In keeping with the theme of “as you age”, I’m going to touch on a few things that will help retain your strength and provide longevity.
A good rule of thumb is “if it hurts, don’t do it”. Pick and choose your exercises that will give you the most bang for your buck. Let’s take the bench press for example. This movement has its place but has caused many shoulder injuries over the years. Let’s face it… the only reason to do a flat bench press is to get stronger on that movement. It’s strength has very little carryover to anything else. You might be better served with the incline bench press or the overhead press. Even the NFL has admitted to keeping the “225 press for reps” in the combine for the popularity among fans and it has very little to do in the overall assessment of the athletes. My point being, my shoulders were banged up, I could bench press 315 for reps all day in my 50’s but I was headed for disaster. I quit benching for over a year and concentrated on my OHP and blast strap push ups. My shoulders cleared up and I’m back at it; but I am proceeding with caution. Moved my grip in and took ~3 inches off the lower range of motion 50% of the time. Limiting the lower range of motion will alleviate a lot of stress off of your shoulders. You can also employ the use of bands, chains or a slingshot to get the accommodating resistance at the lockout without putting your joints in harms way. The exact same thing holds true for squats and the use of a box…pullups using assistance or just doing pull downs…deadlifts off of pins.
Louie Simmons and the Russians broke the code years ago…getting stronger and maintaining strength with sub-maximal weights in training. This doesn’t work for everyone but it did for me. It also keeps the extreme (heavy) loads off of my joints. The principals driving this is a whole thesis onto itself. Just know that there are techniques that can help you build and maintain power and strength while minimizing the chance of an injury.
Wear elbow and knee sleeves. Heating up your joints and keeping them warm is a game changer. This will help lubricate the joints for training.
Train the ancillaries. Strengthening the supporting muscle groups will help support your big multi joint compound movements. We’ve always known this but now for the preservation of strength into our golden years, it’s more important. Training the smaller muscle groups is easier on the body and will not put your body at risk for a huge injury. For example training your triceps for a stronger press; training your posterior chain for a bigger squat/pull.
Stay tuned for more.
A good rule of thumb is “if it hurts, don’t do it”. Pick and choose your exercises that will give you the most bang for your buck. Let’s take the bench press for example. This movement has its place but has caused many shoulder injuries over the years. Let’s face it… the only reason to do a flat bench press is to get stronger on that movement. It’s strength has very little carryover to anything else. You might be better served with the incline bench press or the overhead press. Even the NFL has admitted to keeping the “225 press for reps” in the combine for the popularity among fans and it has very little to do in the overall assessment of the athletes. My point being, my shoulders were banged up, I could bench press 315 for reps all day in my 50’s but I was headed for disaster. I quit benching for over a year and concentrated on my OHP and blast strap push ups. My shoulders cleared up and I’m back at it; but I am proceeding with caution. Moved my grip in and took ~3 inches off the lower range of motion 50% of the time. Limiting the lower range of motion will alleviate a lot of stress off of your shoulders. You can also employ the use of bands, chains or a slingshot to get the accommodating resistance at the lockout without putting your joints in harms way. The exact same thing holds true for squats and the use of a box…pullups using assistance or just doing pull downs…deadlifts off of pins.
Louie Simmons and the Russians broke the code years ago…getting stronger and maintaining strength with sub-maximal weights in training. This doesn’t work for everyone but it did for me. It also keeps the extreme (heavy) loads off of my joints. The principals driving this is a whole thesis onto itself. Just know that there are techniques that can help you build and maintain power and strength while minimizing the chance of an injury.
Wear elbow and knee sleeves. Heating up your joints and keeping them warm is a game changer. This will help lubricate the joints for training.
Train the ancillaries. Strengthening the supporting muscle groups will help support your big multi joint compound movements. We’ve always known this but now for the preservation of strength into our golden years, it’s more important. Training the smaller muscle groups is easier on the body and will not put your body at risk for a huge injury. For example training your triceps for a stronger press; training your posterior chain for a bigger squat/pull.
Stay tuned for more.
