Did you know that the strongest and most successful strength athletes in the world still warm up with the EMPTY barbell?
Did you know that the fastest sprinters on the planet still begin with A and B skips?
And yet YOU, Karen from finance, routinely step into the gym and go STRAIGHT to 185 on your squat, then attempt to deadlift a Ford F-150, and still want to give a run at a 6 ton snatch… (which, for reference, is roughly the weight of your average African bush elephant).
Ya, no surprise you are always hurt…
Think of most athletes who’ve had a LONG lifespan playing their given sport at a high level. You’ll find that as they aged, many made SOME form of modification to their original game to last the long haul.
In the gym, the same applies.
Especially after a certain point in life, to last the long haul, we can’t spend all our workouts showcasing the very LIMITS of our athleticism or strength. It’s not sustainable, and it’s a way to be sidelined more often than you can “play”.
This is especially true if you aren’t only OLDER than you were in your “prime”, but you also have a more decorated history of injury.
Yes - It is indeed possible to train HARD without necessarily training HEAVY.
What ultimately matters most is that as you age in the lifting game, your workouts become ADAPTABLE to sustain consistency.
Train smart my friends.