End Game

Here is a bit of a philosophical question for all of you personal and aspiring to be personal trainers out there. This question probably is not too relevant for the younger members but for someone who has hit middle age I believe it is quite important.

As I said this really probably does not apply to younger people but how does someone who is middle aged or older make the determination when good enough is good enough and switch to a maintenance routine? I know this may sound dumb but does one want to risk training injuries or place un-necessary stress to joints, tendons, etc. I was working myself out a new program this morning and realized I don't know what goals to set next. I have reached or surpassed most of my beginning goals, so where to from here? I would like to gain more muscle mass but not at the expense of my back, joints and connective tissues.
 
mreik Well have you noticed any pain in your joints or other places since you've started lifting?

Just the usual back ache and little soreness in my elbows but that is not the point. The point is to know when enough is enough before you start doing damage. My original all around goal was to achieve a body like Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser. I am pretty close to getting there. (now if I could just get the my face to look like his :( ) I put this out for you Personal Trainers because I figure they must be teaching you something in college about this.
 
It varies from person to person, there is no set age to stop. And even if you are experiencing pain in joints and such, there is HRT (although I don't really recommend it). It's all in your opinion, whether it's worth it or not. You're always doing damage to your joints, young or old. You could lower your frequency to still make gains, but allow for ligaments and such to heal. <~ one option, or just do as you said on some sort of a maintenance routine.
 
I agree with Mreik. If you don't have goals, you don't know where to go with your training. I'm not sure if there really is 'enough is enough' since it's so subjective as to each individual.

One thing I do believe is middle aged men who are not competitive powerlifters don't really need to be testing for maximal strength or 1RMs. As far as tendon strengthening, it's usually done with either high reps or maximal lifting percentages.

I think for the average person the goal is to get a bit stronger and look a bit better. I hope we're not running in circles with your question.
 
Back
Top