I understand the issue surrounding people's honesty etc.
That's the big issue for me. Plenty of people do things I choose not to do, but even on an amateur level, if we're competing, and the rules are that you're not supposed to do some of those things without telling everyone, then I'm upset.
Some powerlifting federations have elected to become completely drug-free while others maintain separate divisions. I first encountered this at a "professional" division meet - the meet's federation had chosen to name their two divisions "professional" and "amateur." Those words just meant "not tested for drugs" and "tested for drugs", respectively, and the euphemisms bothered me. I now compete in the USPA and the divisions are named for exactly what they are - you look on the event calendar and you know that any meet with no words between "USPA" and the name of the meet means it's not tested because every drug-tested meet's listing begins with "USPA DRUG TESTED." That's honest, it lets people make the choice for themselves, and at the end of the day, I'm a big believer in both those two things: let's be honest about what we're taking and not taking, and let's allow both. (FWIW, when a non-tested meet is on the calendar and the location and date suits me, I participate in non-tested meets because if I'm looking for a new personal best, it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing.)
It is striking how many people are comparing PEDs with TRT.
I think that's only because they're both banned substances in drug-tested sports competition, and sports is big business that gets a lot of publicity. People needn't read more into it than that - they do, but they needn't.
Kinda seems like something to discuss with a doctor.
Absolutely, but some drugs that are now OTC (over the counter) used to be available only by doctor's prescription. This - talk to the doctor first or not - can be a blurry line as far as self-medication goes.
Are you asking about whether or not age-related decline actually should/need to be addressed?
That's a very good question,
@John K, and no, it's not what I'm asking. The crux of the matter is why age-related decline shouldn't be considered normal - there's nothing wrong with aging like, well, like you're aging. It happens to all of us, it's certainly happening to me, but I expect it and I don't consider it a bad thing (my rantings aside about not being willing to accept getting older meaning I'll get weaker).
I try to improve what I can while accepting - gracefully, I hope - what I can't. And perhaps my profession as a musician and music teacher has influenced me in this way, but I'm still practicing and I'm still getting better. The right kind of practice - mindful, diligent, open to the ideas of others while realizing that ultimately one is personally responsible for one's own progress - can yield improvements at almost anything at almost any age, I feel.
As usual my grasp of cell stuff is fuzzy at best... I think it has been referred to as both "male menopause" and "late onset hypogonadism." Basically the cells in the testis that produce testosterone start dying off and those that don't die off stop responding well to a hormone that tells them to produce testosterone. Why that (or menopause) happens as humans age I have no idea.
I don't think the comparison with menopause works except on a very general level. Menopause isn unavoidable and there is no doubt about what's happening when it's happening. The things we're talking about for men are much more vague. Aging is aging, but I don't think lower T levels are rightly equated with what happens to a woman's body in menopause. Just my opinion, of course.
At what age did you start resistance training?
And how do your lifts now compare to in the past?
Via my own records, I am empirically definitely not as strong as I was 15 years ago.
(which is pretty normal)
Mid 40's.
My lifts continue to go up, and the ones I don't train as seriously are still very close to what they were 20 years ago and I know I could break those old PR's if I wanted to.
Correct me if I’m wrong Steve, but didn’t you start weight training in your mid 40’s?
Yes. My first meets are a few months after my 49th birthday in 2004.
I think if you started training in your 20’s a lot of those open age records would probably be yours.
I don't think so. I don't see myself as particularly good at lifting weights, and I think my "success" lies largely in simply being willing to do what most at my age aren't willing to.
Edit: it would’ve be interesting to see your testosterone levels in your early 40’s compared to your levels in your 50’s or even now.
It might have been interesting, but there are a lot of things that, in hindsight, might have been interesting.
Wouldn’t be surprised if they [T levels] are higher later in life due to your training & other lifestyle choices.
To your second point, I repeat what I said earlier, which is that so far as I can tell, I don't have symptoms related to this 'age-related decline'.
That's not to say I don't see changes. I can't/don't eat nearly the quantity of food I used to, but the other side of that is that I've realized I needed to eat both better and less. That I eat better is something I feel certain helps me. I think, as an amateur endurance athlete in my 20's, 30's, and early-mid 40's, I overtrained chronically and my performance and my life in general suffered as a result. So I don't do that now and that's improved my life. Some things I can't do much about, e.g., my skin is much drier - I never had to lick the end of my finger to turn a page in a piece of music or a book, but now I do. My hair, admittedly nothing to complain about at my age, isn't what it used to be, either - my hairline is slowly receding and my hair is thinner than it used to be.
I just don't get the whole idea of looking at getting older as getting weaker, either in the physical sense or in a broader sense. Of course things change, and I suppose if you aren't trying to get better at things, then the overall effect is a gradual worsening. But I know I have so many areas in which I can improve; they're areas in which I always could have improved but didn't particularly feel the need to when I was younger, and now that I'm not so young any more, I focus more on them. I am, much as I do in my lifting training, working on improving my weaknesses in every aspect of my life where I see something I want to and am able to improve. Net result? Not decline for me. I'm better in every way I'm able to understand about myself than I was when I was younger - no doubt I have my blind spots and I haven't improved or have gotten worse at some of those, but I'm doing my best. End of rant.
In saying that, I’m 6ft tall & currently weigh 96 kg well muscled with relative low body fat. I work a 10/11 hr days driving garbage truck & still have energy to train 6/7 days a week plus usual household chores. My libido is just as annoying to my lovely partner as it was 20yrs ago.
So I think the takeaway I got was to worry less about my testosterone levels & pay more attention to how I’m handling life. If everything’s lining up ok then who cares what your testosterone levels are.
Exactly! Well said, and thank you. I could have skipped my rant and just said, "What you just said goes double for me." The particulars are different, but the attitude is the same. (Although the altitude is different as I'm half a foot shorter.
)
-S-
