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Kettlebell Training as we age

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I should add that although not "stronger" due to periods of not training strength and losing some ground there, I am working on and continuing to get stronger now. And, at least I hope so, know a lot more than I did and am training smarter. I find that with more rest I make a lot faster progress than if I just push push push every day. Also more balanced in that doing A+A snatches and biking and walking, I am working on a broader range of fitness than I have in the past. I used to mostly emphasize one or the other.
 
Age 40-45 I learned how to train through bike riding. So my focus was endurance training, not strength. I did several century rides (100 miles) and regularly rode around 20 mph avg in group rides; pretty good for a middle-aged female, but nothing elite or competitive.
Ride Categories – Ramapo Rally

You are an A* rider. That pace would be considered very good for a younger male amateur rider, and such people around here have been winners in local Div 3-4-5 crits (criterium, short, multi-lap bicycle races that are often quite competitive). Perhaps not competitive on a professional level, but well worthy of being called elite as a middle-aged amateur with a day job, IMHO.

-S-
 
Mid 50s and full of beans. Like many here I'm a generalist. My indulgence in S&S has unleashed my athleticism. I compete in master athletic sprints now and to my surprise my age performance sits at 87%. 90% is world class. Depending on many things, training obviously but more to do with pain in the arse stuff of life, next year I may even enter the world championship! I have a specific training plan written for me for a winter event but other than that I don't train as a specialist and training is pitched from September. So generalism has got me to a good level. The programming here has a strength and health focus. Training for performance? That should be your focus too....regardless of age.
 
@ali Regarding masters sprinting: Very cool. I'll be turning 45 this year. My sprinting at this point in life is based on feel and not wanting to lose the physical capability. But truth be told I harbor secret (not so much now!) aspirations to engage in some masters sprinting in a decade. The master plan envisions me with more free time by then. Hopefully I can make it work. Best of luck with your events!
 
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I am 48, and I am way more cautious since I have found that injury healing time is WAY longer than it used to be. I have slowly paired away some activities/exercises that have causes injuries in the past. So these days it is just mix of KB and BW stuff.

I think I have always needed a long warmup so I haven't seen this change much yet?
 
Wow, lots of us older gens here, I think the common thread is smart training. After I dropped dumbbell work for kettlebells everything improved. Joints especially, honestly I thought getting stronger was a thing of the past for me and I could only maintain what I had. Even then I had this feeling of only holding off the inevitable march of time.
I think overall I'm stronger today then I was 20 years ago when looking at strength as a real world applicable system. For this I have KB's and the SF system to thank.
 
sprinting at this point in life is based on feel and not wanting to lose the physical capability.

You and me both. The masters circuit is a friendly place, although not so that anyone will let you win. It's very competitive. A mixed bag of former competitive athletes, ex pro sport athletes and everyone in between. The talk is mostly about injury and various bodily malfunctions. Some of the times and abilities though are astonishing. Well worth looking into. There are no entry standards. You get rewarded by just entering. If you can hold your own racing top level competitors then you know that your training is going well.
 
365 lbs. lifting at 67.5 kg bodyweight, raw division, and by my own choice, no belt. That’s about 6 lbs less than 2.5 times bw. I am now lifting as a 66 kg and have a best of 152.5 kg, again a little short of 2.5 times bodyweight.

-S-
That is ridiculously strong proportionally to your bodyweight. That's nuts.

You've inspired me to ramp up my deadlifting.

Can I keep adding weight little by little and it's safe or do I have to get a belt to hold my guts in after a while?
 
One thing I've found at 59 is any change in routine has to be done slowly and incrementally, otherwise I pay the price.

I've always been a go-for-it type of trainer so that's been a tough adjustment. Not the wild and crazy type but one that calculates a path and then wants to go hard and dig in. A+A training has been great but I really crave GT stuff sometimes. The problem with that is recovery, so if I get my GT fix it ends up costing me on the other end in 1 or 2 lost training days.

My martial art (karate) training has always been the hard style GT type. It makes me feel alive. These days I've had to cut back on that a bit too.

I guess the thing about aging that's been hardest for me is frustration. I can't do all of the things I used to do. You would think after 30 yrs of MA training I'd have a more zen attitude like @Harald Motz but my spirit is still difficult to temper. Everyone I know thinks I'm pretty mellow but the fire still rages inside. Perhaps some day I'll learn to temper it a bit but as the Irish say 'You're a long time dead' so while I'm alive I want to feel that way.
Karate is FANTASTIC! Very cool! I love the katas!

I have always used things I've learned from the katas in judo, kickboxing and MMA.
 
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Something I'm getting from this is how many of those here with decades of experience do a balance of light (cardio), medium (kettlebells - maybe I'll say "athletic" like training - a balance between heart pumping and mobility stuff on the one hand and moderate weight on the other), and heavy (barbell) lifting/exercise.
 
For maintaining movement quality and strength, would it be better to keep with swings like simple and sinister or get more variety with deadlifts, reverse hypers, glute ham raise, things like that?
 
I think I jinxed myself by posting about injuries. I have found that now I am more likely to get some random injury than when I was younger. Today, I was on my second set of pull-ups and BAM neck pain. Last month after a normal KB workout I had shoulder pain for ~4 days, and I still don't know what caused it. It seems like these small twinges or tweak happen way more often, and linger longer.
 
That is ridiculously strong proportionally to your bodyweight. That's nuts.

You've inspired me to ramp up my deadlifting.

Can I keep adding weight little by little and it's safe or do I have to get a belt to hold my guts in after a while?
@Kozushi, you are much too kind.

I cannot comment on a belt because I’ve never used one. I did buy a weight lifting belt when I was training GS about 10 years ago, and I didn’t find it helpful there. I’ve never used a belt with any barbell lift.

IMHO, no one needs a belt to deadlift unless your legs are stronger than your abs, and the solution to that problem is to strengthen your abs.

-S-
 
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I have found (at 52) that two days a week is optimum for my barbell training- currently I am following a 'heavy-light' program. If I go to three days a week my recovery is not complete- I did have some success with a heavy/light/dynamic program however. I use kettlebells as accessory work unless I'm doing a specific KB program. But mobility work is key. Myofacial massage with a lacrosse ball was a near daily need until I discovered Original Strength, but the single best therapeutic 'tool' so far is the 'Back Pod'. I still use a foam roller and other T Spine mobility drills, but the Back Pod has been a game changer for me. My wife uses it as well. I have no financial interests in the Back Pod- but wow, this tool will always be with me. Worth every penny.
 
I've noticed reading the experienced lifters' posts on the forums that there is a migration over time towards heavier lifting, and therefore barbell training. The kettlebells hit muscles the barbells generally don't, but also hit the same muscles although certainly with less weight. Maybe this is why Pavel(?) calls kettlebells so versatile. Then there's the Long Easy Distance training for cardio - like walking, hiking, rucking, jogging, running. The experienced lifters here seem to end up doing all three, mostly concurrently. I'm currently using bodyweight training mainly for hitting maximum load given that my bodyweight is heavy at 100kg, and I'm definitely seeing nice results. But, there is no arguing with 300lbs, 400lbs or heavier barbells in regards to what is a heavier lift!
 
Not sure if you're joking here or asking about powerlifting because some federations do use the word "classic" in some of their class distinctions, basically to accommodate a rules change. E.g., the WNPF changed its Raw division rules a while back, disallowing knee wraps and some other things, but maintains a Raw Classic division in which you can lift if you wish to follow that particular set of rules. Raw classic is basically just a little more gear allowed than the current Raw division.

From www.wnpfpl.com - click on Home, WNPF Rules, All Rules

4-9. Raw standards

Raw/Unequipped lifting is defined as using only the following gear and accessories as previously described:
(a) Non-supportive singlet, (b) T-shirt (cotton), (c) Underwear (cotton), (d) Socks, (e) Belt (maximum 4” in the back) (f) Shoes, (g) Wrist wraps (36” max), (h) NEOPRENE Knee sleeves w/o VELCRO tightening or bands

4-9A. Raw classic standards

Raw/Unequipped lifting is defined as using only the following gear and accessories as previously described:
(a) Non-supportive singlet, (b) T-shirt (cotton), (c) Underwear (cotton), (d) Socks, (e) Belt (maximum 4” in the back)
(f) Shoes (g) Wrist wraps (36” max), (h) Knee wraps (2.5 meters max) or knee sleeves (i) Elbow sleeves for the squat and deadlift only


-S-

Not joking at all... At the moment, I qualify for the sub masters category.

I ask simply because there is an age in which you can still recover fast enough, and there is an age where you really have to be more cautious, and that is where I was asking for clarity. Where.the line is drawn
 
I think I jinxed myself by posting about injuries. I have found that now I am more likely to get some random injury than when I was younger. Today, I was on my second set of pull-ups and BAM neck pain. Last month after a normal KB workout I had shoulder pain for ~4 days, and I still don't know what caused it. It seems like these small twinges or tweak happen way more often, and linger longer.
Jinxed myself too, pulled a calf muscle during warmups this am... Arrrrggghhhhh
 
Not joking at all... At the moment, I qualify for the sub masters category.

I ask simply because there is an age in which you can still recover fast enough, and there is an age where you really have to be more cautious, and that is where I was asking for clarity. Where.the line is drawn
I don't think it happens quickly but gradually, so I don't think there is a line, Mark. If we can believe what we read, in many sports, late 20's is the peak of performance. Powerlifters have proven this wrong, with many excellent performance through the mid-40's. One piece I read said the peak age for sprint distance swimmers is 21.

Whenever that peak is, as it recedes into the distance behind us, we rightly should expect less of ourselves athletically.

However, I am doing my best to prove the numbers wrong. My theory is that by training intelligently and recovering sufficiently, we can still produce a respectable peak performance even though our training might not be, overall, as vigorous as it once was.

The keys, IMHO:
  • Hone technique because there are always gains to be made.

  • Train consistently through the avoidance of injury.

  • Test periodically to prove that the training is producing the desired result.
I don't think those things are necessarily different for an older athlete than they should be for a younger one, but it's a whole lot easier to train wrong and still perform right when one is younger.

JMO.

-S-
 
I'm just about 29, and don't feel I have the age nor training time to comment on this thread. I absolutely love reading this stuff though as my day job is working with tons of older adults.

One question I have for all you "masters" athletes is this - how often do you find you lift in the 85%+ range for lifts, how many reps do you do (eg no buffer, large buffer, etc) and do you find lifts closer to 1RM take longer/are harder to recover from?
 
I have posted this before when a thread brings up training (S&S) at age...
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