That's why I'm trying to hit a bunch of heavyweight goals now while my body is allowing it. In a few years I'll be 40 and at some point my body is going to stop responding as well as it has.

I'm enjoying the ride for now but I've definitely started to place more emphasis on "functional strength" and less on I need to weigh a specific weight aka more than I do now.

CC09LawAg said:

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That is what I was thinking about the other day. I think, realistically, if I could commit an extra 5 hours a week to conditioning, get more consistent 8 hours nights of sleep, and devote a few more hours a week to locking in my diet, then MAYBE.

But I told myself when I started all of this that once it started to bleed over into my "real life" and impacting my family's schedule to the point where they were having to accommodate me, that I had taken it too far.

To me, that is the appeal of making strength my focus - it seems like there's a little more margin for error there than in trying to get shredded/cut and have a bodybuilder physique.

---

I'm 32, for reference.

I work out 2-2.5 hours a day, six days a week and sleep eight hours every night. My total is nearly 1,400 and I practice progressive overload and near-failure in everything, either in reps or in weight at all times. And eat 180-200g of protein all the while.

That's all just relevant info to preface with when I say I feel like I look nothing like those guys, and there's not much more I can really do. I can run 220+ at 12-14% BF and be strong with not nearly enough definition, or I can run 200-205 with 8-10% and look great shirtless but skinny with clothes on and lose all my strength. I've yo-yo'd between both multiple times for years now. It's an impossible challenge.

If they're over 30 and they look like that, particularly while also being remotely strong, it's gear.

Or they keep a un realistic and likely unhealthy low body fat level. They look great on camera but are kind of small in person.

Yeah, it's big time noticeable in person. Didn't really notice til I did it myself. At 195 and like 7-8% shredded it was worthless when I had a shirt on, I just looked like a normie

It's even harder if you're not like 5'9 or shorter.

Not worth the complete sacrifice in strength, either.

So what I'm hearing is I did not gain enough weight last time and need to carry around about 250. Got it

Sea Speed said:

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Hoosegow said:

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Fellas, old age will hit you like a ton of bricks. Being big and strong is okay, but it is better to be functional and be able to do work. Going heavy and hard will catch up to you. Just something to think about as you progress in your 40's. You got some time left if you are in your early 40's, but not much.

I'll go back to yelling at clouds...

---

I know I have never been in your stratosphere but I am really leaning towards fitness over strength now that I hit 40 and feel like a bag of smashed *******s every morning. I don't know if I want to kill myself to get back to where I was a few years ago.

---

In 2015 I was 43 and hit my two lifetime goals - 800+ squat and 600+ bench. 804 squat and 633 bench. Remember - deadlift is a dirty word in my house. Lost 70 pounds to get healthy and started back training to compete again. 2017 was when I was told I needed to quit. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.

All the microinjuries, excess wear and tear, major injuries pile up. It is like quitting smoking after you have been diagnosed with cancer. It is too late.

Go to a powerlifting meet sometime. Look how few olds are there. I get the passion. Hell, listen to some of Louie Simmons, Dave Tate, and Jim Wendler interviews. I know so many young guys who injuries mounted up before they were 40 and are out of the game.

I get going heavy. I get going strong. It's an addiction and quite frankly everyone I know that has been successful in powerlifting is a little or a lot messed up in the head. In the end, you end up tearing your body up. I got a lot out of competing. You compete long enough, you truly learn who you are. But for me, I'm not genetically gifted enough to make it all worthwhile. I lost in the deal and now I'm paying the piper.

I'm all for training. Heck I still do what I can, but it is all strongman stuff. I definitely don't push myself anymore - other than from a semi-cardio point. I think the exercise business is dirty - as alluded to in this thread about unrealistic expectaions. I just think in the long run, functional strength and the ability to work is far more important than what your total is or what your maxes are.

Hoosegow said:

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Sea Speed said:

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Hoosegow said:

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Fellas, old age will hit you like a ton of bricks. Being big and strong is okay, but it is better to be functional and be able to do work. Going heavy and hard will catch up to you. Just something to think about as you progress in your 40's. You got some time left if you are in your early 40's, but not much.

I'll go back to yelling at clouds...

---

I know I have never been in your stratosphere but I am really leaning towards fitness over strength now that I hit 40 and feel like a bag of smashed *******s every morning. I don't know if I want to kill myself to get back to where I was a few years ago.

---

In 2015 I was 43 and hit my two lifetime goals - 800+ squat and 600+ bench. 804 squat and 633 bench.

---

Good effing lord. I know you know that this is strong AF.

Here is always the weird question that is hard to answer....what is "strong enough?" (Yes, I know...depends on age...weight...yada yada). But still... What's your opinion for general overall strenght going into later in life? An average male around 40. Ya know...just general fitness.

How about for the powerlifts? Squat, Deadlift, Bench, Press?

On another note, recently got some labs back. (Note, In November of 22, I was 164 pounds, today Im 235 having tried to "bulk" gaining about a pound a week or so).

A1C was a hair elevated and my cholestrol is high. Thoughts on all that?

Tex117 said:

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Hoosegow said:

---

Sea Speed said:

---

Hoosegow said:

---

Fellas, old age will hit you like a ton of bricks. Being big and strong is okay, but it is better to be functional and be able to do work. Going heavy and hard will catch up to you. Just something to think about as you progress in your 40's. You got some time left if you are in your early 40's, but not much.

I'll go back to yelling at clouds...

---

I know I have never been in your stratosphere but I am really leaning towards fitness over strength now that I hit 40 and feel like a bag of smashed *******s every morning. I don't know if I want to kill myself to get back to where I was a few years ago.

---

In 2015 I was 43 and hit my two lifetime goals - 800+ squat and 600+ bench. 804 squat and 633 bench.

---

On another note, recently got some labs back. (Note, In November of 22, I was 164 pounds, today Im 235 having tried to "bulk" gaining about a pound a week or so).

A1C was a hair elevated and my cholestrol is high. Thoughts on all that?

---

I would think the weight gain would explain both lab abnormalities.

True Anomaly said:

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Tex117 said:

---

Hoosegow said:

---

Sea Speed said:

---

Hoosegow said:

---

Fellas, old age will hit you like a ton of bricks. Being big and strong is okay, but it is better to be functional and be able to do work. Going heavy and hard will catch up to you. Just something to think about as you progress in your 40's. You got some time left if you are in your early 40's, but not much.

I'll go back to yelling at clouds...

---

I know I have never been in your stratosphere but I am really leaning towards fitness over strength now that I hit 40 and feel like a bag of smashed *******s every morning. I don't know if I want to kill myself to get back to where I was a few years ago.

---

In 2015 I was 43 and hit my two lifetime goals - 800+ squat and 600+ bench. 804 squat and 633 bench.

---

On another note, recently got some labs back. (Note, In November of 22, I was 164 pounds, today Im 235 having tried to "bulk" gaining about a pound a week or so).

A1C was a hair elevated and my cholestrol is high. Thoughts on all that?

---

I would think the weight gain would explain both lab abnormalities.

---

I would too, but the question is, what to do from here? Don't get me wrong, I'm a liiitttle soft in the gut, but Ive put on ALOT of good healthy lean mass. (Note, I'm 6'5" now at 235).

Numbers wise:
Deadlift: 400 2x3 (going for 405 next week).
Squat: 300 3x3
Bench: 245 5x3
Overhead Press: 150 5x3.

I feel I can get a little stronger from here, but don't want to gain TOO much more weight. (Would like to solidly get into the 400's on dead and 300's on squat)...Squat is real hard for me.

Tex117 said:

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True Anomaly said:

---

Tex117 said:

---

Hoosegow said:

---

Sea Speed said:

---

Hoosegow said:

---

Fellas, old age will hit you like a ton of bricks. Being big and strong is okay, but it is better to be functional and be able to do work. Going heavy and hard will catch up to you. Just something to think about as you progress in your 40's. You got some time left if you are in your early 40's, but not much.

I'll go back to yelling at clouds...

---

I know I have never been in your stratosphere but I am really leaning towards fitness over strength now that I hit 40 and feel like a bag of smashed *******s every morning. I don't know if I want to kill myself to get back to where I was a few years ago.

---

In 2015 I was 43 and hit my two lifetime goals - 800+ squat and 600+ bench. 804 squat and 633 bench.

---

On another note, recently got some labs back. (Note, In November of 22, I was 164 pounds, today Im 235 having tried to "bulk" gaining about a pound a week or so).

A1C was a hair elevated and my cholestrol is high. Thoughts on all that?

---

I would think the weight gain would explain both lab abnormalities.

---

I would too, but the question is, what to do from here? Don't get me wrong, I'm a liiitttle soft in the gut, but Ive put on ALOT of good healthy lean mass. (Note, I'm 6'5" now at 235).

Numbers wise:
Deadlift: 400 2x3 (going for 405 next week).
Squat: 300 3x3
Bench: 245 5x3
Overhead Press: 150 5x3.

I feel I can get a little stronger from here, but don't want to gain TOO much more weight. (Would like to solidly get into the 400's on dead and 300's on squat)...Squat is real hard for me.

---

I can't speak to the powerlifting because I don't do that style of training….but if you want your metabolic issues to go down, you'll either need to lose some amount of weight or go on medication

Even a perfect bulk will put on fat at a 50:50 ratio, especially in guys who have training experience. If you were a newbie, then adding muscle is so much easier with less fat

Yah, it is strong, but not even close to elite.

Look, we are all made differently. Dad was a very briefly NFL football player. When he went to LA for training camp, he was on the roster with Rosie Greer, Jack Pardee, Deacon Jones and Merlon Olson. Dad was a gifted athelete and everything came easy to him in college. He said when he got to LA that he understood the phrase, "God made all men equal. He just made some men more equal than others."

I first ran into this at A&M. I was an all state offensive/defensive lineman. I was relatively skinny and received no offers from a division one school, plus I wanted to go to A&M. I already was told I had a non-scholorship spot for Spike Dykes at Tech. So my thought was I'd walk on at A&M. I had fundamentals of kinesiology with Marcus Buckly. That dude was a beast. As part of the class, we had to do basic fitness testing. One of the tests was the 50 yard dash. We had another guy in the class who was the first Olympic alternate for the US high hurdles. As you can imagine, that dude was unbelievably fast. Well, Marcus asked the Olympic guy to pace him for the 50 yard dash. Marcus was 6'3 and 240 - y'all know him. I watched Marcus finish behind the Olympian by maybe half a step maybe a step. I was sitting in the north endzone of Kyle Field (had a track around it back then). I can remember looking at my cleates and thinking to myself, "A man that big, running that fast, if he hit me, he could killl me." That was the first time I realized what dad was saying.

Fast forward to me cometitively powerlifting. The superheavy weights that were competing in the open class were occasionally topping a 3,000 total. My best total was just south of 2,000. Yes, deadlift was my kryptonite. I never could break 600. Even if I had a deadlift mildly equivalent to my squat, I still was just over 2K. I know, in my heart, that I had tapped out genetically - even with using gear. I never went full blown committed to gear - I knew better than that. If I did, I know I did not have another 1,000 in me.

So you ask how strong is strong enough? That is a question you have to answer. But as you push the boundry of your limits you really have to weigh the cost an ask yourelf if it is worth the results? Taking years off of your life. Sacrificing quality of life. Not to mention the time and effort it takes. Time and effort that probably would be better put towards family. Hindsight, for me, it wasn't Not even the satisfaction of pushing myself to what I believe was close to my absolute limit. Divorce (more to it than powerlifting), time away from my daughter, injuries, health issues (to be strong you got to be big - to be big you gotta me fat).

Maybe this expresses how I ultimately feel. When I hit 800 and 600 and after I broke the seal on a bottle and started driinking whiskey and then after completeing my deadlift, I retreated back to the warm up room. I knew I was done with really trying to compete. I knew I was going to continue to train for powerlifting, but I also knew I need to lose a lot of weight and get healthy. So I'm sitting there amongst all my equipment that needs to be packed up and having just made my lifetime goal. Guys were occasionally coming around to congratulate me on the meet. All I can think of was, "That's it? All that work, all that time and that's it? I was disgusted. I didn't even feel like I accomplished anything. In my mind it was all for nothing. Today, there is some sense of self satisfaction. I pushed myself to a point few people ever do. However, I am very disatisfied with what I got in return for all the time and effort.

I still keep in touch with my old crew. All of us are out of the competitive game - even the younger ones. Some are still training like it is off season, but no one wants to go through the time and effort to prepare for a meet. If you ask them if they have another meet in them, most will say "Hell no!"

So how strong is strong enought, for me,? my answer is you are never strong enough and at the same time as long as I am functional and healthy that is strong enough.

Hoose, I know I have said this before, but thank you for all that you bring to these discussions.

A lot of what you wrote above is discussions I have internally and, in a way, I'm thankful I did not get into this until later in life - I imagine if I had started in my early 20s that I would've wrecked my body in pursuit of greatness. I am wise enough now (barely) to know that this is a hobby first and foremost and that it shouldn't come at the sacrifice of everything else in my life.

Hoosegow

Hoosegow said:

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Yah, it is strong, but not even close to elite.

Look, we are all made differently. Dad was a very briefly NFL football player. When he went to LA for training camp, he was on the roster with Rosie Greer, Jack Pardee, Deacon Jones and Merlon Olson. Dad was a gifted athelete and everything came easy to him in college. He said when he got to LA that he understood the phrase, "God made all men equal. He just made some men more equal than others."

I first ran into this at A&M. I was an all state offensive/defensive lineman. I was relatively skinny and received no offers from a division one school, plus I wanted to go to A&M. I already was told I had a non-scholorship spot for Spike Dykes at Tech. So my thought was I'd walk on at A&M. I had fundamentals of kinesiology with Marcus Buckly. That dude was a beast. As part of the class, we had to do basic fitness testing. One of the tests was the 50 yard dash. We had another guy in the class who was the first Olympic alternate for the US high hurdles. As you can imagine, that dude was unbelievably fast. Well, Marcus asked the Olympic guy to pace him for the 50 yard dash. Marcus was 6'3 and 240 - y'all know him. I watched Marcus finish behind the Olympian by maybe half a step maybe a step. I was sitting in the north endzone of Kyle Field (had a track around it back then). I can remember looking at my cleates and thinking to myself, "A man that big, running that fast, if he hit me, he could killl me." That was the first time I realized what dad was saying.

Fast forward to me cometitively powerlifting. The superheavy weights that were competing in the open class were occasionally topping a 3,000 total. My best total was just south of 2,000. Yes, deadlift was my kryptonite. I never could break 600. Even if I had a deadlift mildly equivalent to my squat, I still was just over 2K. I know, in my heart, that I had tapped out genetically - even with using gear. I never went full blown committed to gear - I knew better than that. If I did, I know I did not have another 1,000 in me.

So you ask how strong is strong enough? That is a question you have to answer. But as you push the boundry of your limits you really have to weigh the cost an ask yourelf if it is worth the results? Taking years off of your life. Sacrificing quality of life. Not to mention the time and effort it takes. Time and effort that probably would be better put towards family. Hindsight, for me, it wasn't Not even the satisfaction of pushing myself to what I believe was close to my absolute limit. Divorce (more to it than powerlifting), time away from my daughter, injuries, health issues (to be strong you got to be big - to be big you gotta me fat).

Maybe this expresses how I ultimately feel. When I hit 800 and 600 and after I broke the seal on a bottle and started driinking whiskey and then after completeing my deadlift, I retreated back to the warm up room. I knew I was done with really trying to compete. I knew I was going to continue to train for powerlifting, but I also knew I need to lose a lot of weight and get healthy. So I'm sitting there amongst all my equipment that needs to be packed up and having just made my lifetime goal. Guys were occasionally coming around to congratulate me on the meet. All I can think of was, "That's it? All that work, all that time and that's it? I was disgusted. I didn't even feel like I accomplished anything. In my mind it was all for nothing. Today, there is some sense of self satisfaction. I pushed myself to a point few people ever do. However, I am very disatisfied with what I got in return for all the time and effort.

I still keep in touch with my old crew. All of us are out of the competitive game - even the younger ones. Some are still training like it is off season, but no one wants to go through the time and effort to prepare for a meet. If you ask them if they have another meet in them, most will say "Hell no!"

So how strong is strong enought, for me,? my answer is you are never strong enough and at the same time as long as I am functional and healthy that is strong enough.

---

This is incredible insight not just with weightlifting but the pursuit of goals in general. The trade offs of life. How to keep things in perspective. Thank you for sharing. Its something I'll be contemplating for awhile.

True Anomaly said:

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Tex117 said:

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True Anomaly said:

---

Tex117 said:

---

Hoosegow said:

---

Sea Speed said:

---

Hoosegow said:

---

Fellas, old age will hit you like a ton of bricks. Being big and strong is okay, but it is better to be functional and be able to do work. Going heavy and hard will catch up to you. Just something to think about as you progress in your 40's. You got some time left if you are in your early 40's, but not much.

I'll go back to yelling at clouds...

---

I know I have never been in your stratosphere but I am really leaning towards fitness over strength now that I hit 40 and feel like a bag of smashed *******s every morning. I don't know if I want to kill myself to get back to where I was a few years ago.

---

In 2015 I was 43 and hit my two lifetime goals - 800+ squat and 600+ bench. 804 squat and 633 bench.

---

On another note, recently got some labs back. (Note, In November of 22, I was 164 pounds, today Im 235 having tried to "bulk" gaining about a pound a week or so).

A1C was a hair elevated and my cholestrol is high. Thoughts on all that?

---

I would think the weight gain would explain both lab abnormalities.

---

I would too, but the question is, what to do from here? Don't get me wrong, I'm a liiitttle soft in the gut, but Ive put on ALOT of good healthy lean mass. (Note, I'm 6'5" now at 235).

Numbers wise:
Deadlift: 400 2x3 (going for 405 next week).
Squat: 300 3x3
Bench: 245 5x3
Overhead Press: 150 5x3.

I feel I can get a little stronger from here, but don't want to gain TOO much more weight. (Would like to solidly get into the 400's on dead and 300's on squat)...Squat is real hard for me.

---

I can't speak to the powerlifting because I don't do that style of training….but if you want your metabolic issues to go down, you'll either need to lose some amount of weight or go on medication

Even a perfect bulk will put on fat at a 50:50 ratio, especially in guys who have training experience. If you were a newbie, then adding muscle is so much easier with less fat

---

I mean, I train "powerlifter(y)" but I am certainly not a powerlifter nor do I aspire to be. I do want to have a good amount of strength and maintain it as I get older as I enter my 4th decade.

I'm definitely NOT going to go on medication for this. No way. I can easily cut. I was kind of a newbie when it came to straight up strength training (and eating enough to get stronger and bigger). I did other "cutting" type programs for years...higher reps..yada yada.

I guess what I'm asking is whether your body can "regulate" a bit better after steady weight gain (and...coming from VERY underweight...I looked sick), I also don't know how much to worry about a slightly elevated A1C and higher cholesterol. (I also eat very clean and track everything).

Im not "BIG" by any means. Not even close. I'm not fat either. I look very normal (well, a stronger normal), just a bit of softness around my waist.

Well... Thanks for letting me rant from time to time without giving me too much grief.

Let me be another to voice appreciation for your wise insights. Even after a decade of fine-tuning my body I still always hate how it looks. Not big enough, get big, feel fat, get lean, feel small, over and over on an endless hamster wheel. So I just started focusing on strength because at least those numbers aren't questionable. Now in shouting distance of a 700 deadlift, it's all that really brings me joy in the gym anymore (at least right now) and the alternative with how generally down I tend to feel about the project is just giving up … but I need to decide when enough is enough.

Hoosegow said:

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In 2015 I was 43 and hit my two lifetime goals - 800+ squat and 600+ bench. 804 squat and 633 bench.

---

Which of those was more difficult to achieve?

I can wrap my mind around an 800 pound squat - but the bench just seems crazy.

I can grind out reps on my squat and when I max out, but it seems like with my bench, when I'm done, I'm done. It's probably technique issues and a little bit psychological due to an old shoulder injury.

Squat? deadlift? Bench?

Any are impressive just trying to track here and good job!!

Tex117 said:

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Alright, no where else to pat myself on the back.

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We started a group in WhatApp just so we can have somewhere to pat ourselves on the back and talk gym stuff.
Welcome to come hangout if you like.

And tolerance for my self-hatred.

And a tendency to reflexively dunk on quarter-squatters.

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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Squat? deadlift? Bench?

Any are impressive just trying to track here and good job!!

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Ha. Sorry. Deadlift. My squat is sad at a breathtaking 300 for 3x3.

Beau Holder said:

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And tolerance for my self-hatred.

And a tendency to reflexively dunk on quarter-squatters.

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Sign me up! I also indulge in self-hatred...and absolutely dunk on quarter-squatters. Maybe even more so. Squatting is very hard for me. Every pound I go up...its earned. When I see those people quarter squatting, I get unreasonably angry.

shoot me an email at username @ gmail if you want

They were both hard. Forced to answer - the squat.

Let me guess, comparatively long arms and legs? Like wingspan is greater than your height?

Hoosegow said:

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Let me guess, comparatively long arms and legs? Like wingspan is greater than your height?

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You rang?