When Do You Stop Working Out?
Weight training is a relatively new phenomenon as the physical culture revolution started in the late 1800′s and took hold in the early 1900′s.
The introduction of ‘fitness clubs’ and structured weekly weight workouts isn’t more than 100 years old.
What Happens When You Stop Working Out (and using drugs)?
As of the day I’m writing this post the first generation of people who followed structured workouts has passed and the second generation (Arnold, Lou, Franco and the gang) are reaching their golden years.
This is an interesting time because we have very little historic data to look at when it comes to weight training. Very few people workout with weights, and of those, even fewer stick with it for a lifetime.
The first two generations had very few adopters and I believe that my generation (gen x) is the first with true mass adoption of a lifestyle that includes weight training. And even my generation has very few people who actually do weight training on a consistent basis. (for example I have been training with weights for the past 15 years and have never missed more than 2-3 weeks in a row)
Even the most famous of famous people who worked out seem to have discarded the practice in their later years.
This is despite a growing body of research that indicates working out with weights is probably the single best thing you can do for your overall health into your advanced years.
I personally will never stop. As long as I can still drag myself out of bed in the morning I will always lift weights.
It’s one of the only things that seems to help keep us ‘young’.
So if you currently lift weights, will you ever stop?
John
13 Responses to “When Do You Stop Working Out?”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Login
Register
A password will be e-mailed to you.-
-
Build A Perfect Body -
Estimate the circumference around
your shoulders and waist. EAT STOP EAT
Stop Dieting and Start LivingTRUTH ABOUT PROTEIN
January 20th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Hi John,
I’m a big fan of your site.
It seems as though those going for aesthetics have seemed to lose interest, while those more into lifting for fitness (Clarence Bass, Art De Vany) have maintained the program better. I think these latter examples are a better model for those of us a bit behind them in years. Interestingly, Clarence and Art have also moved toward more infrequent and intense training, while the Arnolds in there day were into high volume training. Perhaps the short efficient model is more sustainable over the long term.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
I think many cultures liked weight training – one only has to look at the gymnasia in Rome to places where men were expected to, as long as they could, to lift dumbells, wrestle, bake in saunas and work with a trainer.
I’m surprise health-conscious people like Arnold just seemed to give it up, when if he was once so healthy I would imagine the maintenance to be easy enough.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
John,
Thanks for the post! I plan on working out and exercising for a lonnnnggg time! There’s always so feat that I can learn to do and will cause me to keep it up. There’s more than just free weights to which will add to the diversity, such as Resistance bands, KBs, etc. Also I have a question that’s sorta off topic, but what do you think about me using the compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, benchpress, bent over rows, and the like) in my routine just for a start because I am skinny and would like to gain a fair amount of muscle within a few months. Soon after, I would move away from those because I do not want to get out of proportion and do not want to train like a bodybuilder.
Thanks!
-Michael
January 20th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
I know that as long as I am physically able to lift, I will.
For me, inspiration comes from playing soccer. Not only do I want to be at my best constantly, but I see guys out there playing that are in their 60s and 70s. That is HUGE inspiration that you can always do what you love as long as you are physically able.
January 20th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
After looking at THAT ‘before and after’ I think NO… I will NEVER stop working out!! LOL
I wasn’t planning to ever stop anyway. What for? So I can win the race to “feeble”? no thanks.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
I think a lot of people stop for many reasons. To me the most common are: They get married and feel like they don’t have to keep themselves up physically because they’re married. They lifted weights as part of their training regimen for a sport and once they stop playing that sport, they feel they don’t need to weight train. They get misconstrued information about weight training being dangerous as they get older. Those are the reasons I hear the most.
January 21st, 2010 at 2:02 am
I dont think I will ever stop (oké, as long as I can physically do it I go on). its not only keeping us youmg, its also keeping us strong, and flexible.
When growing older it also keeps the pain away I believe.
January 21st, 2010 at 7:28 am
I do this for fun. As soon as I don’t think it’s fun anymore I’ll quit. But until then ….
January 21st, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Nope.
Both of my grandmothers had severe osteoporosis (one was basically buckled over from the curvature of her spine). Both broke their hips and never checked out of the hospital.
Mom, on the other hand, took up weight training when I was little, and is still kicking butt, and still has great bone-density scores (everyone else her age is on osteo-meds).
So, Im doing this forever for my health.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:04 pm
ERV,
I’m with you on this one for sure.
My grandmother fell and broker her shoulder and 6 weeks later she was gone. I am amazed that more people aren’t on the band wagon for weight training after seeing people fall, break a bone and die. There is more than enough scientific evidence to support weight training as a preventative (or at least reduce the risk) of these types of falls and breaks.
JB
January 22nd, 2010 at 9:06 am
My Dad was in the special forces for years, and after he left still continued to train hard, I would describe his training as what we would call metabolic/crossfit style. He hit about 45 and took a non physical job and quit training altogether, over the next five years he got seriously f’ed up, weight gain preceeded knee problems, back problems, insulin resistance (followed by type 2 diabetes.) Obviously a lot of this was to do with eating a real shitty diet, but not training changed his lifestyle to a point where eating crap was the norm. I hate when I hear people my age (early 20′s) saying “I’m gonna train for life!” Because you just don’t know, but I am shit scared of any of the above happening to me! When I look at people destroying their body like than, I realise that it really is akin to alcohol abuse or drug abuse, but people just let it slide, time for an intervention Dad!
January 23rd, 2010 at 7:01 pm
I figure I’ll keep lifting until chicks dig out of shape fat guys….or when I retire in an exotic locale and don’t give a fuc$ anymore cause I’m livin la vida loca…
January 24th, 2010 at 12:23 am
The only way ill stop training is if, God forbid, I die. Ill keep going Jack Lalanne style. There are too many health & lifestyle benefits that you cannot afford to not workout.