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Kettlebell Strongfirst standards and age

conor78

conor78

Level 6 Valued Member
I was having a discussion with a friend who has been bitten by the cycling bug. At 44 he was optimistic that he could still make improvements and found it hard to accept they over time his performance will likely be impacted by age. In terms of SF standards, simple, sinister, snatch test etc what impact does age have. Who is the oldest person who has nailed simple? Sinister? Snatch test 24/32?

I will continue to train regardless of standards but interested to see how age impacts performance in SF standards in the way it impacts other sports/activities..
 
We all age and thus, get older and weaker. I'm 52 and have continued to make progress on the programs that I have used (S&S, Q&D, A&A). As I get older, I get a bit smarter in that I know when to back off to prevent injury or switch things up to prevent from getting stale.

Your friend will make progress and depending on his fitness levels when they started will show how much progress they made. If they were a blank slate with a low fitness level, then they will appear to make a bit more progress than someone that was already at a decent level of fitness. But yeah, you're correct, eventually age catches up with us. Training just helps to hold it back.

No idea who the oldest people are that had hit the marks you referenced, I'd like to know myself.
 
conor78 said:
I was having a discussion with a friend who has been bitten by the cycling bug. At 44 he was optimistic that he could still make improvements and found it hard to accept they over time his performance will likely be impacted by age. In terms of SF standards, simple, sinister, snatch test etc what impact does age have. Who is the oldest person who has nailed simple? Sinister? Snatch test 24/32?

I will continue to train regardless of standards but interested to see how age impacts performance in SF standards in the way it impacts other sports/activities..
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If you go to certifications pages from SF website and look at the requirements to pass tests, you can see the adjustments done by gender and age.

This might give an idea to how much decline could someone expect from their peak performance.

If your friend tries to improve his cycling performance he might have a chance to win a medal in his age bracket.

I find this fact fascinating.

i never competed in a sports hence have no medals.

If I keep exercising and eat healthy, I might have a shot to win in a competition or break a record , I just need to be older :)



Best;

Be stronger.
 
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conor78 said:
I was having a discussion with a friend who has been bitten by the cycling bug. At 44 he was optimistic that he could still make improvements and found it hard to accept they over time his performance will likely be impacted by age. In terms of SF standards, simple, sinister, snatch test etc what impact does age have. Who is the oldest person who has nailed simple? Sinister? Snatch test 24/32?

I will continue to train regardless of standards but interested to see how age impacts performance in SF standards in the way it impacts other sports/activities..
Click to expand...
Age / size effects kettlebells same as it does other sports/ activities. Same with cardio, such as the sliding scale on the cooper 12 minute test
The certs. are scaled by sex, age, size, but not Beast/Iron Tamer, S&S. Would be interesting to see the oldest in the last two.
 
Ege said:
If you go to certifications pages from SF website and look at the requirements to pass tests, you can see the adjustments done by gender and age.

This might give an idea to how much decline could someone expect from their peak performance.

If your friend tries to improve his cycling performance he might have a chance to win a medal in his age bracket.

I find this fact fascinating.

i never competed in a sports hence have no medals.

If I keep exercising and eat healthy, I might have a shot to win in a competition or break a record , I just need to be older :)



Best;

Be stronger.
Click to expand...
Well said!
 
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Don Fairbanks said:
Age / size effects kettlebells same as it does other sports/ activities. Same with cardio, such as the sliding scale on the cooper 12 minute test
The certs. are scaled by sex, age, size, but not Beast/Iron Tamer, S&S. Would be interesting to see the oldest in the last two.
Click to expand...
I love the fact that certs are scaled down, because it will open opportunity for me in near future to see them more doable above age 50.

I love the fact that S&S does not have an age scale. It creates a very optimistic mind set for people reading the book. An unspoken can do attitude.

I like SF challenges. Could have been interesting to have a few additional that scales w age. Without changing the existing ones. That idea might have some cons that I can’t see now as well as pros.
 
conor78 said:
I was having a discussion with a friend who has been bitten by the cycling bug. At 44 he was optimistic that he could still make improvements and found it hard to accept they over time his performance will likely be impacted by age. In terms of SF standards, simple, sinister, snatch test etc what impact does age have. Who is the oldest person who has nailed simple? Sinister? Snatch test 24/32?

I will continue to train regardless of standards but interested to see how age impacts performance in SF standards in the way it impacts other sports/activities..
Click to expand...
@coosbaylarson How young were you again when you nailed sinister??
 
conor78 said:
I was having a discussion with a friend who has been bitten by the cycling bug. At 44 he was optimistic that he could still make improvements and found it hard to accept they over time his performance will likely be impacted by age. In terms of SF standards, simple, sinister, snatch test etc what impact does age have. Who is the oldest person who has nailed simple? Sinister? Snatch test 24/32?

I will continue to train regardless of standards but interested to see how age impacts performance in SF standards in the way it impacts other sports/activities..
Click to expand...
I can tell you this...

It was much easier to recert in my 30s than it is now (currently 43)
 
conor78 said:
I was having a discussion with a friend who has been bitten by the cycling bug. At 44 he was optimistic that he could still make improvements and found it hard to accept they over time his performance will likely be impacted by age.
Click to expand...
Lets be clear, there's room for improvement but his ceiling is lower than it was at his 20's.

If your Max at 20 is 100% of your capacity and now at 44 your Max is at 75% but your current situation is 35% you got plenty of room to improve and become better, but you will never reach the peak performance you would have reached back then.

Situation becomes different if you peaked when you were younger and you kind of maintained that lvl diminishing the looses over decades by keep on training...
 
I'm only 33 but I am finding one has to be a bit smarter as they age. Capacity starts to lower, but for me it's recovery. It's harder to absorb as much training. With volume limitations, if one isn't being smart it's hard to improve.
 
wespom9 said:
I'm only 33 but I am finding one has to be a bit smarter as they age. Capacity starts to lower, but for me it's recovery. It's harder to absorb as much training. With volume limitations, if one isn't being smart it's hard to improve.
Click to expand...
Ironically, I'm learning at age 59 that if one isn't improving, it's hard to be smart!! Seriously.
 
wespom9 said:
@WxHerk would love to hear you expand on that
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Bluntly, I refuse to accept that I’m any less capable at 59 than when I was younger. This tempts me to go harder all the time. However, my inner grownup does remind me to pace myself and do what I can and not always what I think I still can.

That said, upon reading this thread I knew what today’s session would be: SFG snatch test with the 24Kg. My test bell is the 20Kg but I felt I could handle the 24. I hit 104 snatches, by no means pretty!!
 
wespom9 said:
I'm only 33 but I am finding one has to be a bit smarter as they age. Capacity starts to lower, but for me it's recovery. It's harder to absorb as much training. With volume limitations, if one isn't being smart it's hard to improve.
Click to expand...
Yep. Recovery is key. Take a break when you fell you need it. I'm 59 aiming for half bodyweight press at 60 and SFB as soon as they run one near here, so still aiming to improve. Many of the 45ish age group I compete with in endurance sport think they will be better when they reach 60. They might but it depends where they are at now. Best to measure improvement against yourself than against others. I definitely need to be smarter about training now.
 
WxHerk said:
Bluntly, I refuse to accept that I’m any less capable at 59 than when I was younger. This tempts me to go harder all the time. However, my inner grownup does remind me to pace myself and do what I can and not always what I think I still can.

That said, upon reading this thread I knew what today’s session would be: SFG snatch test with the 24Kg. My test bell is the 20Kg but I felt I could handle the 24. I hit 104 snatches, by no means pretty!!
Click to expand...
If you are routinely hitting 32kg snatches for 200-250 reps and barely finished the snatch test with a 24kg, I'm not sure I have any hope of ever hitting it, lol. You're a beast!
 
The simple standard is an interesting one as the mobility and stability demands are significant (particularly as we age) due to the TGU.
The demands of the snatch test are well known round these parts.
How age impacts the ability to meet the standards if all other variables are consistent( training history, injuries etc)
This question arose out of one of those Guinness book of record discussions
Who is the oldest man/woman to complete simple?
Who is the oldest man/woman to complete the snatch test.?
A Pub quiz question of sorts…for gireviks
 
WxHerk said:
Bluntly, I refuse to accept that I’m any less capable at 59 than when I was younger. This tempts me to go harder all the time. However, my inner grownup does remind me to pace myself and do what I can and not always what I think I still can.

That said, upon reading this thread I knew what today’s session would be: SFG snatch test with the 24Kg. My test bell is the 20Kg but I felt I could handle the 24. I hit 104 snatches, by no means pretty!!
Click to expand...
When I read the first few sentences I felt upset … but when I read the 104 snatches w 24 .. :) I am happy now.
 
How much does training history play a role?

I have been active my whole life but only started strength training at 50 (now 55). Still making newbie gains but I am not moving anywhere near the weight of some folks around here in my demographic who have been strength training for much longer.

So my question is, as a late starter, what can I expect in five years when I hit 60 and beyond?
 
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