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Can a 21 year old be stronger then a 30+ year old?
taylorblade
Posts: 261 Member
in Debate Club
Can a youth say in their twenties be stronger then a man or women say in their thirties plus ages older? Say like in a wrestling match or fight or weight lifiting competition can a youth hope to succeed in this? The reason I ask is because I always hear that a youth is a boy and girl compared to Someone older. But why cant a youth in their twenties be stronger then someone older? What in the body prohibits this? What do our ages have anything to do with this? Why can't youth become stronger then elders? If it's true that a youth cant become stronger then a elder then why not?
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Replies
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I don't understand the question. Usually athletes are getting to the end of their career when they get into their thirties. That would sort of indicate someone in their twenties can be just as strong or stronger.5
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Men are are their peak at age 19. It's all downhill from there.8
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Youth has strength on their side, elders have wisdom and treachery.13
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I was under the impression that for men physical strength doesn't naturally peak until at least age 30. I had actually researched this myself in the past, but could not find anything concrete. Now if you compare someone in their early 20s who has done a lot of training vs one in their 40s who has done none, I'm sure the younger one could be stronger.2
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Men are are their peak at age 19. It's all downhill from there.
It’s very debatable whether the said man/boys
Growth plates would even have closed by that age, ie their still growing1 -
Hard to judge fully. Records are set by young guys, but it takes a tole on the body so it’s hard to keep getting progressively stronger for 10 or 20 years once you hit adulthood. Conversely, guys who start powerlifting later in adulthood usually already have injuries or malformations they have to overcome, so they’re unlikely to be able to reach the same peaks that a 25 year old whose been lifting since adolescence can.
At a certain point injury becomes the limiting factor, and the older you get the more likely you are to get injured.0 -
Aren't you the guy who thought it wasn't possible to become stronger than your father? Where are you getting this information?5
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Alatariel75 wrote: »Aren't you the guy who thought it wasn't possible to become stronger than your father? Where are you getting this information?
People who talk about teens and young adults vs elder adults pertaining to things that has something to do with physical strength8 -
So... If they both started training at age 18 the guy in his 30s has a decade more training under his belt... mature trained muscles are stronger because of they have more mitochondria, probably have gone through a great deal more hyperplasia (more actual muscle cells), not to mention that the CNS is far more efficient and the extra decade means they can actually fire almost all of the muscle cells more efficiently.
On the other hand, if they started training on the same date, the 20 year old is going to be way ahead and stay there... hormones are far more optimal, less accumulated injuries, faster recovery...
I'm an old guy in better shape than most younger guys... but there's no way I could gain like a pup again.
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Alatariel75 wrote: »Aren't you the guy who thought it wasn't possible to become stronger than your father? Where are you getting this information?
If you cut off a man's hair will he lose all of his strength?12 -
NorthCascades wrote: »If you cut off a man's hair will he lose all of his strength?
sure, and if you believe that i've got this ruined temple you might be interested in.
op, i think there's so much variation between individuals that it's sort of a meaningless question. it seems to me like the best thing to do is just focus on you, at any age . . . there's always going to be guys both older and younger than you who will be either stronger or weaker than you.2 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »Aren't you the guy who thought it wasn't possible to become stronger than your father? Where are you getting this information?
Probably his father...5 -
I was fit and trim at 19 and ran 5 miles a day. I am fat and can barely run a half mile now. I can still confidently say that with my experience, training, and weight advantage that 30 year old me would whoop the snot out of 19 year old me if it came down to a real fight.
The world's best powerlifters usually peak at around 27 after decades of training and steroid abuse. The average 19 year old is probably more fit overall than the average 30 year old, but as far as I'm concerned, age ain't nothin' but a record of how many opportunities you've had to learn from your mistakes.0 -
Can't be bothered to read others opinions.
It all depends on who has trained more. Sure I am 29 but a runner so many 21 year old lifters could be stronger than me.
If you don't like that response, maybe try being more specific in what you're asking.1 -
YepItsKriss wrote: »A couple of opinions here..
1. I usually only hear this kind of comparison when it related to mental maturity and experience. And usually its when someone of varying degrees of age have a disagreement and they use the age of the other person as a reason to validate their own opinions on the topic. Older person would consider themselves the wiser and more experienced one out of the two and the younger one would probably think the older one is out of touch and doesn't know what life is like now a days lol.. although 30 i suppose isn't really that huge of an age cap but sometimes 20 somethings think 30 is old, i hear them all the time talking about how scared they are to turn that age Lol.
The other thing of it is.. There is nothing about age that determines physical strength. a 20 year old putting all their effort into building lean muscle mass would likely be stronger then a 30 something working on his dad bod. The 30 year old is probably still strong but people who progressively work on their strength do get stronger.
As far as wrestling competitions, I would imagine if the rules said people of a certain age group could not intermix it is likely due to misconceptions that age is a factor in balance and fairness by the spectators, if they are going to watch a fight, depending on who won, could be a hot topic... if the 20 year old won, people would claim it was simply because he was younger and still in his prime, making it unfair for the fighter 10 years older then him who might of been doing this longer and no longer has the youthfullness going for him in regards to energy and performance. If the 30 year old won, they would say its because the 20 year old was inexperienced and the fight would be unfair that way as well.
I dunno, 40 year old me thinks that 30 year old me was a right git. And both 40 year old me and 30 year old me wonder how 20 year old me managed to put pants on every day. And 20 year old me would probably hate both 30 year old me and 40 year old me for being "Older and Wiser".
And 60 year old me is yelling at all three to get off his lawn.
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taylorblade wrote: »Can a youth say in their twenties be stronger then a man or women say in their thirties plus ages older? Say like in a wrestling match or fight or weight lifiting competition can a youth hope to succeed in this? The reason I ask is because I always hear that a youth is a boy and girl compared to Someone older. But why cant a youth in their twenties be stronger then someone older? What in the body prohibits this? What do our ages have anything to do with this? Why can't youth become stronger then elders? If it's true that a youth cant become stronger then a elder then why not?
Of course someone younger can be stronger or equally strong if they are about the same size and strength as the other person.
If they are not the same size or one person has trained much more than the bigger or better trained person will likely be stronger. Age is not the important factor here.
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No. It is 101% impossible for a younger guy to be stronger than an older guy. I mean, why would you even ask this question. Its common sense.3
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Cardio starts to decline early 20's sometimes late teens, but physical strength could peak in your 40's. But there are older guys still making gains into their 60's.0
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NorthCascades wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »Aren't you the guy who thought it wasn't possible to become stronger than your father? Where are you getting this information?
If you cut off a man's hair will he lose all of his strength?
Samsung and Delilah!
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Some science-y stuff about the topic:
https://www.wired.com/2011/07/athletes-peak-age/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26088954
https://www.theactivetimes.com/why-middle-age-isn-t-past-your-prime
So for those that are TL:DR... the common consensus in many sports is 26 is the peak athletic age... though the sport does play a VERY important role in peak age among competitors.
Swimming: 21 years
Rowing: 29 years
Long distance bicycle: 39 years, or... a range from 25-53 years depending on the study you read.
Ultra-running: 37-39
Decathalon: 41
So - this doesn't cover strength training or fighting... but it does cover some very interesting ground!
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21 year old me was a weakling, and mostly likely pregnant, but could probably still have thrashed 30 year old severely overweight, barely mobile me. But 45 year old me could put both of them down without breaking a sweat, the difference being that I'm now fitter and stronger than I've ever been thanks to a combination of losing weight and getting serious about my fitness goals (lifting and longer distance running and running in general). Up until 2 years ago I hadn't even entered a gym let alone gone near a squat rack.7
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Hasn't it been shown that professional ballet dancers have more stamina than similar sports persons?3
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My 9 year old is a lot stronger then me, she has been doing 8-10 hours of gymnastics a week for 3 years, with a lot of flex and strength training. So age has no importance in this at all.1
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Get off my lawn!*shakes fist*3
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Mysterious_Dreamer wrote: »My 9 year old is a lot stronger then me, she has been doing 8-10 hours of gymnastics a week for 3 years, with a lot of flex and strength training. So age has no importance in this at all.
So no offense intended but no matter how strong your 9 year old gets (and bravo to her btw) if she is stronger than you then you absolutely must begin some resistance training. Start now, do not wait one single extra day. Sarcopenia has taken hold of you extremely early and your only hope to avoid being housebound and reliant on somebody else to feed you is to fight it off and reverse it.4 -
jamesakrobinson wrote: »Mysterious_Dreamer wrote: »My 9 year old is a lot stronger then me, she has been doing 8-10 hours of gymnastics a week for 3 years, with a lot of flex and strength training. So age has no importance in this at all.
So no offense intended but no matter how strong your 9 year old gets (and bravo to her btw) if she is stronger than you then you absolutely must begin some resistance training. Start now, do not wait one single extra day. Sarcopenia has taken hold of you extremely early and your only hope to avoid being housebound and reliant on somebody else to feed you is to fight it off and reverse it.
I have fibro and arthritis (from a long ED) so yes you are right I do need to do some strength training not only cardio
Thank you for your note @jamesakrobinson 0 -
Mysterious_Dreamer wrote: »jamesakrobinson wrote: »Mysterious_Dreamer wrote: »My 9 year old is a lot stronger then me, she has been doing 8-10 hours of gymnastics a week for 3 years, with a lot of flex and strength training. So age has no importance in this at all.
So no offense intended but no matter how strong your 9 year old gets (and bravo to her btw) if she is stronger than you then you absolutely must begin some resistance training. Start now, do not wait one single extra day. Sarcopenia has taken hold of you extremely early and your only hope to avoid being housebound and reliant on somebody else to feed you is to fight it off and reverse it.
I have fibro and arthritis (from a long ED) so yes you are right I do need to do some strength training not only cardio Thank you for your note @jamesakrobinson
Guess that is going to make resistance training a challenge but a worthwhile one.
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