Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
Member |
Ha!  Thanks. | |||
|
| Member |
That's a fact and sarcopenia is a big reason why. Eating enough protein even without working out can slow that down. https://www.healthline.com/health/sarcopenia Strength training even at moderate levels will usually increase grip strength quite q bit. | |||
|
| Member |
Thanks for the kind words OttoSig! | |||
|
| Edge seeking Sharp blade! |
I'm an active 70 year old and will be pushing weights this spring in preparation for another run at skiing at three event (slalom, trick skiing and jumping) nationals in water skiing, which I did in 2022 and 2023. Success with weight lifting can cause one to push limits and lead to injury. Remember that with injury all progress stops. You have a "you can do it!" devil on one shoulder, listen to the "be careful" angel on the other. | |||
|
| Member |
Getting ready to find a gym in my new location. You have inspired me to seek one where I can get some proper training. Want to make sure I get some gains without triggering an injury. Start on Medicare today so this thread is fitting. Excellent job sir. | |||
|
Nullus Anxietas |
Well done, grumpy1! Lookin' good  Any exercise is good, but, while cardio is great for your cardiovascular health, it'll do little to combat age-related sarcopenia. For that you need to lift. Starting Strength would probably disagree with that. So do the coaches I follow on X. But if that's working for you: By all means. I'm not lifting heavy, per se, but it's heavy for me. On the compounds (E.g.: Deadlifts, squats, overhead presses, benches) I do three sets of five. On the accessories (E.g.: Leg sled, curls, triceps, lat pulldowns, Romanian deads) I do 8-12, depending. When I can do two-three additional reps in good form on the third set I bump the weight the next time. I do upper/lower splits based roughly on the Fierce 5 Intermediate programming. I track my progress with the Strong app. My immediate goal is to have RFK, Jr.'s physique  "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
|
| Member |
^^^^ One day last week Fox had a split screen photo of RFK and Ron Wyden on the day of the hearings. A great caption could have been "Which septuagenarian should we listen to about health". Wyden looks like he crawled out of a dark crypt. | |||
|
| Member |
Hey that is awesome and I hope you have a great time at it! Great advice on lifting. At my age I err on the side of caution and as I posted earlier leave the ego lifting for the youngsters. One of the guys at the gym I talk to regularly is 58. He was telling me about 5 years ago a friend of his stopped by that he had not seen in a while and they decided to have a bench press contest. Well he tore his pec during that contest and had to stay out of the gym for the better part of a year  . He told me "never again"  . | |||
|
| Member |
Hey that is great. Using a trainer for me was a wise investment. Not saying you need to use one every workout or forever though but for many of us at least to get us started and on a workout plan that works for the individual and their goals. | |||
|
| Nullus Anxietas |
Yeah, I've no interest in ego lifting. Had a guy in a now-defunct lifting forum throw shade at me one day with something like "My warmup sets are higher than your working sets." My thought was "So? I'm doing what I can do." Somebody else chimed-in with "His comment was lame. I'm impressed you're under the bar at all at your age." I've throttled it back a bit even from a few months ago. I'd "set" myself wrongly during benching and ended-up with left shoulder impingement. Kept me out of the gym for three weeks (one week of ibuprofen/acetaminophen and a percussion massager; followed two weeks of that stuff plus rehab work with the functional trainer and very light dumbbells), then it took another two months just to work back up to where I was before I injured myself. It was after that I adopted the "programmed reps + two-three additional on the last set" metric before bumping the weight or resistance. After doing that my sets after bumping intensity up have much better form—thus less likelihood of injury. "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
|
| Member |
Thanks, much appreciated! Sounds like you have a solid workout program that is working very well for you - congrats. I don't disagree with you on the lower reps workout but for myself I had been advised to stay in the higher rep range. My doctor Xray of my lower back showed I had age related arthritis (lumbar spondylosis) there which has made it difficult to do proper form on conventional deadlifts when my trainer put the stick on my back and not a lot I can do about that though there has been some improvement. Yeah RFK Jr. is a beast, especially for his age. | |||
|
| Member |
| |||
|
Exceptional Circumstances |
grumpy1, whatever you are doing, keep doing it. You look amazing, I'm sure you feel even better. I'm 54 and still try to do moderate to heavy lifting 5 days a week. Great for strength, bone density, stress relief... Btw, farmer walks are one of the best exercises you can do. My goal is not to let the old man in. Once he's in, it's tough to get him out. Admirable work. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ | |||
|
| Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished |
Great thread. I ran on a treadmill for over 10 years until it finally dawned on me in my early 50s that I was losing muscle mass. I gave away the treadmill, bought a copy of Starting Strength and turned my garage in to a gym. I was doing mainly powerlifting lifts like the book suggests but recently I've started to expand my exercise selection and bought a set of adjustable dumbbells. I enjoy the squat and if I don't have much time I'll do only that on a given day. I definitely recommend finding a coach. I didn't and I've injured myself a number of times due to bad form. As a result of my stupidity, I am probably not out of the advanced novice stage after 4 years but I can't lift as heavy as I want due to issues with my feet. My "linear progression" is a series of staircases. To get RFKs physique you'll have to go on TRT, not that there's anything wrong with that, he puts in the work. | |||
|
In Odin we trust |
Well done sir! Keep it up! I love seeing this stuff, love seeing people come to the understanding that strength training, especially as we age, really is as close to a fountain of youth as we've yet found. Quality of life. About 7 years ago, after badgering her for the better part of 20 years, I FINALLY got my (then 68yo) mother into the gym. I grew up down in Texas, in Wichita Falls, which as some of you who lift may know, is the home of the original Starting Strength gym. I used to work out there during summers when I was in high school getting ready for football season in the fall. It used to be called the Wichita Falls Athletic Club, and a younger, slightly less crotchety Mark Rippetoe was always around. Anyway, I finally got Ma into the gym and into strength training. Set her up with one of the trainers there. The transformation in my mother from age 68 to now (she'll be 75 this fall) has been nothing short of a miracle. She has gone from barely getting by, using a walker, basically waiting to die, being nearly crippled with rheumatoid arthritis and on several drugs for treating that (methotrexate and a biologic called Enbrel), to deadlifting more than her body weight (about 150#), bench pressing close to 110#, squatting close to her body weight. More importantly, her quality of life has increased dramatically. She drives again, loads her own 50# bags of duck/chicken feed from the store, and is healthier in every aspect of life. This despite 2 hip replacements during this 7 year period. The second one was barely a blip.....she was back in the gym less than a month after surgery. She's off the terrible RA meds as well, and the RA is for all intents and purposes, in remission. She manages occasional flares with CBD. Keep it up grumpy! It works. _________________________ "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than omnipotent moral busybodies" ~ C.S. Lewis | |||
|
| Member |
Sounds like some insecure clown was trying to make himself feel big by internet bullying you. What a jerk. I have to say at our gym most everyone has been nice, respectful, and helpful. A few have congratulated me for just being there and putting in the effort at my age. Sorry to hear about the shoulder impingement which is pretty common and I have had it too but you recovered in short order! I still have the paperwork from my PT sessions with the workouts. Mine was an external rotation related. Good news that you learned and adapted from that experience modifying your progressive resistance routine. | |||
|
| Member |
Thanks, I certainly plan to continue. I do the farmers walk at end of every upper workout but surprised I see so few every doing it. "Let the old man in" LOL, but appropriate. I tell my other senior gym buddies not to worry about how much weight anyone else is lifting, we are competing against only ourselves at this stage -- eye of the tiger, eye of the tiger. | |||
|
| Member |
Great story cyberiad! Got to love squats and they are so good for us. When my trainer started me on split squats using TRX cables for balance right away I thought they would be the end of me as I was so worn out after the first set I wanted to take a nap LOL. But they do amazing things to our body for not only strength but mobility, balance, and endurance. Now I also do barbell back box squats in the squat rack too on lower day. Hey live and learn about not using a coach but your experience and advice will probably help others! Hopefully your feet will get better over time. I had heard RFK was doing TRT too. I would not be willing to do that unless my T levels were low and they are not for my age. | |||
|
| Member |
Thanks akcopnfbks! YES, quality of life is what it is all about. What an amazing journey for your mother and thanks for sharing and no doubt will motivate others. So glad to read about her dramatic improvement due to strength training. Imagine what people would pay for pills to do that? Sadly very few will spend the time and effort to get those results in the gym or at home. Crazy that a 75 year old lady can handle on her own own 50 pound bags of feed from the store. I have been on my 73Y BIL case because he has to have his son come over to put bags of salt in his water softener but so far no luck. He tells me he works out regularly but I found out that is the treadmill only which is good but won't help him lift bags of salt. | |||
|
| Member |
Yes, that's exactly what I have in mind. I'm already in decent shape. Skied five days last week. But I do think I can improve the strength and tone a bit. | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata | Page 1 2 3 |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
© SIGforum 2025