Does Age Affect Your Training? Leave Your Ego At The Gym Door.

Does Age Affect Your Training?

In a word, yes. Age does affect your training. That's the short answer. But how it affects your training is really up to the individual. If you are 20-something, you can train until you drop, and other than being tired and maybe a little sore, the effects wear off quickly and soon you are ready to hit it again.

It's not that easy if you are in your late middle age or early old age. I am 63 years-old. I worked out in the gym at least five days a week for about 15 years. My training, while vigorous, was never strenuous. My goal was always to stay fit. Then, about three years ago I got the outrageous idea that I could train to prepare myself to enter a bodybuilding contest. Now that's an idea whose time had come. Imagine my wife's reaction when I told her the news. But, she was supportive and so I proceeded.

Training for a bodybuilding competition required many hard hours in the gym, a strict diet and a totally different life-style. Here, age makes a difference and does have an affect.

Lifting heavy weights with "old" muscles can be dangerous if you don't stay focused. It's easy to pull, rip, tear or stretch a muscle during an exercise that can stop you in your tracks and end your contest preparation on the spot.

I took great care in the gym to make sure I stretched my muscles before and after each set. I drank plenty of water during my workouts and I never continued a lift or pull if I felt the least twinge. I stopped the set at that point and didn't continue the exercise. I also never lifted more than I should, just to lift. My weight training was purposeful and therefore carefully planned.

To prepare for my first contest, I worked out 45 minutes a day, five days a week for 10 months prior to the contest date. During that time, I worked progressively harder each week as I grew stronger and never suffered a single injury nor did I miss a day of training, and my energy level remained very high. My fellow gym rats frequently gibed, "Old Navy is pumped today."

I entered my first contest ready to compete. I continued to train vigorously for the next 16 months and entered a total of 16 bodybuilding competitions, winning 32 weight, height, age and Best Poser (3) trophies, including my NGA and IDFA Masters Pro Cards, again, without sustaining a single training injury.

Simply put, if you are 20, it's OK to act like you are 20. If you are 63, it's not OK to act like you are 20.

Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge [image]http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/6610/shlogo2hor8tk.jpg[/image]

Awesome post boss. Great info, but i am 39 and often feel and act 20 though. lol

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I started training the day i saw Frank zane on the cover of muscle builder & power
now muscle and fitness back on may 29th 1979 and have been training hard ever since
i am 43 now and because of how long i have been at it i do not look it at all most people believe
i am around 34 or something.
 
Well i may not look it but i do feel it in terms of general fatigue stiffness and the fact that if i hit the gym more often than twice per week i overtrain and actually get weaker it also takes me longer to warm up now too all that aside i have never been better in terms of mass, density, balance, and muscle maturity it's just alittle harder to get ripped or to use as much weight on certain exercises
as i used to.

Lucky

Great story... Every young guy on this board should read it.... I'm 45, and like lucky55 been working out since i was in my teens and have only experience one serious injury... Partly due to being stupid when I was in my 30's and though I was superman.. that stupid time in my life has cuased me some serious agony... Great story and great advice.. and actually puts some perspective on what this is all about. 

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing

 

Great guideline for us older guys. I will be 57 on Sunday 10-21. Working out about 5 days a week. I weighted 280 lbs when I started on 3-19-07. I am now @ 220lbs. Lost fat but put on some serious muscle....Thanks for the inspiration!

It's OK to live everyday as if it were your last, but LEARN everyday as if you were going to live forever!


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I'm 50.  Sometimes it takes me a little longer to recover, sometimes I can just keep going.  It really depends on my mental outlook, not my physical state. 
 
In a typical week I will mountain bike off-road and on-trail and on-road a couple of times a week for an hour or two each time out; I will weight train 2-4x/week, depending on the routine I am using.

Really enjoyed the read Old Navy.. great forum !