Embracing Performance Enhancement After 40 - Let's Share Wisdom!

[RichardSilva]

Hey fellow bodybuilders,

I hope this post finds you all in great spirits and health. I wanted to open up a discussion about a topic that's close to my heart and, I believe, relevant to many of us here – Performance Enhancement Over 40.

As we age, our bodies naturally undergo changes, and staying at the top of our game requires a bit more finesse. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or just getting started on your fitness journey after hitting the big 4-0, let's share our experiences, insights, and tips for optimizing performance.

Here are a few questions to kick off the discussion:

1. Training Approaches: How have you adjusted your training routine to accommodate the changes in recovery, energy levels, and joint health that come with age?
2. Nutrition Strategies: What dietary tweaks have you found beneficial for maintaining muscle mass, managing energy levels, and supporting recovery?
3. Supplements for 40+: Are there specific supplements you've incorporated into your regimen that you find particularly effective for performance and overall health?
4. Injury Prevention and Recovery: How do you prioritize injury prevention, and what recovery practices have proven beneficial in your 40s and beyond?
5. Mindset Matters: How has your mindset evolved regarding your fitness goals and expectations as you've gotten older?

Remember, this is a space for positive and constructive discussion. Let's support each other on this journey and pool our collective wisdom to inspire and motivate one another.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences!

 

[buck]

I am in my 60's for the most part i find growing in my 40's was about the same as earlier. Although i didn't use PEDS till i was in my 40's. Only thing was dealing with accrued injuries but i was dealing with that years before i turned 40. Discipline was probably easier in my 40's as i had more practice by hen.

 

[DECLAN]

You cannot wing it anymore. The accumulated abuse my ligaments and joints suffered from consistent usage both from athletic/sport and occupation caused enough damage that you have to adjust accordingly be it by lowering exercise work load volume, increased rest or avoiding certain exercises that trigger aches/pains and inflammations.

This doesn’t mean you lower the intensity though, you just have to find ways to be able to grow or even maintain your acquired fitness level/physique but with risks that fit your recovery levels.

Even with PED usage, as a regular gymbro, I don’t blast absurd amounts anyway so I keep it that way and also not dabbling/experimenting on orals and risky compounds is a no brainer.

 

[RichardSilva]

Hey there,

Thanks for sharing your insights! It's crucial to acknowledge and adapt to the changes our bodies go through as we age. Your emphasis on adjusting workload, increasing rest, and avoiding exercises that trigger discomfort resonates with many of us navigating the 40+ fitness journey.

Indeed, finding that balance between maintaining intensity and respecting recovery levels is key. It's interesting to hear your approach to PED usage, keeping it moderate and avoiding risky compounds. Safety first, right?

You cannot wing it anymore. The accumulated abuse my ligaments and joints suffered from consistent usage both from athletic/sport and occupation caused enough damage that you have to adjust accordingly be it by lowering exercise work load volume, increased rest or avoiding certain exercises that trigger aches/pains and inflammations.

This doesn’t mean you lower the intensity though, you just have to find ways to be able to grow or even maintain your acquired fitness level/physique but with risks that fit your recovery levels.

Even with PED usage, as a regular gymbro, I don’t blast absurd amounts anyway so I keep it that way and also not dabbling/experimenting on orals and risky compounds is a no brainer.

 

[RichardSilva]

I am in my 60's for the most part i find growing in my 40's was about the same as earlier. Although i didn't use PEDS till i was in my 40's. Only thing was dealing with accrued injuries but i was dealing with that years before i turned 40. Discipline was probably easier in my 40's as i had more practice by hen.

It's inspiring to hear from someone in their 60s who's been in the game for a while. Your experience echoes the sentiment that discipline becomes almost second nature with time and practice. Dealing with injuries is undoubtedly a common thread for many of us, but your resilience in handling them well before hitting 40 is commendable.
The fact that you found growing in your 40s similar to earlier years speaks volumes about the dedication and consistency that can span decades. If you have any specific strategies or insights you've gained over the years, it would be fantastic to hear more about them.

 

[buck]

It's inspiring to hear from someone in their 60s who's been in the game for a while. Your experience echoes the sentiment that discipline becomes almost second nature with time and practice. Dealing with injuries is undoubtedly a common thread for many of us, but your resilience in handling them well before hitting 40 is commendable.
The fact that you found growing in your 40s similar to earlier years speaks volumes about the dedication and consistency that can span decades. If you have any specific strategies or insights you've gained over the years, it would be fantastic to hear more about them.

I put on about 40# of muscle naturally. Then in my 40's my T levels started going down and went on TRT. Then soon after my first cycle. I put on another 20+ pounds with gear. By my very late 40's maintaining that weight was hard. Then when injuries required lifting lighter weight in my 50's and digestion etc became less efficient etc. the muscle started shrinking noticeably. Nothing lasts forever.

 

[Mrhairyman]

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences!

Thank you for starting this thread.

 

[Trades]

The things that were always important (diet, training, recovery) now become critical if there is to be any progression;

1) diet -- needs to consistently satisfy both macro and micro nutrients, while remaining gut friendly/easy to digest. my gut gets angrier about the things that annoy it as I get older.
2) recovery -- sleep quality of course but also the amount of time in between training sessions. diet/calories are less impactful in recovery as is just time out of the gym. in other words, in younger years, calorie surpluses improved recovery time. while this is still true to a degree, a caloric surplus is less a driver of recovery than is simply taking time off.
3) the length and intensity of my aas cycle, regardless of how heavy or how light it's perceived to be by others, is entirely based on how good I can get my health into prior to the cycle. In other words, going into a cycle incredibly lean and insulin sensitive, with well managed blood pressure on minimal interventions, with external stressors being low, with blood markers all in line from a healthy (real) trt dose, rbc/htc and blood markers all in healthy ranges, etc., sets the baseline for a longer cycle period. If I fight these health markers along the way, not letting diet get ugly and stay hard on the cardio, keep the stress levels low and make sure I get enough sleep, I can keep pushing the cycle. Once I let off the gas on any of these things, something starts to run away health-wise (bp starts to climb, insulin sensitivity wanes, etc.) and I need to pull back on the cycle ealier than expected.
4) cardio -- now it's just a necessary part of the day, like it or not. suck it up and find the time. that or throw in the towel and take up something boring like golf.

 

[MindlessWork]

As I am just about to hit 60, I've made adjustments to my training as I have issues with my lower back and my joints are pretty much shot to shit. It's important to listen to our bodies as we get older and change things up in order to reduce the risk of serious injury considering older guys can't quite do what they used to do when way younger. As for PEDs I would start switching to simple test cycles and get rid of the orals (except for proviron) as orals will become increasingly harsher in older lifters. Just because we getting older doesn't mean we need to give things up, but change things to ensure we can still keep what we all worked hard for!

 

[thejumpingsheep]

First post. Never did anything injectable in my life but I have a lot of aches and pains now so I started looking into it.

Im in my late 40s and Id say the biggest thing is strength has taken a nosedive depending on body region. Motor is also nothing like it used to be. And I have completely lost that energy high that I used to get when younger.

1 - Injuries derailed a lot of things.

Strength reduction happened for obvious reasons. In my case, shoulder injuries destroyed my upper body. Where I used to push 350lb for several sets all the way to mid 30s, now I cant push 75lbs without pain. Partial labrum tears and bouts of severe inflammation have derailed things. This is actually how I got to this forum. I learned about bcp157 and tb500 from some body builder friends and eventually I landed here. Thank you guys for running these forums btw. Decided to try GH along with the other 2. Havent received everything yet and not a fan of needles but ill overcome.

But to be totally honest, I havent lost any strength anywhere that I am not injured. So for instance, leg press.squat, core, bi's/tri's. etc are all as strong as they were through my life. So I want to say that nothing really changed strength wise if not for injuries.

Now motor... thats a different story. Though I can cardio just fine, I noticed that the time it takes to reach a high heart rate is laughable. I can literally just go up one flight of steps and my heart rate jumps. Not that im tired or anything, but it just doesnt take much to rev up. I also sweat like no other right now... It used to be that I had to jog near a full mile to get my heart rate up, now in my late 40s, its maybe its 1/4 mile if even that to reach that sustain rate. Further, I cant keep max heart rate up long. I play basketball, and if I go all out, im suffocating after 5 minutes. I cant keep up with the constant sprints and full body weight checks for very long. I have to pace myself a lot more than I used to.

That brings me to the magical energy rush that I cannot really explain. Im not sure what its called. In my teens and early 20s, I used to get this "high" two or three times a day. All I had to do was rest 15-30 minutes and when I woke up I was bouncing off walls. In my late 20s it became once a day. I get home from work, take a nap, and bam, I was gold. In my 30s, naps no longer did anything and I discovered that I force it by doing long distance runs at fairly high speed (I think this is called an endorphin rush? im not sure).

Now in my 40, I havent experienced this energy high in over a decade. My motor isnt what it used to be so I cant run 3 miles at 9.0 any more to force it to happen. Too scared to try because I now have tendonitis in the ankles. Last thing I want is to get shut down for a month because of that. So here I am... reading and learning.

2 - Nutrition: No changes honestly. Nothing on purpose. Id say my diet has changed due to wealth changes but thats all. For example, sushi has replaced more heavy meats simply because I can afford it now. Again not on purpose, i never really loved meats even when young but I always loved sushi. One thing that didnt change? Carbs... im a carb monster. Always was. As a result my weight is volitile as hell. I can gain and lose 50lbs easily in a year if I stop/start working out. Done several times already. Just depends on priorities.

3 - Suppliments: Never took any. Im about to start bcp157, tb500 and hgh.

4 - Injury prevention and recovery: Injuries suck and recovery takes forever now... I have tendonitis in shoulders and ankles. I can tell my knees are starting to struggle too. So I avoid high impact exercise as much as possible. If I get inflamed then im in non-stop pain for 2-4 weeks. I do everything in my power to not let it happen.

Regular workout recovery is a different story. I actually barely ever get sore. I can work out a couple of hours 5 days a week and maybe I get 1 day or soreness. In fact Id o a lot of core pretty much every workout and nothing. Really only legs get sore on heavy days. I have no upper body any more so that obviously doesnt get sore. So again im thinking if not for injuries...

5 - Mindset? Who the hell has time for that? I have kids, a job and a wife who monopoized any free times not reserved by the others. What I do is figure out how to kill 2 birds in one stone. I do this by combining my work outs with other activities. So I take kids to practice and I go work out. I selected a job that lets me work out often while still doing my job. I got my wife and kids a disney annual pass so I can get a couple of days a month to myself (lol). I guess the "mindset" is how can I efficiently manage time?

 

[UncleBuns]

Great thread. As an old guy who loves rambling, I'm fully going to take advantage of this one. Lol.

I'm not a bodybuilder but a passionate athlete.

1. Training: I don't do as much volume now but when I was younger I did a lot of "junk volume". I don't have endless energy now, but I'm much smarter about what I do so the energy expenditure much more precisely used. I still do plenty of high-end intensity strength and power work. Still progressing in it as well. The trade-off is that I'm so much smarter about my training and it is just as if not more effective now. I know when to go hard and what to do and when to stop the session or call it. My training now is much better than when I was in my twenties and more effective.

2. Nutrition: similarly, I've continued to improve my knowledge of nutrition over the years and hone in what works for me. Keeps getting better over time.

3. Supplements: I don't think my supplement choices have as much to do with aging as just learning about what to take and doing blood tests as necessary. I do take supplements now to mitigate AAS health risks, but that's more to do with AAS than age

4. Injury/recovery: More rest and recovery is needed, but not a crazy amount more. Overall I make better choices like prioritizing sleep and not drinking alcohol etc. Much better now about listening to my body and if I'm warming up and my body's telling me that it not prepared for the session then I alter it or take more rest. The number one goal to continue progressing long-term is to not get injured. If the plan was to hit a certain number or do very strenuous training and I feel a tweak or something strange in my body that feels risky, I just won't go for it. It can wait for the next day or next session. Instead of chasing immediate goals to my detriment I'm much smarter about reaching the goals in due time.

When I look at my friends and peers in my world, many of them have one or two chronic injuries and most of them have had at least one surgery. Somehow I've been able to learn to be smarter as I age instead of letting my ego take over and want to continue trying to be a wild badass like when I was in my twenties. I've seen friends limited by chronic injury or surgery and for most of them the reason is that when they were younger they learned to just go hard every time and to do it frequently and as they got older they just continued with that mindset. At some point I decided to change that way of thinking and make priority #1 to avoid injury. This has served me very well. Sadly some of my friends have not progressed for some time or have gotten worse but I have been able to continually progress each year and I think the main reason is that I have not been injured beyond a little strain here or there that resolves within 1 to 3 weeks. I have friends who were better than me when we were younger but now I have surpassed what they could do back then and I'm still moving forward.

I'm in for the Long haul so I set far out goals and make very realistic plans to get there. I enjoy the process and I'm not in a rush. Push the body when you can and listen to the body. It will tell you what it can and can't do it at any point in time.

I also do a decent amount of mobility work regularly. This keeps me feeling capable, joints healthy, body not overly tight, and reduces injury risk a lot. I usually do it as part of my warm-up as well and it's a good way to feel out the body for any tight spots, soreness, or agitated areas.

5. Mindset: I'm much more focused on the big picture rather than short-term quick gratification. I love training and I love progressing so I focus on what needs to be done so I can keep doing it for a long time. One of the nice things is that I could not care less about other people's opinion of my training or abilities on any given day. Some days I'm just crap and doing light duty things looking totally like a weak aging guy. That's fine. As a young guy I would have been embarrassed and I would have pushed myself way too hard to try and not look weak or unimpressive. Now I could not care less. I'm just focused on the smartest thing to do at that moment.

I'm not interested in impressing other people anymore. I'm only interested in impressing myself. I know as I get older progress will slow but as long as I can still make progress I'm happy.

Getting older ain't all that bad! I'm having a great time.