Weight lifting 60s 70s and up

[RobLL]

Searched on this site for advice, and on the internet in general. While there are a lot of articles recommending weight lifting as we get older, there don't seem to be many and the hows - huw much how little part of things.

My goals, working through NROL, are to challenge my body on a continuing basis. I pay close attention to how my body reacts to weights as I increase what I lift. I have no interest in matching what I see 20 and 30 year old people lift. It is also a high priority to avoid weightlifting injuries. As we get older we heal slower.

Obviously if I lift for a long enough time, I will at some point see my weights go down. That won't bother me.

Healthy and in my 60s, I don't see much problem. I probably can do whatever I can do. Maybe even into my 70s. But my question is what are the warning signs of injuries coming my way. What are the pitfalls for older lifters? Might it be useful to have a sticky thread somewhere on the site that addressed these FAQ questions? Would Lou want to write a book, (more likely a chapter on this), Has Alwyn trained a number of people in their late 70s or 80s and have some insight?

Thanks, Rob

[RedLefty]

I'm pretty sure Bill Hartman has a few older clients -- perhaps you can ping him too.

[Lisa~]

Rob, you won't find many recommendations for "how much" or "how little" to lift because that would vary tremendously between individuals, espcially older individuals. One 70 year old might be very, very frail and in very bad health; another individual might be active, lean and very healthy at 70.

Here's an article by Tom Venuto, who also has a book for older lifters (I haven't read it, but I like Tom Venuto's articles). You might enjoy reading Entropy - The Disuse Syndrome.

Also, take a look around this website: combat-aging.com. You might find more information of the type you're looking for.

But the bottom line is that anyone, of any age, begins where they are and progresses from there. If you have specific health issues, then you deal with those. Yes, you may need more time to recover than someone who is younger, but at any age the advice would be to maximize recovery, progress gradually as you are able, etc.

I also have a selection of articles on my hard drive related to training older adults, but none of them are going to give you maximum amounts to lift or not lift and none of them are going to tell you anything about recognizing signs of injuries that is any different from someone at a younger age. Mostly they are studies or articles saying how good for you it is to exercise at any age.

[RobLL]

Thanks Lisa - I have looked at the two web sites already. They look useful. While I was overweight much of my life, I was never inactive. Always did some sort of fairly to pretty strenuous exercise. But have found weigh lifting and intervals to be the best by far. Rob