Slow down? Really?

[titanium_spine]

This Friday I've injured my groin while doing squats.(By the way, it's a kind of injury that I hate the most, hurts kinda nasty and heals slow). It also seams that I've pulled the inner thigh...

So, long story short - this weekend my wife's parents came to visit us. It just seams that every time they drop by (every 3-4 months), I have some kind of nagging injury.

So, they started asking me questions like "when do you plan to slow down"?, "why do you push yourself so much, why don't you just work out like normal people?!" "You're not young anymore", etc.

So, I'd like to hear your opinions about this topic. How long do you guys plan on attacking the weights aggressively? Do you even think about it and have a plan? Or will you be going just by feel, before you get a serious injury that puts you out of the game permanently?

I'm asking because I'm 45 years old, and I don't use super supps, or HRT/TRT...

I can still progress on literally all lifts, but I'm starting to thinks: am I pushing my luck?

I usually get some kind of pull, or joint inflamation every 3 months, but nothing that will need anykind of special medical attention. It usually passes in a week or a bit more...

How often does this happen to you?

[thedunhill225]

In the gym I have strained a pec once and broke a lill bone in my foot....outside the gym I have torn both cuffs, blew out some discs (had surgery), broken bones, been stabbed a cpl times, got concusions, etc... I am much safer IN the gym!

But anyway... I'm 42 now and though I'm on baby trt I don't have any real advantage over the average guy... I am TRYING to make concessions for age but its hard cause I just don't feel any different than I did 10 years ago. Recover the same, gets the same level of DOMS, my knees and elbows can get sore but I remember that happening in my teens and 20's when I would push for a while.

I don't know...maybe someday things will change but I don't really lift for health and fitness... I like being big and strong and I like picking heavy shit up. As long as I can do this I am gonna do it the way I like doing it. Why have a hobby that I don't enjoy?

Peace.

[titanium_spine]

I like being big and strong and I like picking heavy shit up. As long as I can do this I am gonna do it the way I like doing it. Why have a hobby that I don't enjoy?

Peace.

Same thing here. It's seams that if a make a transition towards "working out" it will be like a pursue for wellness...

Maybe I'm wrong, but I kinda think I'll have plenty of time to do that exactly:

Take it easy...

[Sammich]

Age or not, if you're getting hurt THAT much, you're doing something wrong.

[titanium_spine]

Age or not, if you're getting hurt THAT much, you're doing something wrong.

Do you mean even if it's just a muscle pull or something?

[lhart6272]

Slow down when your dead.
Seriously though Dante has a great post for the older lifter, bet you've read it already.

I train mma and lift, I am always injured it seems. Family and friends including my gf always ask why I do what I do and I don't have a good answer. Really I'm just trying to be the best version of myself I can, you know "be all you can be".

[Sammich]

Do you mean even if it's just a muscle pull or something?

That frequently? Absolutely.

[Lock it Up]

I'm young so I really don't have a good perspective yet, but I already know:

As soon as I lose passion for the grind of growing and getting bigger/stronger...I know it will be time to hang em up, and just train for health and sanity.

IMO, do what makes you happy for as long as you can. You only have so long before you just CAN'T do it anymore physically. IMO, ride that shit till the wheels fall off, if that's what you truly love to do.

People who don't train seriously have no clue what it's like living, eating, and training like an athlete for the better part of your life, so to them, it's easy to say "Slow down"...it's not so easy for someone who does it day in and day out for most of their lives I'd imagine. I have already been training hard and serious for almost 10 years now, and I am still in my early twenties...I can't ever imagine slowing down....maybe in 20 years. But if it's what you LOVE doing...it's gonna be hard to let go.

From what I have gathered, most guys who do this for a long time end up stopping because of a major injury and surgery...hopefully you can pick the time where you start downshifting before that happens.

No one is superman. ...as much as we all want to be.

[Ken "Skip" Hill]

Don't ever slow down but you absolutely need to get as smart and as efficient as you possibly can. I agree that you shouldn't be having that many issues and USUALLY if you step back and assess your situation, you could probably avoid a lot of these things by making changes to your plan. Not necessarily training less intense but changes in exercises, rep ranges, warm ups, stretches, recovery time, etc..

Skip

[Swaminator]

I should have read this about 4 hours ago. I am 43 and fortunately I'm in the best shape of my life. Leaner and stronger than ever. So today was a scheduled day off. But I am feeling spry so I decide to get a quick deadlift session in. I figure I will just hit some 5x5 on the DL and then some GHR, calves and call it a day. Well as I am progressing up, 3rd set on DL I pop my lower back bad. Workout over. Can barely get the plates off the bar. Now I sit at home, watch preseason baseball and surf the web. IF I would have followed my plan, I would have rested today and been back tomorrow ready to blast. Now, I am guessing I will miss a week or two. I have well over 20 yrs in the game and I am still a dipshit!

[Kidrok (Hop)]

Skip said it all....you can still train aggressively but it has to be "smart-aggressive".

[Arkbuilder]

I'm blaming the in-laws.

Serious note: Good thread.

[mister69]

Best of luck titanium spine.

[steel1970]

Learning to train a bit smarter as you get older is not an easy task for some. Took me a few injuries to figure things out as well, one being my groin too....Good luck, but certainly don't rush things, cause that will surely only set you back like it did to me 4-5 times last year....

[Agi]

(By the way, it's a kind of injury that I hate the most, hurts kinda nasty and heals slow).

Nods...I'm dealing with that injury right now. And yes, as we get older, injuries take a lot longer to heal. Sigh...

How long do you guys plan on attacking the weights aggressively? Do you even think about it and have a plan?

I am TRYING to make concessions for age but its hard cause I just don't feel any different than I did 10 years ago.

Like Dunhill, I really don't feel much different that I did years ago. I've often wondered how much longer I could push myself this hard. However, I'm in the 50+ group and I've had to make significant changes to what I do. As suggested in multiple threads, I've upped my rep ranges significantly and cut down the exercises I do RP.

I enjoy it and it's good for me. Until one of those two disappears, I guess I'll just keep cranking along