What Happens When a Lifter Gets Old | Starting Strength Radio #35

[stef]

Rippetoe gets introspective as he reflects on 40 plus years of training at the age of 63.



Transcript & Episode Resources

"Some terrible things have happened over the course of 44 years of training. And the bar is always your friend. That's where you put bad things. And it's that's that's really why I started training. And here I am 44 years later and I still kind of training on a semi-regular basis."

[Philip DiDomenico]

Hi Rip,

Fifty-seven year old guy here, trained most of my life, now in my first year of SS training. Thanks very much for the heart to heart. I appreciate your candor and your realistic attitude. I have often wondered about when and how to push, and you answered that nicely. You also have inspired me to reread the Barbell Prescription and Practical Programming, and to get back in touch with my coach to talk about my program.

[CommanderFun]

Interesting video, even though only a fraction of the audience is in that age bracket, it's still relevant to everyone. Barring tragedy, we're all gonna get old eventually.

Also, that ending gave me a good giggle.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Interesting video, even though only a fraction of the audience is in that age bracket

Who do you think our audience is? A bunch of 23-year-old powerlifters?

[CommanderFun]

I don't know, sounded like you thought it was only going to be of interest to a portion of the viewers in the beginning. I just thought personally it was relevant even if you're not there yet.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I think our audience is primarily 35-65. But most of them are not old beat-up lifters with 42 years under the bar.

[CommanderFun]

That's a shame, this stuff would be great for younger people. I wish I had tried to introduce myself to lifting using Starting Strength instead of Arnold's book back when I was a teenager (don't think the book existed in any form back then, though). But regardless, I just thought it was informative even though I'm still only 35. Getting old is gonna happen, probably faster than I'd like, and some advice on what one might be able to expect and how to deal with it and keep training is good to have.

[jack.haefner]

Hi Rip,

Thanks for this podcast episode. I greatly appreciate not only the subject material, but also your perspective.

I have essentially two related questions. After nearly three decades of military service, I was very proficient in detecting oncoming overuse injuries in running and other “sports.” I could tell the difference between what I could “shake off” and what required that I see the doc. These differences were subtle, but I learned the difference over decades.

I’ve only been barbell training for about three years, starting in my last year of active duty. I’ve been under a coach for most of that time. I’ve also sustained several injuries over these past few years. In all those circumstances, I could not seem to detect what was fact from fiction, when I needed to gut it out and when I needed to stop before it was too late. Yes, my coaches have monitored my aches and pains as I moved through bouts of Texas Method, relying on my joint aches and pains as a signal to deload and dissipate the stress. But an online coach is a poor substitute for knowing what’s going on in real time. This is obviously a long lead in to question number one: beyond the obvious, how do you suggest a lifter distinguish between the discomfort the comes with the sport and when they need to stop before doing themselves harm? This question presupposes that the lifter does know how to 1) grind and 2) has the necessary constitution to not quit when things get “hard.”

My second question: can you talk in more detail about your maintenance regimen? I’m in my mid-50s and work a four-day split. I essentially have one volume day and one intensity day for each lift. Some accessories here and there in the form of weighted chins, rows, and LTE. Your routine presupposes a significant accumulation of strength. But what of the masters lifter who is still trying to reach their genetic potential? I am not sure if many of my injuries in the past few years are from hitting the ceiling of my capability (I hope not) or three decades of life as a Soldier. I’d wager it’s a combination of both.

Thanks again.

Jack

[Mark Rippetoe]

This is obviously a long lead in to question number one: beyond the obvious, how do you suggest a lifter distinguish between the discomfort the comes with the sport and when they need to stop before doing themselves harm? This question presupposes that the lifter does know how to 1) grind and 2) has the necessary constitution to not quit when things get “hard.”

It takes experience, no other way. It's easy to tell if an injury just happened -- sound, acute pain, loss of function. It's much harder to tell if an injury is about to happen. Usually you can't tell, but usually it doesn't happen.


My second question: can you talk in more detail about your maintenance regimen? I’m in my mid-50s and work a four-day split. I essentially have one volume day and one intensity day for each lift. Some accessories here and there in the form of weighted chins, rows, and LTE. Your routine presupposes a significant accumulation of strength. But what of the masters lifter who is still trying to reach their genetic potential? I am not sure if many of my injuries in the past few years are from hitting the ceiling of my capability (I hope not) or three decades of life as a Soldier. I’d wager it’s a combination of both.[/QUOTE]

A masters lifter who is still getting stronger is not on a maintenance schedule. So why are you asking about this? My schedule is certainly not appropriate for you.

[LimieJosh]

Rip, interesting comment about you incorporating techniques like pauses as an alternative way to apply stress. Have you ever found that you get worse at using the stretch reflex on the real version of the lift if you do paused reps too frequently/for too long? I have stumbled upon a similar approach for squats to allow me to squat twice a week without chronic hip issues flaring up, but I find my real squats are increasingly resembling the paused ones, both visually and in terms of weight on the bar.

Short of simply committing to do the real resp better, any cue or advice to prevent falling into this trap?