Hello everyone. Great forums here!
OK, I'm not 40 yet, but I'm less than 3 years away, and I wanted to get your thoughts/comments on weight training in one's late thirties. Here is my "dilemma". I recently got back into weight training about 3 months ago, (after an 8 year complete absence) and have not missed a workout.
Every 48-72 hours I do bench press and military, and I alternate days with some upper back (bent over rows) and biceps work. But, after 3 months of pretty hard training, I'm only doing sets of 6 on the bench with 205 lbs, and a set of 4 with 215 if I'm lucky. I weigh 180 lbs. (I do not max because I work out alone). What's worse is that I got to this point a month ago and have not made any gains since! The reason I am so frustrated is that I worked out like a beast in my mid- to late-20s, and at 28 and 165 lbs., I was bench pressing 330 lbs. (max) with sets of 6 at 275. I effectively quit cold turkey after I got married at 29.
My questions:
Does one's ability to make gains in strength deteriorate that rapidly in your thirties? This is very frustrating for me, especially since I gained so much so quickly in my twenties. Should I give up on trying to gain in strength and focus instead on high repetition, cardiovascular work?
How much time should I spend warming up? It seems it takes me 3, sometimes even 4 sets of light weight to feel "warm" enough to feel that I can take on a heavy weight, but by that point, I am tired endurance-wise, which of course affects the rest of my work out.
My goals are size and firmness in my pecs, shoulders, and arms, and a reasonable amount of strength. To me, reasonable is not a 225 max, .... but maybe I am being unreasonable due to the laws of biology and ageing?
Your thoughts/comments and recommendations on appropriate strength-training workout are very much appreciated!
