# Anybody lift weights?



## Wuzzat? (Jul 3, 2017)

http://lonkilgore.com/freebies/freebies.html
gives age-corrected and body-weight-corrected benchmarks.  

I do well on some and terrible on others, what else is new?


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## Flyover (Jul 3, 2017)

Wuzzat? said:


> http://lonkilgore.com/freebies/freebies.html
> gives age-corrected and body-weight-corrected benchmarks.
> 
> I do well on some and terrible on others, what else is new?


Some people have a lot of strength in some areas and not others. I can  do more pull-ups and climb more stairs 2 at a time than most of my  friends who work out, but I can't bench, squat, or curl nearly as much as them. (On a shallower note...I also get to cheat in the "looks" department because I appear pretty fit even when I'm not working out much, and my frame hides weight. Hah!)

Still,  I miss lifting weights. Used to do it  regularly back in my 20s. Hope I  can get back into it once this big move is over and my kids' combined  ages add up to more than 5, if I'm not too decrepit by then...

Anyway, it seems weird to impose standards like that site does, unless it's for people who are training for a competition. Every weight-lifting instructor I've had has told me that success means you can lift more now than when you started and that you're practicing good form and exercising your muscle groups evenly.

The fine print on those charts is misleading by the way...telling people they're going to die unless they can lift that much seems kinda over-dramatic. I have several relatives who are or were over 95 years old and going strong--they beat cancer, heart problems, etc.--and none of them ever lifted weights. The science I've seen on weight lifting says that just doing some regular resistance  training--even if it's not a lot of weight--will increase your longevity and vitality  by a huge factor, but beyond that you're into diminishing returns. My guess is genetics, diet, and how well you've taken care of yourself in general starts to play a bigger role than how much you go to the gym.


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## Wuzzat? (Jul 3, 2017)

My concern is sarcopenia, loss of muscle mass with age.

The pattern with me is:
-increase weight until I dread lifting it or until my joints give me some warnings
-cut back and increase reps then work back up to heavier weights.

Lately I do between 4 and 12 reps.  
What I'm finding now is if you multiply the reps by the weight lifted you get some measure of the energy you're putting out.  
And, just like a battery, you usually can't put out both power (heavy weights) and energy (high reps) at the same time.  
In those rare cases I increase the weight.
If there is a peak energy point I can compromise between the lbs lifted and the reps.

Because I did a lot of walking as a kid, I can still legpress enough weight that I can keep up with anybody of my size and weight.  
At least for one day. :hide:

With longevity, I found that smokers are most likely to die at 45.  If you get past that, sumpin' else may get you, and finally something will definitely get you.

BTW, according to some tables, I have an 8% chance of living to 95.  Which comes first, me looking like Ahhnold, or dying??


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## buffalo (Jul 4, 2017)

Always have , always will. I'm recently divorced,  and I'm finding it hard to juggle all the woman . I'd say I'm decent looking,  but no pretty boy.  It's all thanks to my body  .


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## Wuzzat? (Jul 4, 2017)

buffalo said:


> finding it hard to juggle all the woman


Whatever works! 

Men want novelty but women want someone with "resources"; money, power, speed, wits, looks, influence.  Physical strength for sure counts as a resource.

For me, as I get older, I feel like there is a target on my back for 20-something muggers. Vigilance (and looking fit) is my first line of defense.

As of now the only thing I'm juggling is my protein intake while trying to lose a few pounds.  With no solid food I can lose two lbs/day but after 3 days, I cave.

Good luck wit' de wimmens!


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## chrisn (Jul 5, 2017)

Does lifting paint cans count?


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## Chris (Jul 5, 2017)

I lifted for years, haven't lifted in about 10 years now, Seems all that muscle I had is turning to fat. I would love to lift again and may get back into it but my back has been having problems which makes it more difficult.


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## Wuzzat? (Jul 5, 2017)

chrisn said:


> Does lifting paint cans count?


At 8.3 lbs each, you'd need a lot of reps.


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## Wuzzat? (Jul 5, 2017)

Chris said:


> I lifted for years, haven't lifted in about 10 years now, Seems all that muscle I had is turning to fat. I would love to lift again and may get back into it but my back has been having problems which makes it more difficult.


Same here.  
I've switched from low reps and heavy weight to high reps and low weight and I'm inching back up to some combination of reps and weights that doesn't bother me the next morning.

Be careful.

I also come to find out that some antibiotics destroy muscle if you lift weights while taking them.  You have to know ahead of time to ask for others.


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## slownsteady (Jul 5, 2017)

Water is 8 lbs per gallon, paint is considerably more.


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## bud16415 (Jul 5, 2017)

This thread has inspired me. Im going to go do some 12 oz curls.


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## chrisn (Jul 6, 2017)

slownsteady said:


> Water is 8 lbs per gallon, paint is considerably more.



There you go:agree:


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## nealtw (Jul 6, 2017)

chrisn said:


> There you go:agree:



water is heavier in Canada a gallon is 10 lbs up here at least is was before we went metric.


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## slownsteady (Jul 6, 2017)

Heavy water..............isn't that what they call the stuff in nuclear reactors?


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## nealtw (Jul 6, 2017)

Yes I think so. but our gal were bigger. 160 ounces our quarts were 40 ounces, still can't figure what a liter is.


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## Chris (Jul 6, 2017)

Wuzzat? said:


> Same here.
> I've switched from low reps and heavy weight to high reps and low weight and I'm inching back up to some combination of reps and weights that doesn't bother me the next morning.
> 
> Be careful.
> ...



I bought a farm that has not been used in about 10 years so it will take me two to get it close to functional. That has been a workout in itself. I have two barns that need built and a few other things. That and I moved 1000 miles from anyone I know so its all by myself here.

I haven't taken antibiotics in years, I gave up on doctors when I can't even get any pain medicine for my back because they think I might get addicted. I went back and back and did a year of physical therapy and nothing seems to help (had to quit therapy because my company was suffering without me there). I tell my doctor that I eat Motrin like candy and I know that is not good for my body and that when given a 30 day supply of a pain pill it lasts me months because I only use it when I desperately have to, I don't have an addictive personality at all and still those druggies have ruined modern medicine for people like me who actually need it and don't abuse it. I have days where I get nothing done because I just can't bear the pain.


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