Well I've been doing this longer than any of you (pickup up my first weight in the YMCA 50 years ago) and I don't have any problems - but, I do have to watch all my joints to avoid injury.
During a cycle 7 years ago I was matching preacher curls with a man half-my age (130lbs - heavy for me) and hurt a ligament in my bicep. Then, I was working too heavy on a BP machine and hurt my shoulder. I quit lifting for about 3 years.
Now I don't do any exercise that requires stressful angles or pressure on the joints - no skull crushers, overhead tri-extensions, anything behind the neck, no bent rows, dead-lifts, or dips (hard on the shoulders).
I lift twice a week, never go below 8 reps, do 8-12 reps one day and if I feel sore (you have to listen to your body) the next work out I use lighter weights and only rest 30 seconds or less between sets. I've seen good gains using intensity instead of heavy weights.
You probably all know this by experience, but "working through the pain" is the stupidest thing you can do. If you feel a pain in a muscle or joint, stop doing that exercise immediately. Wait until the next day to see if you get a sharp, distinct pain in that area. If not, ease back in; if you do have residual pain, nurse that area in your subsequent workouts.
So I am 67 without any injuries and just started my 6th week on my first cycle in 7 years. Put 2" on my arms in the first 5 weeks (muscle memory) and have veins popping out all over the place.
Something somewhat strange: I've never done any stretching or aerobic warm-up in my life; always warmed up by doing 2 or 3 sets of light weights for the exercise I was doing.
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