Weight Training Program?

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Atkins&Rebel
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It's been 4 years since we've talked about any kind of fitness here in the forum.
My last full time stint at the gym was the winter of 2019. And after injuring myself walking (well hiking some serious elevations on the AT) and watching a 110lb girl keep up with me laying bricks on a driveway, I really came to see the need to be back in the gym.
I started back up in December and was struggling to do much because my joints are pretty inflexible and my body didn't want to do much. Started by struggling to get the 50's off my chest for reps, but in 6 weeks I was hitting the 100's for a set of 3 with my eyes on the 130's. Last week I went back to trying the bar again because my left side is a bit weaker and there's a bunch of guys that can actually spot you if you want to push to 1 rep failure.
I have been doing a general free weight workout, basically deciding when I walk in what body part(s) I want to hit that day and just seeing what I can accomplish. But I've decided it's time to put together a real program.
I see some guys do 3 sets per exercise and call it a day; others are doing multiple sets for multiple exercises at each body part hitting low reps for most but 1 set of "heavy" which still seems lighter than they're capable of.
I know there's way more research out there than when I last had a program...so...

Anyone who's done a power lifting program want to share exercises per body part with reps and sets?
I want to dedicate myself to a 3 year program to see what I can accomplish before age closes in on me and I start losing out to nature.
I have no desire to bodybuild. I don't care what I look like. But I want build strength and be able to sling bricks and still play O line in my rec league so my sone can play with me when he turns 18.
It's easy to find workouts online, but things work different when your 21-26 vs me being 46 and having to work around a bad back, bad shoulders, and arthritis setting into my hands affecting my grip strength.

If you don't have a program feel free to post your own workout progress or plans to do so!
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March of 2020 was my last time hitting the gym hard. 2021 and 2022 weren’t kind to my body.

I broke my foot in the fall of 21 and had to have a plate put in, then I tore the meniscus in my left knee in the fall of 2022. Rehabbing those lower body injuries at 43/44 wasn’t awesome.

I’m not in terrible shape by any stretch, but there are definitely things I need to work on, so I’ve made my way back into the gym 3 days a week.
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No where near being a power lifter by any stretch. I have worked at home for years in the past. I swore off gyms, thought no way in hell I would ever do that.

Joined Planet Fitness in 2021 and glad I did. Machines are kinder to my joints than free weights. I will do some dumbbells, maybe a straight bar for a few exercises but that is it.

My workouts vary but I mainly focus on the cardio aspect of working out, lighter weights more reps. I generally do a push/pull workout. I may do a set of seated chest presses then go immediately into a seated row (or pullups). After 3 sets of that I will ride the recumbent bike for 2 minutes keeping the RPM at about 90. I will usually do 3 different sets of 2 different exercises. I usually end my workouts with a half hr or so on the treadmill. I jog for a minute the walk a minute or two, repeat.

There are other days I will do 2 minutes on the rowing machine then do 20-25 pushups. I will do 6-7 rds of this and then hit the treadmill or recumbent.

My mom died at 60, 22 yrs ago from a heart attack. At that time I found out that high blood pressure and heart disease runs on both sides of my family. Dad died 10 yrs ago of a heart attack.

I am 60 this July. I want to live way past 60 so I am more conscious of the cardio aspect than getting big. I will admit I am probably in better shape now than 20 yrs ago.

My problem is my diet. I love bread and treats (cookies, cake, pies, chocolate, candy). I have been doing pretty well cutting back on that shit.
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wab wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 3:58 pm March of 2020 was my last time hitting the gym hard. 2021 and 2022 weren’t kind to my body.

I broke my foot in the fall of 21 and had to have a plate put in, then I tore the meniscus in my left knee in the fall of 2022. Rehabbing those lower body injuries at 43/44 wasn’t awesome.

I’m not in terrible shape by any stretch, but there are definitely things I need to work on, so I’ve made my way back into the gym 3 days a week.
I didn't think I was in terrible shape either, but all things are relative to what you want to accomplish.
The hardest reality for me is the need to warm up over the course of a few warm sets and stretches.
After straining my calf last year, it took a good 3 months before I wasn't limping at all.
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Otis Day wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 9:20 pm No where near being a power lifter by any stretch. I have worked at home for years in the past. I swore off gyms, thought no way in hell I would ever do that.

Joined Planet Fitness in 2021 and glad I did. Machines are kinder to my joints than free weights. I will do some dumbbells, maybe a straight bar for a few exercises but that is it.

My workouts vary but I mainly focus on the cardio aspect of working out, lighter weights more reps. I generally do a push/pull workout. I may do a set of seated chest presses then go immediately into a seated row (or pullups). After 3 sets of that I will ride the recumbent bike for 2 minutes keeping the RPM at about 90. I will usually do 3 different sets of 2 different exercises. I usually end my workouts with a half hr or so on the treadmill. I jog for a minute the walk a minute or two, repeat.

There are other days I will do 2 minutes on the rowing machine then do 20-25 pushups. I will do 6-7 rds of this and then hit the treadmill or recumbent.

My mom died at 60, 22 yrs ago from a heart attack. At that time I found out that high blood pressure and heart disease runs on both sides of my family. Dad died 10 yrs ago of a heart attack.

I am 60 this July. I want to live way past 60 so I am more conscious of the cardio aspect than getting big. I will admit I am probably in better shape now than 20 yrs ago.

My problem is my diet. I love bread and treats (cookies, cake, pies, chocolate, candy). I have been doing pretty well cutting back on that shit.
Sounds like you got a good routine going!
As long as your heart rate gets up during your workout you're good.
I see older retired guys stumble around the gym and do the exact same thing every day then go sit and drink coffee in the sitting area and talk for an hour. The gym is more of a social hour for them than an actual workout.
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No social hour. I have told people I know that go there, "Do not talk to me!" I want to get in, do my stuff and leave. I don't want to cool down, I want to keep moving. There are also the people that will do a set then sit there for about 5 minutes or more checking their phone or talking before they do their next set.

I go early in the morning, 5a, so there is not too many people there. I have went a couple of times after work, hated it. Too many damn people.
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Otis Day wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 10:16 am No social hour. I have told people I know that go there, "Do not talk to me!" I want to get in, do my stuff and leave. I don't want to cool down, I want to keep moving. There are also the people that will do a set then sit there for about 5 minutes or more checking their phone or talking before they do their next set.

I go early in the morning, 5a, so there is not too many people there. I have went a couple of times after work, hated it. Too many damn people.
5am is when I go too. Otherwise I'm just standing around waiting for a machine.
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Commiseration time.

Mid-50s here. Wrecked my foot a few years ago and put on 30-40 bad pounds just waiting for it to heal up so I could pick up where I left off. It never did, and I still haven't.

I got some real results from lifting dumbbells (30-35-40 pounds) three different ways to failure as quickly as possible. That and turning myself into a walking haggis with a steady diet of oatmeal, flax, and chia seed cut 10 pounds pretty quickly and ended a ten-year run of blood pressure consistently in the Hypertensive Crisis category. It's nice not to feel my pulse in my eyeballs anymore.

And then, out of the blue, completely unfairly and without any way for me to have foreseen it, I tweaked something in my elbow. Just getting back on the horse after a week.

I've also had serious tendinitis in both knees since I was a teenager, and lower-body stuff has become tricky with a foot whose Lisfranc almost certainly healed up funny and whose Achilles is, in the words of my podiatrist, "reattached but highly disorganized." So I'm looking for ways to put a load on my legs without overloading them. If I was still in Chicago or NYC I'd be riding my bike everywhere, but here in the exurban PNW I've got nothing but hills and narrow roadways. Any thoughts for someone who keeps bouncing between overdoing it and not doing it at all?
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Welp, did something to my left shoulder. Normally I have some exterior pain somewhere if I prod around, but this is all internal. Can't bench without pain. Can't lift my arm for rotator testing without discomfort. So while it appears nothing is torn, there's some damage in there that will put me on the shelf for a few weeks regarding anything upper body.
Sucks getting old and fragile.
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karhu wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 3:42 pm Commiseration time.

Mid-50s here. Wrecked my foot a few years ago and put on 30-40 bad pounds just waiting for it to heal up so I could pick up where I left off. It never did, and I still haven't.

I got some real results from lifting dumbbells (30-35-40 pounds) three different ways to failure as quickly as possible. That and turning myself into a walking haggis with a steady diet of oatmeal, flax, and chia seed cut 10 pounds pretty quickly and ended a ten-year run of blood pressure consistently in the Hypertensive Crisis category. It's nice not to feel my pulse in my eyeballs anymore.

And then, out of the blue, completely unfairly and without any way for me to have foreseen it, I tweaked something in my elbow. Just getting back on the horse after a week.

I've also had serious tendinitis in both knees since I was a teenager, and lower-body stuff has become tricky with a foot whose Lisfranc almost certainly healed up funny and whose Achilles is, in the words of my podiatrist, "reattached but highly disorganized." So I'm looking for ways to put a load on my legs without overloading them. If I was still in Chicago or NYC I'd be riding my bike everywhere, but here in the exurban PNW I've got nothing but hills and narrow roadways. Any thoughts for someone who keeps bouncing between overdoing it and not doing it at all?
Being a total layman at this kind of thing I think swimming is a good option if you have any local facilities
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Atkins&Rebel wrote: Mon Mar 13, 2023 8:48 pm Welp, did something to my left shoulder. Normally I have some exterior pain somewhere if I prod around, but this is all internal. Can't bench without pain. Can't lift my arm for rotator testing without discomfort. So while it appears nothing is torn, there's some damage in there that will put me on the shelf for a few weeks regarding anything upper body.
Sucks getting old and fragile.


That’s awful mate.
It really does suck getting old and not being able to push your body as much, or recover from a workout so quickly.

As I said above, swimming is great exercise for people ‘just past their prime like us’ ;)
Non-load bearing so spares the joints.
Exercises all the big muscle groups so burns the calories.
Also good exercise for your spine.

:thumbsup:
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Atkins&Rebel wrote: Mon Mar 13, 2023 8:48 pm Welp, did something to my left shoulder. Normally I have some exterior pain somewhere if I prod around, but this is all internal. Can't bench without pain. Can't lift my arm for rotator testing without discomfort. So while it appears nothing is torn, there's some damage in there that will put me on the shelf for a few weeks regarding anything upper body.
Sucks getting old and fragile.
Shit. Sorry to hear about that. It's weird: we spend decades making our bodies hurt and telling them "Aw, shuddup--you're fine." And it is, mostly. Then somebody flips a switch and our joints get their payback.
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karhu wrote: Tue Mar 14, 2023 3:12 pm
Atkins&Rebel wrote: Mon Mar 13, 2023 8:48 pm Welp, did something to my left shoulder. Normally I have some exterior pain somewhere if I prod around, but this is all internal. Can't bench without pain. Can't lift my arm for rotator testing without discomfort. So while it appears nothing is torn, there's some damage in there that will put me on the shelf for a few weeks regarding anything upper body.
Sucks getting old and fragile.
Shit. Sorry to hear about that. It's weird: we spend decades making our bodies hurt and telling them "Aw, shuddup--you're fine." And it is, mostly. Then somebody flips a switch and our joints get their payback.
Yep, between sports and work, I've way overdone it more times than I can count.
Saw someone doing tricep dips a week ago...thought to myself I haven't done those in forever...might as well give em a try. The bars were a bit wider than I was used to from past gyms. First drop and I felt a little pinch.
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Ditka’s dictaphone wrote: Tue Mar 14, 2023 4:42 am
Atkins&Rebel wrote: Mon Mar 13, 2023 8:48 pm Welp, did something to my left shoulder. Normally I have some exterior pain somewhere if I prod around, but this is all internal. Can't bench without pain. Can't lift my arm for rotator testing without discomfort. So while it appears nothing is torn, there's some damage in there that will put me on the shelf for a few weeks regarding anything upper body.
Sucks getting old and fragile.


That’s awful mate.
It really does suck getting old and not being able to push your body as much, or recover from a workout so quickly.

As I said above, swimming is great exercise for people ‘just past their prime like us’ ;)
Non-load bearing so spares the joints.
Exercises all the big muscle groups so burns the calories.
Also good exercise for your spine.

:thumbsup:
I live between the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario. Ice should be gone in a few weeks! But my shoulder hurts now, so no holes in the ice for me!
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Ditka’s dictaphone wrote: Tue Mar 14, 2023 4:39 am
Being a total layman at this kind of thing I think swimming is a good option if you have any local facilities
Good idea; thanks for the nudge. I never learned to swim properly...but come to think of it, that might make the exercise all the more strenuous. All I've got to work with is the Pacific Ocean, but on a clear day you can see Canada. Also, there are no clear days.
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So I fell off the wagon pretty hard. Covid fucked a lot of things up, plus a ridiculous work schedule.

I have been going to the gym sense jan fairly regularly. I started pretty slow. My gym numbers are not what they use to be and neither is my wieght. However they are both trending in the right direction.

@Atkins&Rebel

My suggestion would be to start slow, to help create a routine. Also remember you are not a young thunder cat anymore. So sometimes it's better to substitute a less risky exercise.

My first month back was literally just the elliptical. I hated it. But it built a routine. I slowly increased the tension. I never went for a long time. More a get into the rythm.

My next month was a lot of easy stuff plus the elliptical. Like I would do 20 min elliptical, 4 sets by 8 reps of light squats and military presses and 20 min walking.

March I've started taking off the training wheels. I personally like heavy low reps. That said I've been doing pyramids. I think pyramids 8,6,4,8 or something similar are great for getting you stronger while leaving room for growth. Ideally one would alternate strength and hypertrophy sessions on like a 3x1 ratio or some shit, but I think pyramids are a great way system.

A lot of workout design comes to what are your goals, current ability, body type, and time. If you are 160lbs and want to squat 1000lbs but can only work out once a week its pointless. Like for me I have to plan on my schedule completely changing. So routine is a huge struggle.

Edit. I just saw you hurt your shoulder. That blows. A few years ago I sprained my ac joint. It took forever to feel better. Hanging from a bar helped a lot after the initial injury had generally subsided.
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@mmmc_35
Good on you for getting back.
My shoulder has been an issue on and off for years now, but it's slowly coming back from the latest impingement.

I used to pyramid all the time to failure
I guess what I really need is some concrete numbers on what is an excepted amount of reps to sets per exercise and how many exercises per body part and how much each for body part per week.
I'm a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to lifting. I've read the "new science" says to get 4-5 sets at 10-12 reps with 5 days between each body part.
But I don't know if I believe that I will gain strength if I don't hit those 5-3-1 rep weights with a few negatives thrown in if I hit failure faster than expected.
I want to hit a 300+ bench again.
I want to hit 600+ dead lift again
I want to hammer curl the 70's for reps and grab the 130 for behind the head tricep raises again.
I don't do squats anymore, but if I could be at a combined 850-900 for dead lift and bench, I could easily squat 150 to get into the 1000lb club.
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I’m not a weight trainer, but I am interested in the science of it. There’s some research to suggest it’s not the number of reps or the weight you use, the key is to exercise the muscle to “fatigue” and then allow it sufficient time to recover. It varies for everyone.
For instance I saw an experiment where a team was split into 2. Different demographics but the groups matched. They studied biceps curls.
One group had to exercise with a very light almost negligible weight.
The other group had a weight they could barely lift.
The instruction - exercise the muscle to fatigue and count your reps. The light group were doing over a hundred, the heavy group could barely manage any at the start.

Months later they re-measured muscle hypertrophy compared to baseline and the difference between the groups was negligible.

Interesting stuff, take what you will from that.
I’m certainly no expert and I certainly wouldn’t advise any particular program.
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Man, all this talk of injuries and bouncing back speaks to me. I feel like (at 40) I work hard from one injury to the next and am getting sick of it, but maybe that's just getting older ?

I haven't had injuries from lifting, but my program is pretty basic. Free dumbbells repping up and down 8, 10, 12, 10, 8 as heavy as I can stand curls, presses, skulls, etc.. Then squats, lunges in between while I recover. Other days pushups, crunches x100 each then I run either 2 or 3 days/week 7 miles each day. I stay fit doing this and not just hammering a ton of carbs.

Rolled an ankle about 3 weeks back coaching soccer and that's shelved the runs, but still hanging in there lifting. Will get the shoes back on next week.
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So @Atkins&Rebel you sound like a big fucking dude, with some lofty goals. I dont know how old you are but you can reach your youth lifting marks. Generally however it make sense to retard those expectations.

I am not a big guy. 5'10 I'm a fat 235lbs right now. My prime 210, at like 25. I could work up to a 6 (12) plate pull. I'm confident in that. For me that's always been when I top out. I think most people hit the wall between 2times to 2.5 times body wieght in deadlift and squat.

I say the above paragraph because I'll likely never come close to the 600lb deadlift mark again. That's fine but it hurts my pride a little. I firmly believe people should work out towards their goals but more importantly their body type. The narrow shouldered high metabolism guys need more hypertrophy or fatigue. The broad shouldered more prone to weight gain guys need more strength workouts.

I think a workout like
https://ast-ss.com/max-ot/toc/
Might be for you. I've read a ton, I really like certain things because they work for me.this workout I did maybe 20ish years ago. It's very intense and I did it in pretty good shape beforehand. Given your size and goals I t think it might be your jam. Though i wouldn't do it at 40 in the condition I'm in. I honestly dont even remember what's 100% in it but the concepts I carry with me.
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@mmmc_35 I'm 46, a shade shorter than you, but on my fat side (winter weight), I'm carrying 260-265. When I trim up a bit from working in the summer, I'm 235. I would be pretty shredded at 220-215.
Grew up doing farm work. Started playing football in 7th grade and played every spot on the O line.

Still have a physical job and I play a rec football league where we have 3 down linemen.

I do have lofty goals. Moreso because I've beat the crap outta my body and less so because I'm not strong enough to build back up to those goals.
And that's why I'm even asking for workout advice. I could push through two-a-days and hit every body part repeatedly, but I don't know if that'll be counter productive or that I have 5-6 years to build back to where I want to be with rushing to plateaus and getting stuck there.
I'll check out your link though.
Thanks!
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I've already read several pages of that link and it just makes sense for workout and nutrition.
Thanks again @mmmc_35 !
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DD has it right here. Not a massive amount matters apart from hitting momentary muscle failure. Plenty of ways you can do that, particularly if you're trying to be time efficient, supersets etc, but the main thing is hitting the muscle groups you want to and taking them to failure.

All that said, at 46 you need to be focusing on ensuring your form is great and avoiding riskier lifts where possible because injury recovery takes longer and longer. If you've got a gym with good machines that have a natural range of motion then great, otherwise stick to the basic lifts you know and like to prevent injury. Plus the standard: keep good notes to track progress (or there are a few apps now) and make sure you're getting sufficient protein and sleep.

That Max-OT looks interesting but I must confess the pictures and the volume look a little, um, juiced to me. I'm fine with 2nd sets to help ensure proper failure is reached as it's really difficult to push yourself to in a single set but smashing through that many in a single muscle group per workout would be really impressive.

Hope it goes well for you.
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malk wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 8:41 pm DD has it right here. Not a massive amount matters apart from hitting momentary muscle failure. Plenty of ways you can do that, particularly if you're trying to be time efficient, supersets etc, but the main thing is hitting the muscle groups you want to and taking them to failure.

All that said, at 46 you need to be focusing on ensuring your form is great and avoiding riskier lifts where possible because injury recovery takes longer and longer. If you've got a gym with good machines that have a natural range of motion then great, otherwise stick to the basic lifts you know and like to prevent injury. Plus the standard: keep good notes to track progress (or there are a few apps now) and make sure you're getting sufficient protein and sleep.

That Max-OT looks interesting but I must confess the pictures and the volume look a little, um, juiced to me. I'm fine with 2nd sets to help ensure proper failure is reached as it's really difficult to push yourself to in a single set but smashing through that many in a single muscle group per workout would be really impressive.

Hope it goes well for you.
Thanks Malk.
Couple clarifications on what I'm doing specifically and what I believe:
1.Being a guy who always pyramid style lifted over several sets to 1 rep failure, I have no idea what the current science says about sets to reps ratios. Being conscious of overstraining and injury, I want to maximize my workouts' ability to increase strength.
2. My absolute goal is to see what I can physically move, not pansy ass my way through light weight reps because of age.
3. I do not believe even there's an ounce of proof that you can achieve strength with light weight workouts. Body build? sure maybe, but not build real strength. You have to move the weight at some point and build tendon/ligament strength and flexibility also.
4. I'm not necessarily using those specific exercises in that max-ot workout as much as I am going to try the reps to sets on exercises that I currently use.
5. I dislike most machines. Free weights for me as much as possible. Cables, lat pull downs and rows I tolerate, and leg extensions are about it.
6. There was a line in the article that encompasses what I believe to be true. Fatigue isn't the primary building block to muscle growth. Otherwise, you'd see all manual laborers jacked beyond belief. And many are just fat and tired. not jacked. I do not believe that Eddie Hall and Brian Shaw could compete in strong man by doing light weights to fatigue. Not that I have any inclination to compete, but I want real strength.
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I don't think any of that really contradicts what I believe. Fine to go free over fixed weights etc. Also there's no point in lifting low weights, it's really time inefficient for one and would just change the injury risk rather than lowering it.

I think the point about manual laborers is misplaced in that they aren't working to failure as regularly as is sustainable. So agree it isn't about fatiguing the muscle but maximally stimulating it via momentary muscle failure.

But fair enough, perhaps strong man training is different, I just wonder how genetics (or PEDs) dependent some of the training programmes for them are. I might just be jaded at the prevalence of drugs in gyms and amateur sports over here

Also should caveat that I'm 170cm and 80kg so this research over experience lol, and I'm not squatting 160 kgs!
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So I dont exactly lift like the max ot program. Its clearly juiced dudes. The concepts I think are legit.

If you are looking for size. German volume training is were I would point someone. I generally lift more for strength and endurance. It's more practical for most people. You look at an Olympic lifter they are big but not body builder big.

A guy like pavel tsatsouline is interesting too. I think his message gets bastardized a lot. I dont lift to failure. It's more a intensity but stopping before the last bad technique rep. While I dont follow pavel exactly I think a lot of people would like his methodology.

Generally working out is what gets you up. Some people get hot and bothered by running. Some like the euphoria of intensity. Then taking what floats your boat and adding in the shit you hate in ways you hate a little less.
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Funny story yesterday I had a old guy tell me I was lifting wrong. Normally people dont talk to me at the gym. I'm not there to socialize. But this 70 year old felt the need to tell me I shouldnt do box squats.

I love box squats. I like it because it's hard and you cant really fuck up the form. I like front squats for similar reasons.

He told me it's super dangerous because you are purposefully sticking yourself under the bar. If you cant stand up you essentially are stuck. In his eyes. I dont see it that way because I use the safety catches. I can lean forward a few inches and they catch the wieght or back a few inches. I also skip that failure rep.

He told me this and I tried to be polite by saying thank you. I was by now deadlifting. He didnt leave. So I engaged for a few seconds and again said thank you. He stood there. So I just started working out while he stood there.

Is anyone able to explain his concern better then he could? It dumbfounded me.
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Sounds like you were way more polite than many others would have been.
Sometimes it's easier to just leave you ear buds in, say "I have 3 more sets" and ignore the guy

As an aside, I've been watching Vladimir Shmondenko (Anatoly the janitor gym pranker) videos. The guy is 5'11" and 170lbs but can do some incredible power lifting feats. big dead lifts, squats and bench press in the videos.
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Yes that was a good thing you did mmc.
I see that guy at the gym as someone who’s looking for a bit of interaction and wants to talk “gym” with someone.

Maybe he’s a bit lonely.

Well done for not brushing him off :thumbsup:
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mmmc_35 wrote: Sun Apr 09, 2023 1:45 pm Funny story yesterday I had a old guy tell me I was lifting wrong. Normally people dont talk to me at the gym. I'm not there to socialize. But this 70 year old felt the need to tell me I shouldnt do box squats.

I love box squats. I like it because it's hard and you cant really fuck up the form. I like front squats for similar reasons.

He told me it's super dangerous because you are purposefully sticking yourself under the bar. If you cant stand up you essentially are stuck. In his eyes. I dont see it that way because I use the safety catches. I can lean forward a few inches and they catch the wieght or back a few inches. I also skip that failure rep.

He told me this and I tried to be polite by saying thank you. I was by now deadlifting. He didnt leave. So I engaged for a few seconds and again said thank you. He stood there. So I just started working out while he stood there.

Is anyone able to explain his concern better then he could? It dumbfounded me.
I had an old guy years ago tell me I was fishing wrong.

It's how I learned about slip bobbers and setting specific depths. Usually I would just fish bottom or use a normal bobber.

He had a funny grouchy grandpa kind of demeanor which I absolutely loved because that's what I want to be when I grow up. Right now I'm just a 44 year old grouchy dad.
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