When you reach a certain age, you start to notice some things. Things like your ache-y and tired body when you wake up in the morning. How necessary those cups of coffee become. How many days you’re sore after modest activities that used to be nothing. Tweaks and minor pains that don’t have any apparent cause. How many pills you are supposed to take daily. How much time you spend in the healthcare system. There was no puppy you rescued from no burning building… just the years taking their toll.
The further along you go without tending to these accumulations, the more it can seem like you are fighting a relentless tide. And of course you are. As the saying goes, “father time is undefeated” [in sports], and in life too.
But too often this feeling can be interpreted to rationalize a scarce lifestyle: I am getting old and I can’t stop it, so probably it’s not worth it to bother trying to get stronger, healthier, go outside today, or generally make long term investments in myself. This is a mistake.
You most certainly can get stronger after 40, 50, 60, 70, and even 80+! I’ve worked with clients as old as 85, and while the gains aren’t as rapid or multi-faceted, they are real and in many ways more meaningful. The human body is an adaptive machine. The will to live and find a way forward is stronger than your conscious attention is usually aware.
Work on your box squat. It will get better. Practice deadlifts from the blocks. They will get better. Practice step-by-step burpees on a gymnastics mat. It will get better. Row short distances, pull a sled around, and keep walking as long as possible. Do basic stretching and get some body work done periodically. It feels good!
There is renewed meaning and purpose in every decade of life. And you will never know how strong you can become unless you try. How much compared to others or to your past self is…not important. Be here now.
I recently joined a Masters Weightlifting forum just to see what people are doing out there, and it’s pretty inspiring to see so many Masters of all ages and from all over the world pushing themselves. It helps me remember that there is so much life left in all of us still.
And you can wear your old baggy sweatpants and aerobics headband, don’t shave, lift in a dirty basement, on your patio or in a cluttered garage, It’s all good, you’ll fit right in.
You’re capable, you’re worth it. And if you’re not sure how to do it, find some people already doing it.
Coach Mauricio