For the older crowd (40+)

[Bobby Biceps]

This thread is awesome, I'm 44 and at a frustrating place with my training. In June I had a pec injury I'll call a strain, on my third warm up set for bench. It felt like it knotted up about dead center in my right pec, then it moved kinda like a wave towards the armpit as I raised the bar. I racked it immediately, thought for sure I tore it, hurt like hell. No bruising or visual difference in the muscle. I couldn't even button my jeans, or do a push up against the wall for several more days. I didn't wanna rest it because in my neurotic mind I thought I should keep movement in the muscle and bring blood and nutrients so it could heal faster. I was doing kinda like cable crossovers with a resistance band the next week, the week after I was doing pushups for a month and then back to inclines and declines no more benching. Three weeks ago I was warming up for declines and it did it again, not as bad. I did the same rehab as last time, Friday nite I was doing feet elevated pushups with handles for a deep stretch and it happened again. Its not bruised, it feels and looks like its still connected. I think I'm not gonna train pecs at all for a month. The frustrating part is I've been going lighter and stretching. Been an iron junkie since the age of ten and not ready to give it up yet, but something has to change. This makes 3 of the same injury in 4 months. Any suggestions on what to do with pecs from here?

 

[OutToLunch]

This thread is awesome, I'm 44 and at a frustrating place with my training. In June I had a pec injury I'll call a strain, on my third warm up set for bench. It felt like it knotted up about dead center in my right pec, then it moved kinda like a wave towards the armpit as I raised the bar. I racked it immediately, thought for sure I tore it, hurt like hell. No bruising or visual difference in the muscle. I couldn't even button my jeans, or do a push up against the wall for several more days. I didn't wanna rest it because in my neurotic mind I thought I should keep movement in the muscle and bring blood and nutrients so it could heal faster. I was doing kinda like cable crossovers with a resistance band the next week, the week after I was doing pushups for a month and then back to inclines and declines no more benching. Three weeks ago I was warming up for declines and it did it again, not as bad. I did the same rehab as last time, Friday nite I was doing feet elevated pushups with handles for a deep stretch and it happened again. Its not bruised, it feels and looks like its still connected. I think I'm not gonna train pecs at all for a month. The frustrating part is I've been going lighter and stretching. Been an iron junkie since the age of ten and not ready to give it up yet, but something has to change. This makes 3 of the same injury in 4 months. Any suggestions on what to do with pecs from here?

I would drop flat bb bench. All other pressing movements I would focus on making sure the elbows don't flare at all.

 

[PoptartPsycho]

Glad my thread is a good one. (As opposed to my usual random questions..... )


Other things that have changed for me :

Cardio - Never did this in the past. Always thought that if I could see my six pack then I didn't need it. Have slowly come to realize that it is necessary for over all health and not fat loss. (I have another thread on here how it was one of the things that I started doing to drastically reduce my cholestrol numbers)
I now do 20-30 mins of cardio BEFORE my workout. Because if I wait until after the work out is over, I just simply won't do it. I train fasted, which brings us to the next thing....

Diet - as mentioned I eat cleaner, but I also eat much less. No more eating after XXX amount of time has passed or trying to get XXX number of meals in per day. In the past, it didn't really help me other than wasting my money because of my genetics and metabolism I never really saw the benefit of eating that much food. I could eat and eat and eat... and not gain more than an ounce. Today if I tried that, I am sure I would blow up as big as a house. Bloated and fat. So really in the long run, no need to.

Fasting - I tend to train in the mornings while in a fasting state. I wake up, take my Citrus Bergamot and NAC tabs, an hour later go train. Today I am getting to the gym later than usual, but this is how it has gone so far :
Last meal last night was 9PM. Stayed up until 1:30am catching up on some things and trying to scam the Destiny game out of a few exotic engrams. (laugh if you must).
Woke up 9am, took my Citrus Bergamot, NAC and had a Coke Zero (I don't drink coffee).
It is 11:30am now and heading to gym when I finish typing here. Cardio and some training. Home to eat at 1pm.
Next meal will be about 4-5pm and then again about 9pm.
I really no longer count calories, just make sure my protein and healthy fats are ok.
Basically, I just tend to eat when hungry. Sometimes I will only have 2 meals per day, sometimes 3 plus a snack.

Supplements - as noted before. I have long since stopped using protein powder - horrible stomach bloat - and creatine - the runs -. Never really used a Pre Work out formula and have to admit that if I were 20 again, with this new intra workout drink fad that is going around, I would be all over it shelling out my $$$ thinking that it was the secret ingredient that I was missing that was holding me back from the next level.

Never really had any significant injuries, though my left shoulder can be tender sometimes and right now (last 3 weeks) I have a sharp pain in my right inner elbow. Like if I hold my arm at a 90 degree angle - palm down - and then rotate my wrist so that my palm is facing up there is a sharp pain there. It's new and really only keeps me from working biceps. Which in all honesty, after 20+ years of training them, if this is all the (pitiful) size they can attain, missing a few isn't going to make a difference.

Many great replies on this thread so far. Most of us have a common outlook it seems.

 

[johnjuanb1]

I would drop flat bb bench. All other pressing movements I would focus on making sure the elbows don't flare at all.

I dropped all free weight chest movements and learned to feel each rep of every set due to reoccurring rotator cuff injuries. My chest is bigger than ever. You learn to train properly when your body starts crapping out on you.
BPC157 injected directly into injuries helps a lot but bench press or shoulder press is just a bad idea when you get older. They aren't necessary.

 

[concreter]

Once a week all summer.
Chest, delts trize and bize.
All machine with some dbell ext and curls.
I just mix the order of exercises. Chest 1 wk chest press machine the next wk pully press and then crosses to start.
Delts alternate pully press ext and uprites.
Same w trize and bize.
Just keeping the muscle quessing.
Keeping a ripped 250lbs on 500 test 100 tren and 300 primo.
Way to F'n EASY! Luckily at 47.

 

[NY Muscle]

Another thing both myself and a few of my friends my age who are in great shape do is minimal rest between sets. Most people can't keep up with me and when I finish 4 sets they are just starting their 2nd. Too much bullshitting amongst the older crowd and they need to get their ass in gear.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk 2

 

[ZOFO1973]

Another thing both myself and a few of my friends my age who are in great shape do is minimal rest between sets. Most people can't keep up with me and when I finish 4 sets they are just starting their 2nd. Too much bullshitting amongst the older crowd and they need to get their ass in gear.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk 2

I totally here that! Tell em STFU & train!

 

[warlock]

I dropped all free weight chest movements and learned to feel each rep of every set due to reoccurring rotator cuff injuries. My chest is bigger than ever. You learn to train properly when your body starts crapping out on you.
BPC157 injected directly into injuries helps a lot but bench press or shoulder press is just a bad idea when you get older. They aren't necessary.

Good point with the presses. That's good to hear you have been able to get your chest bigger than ever without any presses. If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for your chest now?

 

[Mid-Life]

I'm 50 and have been doing this since I was 22.
Getting to ready to go on:
500mg of Test, 400mg of Deca for 10 weeks w/.25mg of Aromasin EOD
After that I will cruise at 200mg of Test until my next blast.
At 50 though, I feel great. Need to lose some belly flab, but that's about it.

 

[Reporich]

I also have hit 50 and after two hernia surgeries in 4 years I've reduced the load by 50% and doubled the reps and I'm liking the results just fine.

 

[power_lady]

Well, I think I have some different insight!

I am 41, female, a competitive powerlifter, and though I have lifted since I was 15, I've only been competitive for the last 9 years. I set my first all time world record when I was 38 and I have had two surgeries to repair torn suprasinatus same shoulder, different spots.

I always thought that once I hit 40 I needed to prepare for the downward slope of strength and I am stronger than I have ever been. I too need to eat cleaner, then even still work in some cardio. I need longer to warm up and I do some things lower weight and higher rep to keep things healthy. But when it comes to a one rep max I am stronger. Further, I remember when I worked my ass off in the gym sometimes twice a day. And now I am thicker and fuller and stay so. It seems like I need less of the accessory work that I needed when I started out.

I do supplement, and anything I do would be less than most guys. But my first cycle was on the advice of a crazy person. I have literally used less every cycle since and I keep going up anyway.

It seems that many of the world record holders hit it late 30s, barely 40. But lately it seems that many people are hanging in there well into their 40s. I know one guy who was almost 50 when he set the biggest total of his time.

It certainly does matter how you lift ... how prone you are to injuries ... how aggressive your supplementation is over time ... but the day I turned 41 I did a meet where I squatted 700 lb (in a suit) @ 156 BW. At the very top of the lift my knee buckled and I actually fractured a bone and severely sprained my patella ... but it was all the way at the top before I lost it. And my all time record at 165 raw squat is 500 and I squatted 505 a few weeks ago. So at 41 1/2 I am still PRing everything and my one rep max training is still aggressive. It seems to be the accessory work that has needed to evolve to support it.

I hope this is some kind of insightful!!

 

[Girth]

I always thought that once I hit 40 I needed to prepare for the downward slope of strength and I am stronger than I have ever been. I too need to eat cleaner, then even still work in some cardio. I need longer to warm up and I do some things lower weight and higher rep to keep things healthy. But when it comes to a one rep max I am stronger. Further, I remember when I worked my ass off in the gym sometimes twice a day. And now I am thicker and fuller and stay so. It seems like I need less of the accessory work that I needed when I started out.

Good stuff in here! When do people get hurt?.......When they aren't warmed up ENOUGH or when they try something new with too much intensity too quickly. The older you get the longer it takes you to fully activate your nervous system. You've fully reached your capacity and development for whatever activity it is you do, and thus, there are a LOT more innervations that need to get turned on.

Taking all that strength and applying it to an exercise/activity for which you've never done, is a sure fire way to get hurt. Those who train with monotony and use accessory work as pre-rehab, with LITTLE load, are usually never getting hurt because they do what their tendons are adapted to, and are warming the associated musculature up with accessory work. Not using it as further strength/size gaining...........