I feel you, when I went back in June I already knew I'd be weak as fuck so took it easy. In the 3 months back I've changed my training to purely maintaining. I'm 38 and don't really care about setting PRs, so long as I can keep my strength at a certain level i.e. bench 2 plates, military press 1 plate etc I'm good. This is a long game, I hope to be lifting for the rest of my life so no attempting 3 plates or that anymore.

I definitely agree. As we age, our bodies are just slower at recovery. Doesn't mean we can't hit PRs though - just not as frequently as we used to. ie. once every half a year rather than once a week lol

I'm a big believer of "if you're not growing, you're dying" . I think we should still strive to get better and progressively overload. For me, I'm just doing smaller weight increments, and really focusing on form.

I think mentally I've hit a wall is my main issue. Do I love working out, yes, do I want to do this forever, yes, do I want at least put in the effort to go 3-4 times a week, yes. But my mental drive to "improve" is not there anymore and I can't remember what the breaking point was, oh wait nvm I know, having a 2nd kid lol. When I only had 1 it was easy and I was still going hard at the gym, once I had my 2nd (16 months now) everything kind of went out the window. Started with not being able to go to the gym as much and even when I do get to go not as freely as I did, everything became so much harder. I know in the back of my mind I want to though, just need to get past this plateau I've hit.

I've done the same as you Winson, no more PRs. I used to go into the gym and wreck shit everyday in my 20's, nowadays what's the point?

I'm 35, I carry a lot of muscle mass, still fairly lean, I'm happy with my appearance (cardio could use work though, damn weed). After years of lifting I definitely have some niggling elbow and knee tendinitis which comes and goes, no use exacerbating the issue by going for PRs.

As I've gotten older I concentrate more on the hypertrophy, good concentrated reps with lighter weight. It's amazing the DOMs and growth you can trigger even with a mitigated amount of weights, it's totally changed my perspective on training, and the need to go full on heavy every time.

Needles is right, it's all good to go for a 4 or 5 plate dead lift here and there, but it's definitely not a weekly focus anymore, let the guys in their 20's do that shit. As you said, this is a long haul, you want to be lifting up into your older age, I fully expect to be in the gym past my 50's here.

Dam, I haven't posted in here in probably 7 years
I dropped lifting when I started uni not too long after my first competition, but just recently started getting back into it

Anyone still around? :alone:

Literally just went to the gym last night (new gym too, I felt so lost). About 4 years ago I went 5x a week. That slowly dropped off, then I got married and had a kid. Time to lose The dad bod

Yeah I recently started up again as well lol - ironically at one of the worst times to start up lifting in the gym again.

noticed better body shape having a normal sized plate of 50/50 meat & veggies ratio.


i use to eat a fuck load on my plate thinking i was getting the best protein being full to the max...


now i'm not overloading my dinner plate,Still feeling like i can eat a little more but i didn't cave into it.


i look way more lean then what i was before having a towering plate of food.
yeah i'm already a skinny person but def notice a difference.

i caved and bought a spin bike at home. I need to stop sitting while watching shit on TV.

Good to see you're still here :smug:
Yea terrible time to start, but it is what it is, just gotta be cautious and use our due diligence when we do go. Where did you leave off in your lifts and what're your goals now? I remember you had an insane bench lol

Exactly - I think it's just a matter of switching your perspective.

Take lebron james for example, the dude is still playing at a high level in the NBA not because he's the most athletic guy like he used to be (though still being above the average NBA player), but because he's changed his game to be more about playmaking and facilitating.

Even though his style has changed, he's still striving for more and not looking to just coast. Even he admits that he's more focused than he was in his 20's.

Thanks man! I'm still trying to build strength for my core 3 lifts, but doing lots of hypertrophy sets with accessory exercises. I find that I'm a lot more calculated and smart about my lifting now. ie. not lifting weights I can't handle yet lol

I forgot how good 21’s are for sneaking in a quick pump, especially when superset with some tricep bench dips

Me aswell. I remember hammering squats, deadlift, bench almost exclusively 3-4 days a week - every workout with minimal stretching. Now really splitting the big compounds up on to different days and programming in A LOT more accessory work and stretches. Strength is still a big priority for me, but I want to do it right.

Coming back to it 7+ years later from a mostly sedentary lifestyle, I no longer have the flexibility, mobility, and ability to recover as quickly as I did when I was like 17/18 so it was important to re-evaluate and try something new instead of sticking with what I know.

Hoping to hit 2 plate bench, 3 plate squat, and 4 plate deadlift by the end of year at 160-170lbs body weight. Kappa

7 years is indeed a long time, but I'm sure you'll get back to where you were in no time and maybe even surpass. Also, glad you're thinking about things like flexibility/mobility

I once knew a guy who deadlifted 5-6 plates regularly, and said he doesn't do any stretching lol. Not by coincidence, he tells me a few weeks later that he's having backpains. :considered:

First month done back at it. Definitely lost a fair bit of strength over the years but it’s nice going back to more of a power lift style. Not going to heavy now as I’m giving my body time to get into it. Right now doing a 5x10 style routine to really burnout, but once my body is used to lifting again I’ll get back to that 5x5

It's amazing how much you have to change your style of training as you get older. I'm 35 now, and I'm shocked at how much stiffer I am, how much longer it takes to recover, as opposed to my 20's. Elbows hurt more, knees hurt more, hips are stiff, my 20-something self would never have believed it.

If anybody has been looking for workout gear, been looking for adjustable dumbbells for awhile now, Canadian Tire has these in stock https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/w...0731p.html#srp

Unless you're lucky enough to find the bowflex 552 in stock, or you're open to paying ridiculous secondary market prices.

For those looking for a gym during this pandemic, I've been working out at Essentials of Athletics in East Van. $52/month. Over 15 squat racks for all the powerlifters in this thread lol..
Miss having machines though..

I train at the bar strength and conditioning right now, but membership is $85/month.

Are you able to book specific squat racks at your gyms?

I wish there was a gym where you have sole access to a specific rack/bench/plates, which you can just book hourly, similar to booking study rooms in university.

Ideally somewhat spaced out or separated from other racks. Does such a place exist?

A bit overkill imo. I used to go to a community center where you have to book a rack for a max of 20 minutes, which is too short for the amount of time I spend on it.

I go early so I get access to freshly sanitized equipment and it’s also super quiet.

You can book the rack for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. So you can squat, bench, deadlift, all on the rack. Usually if there's nobody after you, you can use the rack for an extra bit of time. Really chill. I would say it's spaced out and everybody is really clean at the gym. Everybody cleans up after themselves before the next person uses the rack. Check it out!

Holy crap! The $40/month days are gone at The Bar. 😭

Yeah it's kinda pricy, but I like that I pretty much get the whole gym to myself in the mornings!

Masks mandatory at gyms now.. its rough