How do I get this 30 Year Old Body back to Form

[Cmart]

You haven't found the holy grail, you're not as smart as you think and you don't know as much about training as you think you do.

I have found the holy grail. Unfortunately, it is too heavy for you to lift.

 

[Sano]

I have found the holy grail. Unfortunately, it is too heavy for you to lift.

Touche.

 

[Cmart]

Touche.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the free flow of information and the ability to discuss varying viewpoints. I'm just convinced that the benefits to challenging and progressive training are undersold, and that some kind of "as long as you get up off the couch once in a while" thinking seems prevalent. I'm hoping we as a community can do better than that message. I'm not the best ambassador for it, but I try to reiterate it when possible.

In 2010 I was in school and recovering from my second knee surgery at 41 years old, when I went and watched a powerlifitng competition held right at the school gym. I said "I want to do that." And I also wanted to stop limping when I walked, especially up and down stairs. Sure enough, a year later I broke in with a 1000+ total, had eliminated my limping, and was pretty excited. I trained my first six months just following a mobility program from Eric Cressey that had very little actual "big three" in it. Not everyone needs to do a powerlifting program. If I trained a fighter I'd probably have more explosive work emphasized. But old people can benefit greatly from heavy resistance work ("heavy" being a relative term). The ones I've worked with (I worked at a gym for a couple years while I went to school) improved their posture, balance, mobility, flexibility, and of course, strength. A few of the people I worked with had pretty dramatic improvements, including some pretty formerly feeble older women. I'm going to guess they had additional benefits to bone density, reflexes, mental ability, etc. but I could only see the tangible results. Better movement, mostly.

Anyway my point is that people set the concept of age and infirmity and "athletic peak" aside and just try to push their limits, consistently, for a reasonable period of time. Say three months, then reassess. I've been training after a two-year layoff for less than nine months, but with determination. I've recently realized that, even though I'm not as heavy as I've previously been, I'm stronger now than ever before in my life. Stronger than I was in 11th grade when I was 142 pounds and benched 240 and power cleaned 210 in the football clean/bench competition, setting the pound-for-pound school record. And it's awesome for me (not especially impressive in the grand scheme of things, I'm not in the top 20 strongest around here) but I'm not done improving yet. And I'm now 48.

You gotta understand that seeing a guy crying about his old, tired body at 30 makes me want to shake him by the shoulders. He should get to work improving his life, right now. Some hard work will pay off, short term and long term. Anything less is a shame.

 

[chubbman]

I thought in the year of our lord 2017 that we would all know that in order to get stronger you need to lift heavy (relative to the lifter) for whatever your set and rep programming is. Isn't that the point of lifting weights? The OP's post seems to indicate that his knees and back are weak, so in order to get them stronger, lifting heavy would be the way to do it. If it causes sharp or excruciating pain, I would assume something else is up that would require something much more extreme, such as surgery.

This, so much this.

OP should run starting strength for six month, i bet he'd feel much better. In fact, from personal experience I know he'd feel better.

 

[Sano]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the free flow of information and the ability to discuss varying viewpoints. I'm just convinced that the benefits to challenging and progressive training are undersold, and that some kind of "as long as you get up off the couch once in a while" thinking seems prevalent. I'm hoping we as a community can do better than that message. I'm not the best ambassador for it, but I try to reiterate it when possible.

In 2010 I was in school and recovering from my second knee surgery at 41 years old, when I went and watched a powerlifitng competition held right at the school gym. I said "I want to do that." And I also wanted to stop limping when I walked, especially up and down stairs. Sure enough, a year later I broke in with a 1000+ total, had eliminated my limping, and was pretty excited. I trained my first six months just following a mobility program from Eric Cressey that had very little actual "big three" in it. Not everyone needs to do a powerlifting program. If I trained a fighter I'd probably have more explosive work emphasized. But old people can benefit greatly from heavy resistance work ("heavy" being a relative term). The ones I've worked with (I worked at a gym for a couple years while I went to school) improved their posture, balance, mobility, flexibility, and of course, strength. A few of the people I worked with had pretty dramatic improvements, including some pretty formerly feeble older women. I'm going to guess they had additional benefits to bone density, reflexes, mental ability, etc. but I could only see the tangible results. Better movement, mostly.

Anyway my point is that people set the concept of age and infirmity and "athletic peak" aside and just try to push their limits, consistently, for a reasonable period of time. Say three months, then reassess. I've been training after a two-year layoff for less than nine months, but with determination. I've recently realized that, even though I'm not as heavy as I've previously been, I'm stronger now than ever before in my life. Stronger than I was in 11th grade when I was 142 pounds and benched 240 and power cleaned 210 in the football clean/bench competition, setting the pound-for-pound school record. And it's awesome for me (not especially impressive in the grand scheme of things, I'm not in the top 20 strongest around here) but I'm not done improving yet. And I'm now 48.

You gotta understand that seeing a guy crying about his old, tired body at 30 makes me want to shake him by the shoulders. He should get to work improving his life, right now. Some hard work will pay off, short term and long term. Anything less is a shame.

I definitely see what you're saying. Strength training can have a major positive impact on the well being of so many people, including the elderly. I'm seeing it too. I can also understand you getting frustrated. Sometimes someone just needs to get their ass in gear and realise that it will help them. At the same time I think how you come across can either be a help or a hindrance to what you want to give express. I personally like lifting very heavy (relatively to my strength), previously with no regard for health or pain. I've matured a little, but I've always understood that not everyone have the same goal as me, and that many roads lead to Rome. Finding those roads, in spite of any physical or mental obstacle, is what I'll be doing as a career. I'm not talking about TS here, but in general. I don't think someone is a pussy if they don't enjoy squatting heavy. Different modalities and tweaks for different people. That doesn't mean that they shouldn't get the best treatment, quite the contrary.

I think it's great that you've overcome your injuries and rekindled your joy of lifting. There's nothing like setting a goal and working towards that goal. That's what I love about training and especially strength training. Many things in life, like personal progress, success and growth, are things that can be very hard to measure. To me, working out makes them tangible. You gain confidence, you get healthier, you set goals and you achieve them. You grow. It's fucking awesome and simple. Put in work, be smart, get results.

I think it's impressive at your age that you keep getting stronger and set PRs. When the time comes I want to do that as well.

 

[Don Quixote]

I'd recommend doing some back, hip, and leg stretches, along with any exercise.

 

[bowened]

30 is within the athletic prime window. You're just lazy.

 

[Hero In A Half Shell]

I'm in the same boat brother. I've been in good shape whole life. Even better shape once I started Boxing, joined military and trained BJJ. Then I move from NYC and back to my home town and get lazy. I shot up from 150 to 185 pounds.

Found a local BJJ gym, train three days a week there and have been running 3 miles on my off days and stretching. Down to 165 pounds in two months. Though toning up seems to be harder for me. Trying to switch exercises and do things I've never done.


30 isn't old at all. I'm going to start competing in BJJ and may finally take my first amateur MMA bout once I've gotten in better shape.

Just stay motivated. I'm lucky to know people fighting professionally who are older than me. I figure if they're 5 years old and still kicking ass I've got some time to catch up.

Just get up and grind.

 

[Dan O]

This thread went places.

I'm always hoping for some chemistry to replace Cratos and Tosa.

I think you gentlemen could do it.