Learn to build the one superpower left when you are over 50
#42
If you talk to men over 50 they usually refer to what they used to be able to do.
I saw this clothes brand in Australia and liked the line “The older I get, the better I was”.
The recognition that you can’t do what you used to be able to do leads to a degradation of confidence. The male ego reminds you what you can’t do as you age, so you opt out of participating, leading to further physical decline.
There is an inevitable truth to this as you lose physical capabilities as you get older:
Speed declines in our late 20s and early 30s
The capability to generate explosive powerful movement without injury declines in your 30s (Which is why most professional athletes retire mid 30s)
Cardiovascular capability and endurance declines over 40
These are the capabilities that you remember and no amount of training will recreate what you were capable of in your 20s.
There is one capability that can still improve well into your 50s. That is strength.
I believe strength is a longevity super power that enables all physical movement and a high quality of life as you age. So it’s good news that remains the longest.
Strength is also a cool superpower as being strong sets you apart from other people as you can either move an object or you can’t. People respect strength.
Strength gives you confidence as you can still do exceptional physical challenges well into your 50s.
In your 50s you still have a strength superpower that can be maintained so you could still be in the top 5% of all male adults for strength when you are aged 50+.
I conducted an experiment to prove it
If I put any untrained person under 60 years old on a strength and conditioning programme I typically see an increase in strength reflected in the weight they can lift of 200% in 8 weeks. These are beginner gains and can be achieved with consistent progressive overload of the weights lifted.
This doesn’t prove my point that you can build strength over 50 as untrained people have a low strength base so have lots of room for improvement.
To conduct a relevant experiment to prove that a man over 50 who is already strong can still increase their strength I recruited Paul to run a 10 week strength programme.
Paul is 55 and 81kg (178llbs), has been lifting weights for over 20 years and has followed most of the common strength programmes in that time. Before he started the programme Paul was squatting 1.75 times his bodyweight which is in the top 20% of lifts done at that age and bodyweight.
This makes Paul an experienced lifter but he still talked about what he used to be able to do and didn’t believe he could regain or improve the strength he used to have.
We agreed a 10 week programme that required 2 training sessions a week spaced 72 hours apart for maximum recovery.
The goal was to improve strength so Paul could squat 160kg or 352llbs. His best squat ever was the same weight but he was 10kg (22lbs) heavier.
To get stronger you need to be able to do three things.
Build the stability and muscle mass to control the movement and make it as efficient as possible.
Stress the central nervous system so it learns to recruit more muscle fibres as the loads get heavier.
Build the confidence to lift a weight you thought was impossible to do.
What the programme looks like
It has 3 blocks
2 weeks of conditioning to build the capability to work hard
4 weeks of building a strength foundation
4 weeks of peaking towards the target weight by progressively lifting weights that stress the central nervous system and build the confidence the target weight is achievable.
In blocks 2 and 3, one day was dedicated to lifting heavy weights and the second day to creating power and muscle hypertrophy.
This approach of a max effort day and speed day is called the Conjugate method and is proven to build strength over the long term for experienced lifters.
What happened?
This programme is hard. It tests both physical and mental capacity as each week it gets harder. Paul took on the challenge and did every part of the programme in block 1 and 2.
We had a wobble in block 3 as the weights got close to the target his confidence dropped, which is where the coach comes in. Rather than increase the weight again we repeated a week to rebuild confidence.
The day of the target weight lift there was a massive storm and the road to the gym was flooded so Paul showing huge commitment to the programme found an alternative route to get to the gym and do the lift.
He completed the squat successfully lifting 1.98 times his body weight putting him in the top 8% of all lifts done at that age and weight. This was a 13% improvement from his best lift he had done as he was 10kg lighter.
Post experiment review
A strength building programme has one goal and that gets tested near the end of it. Imagine working hard for 10 weeks knowing there is a huge physical test at the end of it. This creates fear, anxiety and when you do it elation. As you get older there are few moments in life when you get to test yourself in this way and it makes you feel alive and hugely confident in your physical capabilities.
Paul reflects this in his feedback.
“You helped me to regain a confidence in my strength that has been somewhat absent for three years. The key aspect here (for me) is the mental game: the absolute confidence I placed in you, and the programme to facilitate a slow accretion of strength, form and loading … recall I told you of the “shock” I experienced when we started going over 140kgs? We re-did one of the weeks to allow me to get used to the weight and then push forwards.
The “test week” arrived … and I made the lifts, and moreover I realise now that Nigel’s patience and the programme he wrote for me has ticked all the boxes, and one extra … as an “older” chap (55 years) I’ve regained confidence that I can make those big lifts that would put some chaps, half my age, to shame.
For me, then, as an older lifter with a tonne of experience (and a couple of tonnes of learned habits, not all good) – being accountable, doing the work, and trusting the programme translates into self-confidence, which translates into performance.”
As the experiment proved if you are over 50 you still have a strength superpower you can build. That superpower is also the key to enabling you to continue to do the things you love as you get older.
Training for strength changes the conversation from what I used to be able to do to what I can do. In Paul’s case his squat puts him in the top 5% of all men regardless of age.
Being top 5% in your 50s is worth talking about.
So set a goal to get strong and access the one superpower you have as you age to build confidence and perform better as you age.
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Great focus on strength training. An amazing training story you had with Paul - thanks for sharing. Also highlights the value at any age of having a mentor or a trainer to guide you to the next level.