50th year PRs
Cliffs: I'm 50 later this year and am challenging myself to set as many lifetime PRs as I can
tldr
49yo male. 6ft, 90.5kg/199lbs. Grew up in London, now live in Sydney Australia.
Have long term sporting background. International representative rugby player at top tier sporting university and played semi pro into my late 20s. Also played varsity soccer as freshman at college, plus all the sports including track and field growing up.
The past 20 years since rugby finished...I've almost always exercised/trained and have always been fit but it's mainly been 'working out' rather than training. By which I mean I train hard when I go into the gym...but without any real plans or goals.
I had two serious sporting injuries that still impact my training - the knee reconstruction plus a torn & bulging disc in the L5/S1 region and after a really frustrating 3ish years of a cycle or injuring myself every time I tried to go hard for a period of time, I've cut the intensity of my training over the past 5 years. By doing this and giving up several movements (squat, snatch, squat clean), I've managed to stay active and training all the way through....albeit going through the motions for months and then more committed at other times.
But I find myself bored with my training and staring down the barrel of a major milestone as I turn 50 in the middle of 2021. And so I'm going to aim to reach 50 in great shape and to give myself something to keep me interested by aiming to break as many of my lifetime PRs as I can.
Realistically, I'm never running a sub 11.5 100m or hitting the roads to run a marathon again and I'm not squatting or o lifting heavy any more, so those ones are out. But I think the upper body lifts are within reach (I've never been 'strong' in those anyway, but they haven't dropped off much) and I think some of the cardio PRs are definitely do-able if I can commit to the pain...albeit I'm definitely scared of the pain
Simultaneously, my cholesterol levels have been rising the past few years and I'd like to drop some body fat...so I'm going to be adopting a better diet and substantially reducing my drinking
Here's a list of my PRs...some of them are relatively soft, in that I haven't really trained them for that long.
PRs within reach
Lifting
Bench 107.5kg (currently at approx 100kg)
Press 70kg (currently probably 67.5 but gym closed right now and my home gym ceiling is too low for me to do standing press)
Bar Dips 26 (guessing I could do 15ish)
Erg
1km 3.17 (guessing 3.30)
2km 6.59 (I did a 7.19 yesterday and it damn near killed me)
Assault Bike
100 cals 3.11
200 cals (can't find the PR but I'll be attempting one)
DEXA PR: 16.2% (I think I'd be 18% ish now)
PRs that are possible but not probable
Dead Hangs 18
Erg
500m 1.28 (est 1.32 right now - 4 secs is a HUGE difference in a 500m)
5k 18.43 (guessing 19.30)
Caliper bf% when playing rugby was 12.1 - which I'm guessing equated to 14% ish?
Other lifetime PRs fyi that we won't be attempting to break
Squat 165kg (in 1993)
Deadlift 170kg (2010)
Power Clean 105 (2015)
Snatch 82.5kg (2015)
11.5 100m
1.28 half marathon
This is about as far as I've got.
I haven't worked out an exact training plan yet - our gyms are closed for covid at the moment but I have a barbell, rack and bench at home plus an erg and a pull up bar so I can train most of the above. I generally get to the gym 4 to 5 times a week and aim to do at least one other 'activity' per day as well - I've got quite obsessive about getting 10k steps in since I've been working from home since March. And then I have a very sporty 10 year old son who I am helping get fit for his upcoming season - both soccer and rugby will start in March. So we're doing sprints and skills training too.
Next steps
keep things ticking over with no huge focus for the next 2 weeks, then after a week's holiday 13th to 20th January, I'll commit to a more detailed plan and improve my lifestyle.
I'm very heavy for me (most of my PRs were done with me weighing 83-85kg and I'm 90kg right now), so it's a good time to try to get some upper body PRs.
the cardio goals scare me and are the main reason I've started the thread.
I want to force myself to do more conditioning work but I know the pain I'm in for - that 5k row PR was done when I was peak crossfit and will be a total nightmare to get to from where I am right now.
I'll be getting a DEXA in late Jan.
I had my bloods done last month and will probably get another lot done before my birthday.
I may also add some additional fitness goals...just not sure what they'd be right now
sorry for the wall of text and sorry if you're unable to multiply kg by 2.2 to get to lbs
I took one of my daughter's Ritalin yesterday to grind through a load of work. took it at 9am, couldn't sleep til after 1am. The only positive by product was that this means I slept through til 7.15. Which made it actually my second best sleep of the past 10 days
lunchtime weights before I head off on my fishing trip
DB Bench 4x8-32
DB Flye/Bench 3x8/2-24
Wide Grip Pull Down 4x10-67
Close Grip Pull Down 4x8-77
seated DB Press 3x8-24
felt good. Am enjoying doing more weights. Prolly going to go to 3 rows 3 weights again moving forward so will need to work through my bro splits.
I'm down to 87.1kg from 90.5 in early Jan. Hoping to drop below 85 and then stay below that level moving forward. If I could get to 83/84 that would be brilliant but in the past, that's been very hard to maintain. The prospect of being out there on the dating streets again helps the motivation and not having the fall back excuse of 'that extra 5kg will help your rowing' is a part too
Congrats on the drugs, and enjoy the time with your friends!
ADHD meds can be brutal for insomnia especially if you don't have a tolerance built up. The earlier you take it the better and not going to bed with loads of stress helps (probably not easy for you right now but it makes a big difference). What's the dosage?
ADHD meds can be brutal for insomnia especially if you don't have a tolerance built up. The earlier you take it the better and not going to bed with loads of stress helps (probably not easy for you right now but it makes a big difference). What's the dosage?
I’m not sure - will check when I get back home in a few days. My assumption is that it’s not high because my daughter is only 110lbs but IDK
really fun 4 nights away catching up with some of my good friends. spent the time in a shack on a beach and went fishing off a boat every day. caught a ton of fish, drank a **** load and ate gummies every day courtesy of my buddy who has the fastest growing medical marijuana business in Australia
took my son to the gym this pm
4x10 seated chest press machine - 90kg
4x6 DB Bench 32kg
4x8 seated hammer row 150kg
3x9 wide grip pull down 67kg
3x8 close grip seated row 77kg
Early am weights
4x4 Press 50kg
3x8 Press 40kg
3x12 shrug 100kg
3x7/7 Preacher curl/Hammer curl 45/16kg
3x7/15 Skullcrusher/Ez bar close grip press 45
Thanks.
It’s daunting but I think inevitable. I’ve been unhappy for the past 3-4 years but have held on in the plan that the wife’s mental health/alcohol addiction stuff will sort itself out and then we can see what’s left of the marriage. But now that she’s made the move I think it’s inevitable. Sad because she’s a really nice person and there’s no enmity between us. Just wasnt working particularly well, we didn’t have much in common apart
Sorry mate. I know it was coming but still brutal
quick but enjoyable bro session this morning
5x8 DB Bench 32kg
3x9 Incline DB Bench 26g
3x7/7 Preacher/Hammer ss 50/16kg
this month's gym challenge is a 10cal ski erg. I have no idea what I'm doing on the ski erg but enjoyable thrash. 18 secs. Currently equal second on the board and equal first of the gym members - large, roided out PT claims 15 secs. I'd think I could find another second maybe with a few easy technique pointers and some reps.
still waiting for there to be a rowing challenge for the month
this month's gym challenge is a 10cal ski erg. I have no idea what I'm doing on the ski erg but enjoyable thrash. 18 secs. Currently equal second on the board and equal first of the gym members - large, roided out PT claims 15 secs. I'd think I could find another second maybe with a few easy technique pointers and some reps.
still waiting for there to be a rowing challenge for the month
https://log.concept2.com/rankings/2023/s...
It seems extremely unlikely, but not physically impossible like some of the cheaters at my gym
https://log.concept2.com/rankings/2023/s...
It seems extremely unlikely, but not physically impossible like some of the cheaters at my gym
that's 100m tho...or is that the same as 10cals? (I don't understand cals very much)
9 hour lunch yesterday so doing anything at the gym was a victory. Kept it very light and easy tho
4x8 Press 45
3x9 seated DB Press 20kg
3x9 Wide grip pull down 67
3x9 seated close grip row 67
Ah right, idk why I thought it was 100m. Ignore me
Doesn't 10 calories favour the larger rowers? They presumably don't need to go as far as a lightweight. (I may be completely wrong; I don't row any more.)
Doesn't 10 calories favour the larger rowers? They presumably don't need to go as far as a lightweight. (I may be completely wrong; I don't row any more.)
the shorter the distance the more it favours brute power. This was ski erg but same same as rowing. Even though the ski erg uses basically the opposite muscle groups, it's still explosive anaerobic stuff.
the 500m world champs were this last weekend and all the events were won by monsters. world record holder in my division is 6ft 8 and 280lbs
2k warm up and then an incomplete CTC.
Just incredibly frustrated with my rowing right now. I deliberately did this slower than I thought I could complete it in, just so I could get it done as a marker before a faster effort, that I thought I could get to around 1.44 average but the minute it started getting difficult in the last 1500m my brain just said 'nup' and I stopped
I think my mental fitness is worse than my rowing fitness right now and I'm not sure what to do about it. What's in my mind right now is to go right back to the beginning of 2021 when i did both Pete's Plan intervals and one long slow row a week and just do a 3 week cycle with guide times that are easily achievable even at my current fitness level, just to complete some sessions and build some confidence. Because right now, it's hard to enjoy the rowing when I constantly disappoint myself
Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
5:22.5 1,500m 1:47.5 282 1269 28
r: 1:00 38m
0:40.8 200m 1:42.0 330 1435 31
r: 1:00 36m
0:40.3 200m 1:40.7 342 1477 31
r: 1:00 37m
0:40.4 200m 1:41.0 340 1469 30
r: 1:00 40m
0:40.4 200m 1:41.0 340 1469 30
r: 1:00 42m
0:40.6 200m 1:41.5 335 1451 30
r: 1:00 38m
0:43.8 186m 1:57.7 214 1037 26
early am weights
DB Bench 4x5-34, 3x8-28
DB Incline Flye/Press ss 3x5/4 -26
Tricep Push down/Extension ss 3x8/8-35/25
Barbell/Hammer curl ss 3x8/6-40/16kg
Crunches 3x20
low rate steady state in the heat last night that I forgot to post.
Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
43:15.8 10,004m 2:09.7 160 851 16
5:00.0 1,172m 2:07.9 167 874 17
10:00.0 1,176m 2:07.5 169 880 17
15:00.0 1,160m 2:09.3 162 857 17
20:00.0 1,174m 2:07.7 168 877 17
25:00.0 1,157m 2:09.6 161 852 17
30:00.0 1,143m 2:11.2 155 832 16
35:00.0 1,144m 2:11.1 155 834 16
40:00.0 1,129m 2:12.8 149 813 16
43:15.8 749m 2:10.7 157 839 16
sleeping has been terrible this week so this was a very early am weights session. Combination of fatigue and being a little depleted by my dieting meant I'm feeling pretty weak and my numbers are down and getting worse. I'm not too worried about it - focus is on dropping a few more kg
Press 4x8-45kg
seated DB Press 4x8-22kg
Seated Hammer wide grip row 4x8-150
Wide Grip pull downs 4x8-67
Seated row 3x8-67
Wk 1 Session 1 of Back to Basics for me. I'm going to do a 3 week Pete's Plan cycle timed around splits a little slower than what I think my 2k and 5k times would be right now. I basically want to build my morale as well as my physical and mental fitness with some completed sequences and see what happens after that. I'm not going to compare with where I am, I'm just going to enjoy the sessions
Pretty good. Enjoyable session where I felt in control the entire way. RPE 8 until rep 7 which was 8.5 and rep 8 was probably 9.5.
Unfortunately, erg data logged out so manual entry only
8x500m 3.30r 1.43.7 ave, 29sm
1.44.9
1.44.9
1.44.8
1.44.7
1.44.5
1.43.9
1.42.2
1.40.3
couldn't sleep again so early Sat am weights
4x7 DB Bench 32kg
4x4 Deadlift 140kg
4x2 Power Clean 80kg
4x7 RDL 80kg ss with some ab work
first time doing lower body work for a long time. Looking forward to getting back to it.
I just realised I've trained 10 or 11 days without a break. Because I'm not going super intense and I'm alternating weights and rowing, it hasn't felt onerous. I'll prolly just listen to my body and take a break when I feel tired. Which may be tomorrow given the lower body is sure to be sore after this
took days off with life stress and a head cold. still have both but need to keep moving
last night did
hammer seated wide grip row 4x8-150
wide grip pull down 3x8-67
close grip seated row 3x8-77
Press 5x8-45
hang power clean 3x8-60
all fine. My diet is going well and I saw sub 86kg for the first time in several years. Down 5kg from early Jan. I'm in the zone with it right now and want to keep going. 83kg would be brilliant and would be almost unheard of
Operating at a defecit definitely has an impact on my rowing...I don't have the minerals to go hard on the erg at all and I also think it affects my overall mojo a little. But I need to keep going because once I jump off the defecit train I find it hard to get back on. And the lack of mojo is almost certainly related to very bad sleeps as a result of extremely difficult home situation.
wife/ex/whatever went into rehab today for the next 3 weeks. Happy about it because it's been very bad - like Nick Cage in Leaving Las Vegas bad. We've been separating in the same house but I'm hopeful that when she gets out of rehab we might be able to find her a place and separate properly. I'll need to have the kids which means a ton of work. But I'm not sure there's an alternative.
So hard core fitness goals are on the back foot. Feel good, look good, stay healthy is about all I can do.
The thing I dreaded the most about breaking up was living together while we figured out logistics. Looking forward to the slim feel noods that's going to slay on the dating apps.
The thing I dreaded the most about breaking up was living together while we figured out logistics. Looking forward to the slim feel noods that's going to slay on the dating apps.
I’ve dipped my toe into tinder the last week or two. Just seeing what it’s like tbh. I don’t have the time or energy to meet anyone right now but it’s been interesting for sure
Did you meet your current one on there?
