Important Information for Older Lifters!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick things, and then let's talk sets
and reps.

1. The Aug issue of The Dino Files newsletter
is in the mail -- so if you subscribe, be looking
for it soon. And be sure to email when it arrives.

2. I'm doing a radio interview on SuperHuman Radio
at 1:00 EST today. I'll be covering training questions
from readers. You can go to the Superhuman Radio
website and listen live -- or download the show later
on and listen at your convenience.

2A. I'm actually going to start doing a regular show
on SuperHuman Radio (with me as the host, interviewing
other people about various physical culture, strength,
health, lifting, training, Iron game history topics,
etc.). Stay tuned for details.

And now -- sets and reps.

Here's something very important to think about.

In Masters' weightlifting, they start at age 35 and
separate the lifters into 5 year age groups. 35 - 39,
40 - 44, 45 - 49, etc.

They do that because it's very different to be age 35
and lifting heavy iron than it is to be age 42 or 43.
The extra 7 or 8 years doesn't sound like much -- but
trust me, if you're an older lifter, it is. So they
figure it's fair to have you compete against lifters
who are within 4 years of each other's age -- but no
more than that. In other words, they don't expect a
50 year old lifter to compete against 40 year olds --
even though the age difference is only 10 years.

Make a note of that. They use FIVE year age groups --
and they start at age 35, which is actually pretty
darn young.

That has some very important implications for everyone
age 30 and up, regardless of whether or not you do
Olympic weightlifting and regardless of whether or not
you compete or plan to compete in competition.

1. If you're over the age of 35 -- or perhaps age 30
for some folks -- you need to start to pay very close
attention to rest and recovery and recuperation.

1A. That means getting enough sleep every night, and
it means following abbreviated training programs. For
most men, it means using some sort of simple cycling
system or training with the Heavy/Medium/Light system.

1B. It also means you need to start to pay careful
attention to sensible diet and nutrition.

2. If you're age 35 or older, be aware that LESS TRAINING
usually works a heck of a lot better than MORE training.

2A. What worked for you at age 20 probably will not
work for you at age 35 or 40. And what worked for you
at age 40 probably will not work for you at age 50.

3. None of this means you need to stop training, it just
means you need to train smarter and more intelligently.

4. Tommy Kono is on record as saying that the biggest
danger for Master's lifters is over-training -- going
too hard, too heavy and doing too many exercises, sets
and reps.

5. If you talk with, or read about, older lifters who are
still competing and doing well nationally or internationally,
they all do very similar things:

A. They don't train very often.

B. They train sensibly and intelligently.

C. They plan their workouts very carefully.

D. They train hard, but they save their super heavy
lifting for competition.

E. They reduce their workload and volume as they get
older.

F. They use abbreviated programs and divided workout
schedules.

G. They reduce reps to save wear and tear on their
bodies.

So if you're age 30 or older, start to think about these
things. Start to train in a way that works for older lifters.

And yes, you can still scare the heck out of the neighbors when
you train outside with your farmer's walks, your bags and your
barrels -- and you can still make the younger guys drop their
jaws in amazement when they see what you can do -- and most
importantly, you can still enjoy the heck out of your lifting
and have tons of fun doing it.

You just gotta do it the right way.

As always, thanks for reading and have a great day. I'll be
hitting the iron at about 6:00 EST today. If you train today,
we'll train together -- and we'll have lots of fun.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more about effective strength training and muscle
building (and diet and cardio training) for older lifters,
grab a copy of Gray Hair and Black Iron:

http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html