needed, more weights used, probably more supplements etc?

Yah, the heavier weight classes are usually younger guys. But at the North Americans last year, 4 of the top 5 open light heavyweights were all over 40.
Once you get into the heavies and super heavies, I think most of those guys are younger and pushing the envelope a little more.. and most don't / won't stay that big into their mid 40s and beyond.

If being the person you want to be means by the way you look..............you will never be the person you want to be and life will pass you by because you are looking in the wrong place for happiness.......its sad that we seem to associate greatness and self esteem with muscle mass..............muscle mass goes away and will be gone for the 2nd 1/2 of your life..............thats a long time........you need a backup plan for self esteem and happiness.

Very true.

 

[isoc]

If being the person you want to be means by the way you look..............you will never be the person you want to be and life will pass you by because you are looking in the wrong place for happiness.......its sad that we seem to associate greatness and self esteem with muscle mass..............muscle mass goes away and will be gone for the 2nd 1/2 of your life..............thats a long time........you need a backup plan for self esteem and happiness.

definitely agree with this post, but great first post as well, shows that we dont have to give in to being fat and unhealthy when we get older. Balance is the key, as long as I am healthy enough I will work out and be active, but it is just a part of the whole, we have a mind, body and a spirit (not starting a religious angle) and all need to be exercised. I work in an office, plenty of successful middle aged people, all fat and unhealthy (have to take blood pressure meds, cholesterol, etc. and I do mean all of them) and many, if not most, not that happy, they are definitely missing out on being physically active, but they have the mental part down.

On the otherhand look at many athletes, very physically fit, yet based on the way some live and conduct themselves, they dont seem very happy either, they are definitely missing part of the equation.

Based on what I can tell by some of the posts on this board, there are some people here that seem to have it, Phil, Minister, B-Boy, some in this thread, OJS, Shelby, and I know I am missing some. Again, this is just observation from limited contact

 

[comedycentral]

i am finally finding hapiness

its funny i know that i will give the mass approach a few more years and then quite happily slim down to around 180lb of lean mass.

for the last couple of years my interest in hiking and travel have grown.

nothing eases my stress more now than taking the dog walking in the middle of nowhere. fresh air countryside peace and quiet.

cant beat it!!

 

[Tough Old Man]

.muscle mass goes away and will be gone for the 2nd 1/2 of your life..............thats a long time.. .

Damn Phil you are so correct. I can no longer put on size without getting really fat but I can surely lose it (muscle) and all i have to do look in the mirror and say hey what happened I thought you trained.

 

[PHIL HERNON]

Yes

Damn Phil you are so correct. I can no longer put on size without getting really fat but I can surely lose it (muscle) and all i have to do look in the mirror and say hey what happened I thought you trained.

Thats why this sport is a sprint......you only have a short window then its over.....then you have a life to live..........but you can take it up at an " older" age as these guys do..........its not all about drugs.......but the heavier athletes have the shorter window

 

[comedycentral]

phil do you think you can hit it hard til when??

mid 40's

later earlier??

im 35 nearly 36 and things are aching quite a bit already.

 

[tazzie]

100% in agreement with Phil. Although it is interesting that the lighter athletes have more longevity (or can come into the game later). I have always had dogs, and the bigger dogs die at a younger age than the smaller dogs.. I guess the same principals apply.

 

[isoc]

maybe for most competing at a high level, especially it seems at higher weights is over soon, but the lifestyle of lifting and physical activity can be a marathon. Sure as we age our ability to carry muscle will decrease, but I see people in their 50's and even early 60's with very nice lean physiques, yes many dont weigh much, they dont lift heavy, but they are active, and look like they enjoy life a little more than some of their counterparts who are 100+ pounds overweight. Still about balance though, even within working out, I know some that workout a couple times a day, calisthenics or walk in am, some weights in afternoon, stretching, not all about lifting heavy stuff,

I am approaching 40 and those things, cardio, stretching, becoming more important, being lean is main goal, not massive. Still love lifting, but want to do these other things so that I can continue to lift

 

[maldorf]

Thats why this sport is a sprint......you only have a short window then its over.....then you have a life to live..........but you can take it up at an " older" age as these guys do..........its not all about drugs.......but the heavier athletes have the shorter window

Yeah, I noticed that the heaviest SHelby listed was a middleweight. I guess that then means that the upper wieght classes were dominated by the younger guys?

 

[Skip]

100% in agreement with Phil. Although it is interesting that the lighter athletes have more longevity (or can come into the game later). I have always had dogs, and the bigger dogs die at a younger age than the smaller dogs.. I guess the same principals apply.

This is very true and longevity is based, to some degree, on bodyweight - whether muscle or not so much muscle. Linemen in the NFL have a shorter lifespan, on average, than running backs and receivers. Obviously, this has nothing directly to do with the game, itself, but the size of the players.

Skip

 

[rippedyearround]

I don't know a ton about longevity (as I'm a young guy)...but it is my belief that 250lbs of fat or 250lbs of muscle doesn't matter a whole lot to your heart. Heavy fat people and heavy bodybuilders seem to have simar risks when it comes to the heart...just an observation.

 

[tazzie]

sadly, I actually think that being 250 pounds of muscle (assuming your a short guy) is harder on the heart than being 250 pounds of fat

 

[Juice Authority]

sadly, I actually think that being 250 pounds of muscle (assuming your a short guy) is harder on the heart than being 250 pounds of fat

I would have to agree with that.

 

[Denali]

sadly, I actually think that being 250 pounds of muscle (assuming your a short guy) is harder on the heart than being 250 pounds of fat

I don't know...According to the weight charts, I'm obese for my height, but it's muscle instead of fat. I feel as healthy as I've ever been...I would hope I'm better off than if I were fighting obesity at this weight.