Geezer Novice Log

[Gene61]

I've been lurking on this site for a while, have asked a few stupid questions and got thoughtful answers, so I decided to take the plunge and do Log posts.

Stats:
Age - 61
Height - 6'5"
Weight - 203lbs
BF - 20+ %

I've been active all my life with skiing, snow boarding with the kids, sailing, surfing and biking. However, I never did any weight/strength training. Over the decades my activities slowed down. Can't ski all day anymore, much less 4 days in a row. Can't surf for hours on end anymore. Cranking winches on the sail boat was leaving me whipped.

I read about Starting Strength in book on Couples, of all things, "No Cheating, No Dying," in which the husband is a dedicated SS intermediate doing TM. It sounded like what I needed. Even (or especially) at my advanced age, it was high time I built some strength. Don't want to be one of those old men who hobble around and can barely get out of a car, much less go skiing, biking or surfing.

I started SS in March and really loved the new strength it gave me even after just a couple of months. Unfortunately, my arm/wrist/bar position was wrong on the squat and I had a surfing related shoulder strain. The upshot was that I had to take off a couple of months to get my shoulders fixed up. Now I'm back at it with proper form (I hope!), but basically starting over.

I got some advice to go slow at my age from several posters here. However, since I restarted with a bare bar, the lifts are just so easy that I'm going to increase the weight each workout until I start to feel the strain and then drop down to weekly increases. We'll see how far I can go with this modified Novice program (weekly weight increases). I understand that old guys benefit from going to TM sooner than the youngsters but I would like to stay with SS as long as I can.

Goals: First Goal is to get to the Cat I level for 200lb men http://startingstrength.com/files/standards.pdf :

Squat: 125#
Press: 85#
Bench: 135#
PC: 90#
DL: 156#


This is supposed to be what a 200lb guy can lift without any training! I am so far below that. I don't think I was ever at that level even in my 20s. I may have benched 135# once. Clearly I'm below average in strength, but I don't intend to stay that way!

My wife and I started training again last week. Yes she is doing SS too! As I said, I restarted with the bare bar, just so that I could get the form down right this time and make sure every part of the old bod is progressing in concert with the main drive muscles and I don't stress anything again. However, just to be clear, the bare bar is not much less than my 5RM! Here are the workouts so far:

Date 8/27/2012 8/29/2012 8/31/2012 9/3/2012

SQ 45x5x3 50x5x3 55x5x3 60x5x3
Press 45x5x3 45x5x3
Bench 70x5x3 80x5x3
DL 65x5x1 75x5x1
P Cleans 65x3x3 70x3x3
Pull Do 90x10x3 100x8x3 110x7x3 120x6x3

Comments:

Squats: Working hard to get my arms and wrists in the right position. I lack flexibility here and so have been doing stretches with a broom handle every day.

Press: My weakest exercise by far. My remaining pain from my previous injury is keeping me from locking out properly at the top. I can't get the bar directly above my head without lots of pain. Will keep the weights light until the shoulders loosen up.

Bench Press: Love it!

DL: This is a key exercise for me as I have a long torso and relatively short legs for my height. I need a strong lower back!

Power Cleans: These are fun!

Pull Downs: I need these for surfing. I want to build up to pull ups, but for now I'm using the pull down machine. I started with lots of reps and lower weight as rehab for my shoulders and am working up to a heavier weight 5x3.

Diet wise, I'm going for a heavy paleo-ish diet. I read Rip's "Clarification" paper and GOMAD is clearly not for me. Hopefully I can maintain my 200 lb weight and see my BF go down. Not too worried if the weight goes up, but won't want to see my BF head for 25%. That's too fat for an old guy.

Well that's it for now. I hope this inspires some other old weak guys who are thinking about SS, but are intimidated by the Logs that start out at 180# on the bar right from the start!

[Mark E. Hurling]

Glad to see another senior citizen keeping a log here. I'll be 62 in a few weeks myself. Cranking wenches eh? I know, probably a typo and not something I usually comment on, but that was too much to pass up.

You might also check into these age adjusted standards: http://killustrated.com/sport-amp-fitness-prints.html

[Oldster]

Glad to see both you and your wife training, Gene. I hope to follow your great progress in your log now!

[Gene61]

Ha! That was cranking winches!

Thanks for the URL for age adjusted standards. For my weight and age I seem to be right on target for the "untrained." Reassuring, since I was untrained. However, I don't like where I am much and am delighted to have found SS so that I can dig my way out of the weakness hole.

Here's what I pulled off the site for >60 yo at 198lbs body weight:

SQ - 70lbs
BP - 80lbs
DL - 90lbs
PC - 55lbs
Press - 50lbs

Pretty weak, but that's where I'm at, more or less.

[Gene61]

Mark E. Hurling and Oldster! You guys are my inspiration. I've read many of your postings on this forum and you are consistently rational, helpful, supportive and, yes, inspirational! Thanks!

[Mark E. Hurling]

Heh. Keep on thinking that about us. But don't go down into Ends and Pieces unless you want those rational and supportive comments blown to flinders.

[bob g]

"Creaking wenches? Eh? A little harsh on the old girls, aintcha? What? Talk into my other ear." Sorry, I couldn't resist.

It's great that you're posting a log, Gene. Do the program, mind the recovery, eat well and you will get strong - the Mrs., too. And you're right, us more seasoned trainees don't need GOMAD but I sure like me a nice tall glass of milk once in a while. It sure goes well with a big ol' beef steak. Well that or a hearty beer, um, or a bold red wine. Hmmm, I'll be back in a bit.

[synchronicity]

Heya Gene! Nice to see you started a log! I just hope I can crank wenches on a sailboat when I'm 61....

Damn, you guys are making me feel like a young'un! BTW Gene, if it makes you feel any better, there were some guys in their early twenties quarter-squatting no more than 85lbs in the rack next to me, saying "squats are HARD!" And agree on going more paleo-ish if you're not young or thin.

Let us know how your wife is progressing, too!

[Oldster]

I've read many of your postings on this forum and you are consistently rational, helpful, supportive and, yes, inspirational! Thanks!

Don't let any of the Leftists know you said something like that, even here. They'll hunt you down and slap you. But really hard....and maybe even stomp! heh! You can recognize them coming toward you though, they'll be wearing a pink neckerchief!

Heh. Keep on thinking that about us. But don't go down into Ends and Pieces unless you want those rational and supportive comments blown to flinders.

You beat me to it. I've never been called so many names since Junior High School, which I do believe many of them are still in!

But keep moving forward Gene, both you and your woman. Add weight to the bar whenever you can, work around any injuries you accrue (it'll happen!) and just keep moving forward with your eye on the short term prize and then move forward to the next prize.

Pretty soon you won't recognize yourself. Or your wife!

[synchronicity]

Oh yeah, avoid E&P. You'll soon discover that Oldster is a dangerously unhinged reactionary*, and MEH ain't much better. Or worse. Or something. Fortunately, I've posted less there so am probably beneath both of those distinguished gentlemens** notice.

*- although you may also be a dangerously unhinged reactionary, so don't worry about it. But really, E&P is where rational thought goes to die, where partisan diatribes are prevalent, where uninformed opinions range free like those expensive chickens Whole Foods sells....in other words, like most of the internet, but with a lot less porn.
**- however that's supposed to be spelled.