I am the man in the free weights section of the gym.

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Chieflrg
Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
edited February 13 in Fitness and Exercise
In respect to the great post by MoreBean13 who I have admired from afar as a lifter I thought perhaps I could add some light from this side of the gym as well.

1. MoreBean is 100% correct on some men don't know what they are doing. I was blessed
at the age of 12 to meet the reigning 1981 Mr Universe, Lance Dreher, I remember sitting in front of him listening to every word he said. I remember the countless times one particular man was asking him questions and he would take some length of time to answer each question carefully and precisely. He looked more nervous than I felt at times, I'm not sure if he felt comfortable correcting people or that they weren't hearing his advice. All I know he had the biggest set of arms I've ever seen, and in result I over trained my arms through my early years trying to emulate those guns. Its been thirty years of lifting on and off, and I still have a lot to learn.

2. Men who haven't yet lifted or have but have had a great deal of time lulling in between your gym routines. Its time to educate yourself. I wish I had the this beautiful thing called the internet when I was starting out. Of course there is a lot, and I mean a lot of misinformation out there, but that doesn't mean you can't weed it out with the right people in your corner. There are a great handful of men and woman here that can point you in the right direction, if you care to ask and are serious about putting the time in. There are also a few great private discussion groups to take advantage of, so don't be shy.

3. The basic strength lifting programs are great to give yourself a fresh start. If you can put your ego to the side, and drop down in weight you can learn a great deal of how to become stronger. At the age of 44, I am breaking PR just about every month in one way or another. The difference though my PR now a days is not how much I can throw on the bar and move once no matter how it moves. Its how many plates I can throw on the bar and move in correct form several times so my strength can continue to build. I deal with a autoimmune disease that attacks my joint and causes swelling and pain 24/7, yet I can do more now than when I was a young buck with those huge arms, skinny legs and extremely underdeveloped back. Its all been done with educating myself either by books or by people who have the knowledge. The disease has slowed me down in some aspects, but it has strengthened me in others since I've corrected my short comings in lifting by deloading and working on my form.

4. Yeah MoreBean is right. We men look, usually out of boredom, though not every time. Just about every time I step into the gym, I have people looking at me be men or woman. I try not to pay attention, but in my down time I do notice. I'm surprised at the amount of people that ask me for advice, I'm hardly qualified to train anybody, though its usually the ones that have been lifting for a couple years and have stalled. For those of you that fall into that category, I usually try to focus on my setup as much as the work itself. I've also learning to make goals for myself with a plan. If you go in loose and wild, your form will suffer. I'm sure they are a few ladies and gentlemen that would agree to this and could add a extra layer or three on this subject.

5. As men, I think everyone of you should be working on your mobility on a set schedule. We produce testosterone and in turn we become very stiff and lose are flexibility as we grow older. The woman on the other hand don't battle this nearly on the same level. A good place to start is finding Joe DeFranco's "Limber 11" on youtube. Its a great flexibility routine that caters to everybody but will help us men start to regain some of our youth. Joe is straight forward and knows his chit. If you take anything from this post, this might help you in the long run.

6. If you haven't already, consider doing hill sprint repeats. I can't stress how much it has assisted in my conditioning, but also is a great exercise for building quad muscle if you're eating at a surplus. Find yourself a steep hill and attack like Rambo, raising your knees slightly higher. Walk down or lightly jog being sure to keep your feet low to the ground to prevent stress to your knees.

I hope this might of helped some of you that might have helped you in some way.

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