If you want to have a healthy, long life focus on overall strength. Squats, deadlifts, odd-object carries etc. If you're new to lifting, have someone who isn't show you proper form. Or just read Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. Its the bible of heavy lifts.
Source: I can deadlift more than 3 times my bodyweight while still having a 7 min mile.
I cannot emphasize this enough. And even then, be extremely careful with heavy lifts (anything more than, say, what your body weight would be at 20% body fat).
I worked regularly with an extremely good Rippetoe-certified coach. My form was better than most of the beginners you see in the gym. At 40, I was stronger than I was as a high-school athlete, and it was an amazing feeling.
But one day, a 245x5 squat set went very slightly weird. Two days latter, I had tingling and numbness in my foot soles. It turns out that I'd aggravated a relatively minor disk bulge at L4/L5 (about half the population has a disk bulge there). And now I've been in moderate pain for close to three months with very slow improvement.
The long-term prognosis is excellent, as far as I know. I will almost certainly heal. I know plenty of people who've done worse to their backs and who are fine today.
But heed my example: If you're going to do heavy lifts, especially deadlifts or squats, make sure your form is as close to perfect as you can get it, and remember that you can't eliminate all risk.
One thing I have noticed: There are no 55- to 70-year-old powerlifters in the gym. But there are old bodybuilders who've been lifting for 40+ years with only the rarest of injuries. They're careful, and they say things like, "I don't like the risk/reward on heavy squats." When I return to serious lifting, I'm considering on giving up on powerlifting and switching to a more bodybuilding-centric program.
I've noticed this as well, and I've heard it correlated to having an aim in the gym vs sticking to your regimen. That the body builder has an aim, and if something hurts a bit they'll work around it and let it heal. While a powerlifter will push through it (sticking to their routine) inevitably ending in injury.
The point being, don't give up power lifting.. but listen to your body and move away from the PUSH IT/Deviation from routine is failure, kind of attitude.
The idea is explored here by the glute boss, Bret Contreras: https://www.t-nation.com/training/why-bodybuilders-are-more-...
It took months to get back to weight. PR a couple weeks ago of 308lb. Bench 290lb, DL:423lb.
So I'm closing in on 1,000 lbs combined. (Just haven't done it all in one day.)
As to your no old power lifters comment, I'll be 55 in May. While I'll never be a competitive power lifter, I still enjoy lifting.
I have no plans to "give up".
I don't see too many people over 50 in ANY gym. When I hung around PL gyms however I did see older lifters doing their thing, obv. concentrating more on reps but still competing. The kicker is in that age 50+ group just getting out on the platform gets you some kind of a trophy :)
Back injuries suck. Get an inversion table if you don't have one yet.
One note about 55-70 year olds powerlifting vs body building is that they tend to be a lagging indicator since people don't usually start late in life. Also, in the 80s and 90s, bodybuilding was far more popular than powerlifting, so it would make sense that there'd be fewer people in that age category powerlifting.
There are exceptions though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zjhSlJN-Qw
The sad thing is I haven't been doing a powerlifting routine at all. I decided a couple of years ago when I started lifting that I'd rather look good than be able to lift super heavy weight. I was only deadlifting about 1.2 times my body weight.
Does your 20% heuristic change at all for the type of lift? For me that would lead to a bench press near my PR, but a squat and deadlift far below. So bench would feel a bit overpowered if they're all the same. But then again, bench seems less risky.
that doesnt stop body builders from spreading the gospel of squats, even as they have copious knee and/or back problems.
However I just got a bit bored of it all and kind of felt like I always had my ear on the ground for something more interesting, or technical (I do miss squats).
To get to my point I started climbing a few months back and it has totally hit the spot for me. It is incredibly technical, you have both indoor and outdoor options, and you also build incredibly functional strength. Including improving your grip strength more so than in any other sport.
This is totally anecdotal, and of course climbing gyms are not as common as normal gyms. But just in case someone is reading this and wants to give something else a try I highly recommend it.
Also you get to buy some cool gear which is always nice.
It's incredibly satisfying. A mix between problem solving and physical exertion. I've never been a gym rat but I'm excited for my skin and grip strength to return so I can go back every 2-3 days and nail that next level of difficulty.
Most obviously, it offers some whole-body fitness that I don't find boring. But I've gotten a lot of secondary benefits that are hard to pass up. It's gotten me into normal weightlifting because "to climb better" is a clearer motivation than "to be healthier".
And it's a fantastic way to build strength comprehensively. As soon as one body part (bicep, wrist, hip flexor, whatever) taps out you'll struggle to keep going, so you tend to develop whatever is weakest. There's a lot of incentive to work flexibility, too, which can be dangerously ignorable for new weightlifters.
Completely agree.
I just started out and we have several indoor climbing places where I live. I've been trying to find an alternative to having my body being beat up playing hockey two to three times a week and thought this was a good alternative.
First of all, it doesn't cost a lot to get involved. I've found it works my whole body out, engages my brain in a way hockey simply can't and has really made me focus on how my body moves since my grip strength just isn't there yet. So far, I like it a lot and would also recommend it to anybody.
I think you're doing the absolute right thing with climbing. Its not about finding the most optimal physical return on investment for an hour of work but finding something you love so its not work at all.
... or do something that applies your strength in the outside world, like climbing ;) Bonus points for fresh air and awesome view ...
//edit// and at the age of 45.
The scientific consensus is that endurance exercise like walking or running is much better for you than lifting (in terms of longevity, cardiovascular and health benefits).
The bar is a lot higher for mile times, but 7 minute mile still is top ~25% of the American population, given we're all so sedentary.
Fyi, if you want to feel good about your swimming, lookup the youtube vids of the navy seals swimming standards. I know 12yo kids who could pass them. Their pace wouldnt even qualify for the 'fast' lane at my local lap pool (50m/minute).
How is it that as a society we've devalued physical health so strongly.
Handy for reference: https://symmetricstrength.com/standards#/90/kg/male/-
if you're repping it and your max is probably somewhere the mid 500s then you're approaching "elite" level according to USPA: https://www.lift.net/2013/05/09/classification-standards-for...
It's not a bad thing to do, as a climber I care a lot about grip strength, but it's not a significant total-health goal. Grip strength is highly predictive partly because people don't train it, and so it represents overall fitness and muscle development. Working hand strength in isolation just breaks that predictive relationship without producing the overall health improvements that come from an active life and whole-body fitness.
Instead, you want to be small, fit, and not eat much (which means not doing unnecessary exercise). For example, this paper discusses how caloric restriction extends life spans for rodents, primates, and humans across the board: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568163716...
Our push to extend life span has resulted in us being old, pathetic weaklings. A long life that has the last 20 years spent in a variety of sicknesses sounds awful.
Some years back I was practicing martial arts. Certain disarms just didn't work on me simply because of how far around the weapon my fingers went.
Go dig a hole every now and again. Do some sandbag training. Play on the monkeybars with your kids. DO SHIT and lift heavy stuff when you can.
Without a doubt, one of the most satisfying all-body compound exercises you can do. Spend a day digging and you'll have pains in places you didn't even know you had muscles.
With the current playgrounds, I don't think kids have a lot of opportunities to build up strength. Less than we did as a kid.
Those blue jeans you might make so much of wearing to work every day? This is the sort of thing they are made for. Give them a workout, and yourself as well. You'll feel a lot better for it!
Grip and hand fighting are very integral to both combat sports. A sport like Ju Jitsu helps improve not only your grip strength, but foot dexterity and prehensility.
Not only will this save your skin, but this careful attitude will also minimize chance of serious injury, which is unfortunately all too common with rock climbing. It can be hard to say no to the wall, even when you know you're done ;)
I would rather trek for five hours than one hour of "exercise". However, I have no idea what to do with my arms. Not much useful applications to muscular strength in modern world.
It's a disgrace that workout is not automated yet, and there's no signs to it. Make some box or some pill that will keep my body in the shape without me noticing. We solved transportation, why can't we do something here?
So for me, I have to find motivation. I walk as a primary means of transportation, even to the grocery store.
I can keep up on short-length yoga stretches since I notice a difference in the way my body feels and I can find uses for flexibility. Since it isn't any more time than a shower, it isn't so bad.
And the same thing with arms: Do some pushups daily. Commit to this for about 5-6 weeks. It isn't much time per day, after all. Then see if you notice some differences. Maybe that case of water doesn't seem so heavy or you carry more in one spurt. Maybe a usually stubborn package is easier to open. And if there isn't a difference, don't worry so much so long as you've adequate strength. Or set a goal that will require the strength, like rock climbing, cave exploring, or so on.
You could try going up a steep mountain or a rock, might be more fun.
since this doesn't seem familiar to people, a little more detail:
http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/02/16/did-falling-testosteron...
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-lookup/doi/10.1210/jc....
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17895324
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323394504578607...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/mens-health/10695991/W...
Serum testosterone levels and sperm count and quality seem to be declining. Not entirely clear it's real and not all clear why it would be happening.
Some contrary evidence: http://www.harryfisch.com/pdf/Declining%20Worldwide%20Sperm%...
>cut eggs and dairy 2 years ago.
Cut, meaning reduced, or stopped?
A couple years ago, I was a novice with barbells. After a month of failing to progress on barbell lifts, I realized that my grip strength was lacking. The trainers solved the problem.
I'd highly recommend anyone start with basic grip training with a barbell routine. Made a huge difference for me.
Working a sedentary desk job, it's really important to deliberately make time for proper exercise. Running, swimming, biking, or whatever, It's important to exert yourself. That being said, I don't think it would hurt too much to do some hand exercises regularly.
[1] (http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/training_giude_rock_ring.htm...)
Thanks. Bought!
>> Grip strength was not only “inversely associated with all-cause mortality”—every 5 kilogram (kg) decrement in grip strength was associated with a 17 percent risk increase"
Statements like this one need a min/max, better yet some quartiles, to even start to make sense. The relationship can't possibly be linear.
So are ants: How much of that baby-power is just the square-cube law applied to smaller-humans?
