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Quoted: My shoulder pains keep me from benching like I used to My biceps/triceps/back and pecs are still solid at 58 YO I still do ab workouts that guys half my age find daunting. I still enjoy cycling, but I am slower than I used to be. Part of that is boredom; I don’t get into it like I used to and I don’t have the free time to have a legit weekly training program. View Quote I was going to say maybe OP is asking the wrong question. In my experience, it depends entirely on how beat up your body is. Bad joints, backs, etc lead to less lifting, running, etc. Staying active becomes harder. My strength hasn't dropped off much in my early 40s, but my ability to maintain is definitely starting to suffer as a result of nagging pains and old injuries. Eventually I'll need to switch to higher reps, lower weight, and lower impact exercises. I imagine that will happen within the next 5 years or so, but I'll still be in the gym. |
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Quoted: 25 Independant of exercise, diet, suppliments or any other variable, at that age the aging process begins to overtake the vitality of your body. It may be 10 years or more before you can identify any evidence of this but the inevitable has begun. View Quote This seems to be the Google answer. I'd rather have speed and agility, myself. |
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It is never too late to start. Also declining really isn't the right word, it is more about the amount of effort it takes to achieve a similar result. Around 40 is when everything has peaked but you can stay in similar shape for much longer, it just requires more effort in the gym, with diet, and sleep. If you look at The Rock, he is now in his 50s and is still as built as ever and better than he was in his 20s.
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I'm 38, I've been strictly watching what I'm eating and going to the gym now for 12-14 weeks. I'm in the best shape I've ever been, I'm stronger than I ever was in teens and twenties.
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As a side note I'm 58 and really hit the wall about a year ago. Stamina dropped way down, couple hours of chopping wood and I'm destroyed. Slight chest pain got me running to the hospital because of heart disease in my family. Turns out three arteries to my heart were restricted, and I needed heart surgery. I'm still recovering but the doctors say I'll regain a lot more stamina when all is healed.
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60 years old here and still upper body strong, but not near as strong as when I was late 20's to mid 40's.
My legs are shot, I had something (Transverse Myelitis) attack my Spinal column about 6 years ago and have a lesion/scar on my spine that gave me neuropathy from the waist down. I can still walk OK, but walking up stairs or down is fucked and need to pull myself up with railings one step at a time. My aliment makes me one in a million ! Still working my balls of every day at my job. |
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Yes 50 seems to be the # .
I’m past that and feeling it . I DO need to exercise more . |
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Quoted: I felt my absolute best, top physical performance from 35-42. Best 10k and 5k times, etc. View Quote i have read running ('distance' specifically) is one area where the age 'peak' is later -- more like mid to late 30s. vs muscular 'strength' and overall athletic ability occurring younger -- ie 20s. |
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By far the biggest difference I notice at 58 over 20-30 years ago is recovery time. I don’t bounce back as fast. I also know if I am injured I may not heal as well. I therefore do more reps with less weight when exercising. I also really notice it if I don’t get some protein in me quickly after vigorously exercising
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Quoted: In my 40s, I started noticing that it was harder to recover (after injuries, etc.) and it was getting harder to maintain strength and endurance. In my 50s, it has DEFINITELY become much harder. View Quote Same. Also, look at the ages of professional sports players in their prime. 20s - early 30s. A pretty good general age range for peak human physical performance. There will be some outliers for sure, but they aren’t all in this thread. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t value in improving yourself later in life. |
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I'm certain it greatly varies from person to person.
Grandpa told me a few months ago that he started feeling his decline at around 71-72. He's 86 now, and still does stuff, but it hurts him more. He just does it anyway. |
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I think 40’s and up cardio health can vary widely. But just because you’re not a peak physical specimen doesn’t mean you can’t push it, provided you’ve had it checked out.
I’m 57 and hit 191 on a sprint last week. I routinely get HR > 190 in sprint training, both swimming and running. It feels great. As much as they push colonoscopies on people over 50, I think a stress test is a good idea for anyone. |
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At 51 my biggest limiting factor is my joints. I'm just not capable of pressing the weights I did without shoulder pain.
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By the numbers, powerlifting, I was at my peak strength age 33-35.
Age 18-24 I was invincible and not yet damaged by any injuries. But the body keeps score. I can see injuries from the military that happened at age 24 would hit me and slow me down in my mid 30s. Combat injuries sustained in my late 30s and early 40s plagued me for years. Shoulder surgeries, back surgery, ankles… Then at age 50, I probably was in my best “shape” in terms of athleticism and form. The problem now is recovery time from injuries. A torn groin muscle to me a year to recover from. And those combat injuries from the 30s and 40s are starting to become less than manageable. |
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I’m late 40s and the main thing I notice is recovery takes longer. If I run a couple miles on the treadmill my knees and hips hurt for a while where they never used to.
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Quoted: I was in the best shape of my life in my early 40, so you're very far from too late. Right around 50 is when I started seeing a noticeable decline, recovery gets harder, shit gets tweaked easier, and "pushing through" pain when training becomes a bad idea that leads to bad things. View Quote Pretty much the same for me plus its easy to put on bad weight and a real bitch to take it off. My strongest was definitely early to mid 30s. Then the joints started giving out so i had to reduce the weight I lifted. I still stay active buts its harder these days at 50. ETA: The biggest thing I've noticedisna drop-offin my agility 110 years ago might could hop a fence no problem now I just don't feel as stable as I used to. I move a lot more deliberately these days. |
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Quoted: Just starting to feel it in my late 50's. Still have more strength and stamina that plenty of dudes half my age though. View Quote |
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I was stronger in my 20s but I was also single and working manual labor then lifting at night. Now I've got a family and work a much less physically demanding job.
At 38 I'm still running 8+ miles in armor pushing a stroller, lifting heavy and pretty fit. Attached File Deadlifts 495x4 squatting 405x2 kipup at 38 shoulder roll |
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I’m 55, just 6 years ago I was easily doing various home improvement jobs , that today kick my ass. I can feel a big reduction in my physical capabilities, as well as getting hurt much more easily.
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Depends on how much time and effort youre willing to put into your body short of some physical disability. Ill be 50 this year and stronger than I have ever been. Im also 90% retired and it take priority in my life.
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Quoted: Pretty much my case as well. My mid-40s I was in fantastic shape and it got noticed. By my early 50s I couldn't push as hard and injuries started to pile up. Had to have my rotator cuff repaired at 56. It may not be that you're that much prone to injury as all the damage accumulated over the years starts to show itself, but whatever it is, I think long and hard about doing certain heavy physical activities, and if I feel a pain tweak I don't like during a workout, I stop and wait a couple days now. Started TRT helped but didn't turn the clock back, just made it tick slower. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I was in the best shape of my life in my early 40, so you're very far from too late. Right around 50 is when I started seeing a noticeable decline, recovery gets harder, shit gets tweaked easier, and "pushing through" pain when training becomes a bad idea that leads to bad things. Pretty much my case as well. My mid-40s I was in fantastic shape and it got noticed. By my early 50s I couldn't push as hard and injuries started to pile up. Had to have my rotator cuff repaired at 56. It may not be that you're that much prone to injury as all the damage accumulated over the years starts to show itself, but whatever it is, I think long and hard about doing certain heavy physical activities, and if I feel a pain tweak I don't like during a workout, I stop and wait a couple days now. Started TRT helped but didn't turn the clock back, just made it tick slower. Yeah, it's the inflammation, and the arthritis and tendonitis that just keeps stacking up. |
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Quoted: It is never too late to start. Also declining really isn't the right word, it is more about the amount of effort it takes to achieve a similar result. Around 40 is when everything has peaked but you can stay in similar shape for much longer, it just requires more effort in the gym, with diet, and sleep. If you look at The Rock, he is now in his 50s and is still as built as ever and better than he was in his 20s. View Quote The rock has used so many PEDs he likely won't have to be embalmed he's already pickled. I'm not sure id use him as a reference but his geneics have allowed him to keep going. most his age doing what he has done thier joints would have gone out. |
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Quoted: I was stronger in my 20s but I was also single and working manual labor then lifting at night. Now I've got a family and work a much less physically demanding job. At 38 I'm still running 8+ miles in armor pushing a stroller, lifting heavy and pretty fit. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/433221/IMG_20220524_104928_2_jpg-2708339.JPG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amMqUgpZW60 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DDTraPkA-E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyFt8aZFMeU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypHVcVfF0uA View Quote Is it hard to find enough time to lift/workout with a job/kids? Any tips for how to juggle that? |
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Quoted: Is it hard to find enough time to lift/workout with a job/kids? Any tips for how to juggle that? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I was stronger in my 20s but I was also single and working manual labor then lifting at night. Now I've got a family and work a much less physically demanding job. At 38 I'm still running 8+ miles in armor pushing a stroller, lifting heavy and pretty fit. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/433221/IMG_20220524_104928_2_jpg-2708339.JPG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amMqUgpZW60 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DDTraPkA-E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyFt8aZFMeU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypHVcVfF0uA Is it hard to find enough time to lift/workout with a job/kids? Any tips for how to juggle that? My kids are 2 and 4 so we still still can push strollers on runs. They also both nap for 2+/- hours every afternoon and I go to work at 1500. In the summer I lift in my shed while they nap and I have a gym at work I use after I get off My wife and I also take turns. She ran this morning after I got up. I could run after I put my son down for his nap but I'm squatting after work. It's a lot harder but we try to make it work. My wife does a lot of 30 minute boot camp workouts and we have a pull-up bar in our kitchen. |
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Mine was in my 30s when I was carrying tons of steel up and down stairways in and out of mechanical rooms. Just do it.
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You don't quit riding because you get old, you get old because you quit riding.
Seriously though, I would fo us more on flexibility and range of motion. Some of the body's systems are reliant on motion in order to flush them out. Sarcopenia is reality. As you age, your body loses up to 30% of it's muscle mass. For the sedentary that muscle is normally converted to adipose tissue and does nothing. In the meantime your body's systems begin to work harder to maintain than they used to. Anyone who ever seriously lifted will tell you that it's hard to grow. What's not hard is strength training. You can do a whole lot while reducing your caloric intake to a level that your aging metabolism will more easily support. TLDR; you can do better by dropping mass and weight over 60 and still maintain strength. |
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Idk if military service helped or harmed me....
I am working on getting back into a certain level of fitness I used to have - which was slowed down dramatically cuz I was in the process of moving... I do feel that I have a "different" level of strength, endurance and level of recovery that sometimes is better than I had when I was younger, but sometimes slower/worst. So, hard for me to tell at what point changes are happening because I have and am going through a lot of physical changes - where I forgot to mention whether or not I think perimenopause is affecting it too. I do believe in staying active - just adjusting what/how much you to to match whatever changes your body is going through. |
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I will be 60 this year but my trade is extremely physical and pushes the limits of strength so mine is good. Peak was maybe 40 or so but have maintained it.
My back has been pretty screwed for about 12 years and arthritis isn't helping. I think it's key to not look at truckloads of material that you have to install as problem but as a challenge. |
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Quoted: Also, look at the ages of professional sports players in their prime. 20s - early 30s. View Quote |
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Quoted: > The average GD boomer https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c9bf38_0bd707c547e74b549b0ea0b1f58ed300~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_600,h_600,al_c,lg_1,q_85,enc_auto/c9bf38_0bd707c547e74b549b0ea0b1f58ed300~mv2.png >Unironically looks like Zeus View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: After age 30 if you are not actively gaining muscle you are losing muscle. @Geralt55 @SBR_Slut > The average GD boomer https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c9bf38_0bd707c547e74b549b0ea0b1f58ed300~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_600,h_600,al_c,lg_1,q_85,enc_auto/c9bf38_0bd707c547e74b549b0ea0b1f58ed300~mv2.png >Unironically looks like Zeus Average, Johnny bad ass GD'er today in mommy's basement posting about boomers Attached File I just don't get some of you and your obsession about bashing others for whatever you can think of. Are you that insecure or what. Post very informative up till this crap started. I've seen guys in their 50s, 60s, and 70s that put a lot of younger guys to shame, and I'd not mess with even if you paid me. They will cut you or shoot you in a heartbeat. They are stout as hell. But of course, I've seen a lot of women in that age range you could not pay enough to touch either and some who are absolutely stunningly beautiful and graceful |
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The fastest triathletes and endurance athletes are typically in their mid 30's. It takes a decade plus of building the cardio engine to reach peak performance. For other activities requiring short bursts of speed and good hand eye coordination (football) most people will peak in their early 20's. That being said, age is no excuse not to workout and better yourself. There are some extremely fit endurance athletes in their mid 50's.
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Pay attention to your metabolism.
Adjust what you eat and drink accordingly. This process is continuous. |
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I've always been healthy and active, sometimes hyper active. Felt like I always needed to be doing something and ran out of time each day before I ran out of energy. I felt like I was still at the top of my physical game at age 42. Unfortunately, I had a water skiing accident and broke my ankle that year...and slowing down and taking time off to heal did me in. I have never been the same since then and I feel like it was downhill phyically for me from that point on. It was at least 5 years before I felt like I "came back" at all from that accident, and honestly, I feel pretty good now almost 20 years later, but feeling good and being physically at the top of ones game are two different things.
As mentioned, I still felt peak at 42. Without the water skiing accident I don't know when I would have felt like I was declining. |
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Mental attitude makes up for a lot of physical decline. I'm in my mid-60s, and definitely not as able as I was 20 years ago, but I can still "turn it on" when I need to.
I recently hired a crew of three to help me put up a parking shelter. Two of them were in their early 20s, and the third is perhaps 40. They have been doing quite a bit of work for us, but this time I wanted to work with them. I was determined to show them the old man could still put out some work, and I started earlier, did more, and quit later then they did. It felt good! They actually dropped their price for the job, saying, "You did most of it." I thought that was good of them, but I paid their previous estimate. |
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I was still fine at 58. I could go all day with a chainsaw or could walk for miles through the swamps and woods. Young guys did not always keep up with me. My body started to crap out at 65. Knees, shoulders, back, etc. Now I sit around all day, which is a new skill for me. I have become rather accomplished at that.
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I started lifting in my 20s and stayed a novice until, well now. I can definitely a difference in injuries and joint issues in the past few years (38). Ive never done cardio because of asthma and just went to a pulmonologist to get that figured out. Good results so far in less than the half week Ive been on new meds. Im hoping to mix in a moderate amount of cardio and stave off the declining metabolism. I was never one that could just eat anything and not put on weight Ive yo-yod between 170-205 for a number of years. Taking it off now takes 2/3rd more time than it used to.
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My strongest recorded lifts (press, squat, bench, deadlift) happened when I was 49. I was training Karate, Muay Thai, Judo/BJJ and combatives throughout my 20s, 30s and 40s, with the later years feeling the best. Now, in my mid 50s, strength numbers aren't near my peak, but still lifting heavy-ish and training sprints and heavy carries. If my body stays OK, I will make another run at my lift PRs. It takes a more concentrated effort to keep or slow down the degradation of mobility, though.
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You’re looking for an excuse to not go to the gym. Don’t give it to yourself.
I’m 35 and I’m the strongest I’ve ever been. Also look the best that I ever have. It gets harder every year, but that just means it requires more effort. I’m willing to give it more effort. |
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For me, it was my early 50s. I was in the best shape of my life in my 40s. Lifted four days a week, ran about 35 miles a week, biked 150 miles and swam a couple miles. Ran marathons and competed in triathlons. Then I hit 50 and everything started getting harder and I couldn't run long distances because of a knee issue.
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It starts declining the day you stop using your strength, the day you stop exercising.
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Quoted: By the numbers, powerlifting, I was at my peak strength age 33-35. Age 18-24 I was invincible and not yet damaged by any injuries. But the body keeps score. I can see injuries from the military that happened at age 24 would hit me and slow me down in my mid 30s. Combat injuries sustained in my late 30s and early 40s plagued me for years. Shoulder surgeries, back surgery, ankles… Then at age 50, I probably was in my best “shape” in terms of athleticism and form. The problem now is recovery time from injuries. A torn groin muscle to me a year to recover from. And those combat injuries from the 30s and 40s are starting to become less than manageable. View Quote You still running around playing lax? I was playing in a weekly men’s league up until the pandemic, and aside from being humbled by kids in their 20’s, I felt pretty good. I was messing around a few months ago with my kids and their friends, and my knees killed me for weeks. |
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Depends on where you are and your milage.
I played football/Discus/Shot put at various times depending on the school I went to at the time. I never did a whole bunch of weight training, but a moderate amount I'd say. I was still pushing 300 1X until I was about 48 and punking much younger guys on reps at 225. Then, my right shoulder gave. Torn rotator cuff. I put it off for years but got the surgery. Got the intervention, and while lifting weights to rehab (and pushing too hard) I tore my left shoulder's rotator cuff. At the same time I've seen people I know that have never collided with people or done anything athletic age really quickly in terms of what they can do. And get hurt badly quickly. I still have a solid back and decent knees. At 55 my shoulders are degenerating, but one can't have everything in life. |
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