Why most lifters don’t slow down because they’re older.

There you have it, your twenties done and into your thirties. The last years you’ve been serious about your training and definitely made great progress. But something does feel off: you don’t progress as fast anymore and recovery seems slower. Not to mention some aches and pains popping up here and there. You’ve tried to adjust a lot, but it simply doesn’t seem to work.

‘You’re 35. Warm-up takes longer, your shoulder complains more, recovery is different. So your prime days are behind you.’

‘Perhaps time to hop on PED’s ?

The notion that getting older means that your ability to progress in training stalls or even declines is still out there. A shame, thinking about the fact that we now much more about it nowadays.

But wait, there’s more!

Age isn’t the only thing changing, there’s much more to it.

Most likely, your technique has changed over the years, having adapted to suit your body type. Programming has changed; new exercises, new variations. You’re paying more attention to your recovery: sleep, nutrition, managing stress.

You know your body better and better, meaning your decision-making has changed to all of the above.

Finally, let’s take a look at testosterone-levels, since it’s widely discussed. Although many think this only applies to men, it also applies to a certain extent to women. Testosterone has many functions; reproduction, muscle and bone anabolism, metabolic homeostasis and psychological wellbeing. 

Although testosterone gradually declines with age, the change is often much smaller than expected, especially through the thirties and forties.

For many, lifestyle factors like sleep, nutrition and stress management have a much larger influence on performance than hormonal changes themselves.

Ageing like fine wine

For illustrative purposes, a client notices that in her thirties progress has been noticeably slower and more aches, even injuries, started to show up. In her late teens and well in her twenties, she never had any pain besides from muscle soreness every now and then.  Every ache suddenly felt like proof that age was getting to her.

Everyone tells her, it’s simply because you’re getting older. Social media tells her to keep training as she’s always done. Not coming any further, the wrong question was ‘How can I hit my next PR?’, the right one was ‘How can we provide the best stimulus, keeping aches as low as possible, and make you feel glorious again?’

What’s first?

Stepping down the volume quite a bit to reduce fatigue. The goal was not to train easier, but to train recoverably. This doesn’t mean to lower your standards, it means making sure that today’s session still allows you to train well next week. Once this step’s done, the intensity has been slowly increased again.

This all allows you to be more focused and mindful of the training and its effect on the body. And most importantly, feeling satisfied afterwards instead of destroyed and frustrated.

Common mistakes

Doing more and more, aiming to PR every session was most likely possible in your teens and early twenties. Progress isn’t just determined by how hard you can train today, rather how consistently you can do that over the next 5 years.

Ask yourself the following: ‘What do I have to chase to keep training like this?’

What’s in it for you?

Most likely, you’re training for yourself because you want to stay fit and strong for as long as possible. Of course, some PR’s are nice, but is it really that important?

Final thoughts

Getting older comes with a thing or two, but that certainly doesn’t have to be a bad thing. There are plenty of ‘older athletes’ who can outperform the younglings without even trying.  

Better technique, pacing, exercise selection and recovery habits to name a few.

The goal is to become the kind of athlete who can still enjoy training in their forties and beyond.

If you’re in your thirties or forties and wondering whether your prime days are over, it’s most likely you don’t need to train harder. Rather, you need to train differently.

That’s where I step in to help athletes figure this out.