Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Not long ago, I heard someone say that
he once read or heard a good piece of
advice -- namely, that every ten years
you should stop and look back and think
about what you're doing and where you're
going, and make any necessary
adjustments.
The idea was, things change over time,
and some things that worked well for you
ten years ago might not work as well now.
But they've become habits, so you keep on
doing them -- even if they're no longer
very effective.
This advice was given in the context of
running a business, but it applies to
training, as well.
Except in training, you need to look back
and reassess things a heck of a lot more
often than every ten years.
Especially if you're an older trainee.
For a younger trainee, the same exercises,
volume and intensity may work pretty well
for ten years or so -- but as you get older,
you need to make changes. Usually, you need
to reduce your volume and intensity -- and
sometimes, you need to change exercises.
And as you get older, you need to look back
and reassess things much more often.
In your twenties and early thirties, the TEN
YEAR RULE may work fine. Meaning that the
exercises, volume and intensity that worked
for you ten years ago will still work for you.
But sometime in your thirties, you may find
that reducing your volume and intensity brings
better results -- and you may find that dropping
or replacing certain exercises works better for
you -- and you may find that you need to look
back and re-assess every FIVE YEARS.
In your forties, that five year window may shrink
to THREE YEARS.
In your fifties, it may drop down to every TWO
years -- or possibly ONE year.
And that's what I mean by the 10/5/3/2/1 Rule.
It's all about letting your training evolve as
you grow older. That's what you need to do. You
can't stay in the same place, any more than you
can stand in a moving river and fish in the same
water. You can't. The water is always moving,
always changing. And in strength training, your
body is always changing -- and that's why your
training needs to change.
I was talking about it with Bill Hinbern this
morning. Bill mentioned that there is never any
one "perfect" training program that will work
for everyone. Heck, there's no one training
program that will work for ANYONE forever.
As you grow older, your needs change. And
your workout needs to change.
But that's not a bad thing. In fact, it's
probably a good thing. True, it makes things
a little more challenging -- but challenge
is good. It brings out the best in us.
I'll be training today, and I plan to have
lots of fun doing it. I won't be doing some
the things I did ten or twenty years ago (or
even five years ago), but I'll be hitting it
hard and having plenty of fun. And that's
important. Fun is good.
As always, thanks for reading, and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. The number one book for older trainees --
with more than 50 workouts specifically designed
for older Dinosaurs -- is Gray Hair and Black
Iron:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 2. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training has some
great exercises -- and some great workouts --
for anyone looking for some new and different
ways of getting it done:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "No matter what happens,
keep on training." -- Brooks Kubik
