Strength difference between when you were young compared to middle age.

[Bandy0974]

I was just considering the drastic differences in my lifts now (at 47) compared to when I was in my early twenties. Obviously the wear and tear is part of it but I have been on trt for quite a few years so hormone levels shouldn't be a huge factor. I have to focus much more on feel and muscle stimulation than extremely heavy like when I was younger. Do a lot of you guys hold onto your strength as you get older?

 

[Kaladryn]

My strength has gone way down, but I also force myself to lift much lighter, it's the only way to keep lifting hard as you get older. I try to make lighter weight feel heavier with strict form, rep pace, positioning, controlled negatives, etc. I try to trick the muscle into thinking I'm using more weight than I am, after all, the muscle doesn't know how much weight I'm using, it just knows how much stress it's under. This has been key to keeping the intensity high and avoiding injury after over three decades of bodybuilding.

 

[xpoc]

I have lifted my entire adult life (started at 16, 52 now). Most of the time it was geared toward powerlifting. Strongest I ever got? Age 42.

 

[werfewgrt]

At 41, I'm stronger than my early 20s! I'm also heavier, not necessarily leaner!

 

[slayer37]

I'm not nearly as strong now (age 32) as I was in my 20s.
But what's weird is that I look better and more muscular now for sure. I chalk it up to muscle maturity over time.

 

[Bandy0974]

I was training with this cock strong twenty year old a while back and realized I can't keep up with the poundage. Kids putting up 405 on his bench press without any idea about diet or anything. If I tried to do what he was doing i would probably tear my rotator cuffs, heck.. probably dislocate my arms.

 

[bad rad]

The wear and tear got me. My strength is terrible but my joints won't let me train heavier.

 

[TrippplePPP]

My strength has gone way down, but I also force myself to lift much lighter, it's the only way to keep lifting hard as you get older. I try to make lighter weight feel heavier with strict form, rep pace, positioning, controlled negatives, etc. I try to trick the muscle into thinking I'm using more weight than I am, after all, the muscle doesn't know how much weight I'm using, it just knows how much stress it's under. This has been key to keeping the intensity high and avoiding injury after over three decades of bodybuilding.

Very well put. You stated pretty much spot on to what I would have said and have said plenty before to those younger than me.

Also, I wish I would have known how decent of a physique I could have had with about half the weight when I was young. I was just talking with my brother on this subject. The difference to a couple of reps with 415lbs on squats compared to repping out 225lbs would not have been much difference in results.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

I have lifted my entire adult life (started at 16, 52 now). Most of the time it was geared toward powerlifting. Strongest I ever got? Age 42.

Right on. My heaviest total (1702lbs, 772kg) 605 squat, 595 pull, 502 flat press (knee and elbow wraps which I retired and save) I was 38. I'm 50 now and like the song goes, "I'm not as good as I once was but I'm as good once as I ever was." Meaning I could do those lifts now but I'd pay for it. I still go to the track twice a week and at 240, my sprints in 100m and 200m are still as fast or faster than many of the younger cats out there. I get a lot of respect from those college guys. They always want to hear stories about the good ol' days. I'm riding this train all the way in. If I'm in a wheelchair, I'll still be doing wrist curls.

 

[Dugbet]

Paradoxically, it is easier to maintain strength than muscle mass as you age. Just look at how many older guys make deadlift records.

Lifting heavy is great and fun, but for the most people these are not sustainable workouts and injuries will cause you to stop and change your training system.

 

[b-boy]

My strength has gone way down, but I also force myself to lift much lighter, it's the only way to keep lifting hard as you get older. I try to make lighter weight feel heavier with strict form, rep pace, positioning, controlled negatives, etc. I try to trick the muscle into thinking I'm using more weight than I am, after all, the muscle doesn't know how much weight I'm using, it just knows how much stress it's under. This has been key to keeping the intensity high and avoiding injury after over three decades of bodybuilding.

I was strong as fuck when I was younger, and now I'm paying the price for that immense strength. My joints are destroyed and I'm a shell of my former self strength wise. So this ^^^(quoted above) is how I now structure my training.

 

[buck]

I started hitting my peak strength for most lifts after 10 hard consistent years of training and eating.

 

[maldorf]

I started hitting my peak strength for most lifts after 10 hard consistent years of training and eating.

I did not hit mine until after I started PEDs. Since I didn't really start using them until around age 28, I hit my peak at around age 38 when I had my heart attack. I'm sure strength for me would have gone up more.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

Agree. I do almost all higher volume, more controlled work now with the steel but still will bump up the weight occasionally just to see where I'm at.

But wanted to mention that although unrelated to BBing and PLing (but something I still do) is that I see plenty of grey hair in Ironmans and marathons as well. These are 60, 70 year old dudes getting it done, man. They put me to shame I'll tell you that much.

 

[maldorf]

Agree. I do almost all higher volume, more controlled work now with the steel but still will bump up the weight occasionally just to see where I'm at.

But wanted to mention that although unrelated to BBing and PLing (but something I still do) is that I see plenty of grey hair in Ironmans and marathons as well. These are 60, 70 year old dudes getting it done, man. They put me to shame I'll tell you that much.

Yeah, I think that the endurance sports are a little more forgiving than strength.

 

[buck]

I did not hit mine until after I started PEDs. Since I didn't really start using them until around age 28, I hit my peak at around age 38 when I had my heart attack. I'm sure strength for me would have gone up more.

I had almost 20 years of lifting but only ate well for 10 of those years before i used AS. I was benching over double body weight for reps, pulling way over 3x bodyweight for reps pre AS. By the time i did my first cycle my shoulders were shot, as well as my back was going down hill.

 

[buck]

Yeah, I think that the endurance sports are a little more forgiving than strength.

Some may have been at it all their lives, but many interviews i have seen report they started fairly late in life doing endurance training. When i was competing we had a woman in her 60's setting records at the nationals but she only had been training for powerlifting for a year. As well as other guys in their 50's and a couple into their 60's that competed.

 

[Dugbet]

Yes, many of these elderly athletes start lifting or running late in their lives, so their bodies are not stressed and squeezed out like ours.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

Yeah, I think that the endurance sports are a little more forgiving than strength.

Try summiting Denali in winter once. I'm kidding. I tried unsuccessfully in 2002 (weather) but plenty of grey hair on those teams as well. I don't believe the problems with age have as much to do with soft tissue and contractile strength or even vascularity but rather connective tissue and decreased collagen synthesis. Even now, our bodies often outlive our neural longevity.

If someone could discover a way to prevent the age-related decrease in collagen synthesis, you'd extend average lifespan by at least a dozen years. I'd make that bet.

 

[maldorf]

Try summiting Denali in winter once. I'm kidding. I tried unsuccessfully in 2002 (weather) but plenty of grey hair on those teams as well. I don't believe the problems with age have as much to do with soft tissue and contractile strength or even vascularity but rather connective tissue and decreased collagen synthesis. Even now, our bodies often outlive our neural longevity.

If someone could discover a way to prevent the age-related decrease in collagen synthesis, you'd extend average lifespan by at least a dozen years. I'd make that bet.

In the gross anatomy lab I found the oldest people best to study for nerves because their muscles were all atrophied. My cadaver was a relatively young man, about 48 if I remember right. He had the best muscles in the lab. I think he was at least a weight trainer when he was younger. His nerves were hard to get at.