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Originally Posted by
skid
At 54 years old I have a 475 squat, 550 deadlift, and 365 bench. The gains over the past year have been pretty minimal, outside of my bench, despite a disciplined and concentrated effort. I don't think there's much left in my genetic potential unless I gain more weight which I don't want to do at 5'9" 225+ pounds.
More strength won't improve my life any. Actually spending less time in the gym will leave me with more energy to do other things in life. I've found that energy is something you lose as you get older. I have a meet coming up this month, and once that is over I'm looking forward to less gym time and doing other things. Like Rip says, priorities change.
As far as future maintenance programming, my plan is to train twice a week with squats/bench Monday, and Deads/presses Thursday. Work up to a heavy ~90% single on each lift, followed by 3x5 leaving a couple reps in the tank. I'll fill out the program with accessories like chins, rows, and curls and call it good. I trained similarly a few years ago and it kept my strength while still leaving me with energy to do other physical activities.