I’m no where near an old man yet but I was in significantly better shape at 18 yet I’m much stronger at 24. I’ve seen numerous old men outclass me even though I’m “in my prime”. So do we just get more potent hormones as adults? Better muscle mind connecting?
In: 9
I’m hardly an expert, but it may be a combination of things. First, as you say, muscle memory and experience at lifting things. If you’ve spent years training your body, you’re going to reap the rewards. That’s the beauty of training — you can’t cheat your way into strength. You gotta work hard to attain it.
Similarly too, as you grow in size, you effectively increase the load your muscles carry around. So you may have been leaner at age 18, but if you’ve gained mass, you’ve been indirectly training your muscles to lift a much higher weight than you used to simply by living. Of course, having too high of a mass (body fat particularly) is linked to many forms of disease and poor health, so balance is required with bulking.
But in addition to a larger size being related to giving you more strength, your body also has more reserves of fuel to draw from, which could also help in your lifting. All I know is that when I do a cut, I find I generally lose my ability to hit PR, and have to work a lot harder at it. (That could be unique only to me though).
Remember though, that you’ve got a benefit with your youth. There’s a very good chance that those older gentlemen have to be more careful than you because even though they have the raw power, they probably don’t heal from injuries like you will. Part of being in your prime is being able to (relatively) bounce back, so you may be able to get away with poor form (not that you ever should!!!!), then an older person would. That’s part of the reason why continuing to train as you get older is so important, because injuries take longer to heal, and you’ve got more soreness for longer.
Thankfully, our bodies are wonderful things, and when trained properly, combined with proper lifting and training techniques, we can do a lot to help ourselves.
EDIT:/ I just want to clarify again, I’m no expert and there are far better answers then the one I provided. But hopefully this gets the conversation rolling. ☺️
Latest Answers