Topic: weight class, joint pain, and older lifters

[Tom Weary]

My coach is from Poland and basically trains me in the Bulgarian method, lots of singles at maximum weight.  It's hell on your body at first, but your body adapts.  I haven't done a power clean or snatch in years; my coach drills into my head that an efficient lift is the lowest you can pull the bar and still get underneath it.  I agree with the prior poster that a full squat, properly done is easier on the knees.  Only by doing a full squat do you actually disengage the muscle for a split second and then re-engage, training your fast twitch muscle fibers for maximal power.  Even masters lifters can have speed and flexibility if you work on it slowly and carefully.

[Matt Foreman]

Good topic, good discussion.  I'll throw in a few thoughts based on personal experience.

I'm 35, been training for 22 years and competing for 19.  I just started competing in the masters this year and things are going really well so far.

Bodyweight- I'm a +105.  I weighed about 122 when I did my biggest lifts (9-10 years ago) and I weigh about 118 now.  I dropped down to 110 last year and tried training there and it was a disaster.  My strength level dropped in the toilet and my body didn't feel any better in terms of joint pain, soreness, etc.  In fact, I actually had more little muscle pulls and strains when I was lighter. Most of the older lifters I've known like to stay heavier as opposed to lighter.  Tony Urrutia was able to lift huge weights until he was close to 40 because he let his bodyweight go up slowly.  But if health reasons make it more sensible for some individuals to drop weight, then go for it.  This is all just for fun, anyway.

Training- I train twice a week now.  Sometimes, if my schedule permits, I'll train three times a week but that third workout is extremely light and easy.  Training twice a week, at my age and with my work schedule (60-70 hours a week, mostly on my feet) really works.  My joints feel great, injuries are very rare, and I'm able to stay "relatively" strong.  I'm sure I'd be lifting more if I trained 3 times a week with some recovery time.  But with my career demands, it's just not possible. 

Intensity- I build up to big weights slowly and don't attempt big lifts in training until the 3-4 weeks before a competition.  This is much different than how I (and my whole team, Calpians) trained back in the day.  We rarely had workouts where we weren't within 10-15 kilos of our personal best lifts.  And it worked because we were all young and healthy.  Now, I spend a lot of time building a strength base and I don't go crazy in training.  So far, so good. 

Overall, I think the key to training successfully when you're older is using some creative thinking in your approach.  You have to understand the limits of your body.  You can't be afraid to back off when you're hurt (the rest will always do you good anyway).  And you have to look at your life and figure out how to train well within the confines of your schedule, physical capabilities, family demands, etc.  If you love being a weightlifter, figure out a way to keep doing it for a long time without killing yourself.

[Tom Banister]

In my experience, squatting deep on a regular basis makes my knees feel great. I'll "never" stop squatting "*ss to grass". However, a steady diet of full squat cleans makes my knees a little achy. I can only speculate why. But, I now do more power cleans in my training. By the way, I think power cleans get a bad rap because of "football power cleans".  A clean can be properly executed up to the catch phase and then caught in a squat or an upright stance.  Also, I've always thought power cleans and snatches were good drills for completing your second pull.

Because of shoulder problems I now split snatch. I am concerned about imbalances created by always splitting the same foot forward. What do people think of doing some amount of my snatches splitting with the "other" foot forward? Good idea, bad idea, is there some other way to address the imbalances problem?

[Laurent Goyette]

hello everyone, i,m a 17 year old young buck, who,s been training for 6 years now, my small experience shows me that a heavier weight class brings heavier lifts and those really work on knees, I know that they worked for sure on mine ! went up from 69 to 77 two years ago and added 80 kg to my total, and 60 to my back squat. I am the proud and happy owner of tendinidis in both of my knees. I can,t wait to be 40 ! :grin: