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Thread: Progress for older lifter

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
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    Default Progress for older lifter

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    Thanks for taking my question on the "ASK RIP #62" podcast. Having only been lifting barbells since mid November, and being 59 and female, I started off pretty good but have hit a "wall" so to speak. I do have an SSOC who is doing creative programming to get me going again. My question for you is, in older lifters, do you see a "stalling" problem as being more related to strength, form, or both? And also, you mentioned in the Ask Rip podcast something to the effect that the body will not want to do, or will not do, something which it thinks it is incapable of doing, like hitting depth in the squat which was what I was asking about. I read something in SS about it also. Is this a problem that can be overcome mentally, or a problem that would benefit for accessory exercise, like the leg presses you recommended.

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    North Texas
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    53,562

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Posts
    4

    Default

    Thanks very much. I need a lot of work on the 3rd question.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Provo, Utah
    Posts
    520

    Default

    My wife is 48 and she chugs along notching up PR's pretty regularly at 2.5 pounds/week on deadlift and squat and 1/2 to 1 pound/week on bench and press. When she ran out LP and stalled, we de-loaded, and ran LP again. After stalling twice, I bought her those nice, colorful little micro plates from Rogue and she loves them. She just wants me to make some plates in pink so she can claim them as her own because she's surrounded by men in the gym. She prefers the small, colorful plates over the manly, steel, clanky micro plates. She loves to add one more color to the bar--just like the men.

    We switched her to 5x3 and she really seems to enjoy that more than 5x3. Her rest periods are shorter, her mental strain is a bit less, and weight keeps edging up. Buying a little bit of new equipment and adding a little bit of weight is a huge mental boost to fighting through sticking points. We just run her LP in the 1/2-2.5 pound range now. This is a case of slow but sure. Slowly adding weight is critical to keep the lifts moving. Advanced programming can come later.

    That said--if you refuse to eat, get greedy on your lifts, or refuse to sleep your lifts will stall...period. Just ask my son.

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