Tactics for the mature lifters

Be “mature” enough to reconcile what you need and what you want.

It is already good enough that you keep grinding and can still beat some iron around that you must start to eliminate some of the things that might leave you hanging. Those younger lads might be able to bench three plates without warming up, but you might want to rethink that. Those old bones and joints need to get prepped up before those heavy sessions. Don’t be stupid about it. You obviously can’t train for hours on end, so make those minutes count. Train only what you know you should work on. Which leads me to my next points.

Focus on your weaknesses. I know, boring and not very impressive, but you still have a lot of years to go under your training belt. Make sure you can still lift on the heavy side. All you need is to make sure those joints and ligaments can manage to follow.

Increase your protein intake. With all the bad info going around, it’s easy to get lost in bad advice. Not one protein is going to kill you. Shit protein, as in bad meat choices, will. Let’s be realistic, no one in their right mind, lifting weights and conscious about their appearance, will eat deli meat or fast food on a daily basis. Now that we are clear, look for quality meat, such as a wild game, chicken, fish, and lean red meat, and your muscles will be able to sustain the hard work you will be putting in. Aim for 1.3 to 1.5 gram/pound of body weight, which is the recommendation for people of 60-year-old and up, as suggested by a colleague and respected Dr. Layne Norton.

Coach Eric