Is anyone on here in their fifties or above and still working-out strenuously or heavy? Have you experienced any pain? What to avoid? Are you on hormone therapy?

I ask because I will be heading into my fifties soon and would like to take precautionary and preventative measures. When I was in college 25 years ago, I remembered some old men (in their sixties) pumping out pretty heavy weight for their age, such as squatting/benching 300+ lbs. I have always wondered by the time I get to that age, would I still be fit like them. Long behold, I can't believe it, 25 years flew by just like that, especially through this pandemic, lots of reminiscing of time.

I don't smoke, drink, drugs or any of that. Have lived a pretty clean life, including aerobic (heart) and anaerobic (muscle). My biggest surprise was when my testosterone dipped when I entered my forties. Since then, I have been taking ginseng, fenugreek, tribulus (even months), ZMA, etc... to boost it.

I have never had a colon or prostate test which I will have to schedule for those soon. Yay!

Please let me know if you have changed your routine on anything in your fifties? Or if you recommend any lifestyle changes. Thank You

 

My aching joints were my guide. As I got older I had to drop a lot of the exercises I used to do and I dropped all heavy weight work that put a lot of stress on my joints. The joint pain was more than the exercise benefit I got.

 

So I don't lift anymore and stopped because of other things going on in my life, however, I did lift into my early 50's and I didn't change anything. If something hurt, I'd stop a particular exercise or do a different one or just lightened the weight.
I drank protein shakes but didn't take any supplements. I'd check with a doctor about those supplements, if you haven't already. Some of them are not as good for you as you think or some you might be taking too much of it. I'm not speaking specifically about what you're taking, just in general.
I don't think I'd do a hormone therapy unless my doctor recommended it.
Sounds like you're doing everything right otherwise. Just listen to your body and it'll tell you if things are good or not. Start out slow and light if you're just starting out. You'll know when you can increase and you'll know when it's too much. The old men lifting heavy was possible because they'd been doing it a long, long time.

 

Prior to turning 45 I focused my workouts and diet on gaining weight, since 45 I focus on keeping weight off, particularly around the belly. Even with good muscle mass, the belly will grow and you will need to adjust to fit in those jeans.
The plan that has worked for me is to shorten rest time between sets. I superset opposing muscles, wear a heartrate monitor, and never let my heartrate drop below 100. It's a mindset change, but I find that I have more energy and sleep better with this new plan.

 

Pilot Dane, ShadeLadie and JRSick, thank you for your insights into this. JRSick, I will monitor my heart rate. I have been good with my fitness for the last 30 years but when the pandemic came, the gyms closed and I lost lots of my strength and endurance. I have built a gym in my garage to go into maintenance mode until things get back to normal. This is the first year that I actually feel old. Anyway, thank you.

 

I think it is important to recognize that everyone is different both your physiology and history. I find that as I get older I have to pay more careful attention to what my body is saying. The old days of powering through or working through a pain have largely passed. If I'm working out and something hurts, it's generally not going to get better so I have to back off or not do it until that part heals.

 

Yes, I agree Dane. As of 3 years ago, I gave up and stopped doing dead lifts completely because it kept locking up my back due to the weight that I used to perform. I also gave up on sprinting at fast pace as I tore my calf and have shin splints. Tearing of the calf was a wake up call. This was my only major injury of ripping anything. Eventually I will have to accept that my twenties and thirties are gone.

 

dead lifts are great, don't give them up, just do them differently. Start the weight a little higher; off of a rack or other plates. Do sets of 12 and you will discover the meaning of life.

 

I think that arms can take heavy weights longer but for me my spine and lower back are giving out partly due to weight lifting. One exercise I did and is still recommended by some folks is carrying two dumbbells around like a pair of suitcases. I think that did me in. Fortunately I can still walk but I cannot jog any more because my lower back has a twinge of pain with every step I take.

I do not think that weight lifting has any effect on prostate or colon or belly problems although I am sure that diet does.

 

Allan, I used to have really severe back problems in my early thirties. It turned out to be that I squatted for quads, not for hamstring, causing the back pain with a forward pelvic tilted. A stupid neurologist told me that I will have to immediately get surgery and get my discs fused. Luckily, I tried one last resort and met a sport therapist who explained to me about muscle imbalance and showed me how to correct my squat for hamstring, pushing with the heels. Within 10 days, I was able to walk without any pain. If you have back problems, your quads might be too strong, pulling your pelvic forward. You should YouTube on "pelvic stretches" and "hamstring squat".

 

JRSick, yeah, maybe I was using too heavy of weights. When I go one or two plates, I don't really feel anything on deadlift. I gave up on deadlift in 2018. Plus, I cannot do it now because my gym is in my garage with cast iron plates, no bumper plates.

I traded deadlift in for zercher squat. thanks