Better With Age

[fnet]

I'll turn 45 in April 2010. I've been weight training for about 10 years. I've done every stupid thing one can do in the gym. I was an avid follower of T-Nation but I tired of all the minutia. I bought Starting Strength in August '09 and became hooked. I threw everything I thought I knew about training and relearned the lifts. I've since bought PP vol. 2 and spend a lot of time on this site. I train alone at home. I stalled on SS and went to TM. After a bout of illness, I reset and went back to SS. I'm starting to stall again so I'm thinking about resuming TM. I have my share of aches and pains (elbow and wrists at the moment). I'm interested to hear from some older lifters who can share tips on recovery and fighting through the aches and pains of getting old. I wish I was 25 again and doing the program with GOMAD, but I do what I can. Unfortunately, I neglected to weigh myself when I started the program. I'm guessing I was in the high 160's or low 170's. I am 5'6" and currently 185 LBS. Today, I tested myself on a couple lifts for my 1RM Here's what I did today: Squat 335 LBS, Bench 235 LBS and DL 400 LBS. More to come on my regular training schedule.

[fnet]

3/15/10

Had company over the weekend. Stayed up late, woke up early. Drank more than usual. Monday morning, very tired. Usual left elbow pain and creaky knees. Both wrists have been hurting more than usual. Seem to be hitting a wall. Thinking about going back to Texas Method. I'll try squeeze out a few more linear gains. Starting to get the feel of using a belt. Did not use on Cleans.

Squats - 305 LBSx5x4x4. Pain in left knee under Knee cap. Not too bad. but missed reps on last two sets.
Bench - 210 LBSx5x5x4. Probably could have squeezed out last one but no spotter...
Cleans - 135 LBSx3x5
Elbow and knee fine shortly afterward. Wrists still hurt.

[fnet]

3/17/10

Light Squats (Normally, I do front squats) but I've been stuck and wanted work on some form issues - knees out and depth. 245x5x3

Press - Experiencing terrible wrist pain on this movement. Below the thumb. Worked up to 3 reps at 130 LBS until it hurt like hell. Took some weight off and switched to a false grip. Did final two sets at 115 LBS for 5 reps.

Deadlift - 365x5x1

Again, I had some typical knee and elbow pain that I could work through but this wrist thing is pissing me off.

H: 5'6"
W: 190 LBS

[fnet]

3/19/10

Scheduled to lift today but resisting the urge. One more day rest might do some good for the nagging injuries. Reread PP2 on overtraining. I only just started entering the log here but have been going a sometime now without a break. Been dealing with some mild depression and lack of sleep all week. Overtraining? Low testosterone? Clinical depression or just everyday stress? Poor recovery methods? Hopefully, I'll be ready to go tomorrow after a good night's sleep.

[fnet]

3/20/10
Extra day off did me good. Finally got around to recording my working sets. Hopefully, I didn't record over one of the kid's recitals. My wife would shove the camera up my ass, tripod and all. Thought about going back to TM but decided to stick with SS linear a little longer. Finally got unstuck on squats and bench. Relatively pain free.

Squats 305x5x3
Bench 210x5x3
Cleans 140x3x5

I'll break down the tape later.

[fnet]

3/22/10

Light Squat - 250 Lbs 3x5. Experienced some hamstring pain during warmups. Rolled it out with foam roller. No pain.
Press - Still have wrist pain. Focused on bar position on heel of the hand. Taking it slow. 125x3x5.
Deadlift - 370x3x5

[fnet]

3/24/10

Completely sucked. Haven't slept well the last couple nights and it showed.
Squats - 310 only got 1 rep up. Tried 295 for 3. Ended up doing a couple sets of 5 at 275.
Bench - 212.5x4, 205x5,3
Cleans - warm up and 1 set at 95. Wrists hurt, shut it down. Thinking of going back to Texas Method. It seams I can only get 1 decent workout a week. After that, the next two suffer.

[fnet]

3/27/10
That 2 day layoff always works wonders.

Continued deloaded squats 280x5x3. Working on knees out and depth.

Press-130x5x3. Left wrist pain was manageable. First time ever I could bring front delts forward to rest bar.

Cleans 140x3x5. Some were good. Some became power reverse curls.
Right wrist bothers me somewhat.

I will continue with Advanced Novice, doing lighter workout in 2nd session before starting back on Texas Method.

[misspelledgeoff]

Keep up the great work fnet. I just turned forty in Feb. You and I both are testaments to getting "better with age" .

For what it's worth, I went on TM after about 4-5 months of SS. TM seems to mesh SO much better with my recovery ability. I too can generally get about 1 good workout per week and the rest are in various stages of recovery.

[fnet]

Thanks, Misspelled. Although I've recently started this on-line log, I've kept a written log of my training for the past year. I was beginning to worry that my last few posts look like all I do is complain about nagging injuries while my numbers fluctuate wildly. I tried TM for a couple months. The volume days were brutal. I got stuck at 292 on squats, then I got sick. Once I recovered, I figured the novice program was the best way to get back up to speed. Unfortunately, As the numbers up, I have a tough time recovering from workout to workout so I'm going to try the advanced novice plan a couple times before going back to TM.

I welcome any suggestions and tips from a fellow "mature" lifter. I know we have different recovery and nutritional needs than a lot of the younger guys on this site. Throw in the demands of family life, a sedentary job and stuff that needs fixing around the house...Some days, I'm already toast before I hit the weights. Thanks again for the encouragement.

Later that same evening...
I was doing some foam rolling. I was really trying to "get up in there". I rolled my nuts. I let out a yelp and my wife came in to find me writhing on the floor.