3 Progress Killers for Older Lifters by David Denis
I started my strength journey about three years ago at age 54. I simply became fed up with semi-annual back tweaks that just kept happening no matter how careful I was. Most solution were just temporary. I couldn’t seem to find a way to prevent them. Then I had an epiphany. The body is an adaptable organism, self-adjusting to accommodate the activities it needs to perform. So what if the problem isn’t that I work my back too hard? What if the problem is that I don’t work it hard enough? Can I make my back stronger by training it in a rational progressive manner? Turns out, the answer is “Yes!” A book called Starting Strength showed me how to get started using a barbell. I started assembling a crude home gym, and I got to work. I’m now 57, and 16
I have not any significant back problems since about 6 months after I started training. I enjoy it so much that I continue to train. I’ll never be a top competitive athlete (and I don’t want to) but I am certainly above average strong for my age and I continue to get stronger. I cannot say, however, that the pathway was straight or smooth. Getting started is always the hardest part, but once you get going the problem becomes how to keep it going. I have learned that continued progress relies more on your response to obstacles than on the obstacles themselves. Here are some of biggest challenges I have noted, and what I have learned about making continued progress in the gym. Inconsistency I am no longer the young fella with more time than
