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’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?
Yeah, on bumble. I seemed to match with far more "normal" people on bumble and hinge, but I think that's location dependent. Tinder was a lot of bots/weirdos.
My biggest tips for online dating are to have good pictures, open with something more than "hi", and to pay for whatever premium subscription the app has.
The premium is because girls get like 50 times more matches than guys, and it helps you in the algorithm to show up higher, so you get more matches. I just wanted to delete those damn apps. It's fun for a couple of months, then gets tedious.
definitely weirdos on tinder. women just texting 'HOWSERIOUSAREYOU?' before you've even met them.
sick read on their part mind you. because I'm not serious at all
DB Bench 5x8-30kg
DB Flye 3x8-24
Barbell Curl/Hammer Curl ss 3x6/6-40/16kg
Tricep Push Down/Extension ss 3x8/10-35/25kg
another terrible sleep unfortunately.
light gym session, basically to make myself feel better
3x8 each leg single leg extension 28kg
3x9 front squat 50kg - haven't done any squatting for months and kept this light and could already feel cramping
3x5 single leg leg press 100kg - this really hurt my left knee cap
3x4 deadlift 130kg. this also hurt my knee so I stopped
3x8 single leg seated leg curl with light weights
meh. annoying and slightly worrying knee pain. it's on my bad knee and over the top of the knee cap.
we'll see if it sticks around
Hopefully the knee stuff doesn't turn into anything serious; with that said, congratulations on the sustained cut and hopefully things with your soon-to-be ex get worked out quasi-amicably and reasonably effectively. I have a buddy that took ten years to get divorced after separating and your way seems better.
If I was a great rich white and 50+....
I couldn't imagine not going straight to MDE after a divorce.
If I was weak in the español, not sure where I would go. Definitely not Asia and everything else so facking far away from Down Under.
But I do know the color of my skin and my wealth would require the next girl to be less than half of my age. So I am thinking I would work like hell til 55 or 60, learn Español and then get a big ranch near MDE, maybe Rio negro or Guatape. The rest would just take care of itself. It would be a good last 20 years, exactly what a great rich white deserves.
I can't believe I didn't include feel wrath in my great rich white list. Was just flashing back to the brand new BMW smell comments he made a few years ago. He might be the greatest and with that generic white name, the whitest. I would only put downtown to battle him for the greatest title, this divorce probably gonna hurt though. Downtown has like 6 kids though.
Guys like montecore and kidcolin definitely second tier. Melkerson third tier, he has never hinted at wealth. But you never know, sometimes the most modest and stingiest is the richest.
What's MDE? Medellin?
Probably my favourite holiday ever
If I didn’t have kids, I’d be out of Sydney and chasing Latin girls in a flash
Idk what rich means but I’m gonna be way less of it soon. Good news is that my house might have tripled in value the past 10 years and no cap gains tax. Bad news….got to buy another one in the same area which will also be eye wateringly expensive plus give 5% of purchase price to Gubmint
Also bwslim richer than me. If he’s still alive in here
Can't believe I'm falling down the great rich white rankings; in hindsight, it's a good thing I didn't take that undertitle.
Sat
6x8 seated DB Press 24kg
3x13 Barbell Shrug 90kg
5x8 seated hammer row 150kg
4x9 wide grip row 67kg
ab work
Sun
5x9 DB Bench 30kg
3x9 Incline DB Bench 26kg
4x9/6 Preacher Curl 45kg/ss Hammer Curl 16kg
Abs
Knee still hurting so can't row. Might try tomorrow, but suspect it'll have to be unblanaced towards the right knee
This weekend has been the World Virtual 1k, which had been my target for the year. 8th in 2022, 7th in 2023 and I'd thought I had a PR in me.
Just looking at the results, last year's time would have taken 9th. I'd have needed a 0.9 sec PR to get 8th. Still...didn't do it, so it doesn't matter.
You went from champion silver medalist rower to divorced old guy dreaming of competing again.
The Wheel of Time comes and conquers. Always spinning til you are all dust.
We all hope the feel wrath has another PB left in him. Or otherwise what dreams do any of us have when we break 50?
I know I got another PB in me but I am still in my 40s. 50s?!! Scary, might be game over for PBs. We lose a heartbeat every year, til we goners.
Put up a good fight versus Father Time is all we got. It's a losing endeavor but the alternative is beyond worse, just movies all day.
You went from champion silver medalist rower to divorced old guy dreaming of competing again.
The Wheel of Time comes and conquers. Always spinning til you are all dust.
We all hope the feel wrath has another PB left in him. Or otherwise what dreams do any of us have when we break 50?
I know I got another PB in me but I am still in my 40s. 50s?!! Scary, might be game over for PBs. We lose a heartbeat every year, til we goners.
can't argue. the Aussie is in maintenance mode right now. Tough to know if I have the physical ability...definitely don't have the minerals to go hard at the moment. 6 weeks ago, I felt that a good training block could have had me in PR shape for the 1k and I was ahead of where I'd been the year before. But we don't deal in 'could and should and would'. There is only 'did' and I didn't.
I keep showing up though. Not pretty and no PRs but I'm staying active and keeping things moving. This tough period will pass I hope and we'll see if there's any minerals left foor a new fight
Inspiring if sobering stuff from the forum's resident gray pubèd; once more into the breach and all that.
4 hours sleep last night but heroically to the gym this pm. No records were broken or threatened
Seated DB Press 4x8-26kg
Push Press 4x6-60
Close grip row 4x11-67
Wide Grip pull down 3x10-67
2.5km rowing warm up then got 200m into a planned 5kr20 and just stopped. I literally have no interest in rowing whatsoever right now
Maybe it’s because of the diet and the lack of cals, maybe it’s because I’ve got nothing to aim for but I have no interest in it whatsoever
Switched and did
5x3 power clean 80kg
3x9 hang power cleans (fast) 60kg
3x10 RDL 80kg
Meh. All fine
9,10,10,9 DB Bench 30kg
3x9 Incline DB Bench 26kg
3x7 Flye 24kg
3x10/8 Preacher Curl 45kg/Hammer curl 16kg
3x10/10 Tricep Push down 35/Tricep extension 25
Your boy Carl Cox is playing two sets at EDC Las Vegas this year. Probably worth flying halfway around the world for.
Your boy Carl Cox is playing two sets at EDC Las Vegas this year. Probably worth flying halfway around the world for.
That would be great.
funnily enough I’m going to a Ministry of Sound revival tomorrow. Carl was never a ministry guy but Norman Cook (fat boy slim) is playing among others
40 mins session with son tonight
4x10 wide grip pull downs 67
4x10 close grip seated row 67
4x8 DB Press 26kg
4x8 seated machine press 38
all fine
I saw Carl Cox play in Liverpool quite a few times in the previous century (I'm old). I'm probably biased, but Voodoo is among the all time great clubs. Cream was OK, but Voodoo was special.
Banging every time.
Maybe not as old as me? I never went to cream but went to Renaissance and Manumission
I used to see him at a club in Clapham Junction on Thursdays all the time in the 90s. When he was ‘big’ but not the institution he is today. God, can’t remember the name of the club. Scary
I used to finish rugby training at 9.30, get back to Clapham at 10 and go to this place til about 1 and then head home and then up for work at 7
Other fun fact was that I went to school with Sasha. He was the year ahead of me. We all thought he was a wanker because he was musical and in the choir.
The last laugh was probably on him
I saw Carl Cox play in Liverpool quite a few times in the previous century (I'm old). I'm probably biased, but Voodoo is among the all time great clubs. Cream was OK, but Voodoo was special.
Banging every time.
When you said Cream at first I thought you meant Creamfields, which is a UK festival I went to a few years ago. A lot different than US festivals. Cigarette smokers everywhere and lots of people wearing bucket hats with marijuana leaves, yet people looked baffled when I asked if they had any. Culture shock for this American but it was a blast.
I meant the club Cream, which was in Liverpool. They ran Creamfields, though. My
main festivals back then were illegal raves.
I saw Sasha at Cream a couple of times. It was very good; Paul Oekenfold was the resident both times.
I'm 52; I thought I was a bit older than you. But I could be wrong.
Very big weekend. A lot of chems, a lot of booze, smoked some cigarettes on Sat day and night
Drank through the pain on Sun and then drank a little on Monday too
Two days off and then managed to get a good sleep last night
5x5 DB Press 34kg
3x8 Flye 26kg
4x9 close grip seated row 77kg
3x6 Barbell Row 80kg, drop set 6@60kg
3x10 wide grip row 67kg
5x7 DB Press 26kg
3x12 Shrug 100kg
3x3 Power Clean 75
3x6/8 Preacher Curl 50/Hammer Curl 16
3x8/10 Skullcrushers/Clise grip Press 45kg
Did the session with 60-90sec rests. Enjoyed getting through it all quicker
