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Ever notice how "older" men (ages 45-75) seem to be really strong, regardless if they lift weights or exercise? Do you think they are truly stronger than younger men...or do they just happen to know how the world works better?
For example, I sometimes have difficulty opening jars that my father can open with ease. He likely isn't "stronger" than me; however, perhaps his years of experience opening jars gives him an edge. Thoughts?
muscle mass decreases with age. at 45 this has not happened but what does happen is tendon and ligaments no longer flex as well and injuries are frequent. stamina goes down.
yes strength is there but there are penalties for using it.
However, my Dad grew up on a farm. Me in the city. Dad had phenomenal grip strength. His forearms almost reminded me of Popeye as a child. By the time I was 17 I could squat, bench and generally lift more than him. His grip was still a lot stronger than mine.
The point is some old timers grew up doing very hard physical work from early childhood. Then got jobs where they were required to keep doing physical work. That builds specific strength in certain areas. Nowadays not so much. Heck, nowadays I'm an old man. And I ain't very strong.
I'm a believer! From my own experience. I'm now 63 and have never 'lifted weights' (to build upper body strength). As a cyclist and tennis player, I'm more interested in keeping my legs strong. But, I noticed starting around 40 or so, that I was able to do things that I could not do when I was younger. I was certainly not any stronger, but believe that I just know how to use my body more efficiently. As you allude to, us older guys have just 'figured it out'.
@Huclkeberry3911948, no injuries . . . ever. From high school track and cross country to cycling a century, (which I will be doing tomorrow). The typical cyclist doesn't want big muscles. They don't help. I can't ride up a hill very fast, but that is due to my weight, not any loss of ability. My time trialing speeds have been consistent since middle age, (I am actually faster than I was as a teen and a 20s rider). No problems with the racket either. Game is as good, (or poor), as ever.
"Warrior Mentor" Sergeant Major "Billy" Waugh, US Special Forces Sergeant Major and Central Intelligence Agency Paramilitary Operations Officer who served more than 50 years of Service between the U.S. Army's SF Green Berets and the CIA's (Ground Branch) of (SAD) Special Activities Division.
exactly one month to the day 10/11/2001 Warrior Mentor celebrated his 72 ND Birthday, it was the "who's who of the Special Force community, not there to take pics or sign autographs, Waugh participated in Operation Enduring Freedom as a member of the CIA team led by Gary Schroen that went into Afghanistan to work with the Northern Alliance to topple the Taliban regime and Al Qaeda at the Battle of Tora Bora.
today he is an active advisor at age 85..
There's two types of men in this world, men who NEED a tissue box and men who don't..
Think that there is some truth to this. Have a couple of friends that never lift but are still pretty strong. Both are in their late 40's and one is a cabinet maker, the other owns a glass shop. So they are constantly lifting odd sized objects throughout the day. Might not weigh much, but a holding a piece of wood or glass while trying to work with it or install it and doing it over and over again keeps them fairly strong.
Looking back at my dad, while he held mostly white collar jobs as an adult, did work blue collar physical jobs as a teenager and young adult. Think that the base of strength he got from that 6-7 year period stuck around. If we needed to wrestle with a piece of furniture or grab something heavy out of the attic it wasn't too much of an issue for him. My early jobs were all retail or food and throwing pizza dough around as a teenager did not do much to build any strength.
Ever notice how "older" men (ages 45-75) seem to be really strong, regardless if they lift weights or exercise? Do you think they are truly stronger than younger men...or do they just happen to know how the world works better?
For example, I sometimes have difficulty opening jars that my father can open with ease. He likely isn't "stronger" than me; however, perhaps his years of experience opening jars gives him an edge. Thoughts?
This I think. This is so weird that you posted this too b/c I was just thinking about this yesterday. I am a middle aged woman and usually have a really hard time opening jars for some reason--small greasy hands maybe? Weak grip? Who knows but I usually need a man to open jars for me (I"m single) or I'll try little tricks like banging it with a knife or hot water or. . . but I was reading a book the other day and it was talking about how sometimes we try to use more force when force will make it worse. Said to use your brain instead so I tried that next day on a jar that the day before I could not get open no matter what I did. Yep, it opened easily. So now I'm into the zen of jar opening lol.
This I think. This is so weird that you posted this too b/c I was just thinking about this yesterday. I am a middle aged woman and usually have a really hard time opening jars for some reason--small greasy hands maybe? Weak grip? Who knows but I usually need a man to open jars for me (I"m single) or I'll try little tricks like banging it with a knife or hot water or. . . but I was reading a book the other day and it was talking about how sometimes we try to use more force when force will make it worse. Said to use your brain instead so I tried that next day on a jar that the day before I could not get open no matter what I did. Yep, it opened easily. So now I'm into the zen of jar opening lol.
Do yourself a favor and buy a jar opener! They cost less than 10 bucks and are life savers!
Said to use your brain instead so I tried that next day on a jar that the day before I could not get open no matter what I did. Yep, it opened easily. So now I'm into the zen of jar opening lol.
No I don't. My stepfather was a boxer in the navy before he married my mother. He wasn't very tall but he was built. One day he took his belt off to hit my brother who stood at least 6 inches taller than my stepfather and was only about 15 years old. My brother grabbed an end of the belt and stared my step father down. My stepfather backed off, as he should have. So old man strength is not always what some people think it might be.
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