Strength Deficit with Age

[Guest guest]

Dr Mel,

If one were to look at the totals and records one would certainly see that the

older lifter totals are

progressively less after about age 40. This would certainly support the fact

that strength decreases

with age.

However, many things may be at work here that are not accounted for. I know

many masters lifters

who used anabolics in their early years, got smarter and healthier, and one

could say their totals have

declined because of this. I also know many like myself who have lifted drug

free their entire lives

and still haven't peaked their strength.

[Face facts, my friend, one day you are going to realise that your strength and

various other faculties

are going to decline! Some people peak earlier, some later, some age faster,

some more slowly. Mel Siff]

Granted gains are slow but we keep making them. Obviously there are individual

differences and I

would agree that one could make the statement that the totals of older lifters

are lower than younger ones.

I don't think a general statement that strength peaks in the late twenties and

declines by certain

percentages after age thirty is true.

Anyone studying this should follow lifters like myself who have lifted from

teenage years onward, our

lifestyles, physical conditioning, nutrition, body weight, etc. and see what

factors are at work. For

instance one other explanation of the lower totals are that many masters lifters

get into lifting late in

life and are unable to progress to the level of the younger lifters.

I set records at State level in my twenties in the 1300-1400 area (drug free).

Now in my 52nd year

I am totaling around 1600 (drug free) at the same body weight. I don't think my

strength peaked at 28

nor has it declined over the years, in fact quite the opposite. Maybe some of

the experts can address that one.

Eddie White

Blue Springs, Mo.

ewhite@...

[Guest guest]

Eddie, I think that what Dr Siff is trying to point out is that, as well as

you are still doing now, eventually somewhere down the line things are going

to take a downward turn - and from the existing research available this is

inevitable.

What I am hoping to do at some point is to highlight what strength decrease

lifters who have and are still enjoying a long lifting life have observed

through their careers.

As of yet I have not been able to find any research along these lines but

believe that carrying out studies along these lines would be of interest to a

lot of people.

Thanks for your time,

Lake,

West Sussex, UK.

[Guest guest]

I recall hearing on Public Radio that Atlas set himself a

more difficult feat to train for every year as he got older. Things

like swimming 3 miles with fifty pound weights tied on or something

like that.

Anyway, studies done on aging athletes should consider that they are

observing not only the deterioration of aging but also the effects of

years of stress on the body caused by training.

Studies are being done now on people who begin training in older age,

but the ones I have seen the training was minimal.

I would like to see studies on people who have regularly done enough

exercise to stay strong and fit but not so much they wore out their

joints or developed permanent injuries. I wonder if such people

couldn't maintain that same moderate level of fitness into a very old

age.

Doss

Boerne

USA

[Guest guest]

Isn't there such an individual - Jack LaLanne?

The Phantom

aka Schaefer, CMT, CSCS, competing (master and open division)

powerlifter

Denver, Colorado, USA

Re: Strength Deficit with Age

>I recall hearing on Public Radio that Atlas set himself a

>more difficult feat to train for every year as he got older. Things

>like swimming 3 miles with fifty pound weights tied on or something

>like that.

>

>Anyway, studies done on aging athletes should consider that they are

>observing not only the deterioration of aging but also the effects of

>years of stress on the body caused by training.

>

>Studies are being done now on people who begin training in older age,

>but the ones I have seen the training was minimal.

>

>I would like to see studies on people who have regularly done enough

>exercise to stay strong and fit but not so much they wore out their

>joints or developed permanent injuries. I wonder if such people

>couldn't maintain that same moderate level of fitness into a very old

>age.

>

> Doss

>Boerne

>USA

>

>

>

>

>Modify or cancel your subscription here:

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>

>Don't forget to sign all letters with full name and city of residence if

you

>wish them to be published!

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Here's a quote off Louie's Biography on www.westside-barbell.com

" One of only 6 lifters to total Elite in 5 weight classes, Louie

is no stranger to the lifting community. For the last 27 years Louie

has totaled elite in various lifting organizations. He is the only lifter

over 50 years of age to squat 920 and total 2100. Ranked 4th nationally in

2000 in the open division, Louie has squatted 920, benched 600 (at age 50),

and dead lifted 722. "

The guy is amazing!

Doug Schurman, CSCS

www.BodyResults.com

Seattle, WA

Re: Strength Deficit with Age

I actually remember reading somewhere that the life expectancy for a man

in the 19th century was 40. How old is ? Isn't he over 60 now?

Didn't he recently set a new Masters squat record of over 940 at 242? So

much for steroid-using athletes " losing it " as they get old.

[Louie is in his early 50s and yes, he has achieved those outstanding

results. MCS]

Dmitry Voronov

Toronto, Ontario

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[Guest guest]

Casler writes:

> Not to take anything away from that accomplishment, but being the same

> age, I would find a " drug free " gearless number far more interesting,

> defining, and possibly " outstanding " .

Hi !

How about multi-time world powerlifting champ Walter winning

his last drug-tested IPF open championship at 82kg with a 1800lb plus

total a few years ago at age 50?

Best wishes!

Dan Wathen,

Youngstown (OH) State University

In Supertraining@y..., " bioforce " <bioforce.inc@g...> wrote:

>

> Dmitry Voronov wrote:

>

> I actually remember reading somewhere that the life expectancy for a

man

> in the 19th century was 40. How old is ? Isn't he over 60

now?

> Didn't he recently set a new Masters squat record of over 940 at

242? So

> much for steroid-using athletes " losing it " as they get old.

>

> Mel Siff wrote:

>

> [Louie is in his early 50s and yes, he has achieved those

outstanding

> results. MCS]

>

[Guest guest]

I'm not trying to philosiphise on what might happen, rather I'm trying to

discover to what extent the strength of lifters who have been lifting from

say their twenties into later life has been affected (if at all) by age, and

if there is any correlation to the rates of strength loss that have been

published in existing research. Another area that I am hoping to look into is

what motivates Masters athletes to continue training and competing.

[by the way, those equations which I posted recently are based upon changes in

strength as reflected by competition results and laboratory measurements. Mel

Siff]

Thank you to all who have contributed so far, excellent stuff.

Lake,

Uk.

[Guest guest]

I'm have no doubts that all of us at some point in time will

experience a strength deficit as we age. When this will happen is

very individualized and dependent on many factors, such as

lifestyle, prior and future injury, illness, etc. It would be

interesting to hear from someone who always trained consistently but

is now 75, 80 or 85 years of age and see what they had to say on the

subject.

Mel's post on limitations was excellent. The question then becomes

to each one of us personally, when do we put those limitations upon

ourselves? If you suffer a debilitating injury or illness, the

limitation is done for you and you either learn to live with it and

adjust, or suffer the consequences. But what about those of us who

are just getting older?

I can't speak for anyone other than myself. At 59 I am a great deal

stronger than I was at 25 simply because I've been training with

weights. OTH, whether I could now go out dancing every night of the

week and still work an 8-hour day, I can't answer as I haven't lived

that sort of lifestyle in several decades!

What has happened is that my body has suffered not only normal wear

and tear but that which was inflicted upon it in the gym. There's

an old bodybuilding maxim, " Train smarter, not harder " that's quite

valid at this point in my life. My current training decisions need

to consider that I am sliding down the backside of the hill rather

than climbing up the front side. This is often difficult for people

to accept especially when whatever you are doing is so much fun and

is a part of your being.

It really boils down to setting new goals. It may not be " I want

to add another 50 pounds to the bar, " but rather " I want to be able

to train 3 days a week when I'm 80. " I know if I allow my ego to

get in the way, I might not reach that goal.

In looking back, I made tremendous progress in the gym in my 50's

but I've noticed that within the past year, I need to be smarter

about what I do. I'm still training and making progress, even

though I thought by backing off I would not. I guess what it boils

down to is that each individual must find the right strategy for

themselves at any particular given point in time.

Another thing I've noticed about elderly people is that those who

can accept the changes that Nature brings and deal with them in a

positive way, are much happier and fulfilled. This is one problem

with a youth-oriented society. Plastic surgery may smooth out the

surface, but it can't do anything for what's underneath. The

lifestyle we choose to live can do a great deal for the underneath

part, but only just so much. We're all given the same chance to go

around once, so the best advice is to take advantage of what you're

given (assuming you're not living in some Godforsaken place where

even minimal creature comforts don't exist).

Rosemary Wedderburn-Vernon

Marina del Rey, CA

IronRoses@...