Wyanokie
Level 5 Valued Member
I wanted to reach out to ask for some advice because I'm growing increasingly concerned. I know that the title of the thread will cause people to say 'go see a doctor' but I have and they cannot find anything. I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone else here and if it's normal or if there's something I'm missing.
Back story: I'm currently 50 years old. From 2003-2019 I did a combination, rotating, of boxing, muay Thai, some jiujitsu, and some barbell and dumbell training to keep myself healthy for martial arts (did some kettlebell work in 2018-2019 but it was minimal). Usually (not always) I ate healthy and didn't have many problems with performance. When the pandemic hit, I couldn't train martial arts so went down the rabbit hole with kettlebells. Trained average of 4 days/week with 1H, 2H swings, goblet squats, and TGU's with a 20kg bell (the program was very close to S and S but not exactly). I also tried O-lifts and got moderately competent early on with technique but had to stop because of tendonitis of the knee and a hip flexor injury. Post pandemic I'm currently back on the barbell work and working again through O-lift technique with the baby bar to get myself on track and learn the sport.
Here's what I'm concerned about: in 2017, I weighed >210 lb. Without trying through diet adjustment, I lost about 10 lb/year for 4 years. I bottomed out at 176 and am locked in at 176 lb. Won't budge. I do walk a lot more and still do kettlebell work, but can't imagine that I would lose THAT much weight from it. I got bloodwork and the only concerns were that my a1c was 5.7 (which surprised me because I currently eat very balanced and healthy meals) and my egfr was very low but they retested that and it was fine, so it was probably a blip. No other concerns and I got screened for colon cancer. Doctor says I'm healthy. My joints don't hurt (I actually feel better than I did when I was in my 20s and 30s), my mobility and stability are up, and I'm working out regularly. Only other changes are that I'm a little more tired on a day-to-day basis and that I'm sleeping very long and deep at night, which can be expected from the barbell.
My biggest concern: I can't gain weight, and I'm weaker than I was. Despite training barbell work for over a year now, my squat and deadlift numbers are pretty low (I squat 145 lb 3x5 reps and deadlift about 215 2 or 3 sets of 5). I lift 3-4 days/week. The weights are slowly going up but it seems glacial. Now I know that people would advise me to push it and give it time but I think I'm stuck in that negative feedback loop where I don't have the muscle mass to increase my lifts and without pushing it the muscles aren't growing. I'm eating lots of protein, balanced meals, veggies, etc, sleeping 8+ hours per night.
I could really use some help or direction here. Has anyone experienced age-related sarcopenia before this early in life? If so, what helped? Does anyone else's gut say that I should be concerned, or is this just normal for someone who is doing moderate weights? Really banging my head against the wall here and could use some help working through this, if even to point me in the right direction of where to go next.
Thanks for your help
Back story: I'm currently 50 years old. From 2003-2019 I did a combination, rotating, of boxing, muay Thai, some jiujitsu, and some barbell and dumbell training to keep myself healthy for martial arts (did some kettlebell work in 2018-2019 but it was minimal). Usually (not always) I ate healthy and didn't have many problems with performance. When the pandemic hit, I couldn't train martial arts so went down the rabbit hole with kettlebells. Trained average of 4 days/week with 1H, 2H swings, goblet squats, and TGU's with a 20kg bell (the program was very close to S and S but not exactly). I also tried O-lifts and got moderately competent early on with technique but had to stop because of tendonitis of the knee and a hip flexor injury. Post pandemic I'm currently back on the barbell work and working again through O-lift technique with the baby bar to get myself on track and learn the sport.
Here's what I'm concerned about: in 2017, I weighed >210 lb. Without trying through diet adjustment, I lost about 10 lb/year for 4 years. I bottomed out at 176 and am locked in at 176 lb. Won't budge. I do walk a lot more and still do kettlebell work, but can't imagine that I would lose THAT much weight from it. I got bloodwork and the only concerns were that my a1c was 5.7 (which surprised me because I currently eat very balanced and healthy meals) and my egfr was very low but they retested that and it was fine, so it was probably a blip. No other concerns and I got screened for colon cancer. Doctor says I'm healthy. My joints don't hurt (I actually feel better than I did when I was in my 20s and 30s), my mobility and stability are up, and I'm working out regularly. Only other changes are that I'm a little more tired on a day-to-day basis and that I'm sleeping very long and deep at night, which can be expected from the barbell.
My biggest concern: I can't gain weight, and I'm weaker than I was. Despite training barbell work for over a year now, my squat and deadlift numbers are pretty low (I squat 145 lb 3x5 reps and deadlift about 215 2 or 3 sets of 5). I lift 3-4 days/week. The weights are slowly going up but it seems glacial. Now I know that people would advise me to push it and give it time but I think I'm stuck in that negative feedback loop where I don't have the muscle mass to increase my lifts and without pushing it the muscles aren't growing. I'm eating lots of protein, balanced meals, veggies, etc, sleeping 8+ hours per night.
I could really use some help or direction here. Has anyone experienced age-related sarcopenia before this early in life? If so, what helped? Does anyone else's gut say that I should be concerned, or is this just normal for someone who is doing moderate weights? Really banging my head against the wall here and could use some help working through this, if even to point me in the right direction of where to go next.
Thanks for your help