Other/Mixed Strength and age.

[Robert Noftz]

I stumbled upon this article from 2009. A 71 year old guy squatted 465 in a powerlifting competition. He didn't start training until he was in his 50s. It seems that powerlifiting is a good sport for older people.
I wonder what kind of volume of training he used at his age?

Also it seems like endurance sports are also good for older people. I have to admit I find this inspiring. It makes it more difficult for me to make excuses.
Stronger With Age Pelham powerlifter Pete Bennett sets senior world record - Lowell Sun Online

 

[Carl in Dover]

Hi @Robert Noftz ! Great article... There are a few older lifters that hang around here, check out the barbell section.
It seems to be a woefull pattern that as some folks age, they begin to get aches and pains. So they slow down and don't do much for excersise. The stretching goes also. The pains and soreness increase, and the exercises and movement decrease. ....a cycle that leads to assistance devices ( canes, walkers, and scooters) that encorages even less physical exercise.


Move. Lift. Stretch. Repeat.

Carl in Dover

 

[WhatWouldHulkDo]

Honest question - is there really anything that's good for you when you're young that stops being good for you when you get older? Sure, recovery slows down, but the principles are always the same - be strong, mobile, endurant, and mentally resilient. And find something you love where you can apply those qualities.

 

[Kozushi]

My dad lifts weights and he's late 70s. I think I can lift more than he can, but he's still lifting a lot.

Right now I deadlift 350lbs, which isn't super great, but let's say when I'm late 70s I'm deadlifting just 200lbs - so what? I'm still deadlifting, which is a healthy movement, and 200lbs is still a heck of a lot of weight to pick up off the ground! If my S&S has to go down from 32kg to just 24 or even 16kg, again, so what? 16kg is still great!

 

[Adam R Mundorf]

Honest question - is there really anything that's good for you when you're young that stops being good for you when you get older? Sure, recovery slows down, but the principles are always the same - be strong, mobile, endurant, and mentally resilient. And find something you love where you can apply those qualities.

The principles stay the same but the order of importance changes.

 

[Bret S.]

Limit strength is good and all but I'm much more interested in strength endurance, provided you have a decent amount of strength to begin with.

 

[Fyreman]

Ballistics my friends.....to literally keep the spring in your step.

 

[Alan Mackey]

Limit strength is good and all but I'm much more interested in strength endurance, provided you have a decent amount of strength to begin with.

This. ^^^

I’m a lifelong martial artist, a relatively recent (less than a decade) trail-runner and I find strength-endurance way more useful than any other type for my goals.

 

[Bret S.]

This. ^^^

I’m a lifelong martial artist, a relatively recent (less than a decade) trail-runner and I find strength-endurance way more useful than any other type for my goals.

'Sustainable for life' strength is real strength imho

 

[Alan Mackey]

'Sustainable for life' strength is real strength imho

Exactly.

My best pull from the floor is a bit above the 500 lbs. benchmark and, while it’s nice to have a relatively strong pull, I haven’t noticed any significant improvement in my performance on the mat once I got above 150% of my bodyweight.

Also, I quite much doubt I’ll have the opportunity to use a 500 lbs. pull in my day-to-day life. Ever.

But I’m pretty sure I could need and use the same kind of strength displayed by the team of guys who took care of my last move to my current home: hours on end carrying moderate and heavy objects, climbing up stairs, putting everything into place and barely breaking a sweat.

Or the guy in a farm who can spend a whole day digging, carrying heavy buckets, repairing fences, reaping grapes like it was a walk in the park.

That’s the kind of real use strength I’m looking for. Which, in turn, it’s probably the most useful for the martial artist and trail runner.

 

[Kozushi]

Exactly.

My best pull from the floor is a bit above the 500 lbs. benchmark and, while it’s nice to have a relatively strong pull, I haven’t noticed any significant improvement in my performance on the mat once I got above 150% of my bodyweight.

Also, I quite much doubt I’ll have the opportunity to use a 500 lbs. pull in my day-to-day life. Ever.

But I’m pretty sure I could need and use the same kind of strength displayed by the team of guys who took care of my last move to my current home: hours on end carrying moderate and heavy objects, climbing up stairs, putting everything into place and barely breaking a sweat.

Or the guy in a farm who can spend a whole day digging, carrying heavy buckets, repairing fences, reaping grapes like it was a walk in the park.

That’s the kind of real use strength I’m looking for. Which, in turn, it’s probably the most useful for the martial artist and trail runner.

But I'd wonder if the fact that you can lift 500lbs once means that it's a lot easier to lift 50lbs many times, all day long without tiring too much.

 

[Carl in Dover]

...........Or the guy in a farm who can spend a whole day digging, carrying heavy buckets, repairing fences, reaping grapes like it was a walk in the park.

That’s the kind of real use strength I’m looking for. Which, in turn, it’s probably the most useful for the martial artist and trail runner.

@Alan Mackey ....
If you ever get the opportunity, get a sledgehammer and beat on an old tire for a while.

Carl in Dover

 

[Alan Mackey]

But I'd wonder if the fact that you can lift 500lbs once means that it's a lot easier to lift 50lbs many times, all day long without tiring too much.

Once you can pull 500 lbs. from the floor, you will be able to lift 50 lbs. many, many, many times without tiring. But, trying to maintain a 500 lbs. pull is a serious commitment (at least for me; I define myself as a martial artist and a runner who also lifts and not the other way around) that requires way to much work.

Lifting 50 lbs. for hours on end is not the solution I'm looking for either.

The thing I'm after is maintaining and, if possible at all, improving a decent "shame level".

I define "shame level" as the load you could lift even running a mild fever and after having barely two hours of sleep last night. It's something around my 60%-70% of 1RM (more or less 300-350 lbs.).

My goal is to increase that, so I can do it for reps no problem. This is something somewhat "easy" compared to trying to increase my deadlift max.

Which is sort of the reasoning behind PttP, Easy Strength, 5x5x5. Increase your "shame level" and your maxes will follow suit.

And, if pulling 500 lbs. from the floor a couple of times allows you to move 50 lbs. a lot of times, let's imagine what you might be able to do if you could do triples on the minute, for ten minutes, using your "shame level".

 

[Bret S.]

The thing I'm after is maintaining and, if possible at all, improving a decent "shame level".

I define "shame level" as the load you could lift even running a mild fever and after having barely two hours of sleep last night

+1
I never thought of this in this way but it's a very good gauge of base strength levels measured not when you feel powerful and healthy, but more of what can you do when things go sideways or worse.

While prepping for SFG I got flu from my GF while taking care of her, this is the strain that was killing people in Jan this year. After 2 full weeks of doing nothing I started some kb work and wanted a strength marker, I was able to getup with 40k both sides while feeling extremely weak and exhausted.

I was surprised at how much reserve strength was there. This for me is what it's all about, performing while feeling skinny, weak and battered.

 

[Kozushi]

Once you can pull 500 lbs. from the floor, you will be able to lift 50 lbs. many, many, many times without tiring. But, trying to maintain a 500 lbs. pull is a serious commitment (at least for me; I define myself as a martial artist and a runner who also lifts and not the other way around) that requires way to much work.

Lifting 50 lbs. for hours on end is not the solution I'm looking for either.

The thing I'm after is maintaining and, if possible at all, improving a decent "shame level".

I define "shame level" as the load you could lift even running a mild fever and after having barely two hours of sleep last night. It's something around my 60%-70% of 1RM (more or less 300-350 lbs.).

My goal is to increase that, so I can do it for reps no problem. This is something somewhat "easy" compared to trying to increase my deadlift max.

Which is sort of the reasoning behind PttP, Easy Strength, 5x5x5. Increase your "shame level" and your maxes will follow suit.

And, if pulling 500 lbs. from the floor a couple of times allows you to move 50 lbs. a lot of times, let's imagine what you might be able to do if you could do triples on the minute, for ten minutes, using your "shame level".

Yes, the 350lbs feels about a limit for my "shame level" for the time being. I do 3 reps of it (sometimes 5) and I fell like that's enough. I assume my one rep max would be quite higher.

A friend of mine who used to lift 500lbs and more told me that he is now doing 315 and that my 350 is "good". Maybe a mid 300lbs mark is something like the "Simple" 32kg kettlebell weight in S&S - it's enough strength to handle the vagaries of life but at the same time easy to maintain?

 

[Alan Mackey]

Yes, the 350lbs feels about a limit for my "shame level" for the time being. I do 3 reps of it (sometimes 5) and I fell like that's enough. I assume my one rep max would be quite higher.

A friend of mine who used to lift 500lbs and more told me that he is now doing 315 and that my 350 is "good". Maybe a mid 300lbs mark is something like the "Simple" 32kg kettlebell weight in S&S - it's enough strength to handle the vagaries of life but at the same time easy to maintain?

All of it sort of falls in line with my previous statement that, once I got past 150% of bodyweight (*), I really didn’t see further improvements of my performance on the mat.

(*) I have this little theory: front squats, RDLs, push presses, bent over rows, pull ups and dips (taking into account your bodyweight) should have similar ratios. If you can get them to be around 125%-150% of your own bodyweight, you will be a well-rounded beast (as long as you are not a strength sports athlete, of course).

 

[Denny Phillips]

In the halcyon days of my youth I managed a 505 triple and determined that from that point on "heavy" deadlifting was going to be a relative thing. At age 61 I primarily train up to and around 315 for three's and fives, certainly lower on "same but different" lifts like snatch grip deads and fat bar deads. There came a time when the well-rounded beast goal as stated by Alan Mackey became my priority. I still try to improve my dreadful pull-ups as my elbows permit.

Offwidth used a phrase a while back that summed it up pretty well, sometimes the juice in a lemon just ain't worth the squeeze.

 

[North Coast Miller]

Clarence Bass at 78

Somewhat related observation I made from another topic - one of the reasons I like to try different/new to me modalitites, no matter how old I get I'm always hitting new PRs

 

[Kozushi]

(*) I have this little theory: front squats, RDLs, push presses, bent over rows, pull ups and dips (taking into account your bodyweight) should have similar ratios. If you can get them to be around 125%-150% of your own bodyweight, you will be a well-rounded beast (as long as you are not a strength sports athlete, of course).

Brilliant point! If I can move around a guy much heavier than me, I've got all the strength I need. No one is going to be over 350lbs!