I trained yesterday with a very different perspective, and it felt really good. After spending the majority of my lifting life in relentless pursuit of building muscle, the realization–perhaps timed to my 54th birthday–that I am more likely just maintaining what I have than building anything new, settled upon me like a heavy barbell and surprisingly, did not fill me with dread.
I did my three competition lifts and finished up with two sets of weighted chin-ups as I have done every other day since October 28, 2017 when I restarted Programming to Win’s Novice Program. But somehow, the knowledge that these specific actions I was taking were helping stave off the inevitable decline of my body made the heavy weights feel less heavy! I was less intimidated by the movements because I suddenly wasn’t concerned about forcing myself to grow by overloading my systems, but instead to coax my body along to stay the course and not decline. I set no PR’s on the competition lifts yesterday, but I did PR my chin-ups. However, I focused more on technique, on using my body and a cohesive unit with each muscle, tendon and ligament doing their part in concert to move the weight through space against the forces of gravity. It was about as poetic a training session as I could have had.
I scanned my Practical Programming book last night to read up on Masters lifting and the differences in programming that should be taken into account when dealing with the over-50 crowd, which I reluctantly accept I am a part of. I have literally refused to contend with that issue for years now, barreling ahead with the same programs designed for the young and the virile. I think this has helped me immensely, because I am not your average 54-year old male. Nonetheless, I want to train for life and avoid injuries and setbacks, so perhaps expanding my knowledge base on what I can expect as I set off into my 55th year of life would be advantageous.
I came across a quote from Dr. Jonathon Sullivan and I read the rest of his article this morning. It’s an impressive bit of inspirational wisdom mixed in with practical advice, but the quote from Practical Programming still stood out as the rallying cry for my future lifting career. I can only assume he has inspired other rising senior citizens to take up arms or face the ugly truth of a debilitating future, but my cynicism suggests otherwise. Nonetheless, I leave it here for any who may stumble across this private journal of my mind in the hopes it may drive you to the nearest strength training facility to get under a loaded barbell and save your own life.
“Instead of slowly getting weaker and sicker and circling the drain in a protracted, painful descent that can take hellish years or even decades, we can squeeze our dying into a tiny sliver of our life cycle. Instead of slowly dwindling into an atrophic puddle of sick fat, our death can be like a failed last rep at the end of a final set of heavy squats. We can remain strong and vital well into our last years, before succumbing rapidly to whatever kills us. Strong to the end.”
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