The Reality of Getting Stronger After 60 Is Less Heroic Than You’d Think

If you imagine getting stronger after 60 involves dramatic training montages, daily personal bests, and triumphant music in the background (cue Mr. Balboa…) I regret to inform you that reality might be otherwise.

Indeed, for me, it definitely involves a lot more stretching, much slower recovery, and the addition of some odd-looking pieces (and names) of equipment.

Plus, in a kind of reverse and perverse Star Trek quote, failing to boldly go to places said body parts used to quite happily visit with both ease and gusto!

Which, in fairness, is probably closer to real life (and maybe even what you’re experiencing).

Yesterday was one of those days.

Although the right-side pain has gone, my back’s still a little tight, so I thought I’d give it another day before trying rope flow and the rest of my usual morning routines.

As such, I decided to start with some “official” stretching sessions (and by official, I mean one of the stretches from the book Peter Forneck recommended*, plus a batch of YouTube videos by people who actually have credentials 😄. That’s pretty acceptable in this day and age, right?).

I’m pleased to say they did actually help, even though I felt mildly nauseous after the mat work. But then and again, seeing as my spine hasn’t been within a mile of those kinds of positions for several decades, it’s hardly surprising!

Thankfully, this eased off fairly quickly (and definitely in time for lunch: A man’s gotta enjoy his food!)

Lunch was a ribeye (sous vide then seared in the pan to put some colour on it), some air-fried bacon, three boiled eggs and two fried eggs cooked in butter, which hit the spot!

After lunch, I went for a 15-minute barefoot walk shoulder-carrying a 10kg Bulgarian Bag.

Gotta admit, my back was a little stiff afterwards, but it was a good ache rather than the sort that makes your body go:

“WTF, Russ. After the last time…Are you *&$$^$#@ mad?!”

Which, given where I am at the moment, works for me.

I’m now relaxing with the TENS machine on and I can tell you, this thing feels like absolute luxury.

The hope is that my back’s better tomorrow so I can ease back into rope flow, clubs and the rest. Ease being the operative word because although I’m raring to go, I’m also trying not to do anything stupid.

There’s another layer to all this, too.

Eye-Opening Results (aka Wake Up Call)

At the end of last month, I got some fairly eye-opening results back from the doctor. Blood pressure and blood sugar numbers that made me realise I probably needed to stop assuming I’d sort it all out “at some point.”

So, three weeks ago, I switched to a carnivore diet to try and get some of my numbers under control. This is now week three, and the last week has mostly been OMAD.

My goal by Christmas is to get down to 100kg and out of the super-heavyweight category. Three weeks ago, I was 120kg.

Longer term, assuming the blood numbers improve, the plan is to ease more towards keto so I can still enjoy eating out with my wife without turning meals into logistical exercises.

The beer, unfortunately, may have to go.

(Really got to.)

If this all sounds less heroic than people imagine, that’s probably because it is.

At the moment, getting stronger after 60 seems to involve stretching, carrying awkward things, trying not to annoy old injuries, eating a surprising amount of ribeye, and generally figuring things out as I go.

* The book Peter recommended is ‘Unlock Mobility 7 Postures: 7 Postures’ by Kadour Ziani.