My pressing has gone dowhill fast with age.

[hawkmoon]

OK, now its given that I am 40 now and I should be a bit weaker.
But considering that:
1. I am on at least HRT most of the time now; lately as high as 1g for a short run.
2. My other movements are nearly as strong as when I was 20.
3. Chest as thick as ever.

Just as an example: I used to be able to put up 425 for 6 on the inclines, now I can barely move 250. My squat can still go into the 600s, my back is as strong as ever, etc. Ancillary pressing muscles also appear to be strong - nosebreakers with 145 these days, reverse smith bench up to 315. However, my behind the neck pressed are also horrible these days.

Taking form out of the picture, even on the Hammer Press I can barely move 250. I was doing this with five plates a side when I was 27.

What is going on? Could I just have slipped into some horrible groove where I have no power? Some quiet nerve damage in my pecs?
I am thinking of visiting a Physio Therapist here in Tokyo.

Mystified and frustrated...

 

[Newman]

Running up to 1000 mg of gear should be enough added "help" to have you working at least somewhere nearer your younger max numbers.

It's true that age reduces capacity, but there are some truly strong older dudes out there.

Are you SURE that your gear is good?

Have you gone in for a complete checkup lately?

I don't understand how a certain group of excersizes involving a certain group of muscles could suffer from loss of strength while other muscles & muscle groups remain strong.

Were you ever injured in the chest/shoulder area?

 

[Stewie Griffon]

OK, now its given that I am 40 now and I should be a bit weaker.
But considering that:
1. I am on at least HRT most of the time now; lately as high as 1g for a short run.
2. My other movements are nearly as strong as when I was 20.
3. Chest as thick as ever.

Just as an example: I used to be able to put up 425 for 6 on the inclines, now I can barely move 250. My squat can still go into the 600s, my back is as strong as ever, etc. Ancillary pressing muscles also appear to be strong - nosebreakers with 145 these days, reverse smith bench up to 315. However, my behind the neck pressed are also horrible these days.

Taking form out of the picture, even on the Hammer Press I can barely move 250. I was doing this with five plates a side when I was 27.

What is going on? Could I just have slipped into some horrible groove where I have no power? Some quiet nerve damage in my pecs?
I am thinking of visiting a Physio Therapist here in Tokyo.

Mystified and frustrated...

you are not alone, i have experienced the same thing with age. my back, legs get stronger and my press is not what it once was. its almost depresing in a way. i wish i knew what the cause was!!

 

[SacToSD]

Those of us with lousy benches learned to deal with our frustrations early on. lol

 

[Stewie Griffon]

Those of us with lousy benches learned to deal with our frustrations early on. lol

yeah well i train chest in the morning or night now when no one is there, or train it at home. i know it sounds shallow but i always had a great bench and i loved going to the gym throwing tons of plates on, and having people watch me.

 

[hawkmoon]

I am fairly certain my gear is good. Thai-sourced paki sus 250s, and a 10cc bottle of Test e before that. One ml of the T @ 300mg a cc and my total test was over 3000.

Health checks out except high cholesterol - like everyone else in my family.

One thing I forgot - I was on 10mg Lipitor about the time I lost my pressing power. I stopped because of muscle pains - usually in my back. I have heard of muscle damage on statins, but nothing like this. Doc doubts it too.

I wonder is there is something CNS related that my age has impaired...

 

[Shooter]

OK, now its given that I am 40 now and I should be a bit weaker.
But considering that:
1. I am on at least HRT most of the time now; lately as high as 1g for a short run.
2. My other movements are nearly as strong as when I was 20.
3. Chest as thick as ever.

Just as an example: I used to be able to put up 425 for 6 on the inclines, now I can barely move 250. My squat can still go into the 600s, my back is as strong as ever, etc. Ancillary pressing muscles also appear to be strong - nosebreakers with 145 these days, reverse smith bench up to 315. However, my behind the neck pressed are also horrible these days.

Taking form out of the picture, even on the Hammer Press I can barely move 250. I was doing this with five plates a side when I was 27.

What is going on? Could I just have slipped into some horrible groove where I have no power? Some quiet nerve damage in my pecs?
I am thinking of visiting a Physio Therapist here in Tokyo.

Mystified and frustrated...

Bro as you get older, you will have to be more diligent regarding prehab and also being easier on easily injured rotators and delts.
Take a look into some massage therapy (NOT CHIRO!) and read some of Eric Cressey's stuff on foam rolling and prehab, he also has some great stuff about injury prevention for your back (lumbars and erectors especially) and delts.
http://ericcressey.com/
HE is also on testosterone.net a lot.
Good luck

 

[Trenman]

I don't think it's age. Strength wise, you should be in your prime. It's something else doing it.

 

[triathloncoach]

Age

I'm nearly 46. At least in my case I've been seriously lifting for 30 years. Literally. I don't really give a flying fuck how much I can lift anymore - at least relative to when I was much younger and this was all new and exciting, pushing and discovering limits.

I remember adding 10lbs to the bar was a real thrill. Not anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I love to lift, I love to look good. But I'm not pushing myself for max efforts anymore. Maybe you could focus on driving up the presses for the next 3 months. Make pretend you are 20 again.

 

[pesty4077]

A wise old man once said " You can always lie about how much you lift, but you can never lie about how good you look"

 

[Stewie Griffon]

A wise old man once said " You can always lie about how much you lift, but you can never lie about how good you look"

i can bench 585 for 25 reps - narrow grip!!!

 

[Tough Old Man]

OK, now its given that I am 40 now and I should be a bit weaker.
But considering that:
1. I am on at least HRT most of the time now; lately as high as 1g for a short run.
2. My other movements are nearly as strong as when I was 20.
3. Chest as thick as ever.

Just as an example: I used to be able to put up 425 for 6 on the inclines, now I can barely move 250. My squat can still go into the 600s, my back is as strong as ever, etc. Ancillary pressing muscles also appear to be strong - nosebreakers with 145 these days, reverse smith bench up to 315. However, my behind the neck pressed are also horrible these days.

Taking form out of the picture, even on the Hammer Press I can barely move 250. I was doing this with five plates a side when I was 27.

What is going on? Could I just have slipped into some horrible groove where I have no power? Some quiet nerve damage in my pecs?
I am thinking of visiting a Physio Therapist here in Tokyo.

Mystified and frustrated...

I know what you mean...I'll be 57 in Sept and in the past 5 yrs my bench has dropped about 100 lbs..I'm still strong with all other lifts except for Skull chrushers but rearly do them because of elbows.

Anyone have a clue for this one..I can military press more then I can bench...I do have a rotator problem which bothers me on all benching but doesn't on overhead pressing..Maybe this is why I can out military more then I can bench.

 

[Trenman]

My grandfather, who could bench 530 three times, LOL, said the prime of his strength was late 30s to the age of 50. And I've seen too many 40 something men in the gym who made 25 year olds look like girls. I would say 40 is just now hitting your prime. But, I've never been 40, so I'm just speculating on what I've seen.

 

[Prometheus615]

I just turned 40 and I am stronger and leaner than I have ever been. Weird.

 

[chris250]

I'd say now at 35 im bigger and probably as close to being as strong as I was in my mid twenty's...

But now im alot ALOT smarter than I use to be with diet, training, suppplements,ect, ect...

 

[mature muscle]

you can still put on size bro. i struggle with strength has never came easy for myself and i,m your age but i,m still getting bigger.so that's all that counts. i no longer beet myself up over it. i train at home so when we go on vacation i,ll go to a gym and most people are not pushing all that much wait either so i,m not doing as bad as i think i I'm. were our own worst critics.

 

[hawkmoon]

A wise old man once said " You can always lie about how much you lift, but you can never lie about how good you look"

And being a bodybuilder and not a powerlifter I shouldn't care what I bench, but it is so anomalous it seems like something must be amiss.

 

[Pekkerwood]

I currently have a shoulder injury after being injury free for over a year. The longest period at least one shoulder has not hurt for the last 15 years. I achieved the pain free status by not lifting for one year. It felt remarkable to train without pain. I maintained pain free status be eliminating barbell bench work. I reentered pain in the rotatator status on the Cybex incline machine by saying "What the Heck" one Saturday morning and putting five plates on each side ( a lot for my now apparently). That was all it took, that one set and I have been in pain for months. I....am.....a......idiot.

 

[DOOGIE DOG]

I think over-use injuries and a lesser response to normal dosages of hormones plays a huge role in strength loss.

The tendon of the supraspinatus, the most commonly injured muscle in the rotator cuff runs beneath the acromium. Any time you are doing presses or pull downs behind your neck, or doing any chest presses with the elbows flaired out away from the body, the tendon is being impinged between the bone of the upper arm and the acromium. Over time the tendon becomes inflamed, leading to tendonitis, loss of strength, and even tears.

 

[DOGGCRAPP]

Three words Hawkmoon.....Active Release Technique

You will be yourself again in no time