Longevity
This is the third article I wrote for NB&F, which appeared in the August 2010 issue
Longevity
When you look at the top pros in the WNBF, you may stop and notice that the vast majority of them are not spring chickens. They’ve been around the iron game for awhile. Most are probably in their mid to upper thirties, while many are even in their forties. What does this mean? First it’s good to know we’re involved in a sport that allows us to continue competing for as long as we can stay healthy and injury free. Second, if you want to make it to the top you have to pay your dues, because there are a lot of guys who have put in their time. A common denominator amongst these top pros is that most of them have been training for 15-20+ years. If you consider an average of 5 resistance training sessions a week, 52 weeks a years over that many years, you’re looking at some tremendous repetitive stress being placed on the body, namely tendons. How is it then, that many of these pros are able to continue coming back to hit the stage, year after year, demonstrating greater and greater progress with their already top level physiques? When you’ve been training that long and you train with the intensity required to consistently place at the top of WNBF shows, it is inevitable that you are going to encounter some nagging injuries and setbacks. I am far from being a top pro, but I am 34 years old, I’ve been competing for over 13 years and I have been training for over 20 years. My next show will be my 30th competition and while I have had disappointing placings, I have continued to make improvement, despite battling numerous bodily issues along the way. In my 13 year career, there were only two years in which I did not compete. I’ve dealt with tendonitis in my arms, shoulders and knees, rotator cuff issues, lower back problems, etc. I still have never had to step away or take time off from training. I have just found ways to work around injuries and aggravations, so that I can continue to make gains, while my body is given time to repair itself. It’s not always about training harder…sometimes it’s about training smarter. Don’t beat your head against a brick wall. As we grow older it becomes necessary to adjust our training methods so as not to continue aggravating existing issues. First off, when you start to develop nagging aches and pains, it’s time to incorporate therapy and preventative maintenance. For instance, rotator cuff exercises for 5 minutes at least three days a week can help keep shoulder pain at bay. Consider how you can strengthen areas that cause problems. Example: Lower back issues can be related to hamstring weakness or inflexibity. You also need to identify specific movements that are aggravating. Sometimes, adjusting your foot positioning on a leg press or squat can take stress off the knees. Consider the angles at which you push and pull…do any feel better or worse for your shoulders, if you’re having issues with them? In the case of tendonitis in the forearms and elbows, experiment with different types of grip (wide, close, medium, pronated, supinated, neutral) and figure out what feels best and worse. You don’t have to completely eliminate anything, but you may alter certain movements while an area is attempting to re-cover. You can also change rep schemes and workout formats/methodology. For instance, instead of working down to a 6-8 rep weight, try picking a weight and a number of reps and continue doing sets (with the lighter working weight) until you achieve the number of reps (50,75,100). Use variations of the same movement. My lower back can’t handle doing traditional heavy deadlifts anymore, but I can get great work for my lower back, hams and glutes doing stiff leg deadlifts with slightly less weight. I concentrate more on form and keep reps higher with more controlled speed. I actually feel like I benefit more from this than when I used to go extremely heavy with conventional deadlifts. On certain exercises, I’ve figured out that it’s not beneficial to exceed a certain amount of weight, even though the strength is not an issue. I have also gotten a lot stricter on my form with everything. As we get older, it becomes a little easier to check our egos at the door and focus on performing exercises correctly rather than just seeing how heavy we can go. Despite not being able to go as heavy on certain movements like squats and deadlifts as I once did, I know that I am overall stronger and have a better physique. This is the result of smarter, more effective training methods. Dealing with injuries over the years has taught me a lot about my body. I have learned something from every ache and pain I’ve encountered. Bottom line: don’t focus on what you can’t do, focus on what you can do and figure out how to keep moving forward.
