Hail to the Dinosaurs!
When I was a kid, I bought a 110 pound
barbell set. So did all of my friends.
There was one difference, though.
I actually used the thing. I trained. The
other guys all quit after a week or two.
In junior high and high school, I was one
of the few kids who lifted weights all year
round. Even most of the other athletes tended
to skip the weight training. For some reason
(which has never made sense to me), they
didn't like it.
I kept on training in college, and I've been
training ever since.
Today, I'm 54 years old, and I still go out to
the garage and hit the iron a couple of times
a week. And I train pretty hard and pretty
heavy.
One thing I do NOT do is overtrain. As you grow
older, it becomes very easy to overtrain -- and
if you fall into the overtraining trap as an
older lifter, you can look forward to nothing
but sore joints, aches and pains and frustration.
How do you avoid overtraining?
You do this:
1. Use abbreviated training programs.
1A. many of my current workouts consist of
a single primary exercise. At most, I do TWO
primary movements in any one session.
2. Use perfect form in all of your exercises.
3. Use the heavy/medium/light system or a
simple cycling system so you don't always
train with your top weights.
4. If an exercise hurts, replace it with an
exercise that works better for you.
5. Lower reps are less fatiguing than higher
reps.
6. Pay attention to diet and nutrition. It's more
important than ever for older lifters.
6A. You want to be strong and lean. Focus on
your training for strength and on your diet for
getting (or staying) lean.
7. Rest and sleep are more important than ever.
8. Work on reducing your over-all stress levels.
8A. I know, I know -- easier said than done --
but it's really important to maintain a
tranquil mind.
9. Do enough cardio work to keep your heart
healthy (but don't do so much that you wear
yourself down).
10. Do things that you ENJOY when you train. The
more FUN it is, the BETTER it works!
So there you have it. Ten tips for older lifters.
I pay attention to them -- and so should YOU!
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. For more detail about effective strength
training for older lifters, grab a copy of Gray Hair
and Black Iron:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 2. I celebrated my 54th birthday by hitting a
hard, heavy workout in the garage -- and I filmed it,
so you can see EXACTLY what I'm doing. You can grab
a copy of the DVD right here:
http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html
P.S. 3. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training works GREAT for
older trainees -- and you can use it alone or in
combination with your weight work:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
P.S. 4. Thought for the day: "You're never to old for
a great workout!" -- Brooks Kubik
