Hail to the Dinosaurs!
In response to my recent post titled "Two Kinds of
Trainees -- Which are You?" I rec'd a very interesting
email from Paul Murray.
Paul is just a l-i-t-t-l-e bit older than me -- and like
me, he's an ex-wrestler, so I pay attention to what he
has to say.
To set the stage, remember that I wrote about Group I
guys (the guys who are good at all sorts of different
wrestling moves -- and the group one guys, who drill
and drill until they perfect one or two unstoppable
moves).
I noted that there was a parallel among strength trainers.
Some guys (the Group I guys) need to change their exercises
around fairly often. They're happier, and they progress
much faster that way.
Other guys (Group II guys) need to stay at the same
exercises for a long, long time -- until they perfect
them. They do much better on this type of program than
they do on one where they change things up like the
Group I guys.
Paul wrote:
"Brooks, in wrestling, the group I guys are REAL
athletes. They're good at anything and everything.
The group II guys are determined, bull-headed
grinders who get by on guts and determination.
I was a group-II'er, who tried to make something
out of nothing. As the years have gone by, as a
Dino, I have gradually become a group I guy out
of necessity. I need to find different ways of
doing the same thing, if that makes sense.
Best always. PM"
And that's a very insightful comment.
Paul's been hitting the iron for close to half a
century now -- and look at what he says:
"I need to find different ways of doing the same
thing. . . "
You know, that pretty well sums up the whole thing
about serious strength training for older lifters.
As you grow older, you find that things that once
worked GREAT for you -- don't work nearly as well.
Workouts that once seemed EASY become workouts that
make you feel like you spent the entire day working
on a chain gang. Or doing the french Foreign Legion
"March or Die!" thing out in the desert.
Do you remember that GREAT program you did when you
were in your 20's -- or in your 30's -- the one that
turned you into a Human Hercules?
Forget it -- now that you're 50, you'd be lucky to
do HALF as rugged a program and still make gains.
And frankly, that's fine.
I'm 54, I'm a grandfather (2 grand-kids), I'm a father
(3 kids), and I've been doing this stuff for more than
40 years. If the same programs that worked for me 40 years
ago -- or 20 years ago -- or even 10 years ago -- still
worked for me, then something would be wrong with the
Universe.
Things change, people change, and lifters change.
Your body changes.
Your response to exercise changes.
What works best for you changes.
But one thing remains the same.
Whoever you are, and whatever your age -- if you DON"T
train, things are gonna be pretty grim.
Whoever you are, and whatever your age -- if you DON'T
hit the basics, things are gonna be pretty grim.
Whoever you are, and whatever your age -- if you
DON"t train hard, heavy and serious -- on abbreviated
programs -- things are gonna be pretty grim.
Me, I'm 54 and I'm a grandfather times 2 -- and I'm out
there snatching and cleaning and jerking and making the
bar bend and the chalk fly.
And YOU -- whatever your age -- YOU need to be doing the
same thing. Not necessarily doing snatches and cleans and
jerks -- but going after it when you train -- using whatever
exercises you most enjoy, and whatever exercises let you
work hard, heavy and serious without leaving you feeling
like you got run over by a Mack Truck.
So you do NOT need to do exactly the same exercises that I
do -- but you DO need to train with relentless determination.
And yes, I mean YOU.
YOU need to be hitting it hard and heavy -- bending the
bar -- and making the chalk fly in all directions every
which way.
You may not be able to do what you did when you were
younger -- and that's okay -- but you need to be able
to kick you know what and take names -- and when you
do THAT -- then wherever you are, and whatever your age,
you're doing pretty darn well, my friend.
Pretty darn well.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. I feel so strongly about the needs of older
trainees -- and about the nobility of older
trainees -- that I wrote a book for them. It's
called Gray Hair and Black Iron -- and you can
grab a copy right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 2. Here's a quick little idea for older trainees:
combine weights and bodyweight training. Works real well:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
P.S. Thought for the day. "These young guys are
great -- but why don't they put some weight on the
bar?" -- Brooks Kubik
