ExRx.net

Hi guys!

I'll turn 34 this month, and after playing a lot of tennis as a teenager and developing into a passable mountain biker in my mid twenties till last year(and still doing a 1.5 hour round trip commute three or four days a week), I'd like to try my hand at flag football in a new team starting in here Switzerland. My seven-year-old plays, and I want to try too!

My general fitness level is decent with good cardiovascular stamina and strong legs (from the biking); I've always sprinted faster than people expect, too. I'm a lousy jumper though - I can just barely touch the rim of a basket ball hoop about every fourth try. I'm about 6ft/183cm and weigh about 170/77k. Never had any bad injuries, either.

Anyway, my goal is (1) to give my sprinting and jumping some more punch, (2) to acclimate my legs and shins to the pounding of running (I wanted to train for football two years ago and got bad shin splints), and (3) and add enough to my physique that I won't feel like a sissy around the other guys joining the team - most of whom are ex-tackle football players!

I've lifted some weights in the past but never really stuck to it long to see much results. This time I want to get serious, sooo ... I've bought a set of weights and a bench, and I'm doing the following twice a week (honest report of current status):

**Workout**

PART 1
Chinups: 7-9 then 3-5 (depends on how I'm feeling, but I hit 9 and 4 last week!)
Power Clean: 60K about 8 times (I'm learning this but its fun!)
Bench Press: 60K about 5 then 3 times (or ease back to 55 and do 8 and 8)
Squats: 85K about two times 9 or 10 times
Pullovers: 30K 8 then 8
Barbell Curls: 30K 8 and 8

PART 2:
4 sets of 10 Box jumps holding two 2.5 K weights (I drop backwards from the box and hop back on top)
4 sets of 30 second sprints in place with 1.5K ankle weights, increasing to full speed on last sprint.

**Other Days**
I've cut back on the biking, but on off days I go for bike rides (about twice a week) or jog down to a playing field then throw frisbees about thirty yards out then catch them myself (twice a week 20 minutes jog, 20 minutes throwing and catching).

I've also cut sugar out of my diet, reduced fat and added carbs (pasta and cuscus) and three protein shakes per day (with milk, fruit and 30g protein each).

Progress and Questions

- I've been at this for about a month now and I seem to have gained about a kilo and half (though that might just be that I almost always have a lot of food in me!), and I'm lifing 15 - 20% more than I was at the beginning (though a lot of that could be technique!)

- Well, um, that's the best I can do so far. Um - is this pitiful or just wimpy? When I look at forums on the net it seems like everybody and their grandmother benches at least body wieght!

- Can an old man of 34 expect to make much progress anyway or is the window to really got strong already closed?

- When I do benchpresses I often get a sort of knot in my outer back muscles (lats?) on the right side. It's always in the same place and seems like its about the size of a walnut. Does this mean anything? I try to lie completely flat, push evenly and keep from arching my back - which all seems to help a little.

- When I jog and sprint for half an hour or so, my lower legs and ankles start to hurt. Is this normal? - and can I do something to strengthen them? From the biking, I have muscular calves, but they don't seem to like the pounding.

- Are there some other tips you guys can give me? The flag football season starts in spring and training starts in a couple months, so my goal is to be in good enough shape to hold my in two months, then keep on improving till spring.

If you got this far: Thanks for reading!

Mike

You're just a young whippersnapper Mike. i'm 56, and there are others older than me on these boards. Lets look at your schedule first. Looks very solid to me, and you're increasing the weight, so relax, just keep pushing, and it will go up. These things don't happen over night. Also, for your background, and goals, you really might want to check out crossfit, they don't specialize, they just go after all aspects of fitness.
http://www.crossfit.com
With your background, you would take to it like a duck takes to water.
The window is definately NOT closed to progress. Just stick with it. Like I said earlier, you're still relatively young. You may not improve as quickly as an 18 or 19 year old, but you will definately improve.
For the jogging and sprinting, I'm not sure, but I would suspect you jumped into it too much too quickly. At least that's been my experience for sore shins. Again, check out crossfit. They have a lot of running and such, but they mainly do it with shorter to medium runs (400M-5K ususally, for time)Also, throw in some rowing or cycling for the runs if your shins are really hurting.
Good luck in your endeavors Mike. Good training
Tim

Thanks Tim!

That Crossfit place is interesting - I like the idea, but I think I need to read up for a while before I jump in! They do seem to be in the sort of crosssport mode that I'm interested in.

Good to know that you're allowed to train hard and set goals after 30!

Say one specific question: I've been doing pullovers by laying the barbell on the ground above my head and lifting it till it's about nose height, then back again. Is that going to work right? I don't have a good bench for that ...

Mike

Hi Mike. Well, the first rule is, nothing is written in stone. If you have no bench, and thats the way you are going to have to do it, then fine, go for it. You just won't get the full range of motion, but there is an alternative (f your neck is up to it). Back in my wrestling days, (1960's) we would get in the position you described (no bench), then bridge up onto our heads, and do the pulover like that. After the pullover we would press the bar while in a bridge position . "Bridge Press", and it used to be fairly common back in the "bad old days".
Just do what you can, with what you have.
Tim