The Book?

[George Christiansen]

I do wonder how much any possible answer to the question of when are you strong enough is lost on many of us who do not train others. If you don't do manual labor then you really don't see people's strength levels on display. People are way weaker than I think many of us assume because of who we compare ourselves. I know people are fatter and weaker than previous generation, but even compared to farmhands 50 years ago, I imagine squatting bodyweight for 5's would still be stronger than most people "needed" to be to get through their lives.

I am still a relative noob and thus relatively weak, but I am much stronger than I was. The thing is that I wasn't exactly struggling to work very physical jobs while I was weak by my current standards. I wonder though how much the pursuit of strength and the processes it triggers is necessary even after the actual weight on the bar reaches levels where you are certainly more than strong enough for the tasks at hand?

[jkolt]

I'm young (late twenties) and I've always had the the "strong enough?" question. Its a sad answer to us lemmings, but I think the "juice to squeeze" ratio decision is a personal one after you're above that "strong enough to deal with challenges of daily life" question. Its probably somewhere more than 1.5x bw for reps, and less than 3x bw for reps. A range so large, its mostly useless.

Interestingly enough, Rip / Stef told me at a seminar that a big problem is maintenance programs are boring. They truly are! They also are a great reminder of how the body seems to want to mean revert to weakness. Stomache flus, a bad nights sleep, low carbs - they all just KILL a "just enough" maintenance protocol. I notice less delicacy of the variables when I'm eating and training for gainz.

[franklie]

Perhaps this is not appropriate for this thread but I recently saw a short video of Lou Ferrigno (the Hulk) and Arnold Schwarznegger (Conan) training at Golds Venice. Both of them are in their late 60's now. To be frank about it, I hope that in 15 years when I am as old as they are now that I am able to train harder then what I saw.

The 7-time Mr Olympia was wearing shorts and when I saw his legs the following lines popped into my head:

I can't help with the shape I'm in
I can't sing, I ain't pretty and my legs are thin. (Fleetwood Mac)

Am I doomed to waste away like the two of them have done?

[bjvinson]

Correct. This book will not and cannot replace either PPST3 or SSBBT3. The purpose is to show why and how barbell training should be used in older populations. And it is directed not only at trainees, but also at coaches, physicians, and policy makers. It is an extremely ambitious project. But it is a supplement to, not a replacement for, the foundational texts.

Much to the very great displeasure of my wife, I just spent 4-6 hours of each day of our Chicago "getaway" last week on this project, not to mention the entire drive there and back.

Andy and I are working hard and we are getting close to Done. Honest. Of course, the closer you get to Done, the tougher it gets. As soon as possible and no sooner. Believe me, we want this finished. Glad to hear there's interest.

Andy and I think it is going to be something very, very special and powerful. But we would, wouldn't we?

I think this is probably a lot like a software project - it will be done when it's done.

I can hardly wait to get my hands on the book because I've discovered that the hardest part of training as a 53 year old is training as a 53 year old. I've had to unlearn most of the things I learned from my jr. high and high school football coaches and get comfortable with the fact that 53 ain't 15, 20, 30 or 40. This has been
hard because back in high school, I was pretty strong...On the other hand, understanding why training is necessary at my age has been easy. I've watched my mom go in and out of the hospital several times over the last 3 years while carrying around a 1 gallon ziplock back full of prescription medicine and I know that's not how I want to spend my later years.

I applaud you and Andy because this is important work.

I know I'll end up buying multiple copies and giving them to friends and relatives and hoping they'll follow the very good advice contained in the book.

[MikeP]

I guess I asked a queston which is not really answerable, nevertheless both of your responses were illuminating. Thank you very much.