Post: #26

I'm 29.

I'll say this much - when I was 23 - 24, I was hitting the gym five days a week. It wasn't unheard of to hit squats heavy one day, then heavy bench / chest the next, and then heavy deadlifts the day after that. Then a 4-5 mile run. No problemo.

Yesterday I did a set of deadlifts, and today I'm yawning and tired as fuck all day, and its Sunday. My nose sniffling. Its like this all the time after a good workout (even though the day-of the workout, im on cloud 9).

My lifts are stronger than ever, but it seems that the time it takes for me to recover has at least doubled. However, part of the reason maybe that when I was in my early twenties, although I worked out a lot, I wasn't nearly as strong as I am now. Maybe because I throw so much more weight around today, my CNS just gets more taxed, and I need more recovery time, although all-in-all my actual hours in the gym have fallen significantly.

One other thing - when I was in my early twenties I kept getting injured every other week - a slipped disk, a f***ed up shoulder, twisting my ankle walking up the stairs (mind you I wasn't some snail - I was an athlete in high school and throughout college). These days, the worst injury I get is my wrist getting strained from moving my mouse at work. My body has toughened-up, it seems.

Anyway, the TLDR version: I'm about 2x stronger, but my recover time is 2x longer.

Post: #27

At 22 I could work construction 14 hours a day and then go train, then go hunt some ass.

At 27 that ain't happening.

Post: #28

It's well-known that professional athletes tend to peak around age 27. That tends to be the age where you have the best balance between experience/skill and physical performance. But speaking purely in regards to physical ability, you start going downhill before then. Even by 24-25 your recovery won't be what it was when you were 18-20. There's a marked decline by the early 30's, and by the mid-30's vanishingly few athletes will still be capable of performing anywhere near their peak level. You can stretch this out a little in strength sports, (especially with today's chemical enhancements), but even then you don't see many guys competing well past their early 40's.

As you get older managing recovery becomes key. If you want to be able to maintain moderate-to-high intensity workouts you really need to be dialed in with your training plan, diet, supplements and sleep. Injury prevention needs to become the number one goal ahead of performance. With the knowledge and resources we have available today, there's no reason that most men shouldn't be able to stay active, strong and vigorous even into their 70's (look at Stallone, for example, he's unreal). But if you want to stay in the game long-term you've really got to accept the fact that your body is constantly getting older and that your training must adapt as a consequence. The reason a lot of guys get injured 30+ is because their egos attempt to outlift their aging bodies. They don't want to accept the fact that they aren't as strong as they used to be and can't train the way they used to train. But that's the reality. It's a bitter pill for sure, but it beats the alternative: being dead or injured/disabled/unable to work out at all.

You've got to train smarter as you get older. Become the crafty veteran. You don't have the same physical resources so you've got to make up the deficit through wisdom and experience. There's a reason you can't spit without hitting a fit guy in his 20's but a fit guy in his 40's is a rare sight. And the reason is because by the time the average guy hits 40 not only has his life become considerably more complicated by marriage, career and children, but he's likely sustained a few nagging injuries along the way and hasn't taken the best care of his body. At that point men are facing such an uphill battle that most will just give up and resign themselves to being fat and out of shape, a shell of their former selves. But it doesn't have to be that way. It's much easier to maintain one's fitness than it is to reverse a decade of unhealthy living and bad habits. Accept the fact that you're aging and train smart (aka slower, lighter, and less frequent the older you get) in response, be disciplined with your diet and living habits and above all avoid injury. These are the keys to staying in the game long term.

Post: #29

Well said ^ !

Post: #30

Work hard and train hard for years and you will have good physical condition up to our 40s and beyond ala The Rock with "additional supplements". He looks the best he has ever been and is about 45 years old.

Post: #31

I want to stay "Jason Statham" level. He is 50 now. I think that is definitely sustainable:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlWn8Z7mhwg

Super lean and athletic with enough muscle to look good. But not so inflated beyond his natural size that it's an uphill battle to keep the muscle mass. I think alot of guys get injured/burned out from lifting simply because they are spending too much time lifting monstrous weights. The human body was not meant to be squashed under 2x+ bodyweight barbells every few days for 30 years.

I think if you can be cool with a lower - but still good - level of mass, you can keep going longer and save your joints and spine unnecessary punishment. And rely more on BW exercises like pullups that stretch the spine out, vs squats/DLs/rows that compress it or put torque on it.

I also just want to stay super FIT, with HIIT etc (but low-impact exercises). I feel like that sets you apart massively (especially in bed).

Post: #32

For me, there was a big change between 25 and 30. This is me at 25. Note that I've modified the photo to protect my identity.



Shortly after my 28th birthday, I realized that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life being a loser. I wanted women to want me and men to want to be me.

I was tired of having to make excuses for my failure at life. I knew that I needed to make big changes. While my biggest problem was that I was a broke college student double majoring in gender studies and art history with a minor in feminist literature, I decided to bite off just one chunk at a time. I needed to change who I was first...physically.

I started hitting the gym. First, I could only walk on the treadmill. Couldn't even run on the damn think. It was shameful. Every female in the gym (even the ugly ones) would always somehow be on the opposite side of the gym from where I was. I was a disgrace.

But as the months went by, I went from walking on the treadmill, to jogging and then after more time had passed, I finally reached the point where I could do 1 minute flat out sprints.

Same went for benching. At first I could only bench the bar itself. But then I added 5LB weights to each end and gradually worked my way up to benching 2000LB. That was a big moment of pride for me!

Anyway, I put in the work and I transformed myself physically. Here's a photo of me at 30.



Now that I've become a Greek statue, my next plan is to succeed in business. Sure, it won't be easy, but I've got a plan. In September, I'll be relocating to Thailand and I plan to get into ecommerce, helping to connect dealers of hard to find items to eager buyers. I've even already registered TheBetaPlace.com.

I just want all of you guys out there who are disappointing in who they are to know that you can be anything you want in life. You just need to put in the work.

#fuckya #YOLO

Post: #33

Suits, don't forget to use a Hotmail address in your auto replier bots.


As for me, between 25 and 29 I had a downward spiral with brief periods of leaning only to be destroyed again by my not very healthy bumming lifestyle.
It took meeting a very special bird to look at myself in the mirror and get back on track. Last year at age 30 I stopped drinking alcohol which coupld with a fanatical dedication to my training, diet and rest, within a year I recovered and surpassed what was Probably my peak performance of age 22.
Nowadays I can't pull all nighters any more and lack of rest is very noticeable.

Post: #34

Suits, that transformation is insane.

Thanks for sharing

Post: #35

(08-01-2017 07:05 AM)hooked_on_tonics Wrote:  Suits, that transformation is insane.

Thanks man. Here's a recent photo of myself at 31.



As you can see, the gains have continued. I've also hit 3% body-fat.

Swimming 10 km a day has been a big help.

Would post more about my workout regiment and diet system, but I gotta go.

The tide is going out, so I need to strike while the iron is hot and sail away. I'll be back online in three weeks after I've crossed the Pacific Ocean.

Post: #36

Unbelievable transformation congrats, your pecs look weird and fucked though, losing attraction points, here you go /thread-63875.html

Post: #37

Suits is a beast

Post: #38

i just turned 30 and i havent noticed any difference. my pops told me he didnt start slowing down or noticing a change until he hit 45 (pretty fit for his age of 60 now). Everybody is different but i would like to believe that 30 is still fairly too young to notice any changes.

Post: #39

Guys are still gaining muscle through their 30s and even 40s. There are some legends like Jack Lalanne who are beasts well in to their 80s!

Post: #40

I have a similar experience fortysix: I'm much stronger but take longer to recover. When I think of it that way, I'm not sure if it's because my age or my increased strength.

I don't feel like my potential is lower though. In fact, my goals are higher today than they were when I was younger. It helps that I see few guys older than me making good progress.

Post: #41

I think a mans decline is individualised based on his training routine and genetic predisposition but also a massive, massive part of it is your mindset.

Since divorcing a year ago and sleeping with a lot of women iv realised that chronological age is almost irrelevant compared to a woman's biological age.

Iv seen haggard looking 27 year olds and been amazed at the youthfulness of a 41 year old, I'm talking thick glossy hair, soft skin, no wrinkes, firm flesh, the works.

Lifestyle obvs plays a part but much of it is just the genetic lottery on how quickly you age and decline.

The decline of a mans athletic abilities will Likely be the same, individualised dependant on his genetically/lifestyle determined biological age rather than his chronological age.

I competed in kickboxing and muaythai at 72kg from age 18-23 and wasn't anything special, record of 5-4-0.

Got a girlfriend, stopped training, got married, kids, a business and turned 30 at 92kg of mostly fat.

Started triathlons and endurance cycling from age 31 and over 3 years dropped back to 76 kg.

I looked horribly thin in hindsight.

At 35 I started I split from my wife and started training mma and boxing.

The first year I got a few injuries, mainly sternum and cracked ribs from being taken down hard.

I started to think I was too old for it, that at 36 my bones were too brittle and inflexible for the impacts.

But then I realised I was just telling myself a pieced together story as an excuse to quit.
that young guys get injured too. It's just part of the game.

So I continued and last week I turned 37 and I can tell you at 82kg I am the strongest, fittest and best looking I've ever been.

In the last year iv got a record of 3-0-0 mma and 3-0-0 white collar boxing all against guys in their 20's.

Iv regained the cardio I built (or uncovered) doing the long distance cycle races and now fight with an intensity and aggression and what my team mates call 'man strength' I just never had in my 20's.

I know the party won't last forever, and that despite being better than many fighters in their 20's my personal potential in my mid-late 20s will always have been greater than what it could be at 37 but putting the past aside, in the here and now so so much of it really comes down to mindset.

If you believe youre getting old, you'll feel old and won't try hard enough but if you suspend those beliefs about age and just train with younger guys, as hard and smart as you can, you'll realise how much more your body and mind are still capable of achieving.