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Other/Mixed Getting Old Staying Strong

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
jayjo

jayjo

Level 6 Valued Member
The last few posts I've made, and typically the posts I comment on, are connected to aging.
I am 50. In my 30's I got into general barbell strength training and then bodybuilding.
Now I use only Kettlebells, Heavy Clubs & Mace.
Strength training is my fun, so as I fight aging (nagging injuries & mobility issues) I need to get creative as the list grows of things I can no longer do.
I can't lift big barbells anymore. I can't do jerking/yanking motions like KB Clean or KB Jerk.
So that is my journey. I am no longer chasing the numbers of a big lift or getting swole.
But rather just Staying Strong as I Get Old.
I eat meat, bread and drink whiskey and have no plans on changing that.
 
I too am in my 50's. In addition to kettlebell and some rucking, I focus a lot on movement and mobility. I've benifited greatly from the work of Katy Bowman and Kelly & Juliet Starrett. Peter Attia's centenarian olympics is also a helpful framework. Recent motivation to stay mobile and strong has come from watching my parents' decline into weakness and frailty. "You'll understand when you're my age."
 
I can do everything, I have no problem, but some exercises are just risky for me. Because of this I have abandoned them or do them with a lower weight. For example, I am hypertensive (this does not prevent me from exercising and has not had any effect on me) and with high diopter myopia, and they discovered some kind of trophic hole around the retina. They said that the condition allows me to go to the gym /no jumps, boxing, parachuting/ and lift weights, but still I read some materials and I dare not risk it. For example, holding your breath is a risky moment, so heavy squats and deadlifts are automatically eliminated. I'm most comfortable working out in a bodybuilding style with more and more machines and with KB, where breathing isn't like squats and deadlifts. And the total weight is not so high for the body.
I turned 51 a few days ago.
 
@jayjo, power to you. I'm 69 years young. I do some of what I used to do, some other things but with lighter weights, and some things I've dropped or only do infrequently. The only constant is change so we adapt as we age, applying the principles of our youth to the realities of our older bodies so that our last years don't become our dotage but rather our triumph in slowing the progress of the forces of time.

Rock on, carry on, and thank you for posting.

-S-
 
At one time I used cross training to develop a broad base of fitness via the different components for the purpose of increased performance. I'm a football and track coach that played basketball in college many moons ago so I already appreciated the importance of cardiovascular fitness but when I graduated it occurred to me that I needed to be stronger. A more dedicated strength regimen soon followed. Decades later I checked my logs and recognized when and how my training emphasis changed. Over the years wear and tear made their presence known and forced adjustment. When I was 25 I thought nothing of behind-the-neck pressing, now I avoid it like the plague. I didn't need to make drastic changes for quite some time aside from no longer trying to hoist big weight. Even up to age 60 I was able to maintain a pretty decent 3xweekly schedule but the goal was to leave the gym feeling better than when I entered. I am now 67 and retired and although my love for training is still strong I simply need to spend more time on mobility. Dan John has highlighted the work of Dr. Vladimir Janda regarding muscle imbalances and there came a time when I realized that I was a walking imbalance. KB work did more to address my imbalances and gaps than anything else in the last ten years.

There are things that I now avoid that were once staples. OS resets and some things I gleaned from Tommy Morrison occupy more of my time than pure strength although I know that strength is vital, especially as we age. Being retired it's easier to spend time playing around with rolling etc followed by a nice brisk walk. The isometrics employed by North Coast Miller might become something I look more into.

There are advantages to less volume. I don't recover like I used to. As we age we might have slightly different realities but this site allows us to take the journey together.
 
Currently 50. Changed from a Powerlifitng style workout to a mix of KB and Barbell lifts. I realise pounding away at Squat, Bench and Row for decades created certain problems like wear and tear on the shoulder and hip so I do them a lot less and use other implements a lot more.

Also, I kind of like some of the KB lifts like swing, clean or snatch because of the snappiness of them. I found in my 40s I was starting to feel slowish and this really caused me to investigate KB.

I find myself rotating my training. Taking on a program for 4-6 weeks then taking on another.

If I was to sum up what I think about training over 50 is that variety is key. Whether that is variety of systems or variety of implements. A 50 year old body seems to like to be trying new things a lot more than when I was young.
 
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I read your “currently 50” and thought, ok, he’s older. Then remembered I’ll be 59 in a few weeks. The kettlebells have been a life saver for me. I’ve been doing S&S for almost two years. I think I’ll mix things up for awhile. Maybe some clean and jerks.
 
Even if you are not training with heavy weights, it is important to train basic human movements. I often think that bodybuilding-style training, where mainly for the legs, for example, lately I use machines, will do nothing to help me be mobile in an older age. It's good to look good and maintain muscle, and it's useful, but it's not enough. Endurance is the other very important indicator. We have big muscles, we lift heavy weights on machines or bench press, and even squat and deadlift, but when we start carrying sacks or other slightly heavier objects for 10-15-20 minutes, we tire quickly and can't let's continue.
I had a colleague whose 20 year old son was into bodybuilding and had put on some pretty good muscles. One day the colleague and his son were carrying some refrigerator and this young boy needed rest several times and also said that his lower back and arms hurt. My colleague wondered how such a young boy in perfect health and big muscles, lifting heavy weights, could get tired of such a simple task. So my point is that we need to develop some athleticism and we don't need to focus on just one way of training. Maybe that's why KBs are such a versatile tool, because they cover almost all aspects of development that will be useful to you. Of course, you can also achieve strength, endurance and athleticism with the barbell and your own weight, etc.
 
JRockne said:
I read your “currently 50” and thought, ok, he’s older. Then remembered I’ll be 59 in a few weeks. The kettlebells have been a life saver for me. I’ve been doing S&S for almost two years. I think I’ll mix things up for awhile. Maybe some clean and jerks.
Click to expand...
I'll be 56 this summer. This month I'm celebrating 2 years on S&S. Earlier this year I started transistioning to ETK.

Before I started KB and mobility training, I used to have a lot of back pain and various ailments. I used to joke, "When I was young, if I was in pain it was because I did something stupid. Now pain just means I'm still alive. ;) " I don't say that any more. I'm back to pain being caused by stupidity, not by "growing old".
 
I am 63, 9 weeks out from a partial left knee replacement and prepping for the right knee July 8. I have used kettlebells for years as I found them better for preparing me for my sports/activities ( climbing, mountain biking, skiing, ww kayaking). I have found the simple movements most beneficial for sports and life, goblet squats and front squats, cleans, presses, and swings.
 
I’m starting to work out that I really only need a strength movement and a ballistic one a few times a week. Currently 5/3/1 deadlift and KSK snatch as my main with bent press and carries as assistance.

My warmup is mostly mobility stuff.

If I try to do too much it goes to s***


A minor neck issue has had me program hopping for months, which is frustrating but I seem to have found something that works around it. When I stick to a few movements regularly, I make progress.


I love love love kettlebell training but im starting to think adding a big compound movement ( squat/dead) for overall strength is important and a good idea. I do t need a monster deadlift but I think I can improve it a lot.
 
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jayjo said:
The last few posts I've made, and typically the posts I comment on, are connected to aging.
I am 50. In my 30's I got into general barbell strength training and then bodybuilding.
Now I use only Kettlebells, Heavy Clubs & Mace.
Strength training is my fun, so as I fight aging (nagging injuries & mobility issues) I need to get creative as the list grows of things I can no longer do.
I can't lift big barbells anymore. I can't do jerking/yanking motions like KB Clean or KB Jerk.
So that is my journey. I am no longer chasing the numbers of a big lift or getting swole.
But rather just Staying Strong as I Get Old.
I eat meat, bread and drink whiskey and have no plans on changing that.
Click to expand...

*shrug*

I'm 54 and still train with a barbell and do lots of ballistics and jerking motions.

I compete against others who do the same.

I think there is a lot of individual variation about what is and isn't possible as one gains years.
 
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watchnerd said:
*shrug*

I'm 54 and still train with a barbell and do lots of ballistics and jerking motions.

I compete against others who do the same.

I think there is a lot of individual variation about what is an isn't possible as one gains years.
Click to expand...
I've trained quite a few clients (OK fine... most of my clients) that are 50+ and some are definitely "more prepared" and others "less prepared" but I find if I'm not stupid I can get the less prepared into the more prepared category, if barbells is something they're interested in.

Although in your case... weren't you a collegiate athlete? I assume in your younger years? That you maintained into your.... twilight? ;)
 
John K said:
I've trained quite a few clients (OK fine... most of my clients) that are 50+ and some are definitely "more prepared" and others "less prepared" but I find if I'm not stupid I can get the less prepared into the more prepared category, if barbells is something they're interested in.

Although in your case... weren't you a collegiate athlete? I assume in your younger years? That you maintained into your.... twilight? ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I played Div 1 sports.

Among my peer cohort of classmates I've kept in touch with, there is a vast spread between those who have continued to train, albeit on a graceful glide path down.

And others who stopped putting in the effort and fell off a cliff.
 
Late 50s just trying to be active and mobile. Not trying to make the Olympic team or ride the Tour de France. Hell don't think I'll be doing any more centuries or marathons. Just don't wanna look like some people I see mentioned in news story my age or younger. Damn some look, ruff.
 
watchnerd said:
I think there is a lot of individual variation about what is and isn't possible as one gains years.
Click to expand...
This has to be true.

It bears mentioning that what one can and cannot do as one ages will depend a lot, in ways both helpful and harmful, on what one did earlier in life in the realm of exercise. A chronic over-trainer may simply burn out; a chronic 'wanderer' with no real focus may end up with little to show for their efforts, think "What's the point?" and quit altogether, and no doubt there are a lot of other scenarios one can envision. Hopefully most of us around here are sowing the seeds of continued health and vitality into old age.

-S-
 
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