BODYBUILDING IN YOUR FIFTIES AND SENSIBLE TRAINING ADAPTIONS TO CONSIDER
BODYBUILDING IN YOUR FIFTIES AND SENSIBLE TRAINING ADAPTIONS TO CONSIDER
I have now been weight training for over 35 years and in that time made the same mistakes most people do. I used to lift way too heavy in my youth with no particular attention on training style. It was all about moving the heaviest weight I could (ego lifting). I am now paying the price for this with numerous injuries that I have to constantly train around. At least by going through this scenario I have learnt what my body responds best to and what it can cope with.
My training is now analysed much more and all the movements are controlled movements with the emphasis on a mind to muscle connection.
I see lots of people over social media saying training ridiculously heavy restriction is the only way to progress, which although I dont dismiss it, is not entirely true (in my opinion). I agree that maximum progression is made through moving heavy load (way out of your comfort zone) where the body is put under maximum stress but remember at my age this is simply something my body could not cope with without causing injury. So what do I do? Do I come to terms that my prospects of improving have now gone? No I don’t!
I assess exercises on a risk to benefit ratio and move forwards from there.
If loading the bar to an astronomical amount I can only move it by recruiting other muscle groups leading to bad form I don’t see this as a risk worth taking. An injury at the age of 52 would prevent me training a particular body-part for a period of time that would definitely lead to muscle loss in that area. Again at my age the chance to retrieve that muscle loss once training resumes is unlikely to be 100%.
So the way my training has changed over the years includes injury prevention as an important factor. Like I said before my movements are fully controlled and I work hard through ‘mind to muscle connection’ to breakdown the targeted area as much as possible. This system works for me and I would consider my best improvements as a bodybuilder have come in the last few years. My measurements have gone up and my stage weight has increased considerably. I know I am on a timescale now where improvements are going to become smaller and smaller (you can only fight age for so long), but I still believe improvements are there to be made.
My personal training systems are designed in particular for me to keep training for the rest of my life not just this year and I can only do this by keeping injuries to a minimum.
Injuries are the enemy!!!
Yes I train hard and I keep my nutrition and supplementation on point. It is these factors that have taken me to the world stage which is much higher than I initially intended.
Consistency of doing the right things day in and day out I am sure will allow me to reap the rewards for years to come.
So if there is one piece of advice I could give the aging bodybuilder it would be TRAIN SMART!!!
I hope this helps some of you out there.
Stay healthy
Steve Johnson Coaching 🙂
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