Ah. you'd be surprised. We had a joint yard sale a couple months ago and a guy who's rather hefty, about 6'1" 260 lbs in his mid-30s, decided he'd play around with the 25lb dumbbells I had brought over. He could not curl them without throwing himself around.
I've been lifting weights since I was in 7th grade. As I get older, I have more frequent breaks from the gym. It's incredible, even in my 40's, how I can still do a warmup set then lift heavy weights. I guess that's muscle memory. It's just strange because my physique can be so drastically different from when I'm consistently working out and when I have gotten lazy and soft. Either body can still put up almost the same weights.
Muscle memory is real. Once you stretch the muscle fascia and get bigger it’s much easier to do it again if you drop weight for whatever reason.
And as middle aged guy, I've learned that just because I can still lift heavy, I shouldn't push too hard. Last year, I befriended a younger guy at the gym. Big strong kid. He would challenge me. Well, once he hyped me up to try a max. I benched a nice number. I was surprised. It felt good. Then it resulted in a pinched nerve that made my left arm down to the elbow numb. 3 months of physical therapy. I'd woken up crying that next night and couldn't lift at all with that arm. Now I take it somewhat easy. My neck was already jacked up from playing football through college and a bad car accident. And that arm was the same one I broke my ulna many years ago. Not good.
Last year, I befriended a younger guy at the gym. Big strong kid. He would challenge me. Well, once he hyped me up
Ooooooooooo, spicy
Yea I know all about nerve and spinal issues since I’ve got mild scoliosis and other issues. I lift to stay in shape and have size. No ego lifting or maxing out. Rarely do heavy weight that I can’t do for at least 8 reps. The damage that heavy weights do to your joints later in life isn’t worth it.
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