Heavy Weight Low Reps For Older Lifters - Starting Strength Radio Clips 

Amen I’m 64 and I still have to relearn this truth occasionally.

This is my mindset every day.

At 50, I just tell myself, I'm not competing, no one cares about my numbers, I'm presumably doing this to be less fragile and not more fragile. I don't need to murder myself.

exactly - when i hit 50 i knew i wasnt trying to prove anything to anybody - i very rarely try anything that is heavy for me in any type of exercise - at this point it mkakes more sense to me & winds up feeling better the next day to just add another set --

My motto is push yourself. Don’t hurt yourself.

I love 5/3/1. All the other cookie cutter programs are too high frequency for me, even when recovery is on point. I've been on and off 531 for a long time.

@@HooDRidEWhiteY I'm 80 and simply can't adapt like I did at 60. I've tried several times. Less is best.

At 52, finally some people on the same page as me. Doing 531 for 4 yrs. Love it. Watching tooo many channels w...GOTTA ADD MORE VOLUME AT EVERY NEXT CYCLE 🤯 . I realized I was beat up, always worrying about WHAT ACCESSORIES TO DO NEXT. I'm staying basic 2-3 exercises per session and I PR all the time, im feeling better daily also.

@@geopwr5077 that's awesome to hear. More power to you and full steam ahead! 💪

@@geopwr5077 Training 3 times a week?

52 here I lift heavy and am making gains. I d alternate between 5/3/1 and 5x5 The lighter sets leading up to the working sets with the majority of the volume on the working sets seems to work for me. I am making gains strength wise. Plus 30 min of cardio! Seems to work

I'm 33 and people my age think they're old and use it as an excuse not to lift like I do. It's pathetic.

@@LV426Survivor I see people on social media being all "It's my 30/40th birthday, I never thought I'd live this long" and I'm like "you grew up and still live in a safe suburban area and have no disabilities what the hell did you think was going to kill you off early?"

Depends on the guy...if he's been a firefighter, cop, or soldier since he's 18...47 might be pretty beat up.

@@yew2oob954 100% correct

@@jeffumbachyou see there was this time at jump school…

Ditto. Life forces the deload, so I don’t schedule it.

Are you lifting 3 days a week or 2 days?

I’m 72 and basically went to the same program as you! Same results also!

That works at 20 too.

The last one is the hardest, especially for former powerlifters.

First, a herniated disc does not heal ever and stays that way. Second, lying down on your back to bench press does not put weight on your back.

@@donaldkasper8346 It was likely what people call a "pinched nerve". An injury to the nerve as it passes through the spinal foramen. The pain can be severe and you can have pain that radiates into the leg and pain that lasts for weeks. A herniated disc causes instability and narrowing and can make this kind of injury more likely. The nerve usually heals over time, sometimes a steroid injection is used to help You can't always bench press with this injury because an increase in intra-abdominal pressure can sometimes aggravate it.

@@donaldkasper8346 It puts weight on your elbows and shoulders and they belong to the same ageing body. As Rip, the guy above and now I am saying, you have to be actually ageing and training to understand. I've never met a man who trains younger than 40 who fully understands the difference.

@@baronmeduse 66 years old, my bench is stuck at 175lbs, but I bench slow drop reps from my max or near max every day in the gym, 5-7 days a week. Yes, I do pull muscles in that they get very sore for weeks and have to take days off, but only shoulders. First, pulled right shoulder over summer, now left shoulder is very sore. When that is done complaining, I go to 185 lb. Oh yeah, pulled muscle deadlifting 185 lb after doing it days at that wt. That was right inside upper leg. That lasted about 3 days. Back to 185, just doing a few lifts for now. What held me back on bench was 20 something trainer yacking constantly about wide grip. He went back to college, I moved my grip in 6 inches each side, head back behind the bar 6 inches instead of under it so narrower lift forearms are vertical, and that shoulder pain just stopped. Left shoulder I think I pulled on deltoid machine, not bench. So far, cannot say aches and pains are old age as opposed to figuring out proper technique for my body size which is very tall with very long arms.

@@baronmeduse Yes, bench puts strain on chest, shoulders, and elbows. Okay.

At 57, you are squatting 3x5 2-3 times a week?

Hi Iam 60 also no you can't recoup like you used to

I'll be 60 in 4 months. I had to go back to 3 days a week training. And training a specific major muscle group.......legs, chest, shoulders, every 8 days. Calves I do 3 times a week. Same with forearms.

Studies show that recovery is the exact same Maybe it’s on your mind

"Studies" in exercise science are so often contradictory to widespread experience, that in almost every single case, you have to delve deeply into the study's methodology and criteria to see if even addresses the issue in the first place, let if it was constructed to fit the confirmation bias of the the reviewing "peers" @@Cormac-jd2kx

@@Cormac-jd2kx Pure BS! You have no freakin' idea what you're talking about. Cite your "studies"

I'm also 66 and have been in the gym six months. I also do two on, one off, two on, two off. I try to hit it hard and GTFO. Brief, intense, infrequent. Maybe more important for older folk but good for the younger set also. I see plenty in there who will be there two hours a day, high-volume and half-hearted and likely wondering why they make no gains. We only have so much gas in our neurological tanks,, and if the intensity is high, the volume can't be. I leave after an hour and often am beginning to shake by the time I get home for a post-workout meal.

Sorry you need days and days off. May depend on what exactly you are lifting for wt. At 66, I bench 7 days a week at 155lb and drop reps slowly from that for 30 to 45 minutes. Before time off a month for recovery from eye surgery, I was at 175lb. So I am back to 155lb after a week. Shortly, will go to 165lb, where I was commonly before. I pulled my right shoulder two months ago, it was not getting better, so used the month off to enjoy recovery of the shoulder which prevented higher than 175lb at that time. It was always the arm that would fail. For energy it is called supplemental protein powder in shakes or coffee and creatine.

id agree at 59

If you are really sore so you have trouble sleeping at night, then you take 2 days off. If you pulled something that is just lingering sore, you take 2 days off at a time. Often, stretching out in gym exercise stops a lot of that cramped feeling. Otherwise, you work out as much as you want. Schedule is not determined by days of the weeks. It is determined by soreness. For mild soreness you go to the gym as it won't impact your workout at all. Maybe warm up a bit more, and go at it.

You look amazing ❤

@@iFlowWithTheGo Thank you.

Did you know your generation destroyed the future for us millennials and Gen Z’ers?

@@clenjones5748 Hate that for you all. Sure would be helpful if you thought your group had some critical thinkers and problem solvers. Perhaps you could improve your personal perspective by not generalizing and blaming. Strive to be a hero, not a victim.

@@KimTownsel Na your generation has sold out their own children for nice houses and iPhone vlogs.

I'm 59 and trying 3 sets of 5 for all except 1 set of 5 for deadlift. Go to gym twice a week, squat, bench Thursday, deadlift, press Sunday. Hong Kong Covid restrictions limit gym time to 45 minutes. Got stuck at 80kg squat, but up to 105kg deadlift, 70kg bench, 50kg press. Would love to squat 2 sets of three and I think I can make that go up much more easily. How did you arrive at this modification? Is there any downside to doing this for a linear progression?

@@ProfJeffreyChasnov I've been lifting most of my life since 14 for one reason or another. ie. competitive body building, sport, general health, etc...So I know my body pretty well. I was getting a bit too sore doing 5 reps. And more than 2 sets for sure. Also I've become a bit lazy. 3 reps seems easier : )

What does your routine look like then ?

HIT is bullshit.

People are not robots and wt lift ability changes, and seems to cycle on 3 day period. You warm up it goes real well, that is likely a strong day to push your PR. If you warm up all cramped, that is a weaker day, do 3x5 or 5x5 near 80% of max. My bench max is 175 before taking a month off after eye surgery. Back a week I do 155lb every day, which is my safe max. Going to 165lb this week. I did that all the time before surgery.

Agreed, I do the same with 3 sets of 5 for squat, 3 or 4 minutes rest and 2 work out per week. I just turned 48 this month. I started this program mid November it works very well !

Same experience. Less is more, a novice type program was what I needed but wasn't doing just like you. Practical Programming was a book that educated me a lot. I just wish it had a chapter on when desiring to lose body fat later how nutrition and a weightlifting program might look like then. I think Ben Pollock can contribute on that edition. As they say "Education is important. Lifting is more importanter."

Same here. I'm 49 and I'll be going through a 3rd NLP soon. The 1st I did everything by the book and did squats 3x's per week and my upper body got so tight from all the muscle I got so fast, my stiff tendons weren't catching up so it got to where I couldn't even hardly ever get in the low bar position. When I did the arms hurt so badly I couldn't continue the rest of my work out the pain was so excruciating. I finally got a really really nasty case of golfer's elbow which caused me to have to stop my pulling (chinning, deadlifts). I then switched to high bar and 3x's per week and that was beating up my knees. I got discouraged and just stopped everything for a while. But I took that time to do a lot of research. 2nd NLP I got smart, just did high bar until I can get the low bar thing straightened out, and only did it 2x's per week. I in fact just did only 2 work outs per week. Progress even with just high bar squats was fantastic! Then COVID lockdowns hit. So this 3rd what I'm going to do is go through the NLP with high bar, 2x's per week and when time to do heavy/light for the squat, add in box squats for light day. That will save my knees even more and from what I understand (from both SSCs and others) will give me a lot of progress for a long time. When you're older you have to listen to your body, whether you want to or not.

@@HAL-dm1eh you are right except that you really should get back to low bar squat (Rippetoe squat). Indeed I had tendinitis for months on my left knee cap because I was stubborn and I wanted to stick to high bar squat regardless of my long femur (6 feet height), my lack of hip flexibility. I learned the low bar squat (no choice before giving up the squat). It was hard the first month (had to work on my shoulders flexibility), it hurts a lot BUT at the end after a month I ramped up my squat of 80 pounds within 2 months. Eat and sleep properly even at 48 years old. Stick to 3 sets of 5, take the rest you need, two work out per week. I don’t dread squat anymore, I love it pain free. My knee never bothered me anymore (keep you shin as vertical as possible).

Don’t make me wrong high squat is really efficient as well but for me didn’t work

fck lockdown lift at home by a cage at titan fitness lol lost 2 yrs lol wtf

how fast time from 40 go to 78 for you?

And thank you for your service!

How are your results as for muscle and definition?

@@shawndejohn63 I currently weigh about 225 at 5'9". I'm not shredded but I have some obvious muscle definition. Since I made the above post I've lost another 10lb, a couple inches off my waist and have added another 55lb to my top deadlift, 25lb to close grip bench, 15lb to my top press and another 20lb to my top weighted chin up for reps. I've also continued to PR on the C2 rower, assault bike and kettlebell swings for conditioning. With life stress very high I really like this program because it is hard from an intensity pov and I'm making progress. I feel better than when I was doing a lot more volume work.

For your Hashimoto’s, I suggest trying a carnivore diet of beef, eggs, butter, and salt - that’s it - for a month, and see if that eases your symptoms.

@@shawndejohn63 Currently at 217lb and squat PR this year at 455.

Your the best guy I follow on RU-vid . I'm 73, Papa Jerry is what the people I love call me.

So you only train once every seven to ten days ?

@@Scubajunky yes. A high intensity heavy duty workout requires a longer rest period for optimum recovery and improvement in health and strength. When I realised and experienced the importance of complete rest and recovery it was a game changer. More rest days = improvement in all areas = gains in size and strength . Training before you have recovered fully interferes with your actual goal of becoming healthier, stronger etc. Training puts stress on your Adrenal Glands, CNS, Hormones etc and these require optimum rest for optimum recovery and results. If however an individual is Training with lighter weights or moderate weight for higher reps then perhaps you'd Train every 2 or 3 days..but a heavy intense brief workout requires at least a week or more. Im talking about a full body workout which is what I do but generally heavy weight with lower reps requires more rest than light weights higher reps.

Interesting, what does your routine look like please? what is your training history and what kind of weights are you lifting? very interested to hear your views.@@Starchaser63

Damn Hippies 😁

When in the gym say Get Off My Equipment!

That is pretty similar to what I do and I am 2 years younger than you. I only lift 2 times a week, all whole body. Cardio the rest of the week, which is like a cuss word on this channel.

@@manfredmann2766 Lol, 🤣😆. I know and my workouts can be my cardio if I cut the rest times down and use the higher sets. Volume depends on the person. I have always done better using high volume and frequency. If I take a week off from the gym my lifts go down. When go 3 times a week my lifts go up and I'm immediately in a groove on my first work set. When I go 2 times a week I feel good but it takes me a couple of extra sets to get into a groove.

See, i think this is where all those different opinions and recommendations are coming from. Lifting "3 times a week" with "4 sets of 5-6" is nothing i (!) would consider "high volume" training, as you are only doing 60-100 reps/exercise/week.... I consider this a "normal" training.....In no way am i trying to say "you´re wrong" or "you´re right"-But trying to figure out what works best for YOU, we should stop looking at catch phrases like "High Volume/Low Volume/HIT"-and start looking into the details of WHO is doing WHAT and HOW and WHY......

@@sascha736 I appreciate your reply.. 👍🏽 My high volume is 2 exercises per body part, 6 sets, 10-12 reps, full body 3 times a week. That's 36 sets per body part a week, plus the carryover on other muscles because I do compound lifts. Example: Bench then Weighted dips for chest. 360 reps per week. My triceps and chest get 720 reps on them per week, when I do that routine for 3 months. My math may be off. 🤷🏾‍♂️ But personally I have never seen or worked out with someone who does more total reps per week. I have seen people doing bro splits do 4-5 exercises per body part, for 4 sets, 10 reps, 200 reps total, Only once a week. Maybe you have seen people do more but in 40 years unless that person was on PED's. I never have. My heavy high volume is 5-6 reps max. Meaning I can't finish one more rep. I could have a spotter help me get more but for me, forced reps only accumulate more fatigue. They don't help me progress on my next workouts at all. They only harm my recovery ability. I use max weight. The weight accumulates fatigue quickly. Remember each person is different and their bodies can handle different work loads. I like hard work. 🙂

@@72Dexter72Manley72 Was under no circumstances trying to "bully" you.....At the end, each one of us who trains has different objectives in mind.... Someone who just wants to "look good" has a different approach to someone who just loves to work out..... Thing is: Nobody KNOWS what the "best" way to train is...(And even if scientist will find out one day, its probably ONLY valid for the ONE subject they studied, and under THOSE circumstances at THAT time)... What i was trying to say: Lots of people out there think they do high volume (you certainly do, from what i can say now!), some people could get away with a lot less volume while increasing the weights; some people think they lift heavy, but are not even close to failure....and so on.. Its really difficult (if not impossible) to "compare" to lifters, as there are so many variables..... At the end, we are all people who love working out......this is what connects us....and we can only learn from each other, as there are "many ways leading to Rome"... Stay safe and keep lifting!

Try creatine. Huge, sustained strength under load to control the wt, and helps after gym to do other things during the day instead of taking a nap. At 66 I work out 7 days a week to lose body wt and get stronger and more endurance. Bench was at 175lb before month off after eye surgery, now in a week back to 155lb. Any day will go to 165 lb. If I cannot do that routine, I will back off, and would have done that after pulling my right shoulder on a lift, but had the month off anyway. So now my lift is balanced and I can go higher. I did not bench younger to know what that max would have been, but I will see if I get to 225 this year. Part is body mass and at 6'5" and 256lb now, this is in range. Lost wt this year from 272, hopefully this will continue.

Have you looked into Mike Mentzers program?

HIT is working very well for me. 67 and five or six workouts a week so I can eat what I want. Feel stronger and more productive in the gym with MM's program.

So are you still nearly as strong as you were in your 40's ? I'm 48 and and still as strong as ever just about but struggling to find a schedule which does not burn me out and lets me progress.

Sets time Reps times weight = total pounds moved (tonnage if you move more than 2000 lbs, 200 lbs in 3 sets of 5 is 3000 lbs or a ton and a half.

bro- buy a barbell for pete's sake.

Are you doing SS LP or a different program?

Yes it is. You just have to get to the point in life where you experience it. Everything in you wants to maintain your current volume, but it ends up being counter productive.

If you think about it, it's exactly as Rip explained. The total tonnage is detrimental to the recovery of those over 40 who can't tolerate it. The very same people can lift relatively heavy but at reduced tonnage with most of or all the benefit.

Volume of sets not necessarily volume of reps. More work grinds away at that body and nervous system. You have to find the balance to stay in the game.

Sergre Nubret style

Yeah, strong lifts 5x5 plateaued pretty fast for me. Read Rip's book and started doing three sets of five with warm ups. Then I was able to progress.

It makes sense. Like in anything, you start off with a little before moving to a lot. Even in running, they say to start with a little and gradually add mileage as speed and endurance improve. Maybe I'm not understanding you. Could you elaborate a little?

I'd like to add that I think Mike O'hearn alludes to the same thing on doing too much can end up just tearing your body down rather than build it up.

@@captainobvious2435 Mike O'hearn 😂

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-G7PBtZZcK_M.html

I believe he is absolutely right. Plenty of "coaches" out there "selling" you just a standardized "excel spreadsheet", thinking "one size fits all"....when it actually doesn´t. Templates are a great start, but are pretty useless after the inital training phase, as each single one of us is not only genetically different, but has different circumstances to consider as well as different goals and/or objectives....

Hahaha

Lower the rep range. Or do singles.

What is your deload like ?

Gets alot of hate online because they don't wanna hear about the hard work that rip tries to teach them.

Super lame troll.