People don't get this kind of workout stuff

[Smyth]

My job takes me inside of "Assisted Living" facilities. I would rather risk my knees exploding and my ears falling off than end up like the residents of those establishments.

Yep. This.

[AParrillo]

I get the same response about strength training from my family. I (enthusiastically) was telling my 70+y/o father why it's important to strength train as you get older. I told him how much I could lift after just 6 months of training.

His response was: "No. I don't want to hurt myself. Be careful, son. You'll just hurt your back by doing that. Bad backs are no good...."

Same response from my brother in law. I don't bother talking about my hobby to people anymore unless they ask me first.

I do have my nephew, however, who gets it because he lifts with friends. I treated him to a SS pulling camp last November. He enjoyed it very much and continued deadlifting. There is hope for the future!

The benefits of strength training are for all ages, or at least have been for me, as I started barbell training after age 69. Nine months later and a few weeks from 70, I enjoy the kind of strength I have never felt--and that included years of martial arts and a variety of stuff that was just wrong for my knees and hips. Not sure that if your father hears testimonials like mine it will make a difference, but it might. And this coming from someone who ten years ago had a rotator cuff repair, meniscus repairs in both knees and a repair of a torn distal biceps tendon six years ago. The reason most people dismiss barbell training is because not many trainers know how to teach it, especially overhead work, where most gyms are too concerned with injuries because the people who own/run them do not know about barbell training. My gym has a lot of trainers, but only a few allowed to teach overhead movements. The four squat racks and four platforms Olympic stuff are usually open in the biggest and otherwise busiest gym in Boston.
IMHO, I believe that my generation needs more advocates like Mr. Rippitoe or Dr. Sullivan who get more publicity. What is unique about barbell training in my experience is that one can experience reasonably fast results, although the plateaus might arrive just as fast and that the challenge to perfect the technical movements is fun.

[PizzaDad]

The suggestion that we are compensating for something.....I drive a lifted Jeep and a big 4Wd Dodge Ram. I smile and say It's because I'm compensating. But I'm Italian so they probably don't believe me.

My group at work is unusual. I have a boss who used to squat heavy and had a good friend from high school who squatted over 1,000 lbs. I saw the video of it. It was legit. The guy who sits in the cube in front of me is 30ish and does MMA. Guy behind and to the right is 40ish, Did MMA for years but slacked off, had a heart attack 2 years ago and started working out again like a demon....back to MMA and hitting the weights. He benches and deadlifts but does not squat....says it hurts his knees. We have a runner and a Tae KwonDo person in the group too.a few other people on my floor do crossfit and body building. so on average there might be 10 people who do nothing for every one of us who do lift....but nobody seems to think it's odd. OF course I say this and most of the people I work with probably think I'm insane. Because I put in my 40+ hours and then drive to the mountains to work on my orchard and retirement home all weekend. But that is the same mentality I think. People want the easy button, and there usually isn't one if you want the best things that life has to offer.

[Fiddler]

I get the same response about strength training from my family. I (enthusiastically) was telling my 70+y/o father why it's important to strength train as you get older. I told him how much I could lift after just 6 months of training.

His response was: "No. I don't want to hurt myself. Be careful, son. You'll just hurt your back by doing that. Bad backs are no good...."

Same response from my brother in law. I don't bother talking about my hobby to people anymore unless they ask me first.

I do have my nephew, however, who gets it because he lifts with friends. I treated him to a SS pulling camp last November. He enjoyed it very much and continued deadlifting. There is hope for the future!

Tell your dad that there's at least one other 70+ on this board who went from "active but detrained" to nationally competitive lifts in about a year and a half. I had a couple of minor tweaks due to lack of coaching (bad form), but at this point, age 71, I'm stronger than I've ever been, and never get hurt, even when I fail a lift. There are several other guys here of a similar age who will say pretty much the same thing. You have to be careful, use good form, and progress conservatively, but slow steady work does wonders.

My ladyfriend is kind of flirty, so I don't know how much of it is sincere and how much is flirt, but I do know she appreciates having someone around who can easily do things that are too heavy for her. Some of the other women in our group are trying to get their husbands / SOs to look into weight training after watching my transformation.

[gnk]

Waiting for a work conference call to start a couple of weeks ago - just me and a woman from England on the line - and she tells me she just finished the London Marathon. It was her first one and she was clearly excited to have finished it, so we talked about it for a couple of minutes. Then, she asks if I "do any sports." I said, well, I do a powerlifting sort of training to get stronger. She said, "Well, that's cracking on, isn't it? Good for you."

I can live with that. Glad I started this thread and got to see all the responses.

Crack on, mates!

[AParrillo]

It's funny to read the replies - and to see that I am part of a group getting the same kind of reaction. Makes this forum a rare place of common interest - especially for those north of 40 (or whatever the magic age would be).

+1

[Enoch Root]

My job takes me inside of "Assisted Living" facilities. I would rather risk my knees exploding and my ears falling off than end up like the residents of those establishments.

For the love of all you hold dear. This.

[Jonathon Sullivan]

My job takes me inside of "Assisted Living" facilities. I would rather risk my knees exploding and my ears falling off than end up like the residents of those establishments.

For the love of all you hold dear. This.

That's it, right there.

And assisted living isn't the worst of it. "Skilled Nursing Facilities," my friends.

People have no idea of the horror.

In 25 years of medical practice, I never got used to seeing what came to the ER out of those places. Over the years, it only seemed more hideous.

I'll die in the saddle, thank you.

[Dag]

...and had a good friend from high school who squatted over 1,000 lbs. I saw the video of it. It was legit.

Care to name drop?

[Culican]

That's it, right there.

And assisted living isn't the worst of it. "Skilled Nursing Facilities," my friends.

People have no idea of the horror.

In 25 years of medical practice, I never got used to seeing what came to the ER out of those places. Over the years, it only seemed more hideous.

I'll die in the saddle, thank you.

I go into the "Nursing Homes" here also.

One day I was being shown to the area I needed to see (my job has nothing to do with the actual care given in these institutions; I work for an agency that regulates another portion of the operation) and as we walked down the hall a resident of the institution started screaming, "Somebody please help me!" She and her walker had gotten stuck in the automatic door to the restroom. One of her legs and the walker were trapped by the door. One employee turned to the employee I was with and said, "You need to help her." To which the employee escorting me replied, "I can't, I am taking him back to the ..." The first employee then said, "Well, I'm not allowed to help the residents, that is your job." The poor woman who was trapped was screaming the whole time. Finally the man who stated that he was not allowed to help pushed the door open so that the woman could get out of the bathroom.

The whole incident lasted less than a minute but if that is indicative of the type of care in these places (and it seems to be), stay out at all costs. BTW, this was one of the better places.

The building of these places seems to be a growth industry here in the Phoenix area. Just imagine if even 25% of the over 40 population started doing the barbell lifts. All of the investments in these properties would be rendered worthless.