Seniors especially are subject to frequent mood vacillation, that is, shifting back and forth from a positive to negative attitude day to day. This occurrence becomes more pronounced as age increases and if the trainee lacks determination and sufficient willpower, it is very possible that permanent discontinuance of heavy training will ensue.
Regardless of the goal anyone wishes to attain, one must believe wholeheartedly that the goal can be accomplished. If so, this attitude of mind sets into motion all the factors known or unknown to attain that goal. It is better to fail with a record or near-record poundage than to miss your so-called middle of the road attempt.
So from time to time try a weight above your previous best. As a senior you may receive a pleasant surprise. At a certain time in a competitive senior's life, if the senior wishes to continue on competing, or for that matter, training to a very late age in life, there is one way and generally one way only that the senior will be able to realize this accomplishment and this strictly involves an alteration, to a lesser or greater degree, of thinking, diet and the absolute adherence to a daily intake of a variety of herbs and herbs alone that are suited to the individual need for maintenance of strength and health.
The continuance of heavy training to a late age in life is not entirely due to willpower. In other words, at this point in life, if you can't make your training routine enjoyable you will eventually quit.
The right system of training is NOT to have a set system of training, rather you must make it a game which stimulates and satisfies. Again, just make a point of devoting so many hours per week to your training. In this manner you are bound to get results. Be satisfied with this. There is no use in being in a constant state of frustration as you will eventually begin to dislike your training and this is the beginning of the end.
You will experience good days and bad days, as this becomes more pronounced as you age, but in the overall picture you, at the least, will hold your strength. This in itself is a great accomplishment.
Try and avoid any kind of negative thought. Negation influences excitation or your degree of motivity. This alone can disrupt your entire training regimen, which in turn decreases or eliminates progress. Reassessment of your entire thinking and resultant living habits brings about a regeneration of mental and physical strength, which, to a lesser or greater degree surmounts the effects of aging, reversing the so-called normal expectation of life potential of the human body. Everybody has this capability if they should care to take advantage of it. An alteration in the way that you think or reason begets an alteration in the way you feel. You could say that correct thinking, acting and exercise are in the same family. Think young and become young should be the model of every senior.
Remember, any form of mental block will prevent progress. In a way, even the composition of your thoughts has a direct bearing on the amount of effort you can put into the elevation of your training poundages.
Another factor involved with lack of motivation is mental staleness. This can be as serious as staleness from over-training. This situation is usually brought about via incessant training, or simply by on set physically demanding routines over lengthy periods of time. As they say, "a change is as good as a rest."
This problem is more pronounced in seniors as seniors have a diminished degree of potential factors to stimulate and encourage continued interest in many exercises. The young receive a far greater degree of stimulation or drive to push themselves physically so as to aspire socially in their fields of interest. Attention via aging decreases the efficiency of the entirety of the internal organs thereby bringing about a severe depletion of bodily buildup and reserves of energy. To compound this problem, the retention of potential energy can be quickly exhausted via the drain of minor daily activities coupled with disturbances.
In short, the lack of the ability to get up and go now reaches the proportion of a major pitfall even to those seniors who have the desire and determination to continue on with the regular heavy athletics.
I have found that those 60 to 65 years and over can endure short duration, heavier-poundage daily workouts for a maximum of 3 to 5 days in succession without experiencing over-fatigue, providing that the workout period does not exceed 30 minutes. An attempt to extend such workouts beyond this time period can subject the trainee to mild exhaustion. It is of major importance the, to take a 2 or 3 day rest before resuming the prementioned training procedure.
A series of light warmups are mandatory, and the importance of this procedure increases with age. In this manner the warmup routine is agreeable while eliminating stiffness, thus providing flexibility when approaching heavy poundages. This method makes the whole training period agreeable, tending to assist the attitude of a senior towards heavy poundage.
Extraordinary thinking properly directed produces extraordinary lifting. Natural food substances, especially herbal compounds, assist greatly in replenishing bodily energy and should be taken advantage of, especially so with seniors. If correctly used they will not impair the immune system of the body. I've been led to believe that this is not the case with unnatural preparations presently in use by the general public. Basically what the herbs do is stimulate, regenerate and rejuvenate bodily vital organs thereby producing a much improved ability to assimilate foods, which in turn increases muscular strength and growth in a natural manner.
The pace of living in our modern world has become so demanding that it is having an adverse effect on the human body causing, just to mention a few of the many disruptions, malfunction of the digestive system, nervous system and last, but certainly not least, the immune system. All of these shortcomings play havoc with the regeneration of bodily energy. As I mentioned, those 60 to 65 years and over can endure only short duration, heavier poundage daily workouts for a maximum of 3 to 5 days. Although is it fair to say here that some of the prementioned age will be incapable of adhering to a five-day workout program for any substantial length of time.
You will note that I touch upon variances of training procedure here which may appear to contradict other statements I have made, especially so in the instance of seniors. This is not the case . . . as there just isn't one way for everybody. The way is to know, I repeat, KNOW when to implement the right procedure at the right time. The gains will come of their own accord. The degree of variance in the way that seniors feel and think from day to day is considerably more than that of younger individuals. The main thing, however, is the senior's uninterrupted continuance of training by applying the correct routine at the appropriate time. Then the gains will come of their own accord.
It is my intent to set down all alternate routines to my knowledge here. Basically, a young man retains his day-to-day balance of mental and physical ability, therefore those in their youth can set themselves to a strenuous and undeviating program of strength building for long periods of time. This is, of course, if they are training correctly.
Not so in the case of seniors who have entered what I choose to call the advanced age syndrome. In this state there is a wide deviation of mental and physical balance day to day. It is essential to counteract this condition so as to assure continued progress. Also, the ability to train at odd times throughout the waking hours can be an asset as a greater amount of training can be accomplished. This is especially an added advantage for the competitive senior strength athlete.
From age 60, 65, 70 and thereon, the weakening of the nervous and immune systems results in the inability to endure long, arduous training sessions. The aftereffects of this condition can produce upsets of the digestive system coupled with insomnia, mild depression, to mention just a few. Again, luckily there is a solution to the entirety of these disturbances which will be covered at length here later.
Although it is essential to stay with heavier, low rep training, seniors must also conclude their workouts with one or two higher rep pumping sets of 15 repetitions. This is mandatory so as to drive the greatest volume of blood to all the exercise areas, offsetting one of the greatest enemies of seniors: muscle atrophy.
Unfortunately, seniors lack the energy to undergo lengthy heavy workouts so as to ensure total gains in all body parts, both in strength and muscle size. To offset this, the senior is forced to break up the lengthy routine into preferably short daily training sessions so that in weekly periods all aspects essential to increased muscle size and strength are covered. Reader, please note: advanced seniors must be capable of implementing the correct routine, or series of routines that will promote continued progress under all conditions, mentally, physically or otherwise.
I wish to point out here that regardless of routine alteration the trainee must constantly strive to increase the poundage as this represents the crux of all the programs so implemented. Whenever the trainee stops pushing himself the weight stops moving and doldrums can led to discontinuance of training, ofttimes permanently.
A person must train in accordance to their present condition of mind and body, hence a series of appropriate exercise programs. It is also very important to always keep in mind that, in respect of each variation of training procedure, that the comprehension of the procedure without the belief that it will work for you negates further development of strength.
So, if you don't believe it, you won't receive it.
to be continued . . .
Enjoy Your Lifting!
