Starting After 40?

[radar2760]

Has anyone here started grip training after 40 years old? How did it go?

I am 45, and started lifting a little with my son after no weights for about 20 years. I have never done any grip training but I am about to start. Any specific advise? Only have the HG-150 and 200 presently, so I will just do a bunch or reps with the 200 and order another gripper soon, probably the IM #2, and see if I can close it. I have olympic plates to pinch and curl, but they are the wide type. They will have to do for now.

Happy New Year.

John Gallagher

[David Horne]

John,

No problem with what age you start at. My father joined me training again later in his life, but had done a manual job all his life. Check my dad's lifts in his latter years below.

Peter Horne Memorial Grip contest 2006

Events

1. Two Hands Pinch Lift for reps

2. Middle Fingers Deadlift /Hacklift

3. Rolling Thunder for reps

4. Total Wrist Tester

5. Weighted Toolbox carry

My dad's best on the contest events

Two Hands Pinch Lift 85k at age 58

Middle Fingers Deadlift 125k at age 55

One Hand Deadlift 2" barbell 73.5k at age 56

Weaver Stick Lift to Rear 5.05k at age 59

98lb toolbox for 140 yards at age 58

Try this program to start with and get a strength base. http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?showtopic=12608

Good luck,

David

[krongthip]

Hi John, I just started grip training about 3 months ago and I am also soon 44 years old. I asked myself the same question. I made some good progress in gripstrength and I think even in our age range we can accomplish some good numbers. Maybe it takes longer for us, as for the younger guys, I dont know yet. Train hard and believe in yourself.

David, thank you for the lift's of your dad. These are some impressive performances in his age and gives me confidence in my workout.

[radar2760]

John,

No problem with what age you start at. My father joined me training again later in his life, but had done a manual job all his life. Check my dad's lifts in his latter years below.

Peter Horne Memorial Grip contest 2006

Events

1. Two Hands Pinch Lift for reps

2. Middle Fingers Deadlift /Hacklift

3. Rolling Thunder for reps

4. Total Wrist Tester

5. Weighted Toolbox carry

My dad's best on the contest events

Two Hands Pinch Lift 85k at age 58

Middle Fingers Deadlift 125k at age 55

One Hand Deadlift 2" barbell 73.5k at age 56

Weaver Stick Lift to Rear 5.05k at age 59

98lb toolbox for 140 yards at age 58

Try this program to start with and get a strength base. http://www.gripboard.com/index.php?showtopic=12608

Good luck,

David

Thanks very much for the post. Your Dad is quite an inspiration. I do office work, so its gonna take a little while. In my youth I did have some strength, but never worked grip. i have fairly short hands, it will be interesting to see if I can get my middle fingers around the bar! And right now I can just about walk 140 yards without a rest stop. I intend to incorperate the lifts found on the link.

Thanks again.

John Gallagher

[David Horne]

John,

Glad to be of help. Most important thing right now is to take it slowly, and have some quality time training with your son.

Have fun,

David

[radar2760]

Hi John, I just started grip training about 3 months ago and I am also soon 44 years old. I asked myself the same question. I made some good progress in gripstrength and I think even in our age range we can accomplish some good numbers. Maybe it takes longer for us, as for the younger guys, I dont know yet. Train hard and believe in yourself.

David, thank you for the lift's of your dad. These are some impressive performances in his age and gives me confidence in my workout.

Us old guys gotta stick together. I am looking forward to doing the work.

Best of luck with your training.

[DAN PRAYDIS]

Has anyone here started grip training after 40 years old? How did it go?

I am 45, and started lifting a little with my son after no weights for about 20 years. I have never done any grip training but I am about to start. Any specific advise? Only have the HG-150 and 200 presently, so I will just do a bunch or reps with the 200 and order another gripper soon, probably the IM #2, and see if I can close it. I have olympic plates to pinch and curl, but they are the wide type. They will have to do for now.

Happy New Year.

John Gallagher

john its like the story the ant and the grasshopper the ant worked every day while the grasshopper layed around . well it takes longer and you have to let your muscles recuperate longer but if you keep at it you will make good gains its all comes down to how much you want to put into it. to me i see no difference but the pain from a hard workout and longer to heal up

[Biggerfoot]

I am 43 and recently starting doing some serious grip training.

I have to deal with arthritis and tendinitis and other aches and pains from sports over the years.

With help from here, I have been able to make some great improvements.

One great side benefit is that I notice my arthritis is not that noticeable now since I starting grip training.

I also found that I am lifting much more weights, weight wise, now that I was in my 20s.

[climber511]

I'm 57 and have been doing grip for a couple years now. My advice is to build a foundation of all around forearm and grip strength before you start any of the specilized grip programs you will hear about on here. David's program is an excellent one to start with and will make and keep you much more injury free than just hammering awayblindly from the start. The GripBoard can offer you a graduate course in grip training - just be sure to complete your freshman year before your next year starts. Spend some time here reading all the posts, there is an awful lot of knowledge shared between some pretty smart strength athletes on this board. Another little piece of advice is if you see a competition any where near you, go to it, meet those people with the same interests as you and gain a ton of knowledge. My last tip - train your whole body, not just grip, a couple sets of squats will do more for your health than a hundred sets of grippers.

[jghmesa]

Yes - I'm 50 yrs old and have made significant progress in one year. If you'd like to contact me at jghmesa@yahoo.com or 480-554-5851 I'd be glad to discuss what I'm doing. JGH

[Hubgeezer]

I am 51. I started 7 years ago, very slowly. I received a IM Trainer for Christmas from my Musclehead/Strength History/Iron Game Fanatic older brother.

I threw the ridiculous gripper in the trunk of my car. It ended up in the office getting passed around. After a couple of months, I stopped playing with it and started working out with it. Every time I picked it up, I was stronger. I thought I was not supposed to be improving on something physical at my age.

My brother kept giving me gifts of IM crap, until I started buying it myself. I subscribed to MILO. I subscribed to the now defunct Iron Grip magazine.

I entered a contest 2 years ago, and joined the Gripboard shortly thereafter.

In 2003, I injured my back, seriously, due to a lifetime of neglect. I had gained 100 pounds since my days as a skinny long distance runner. Slowly, I added exercises, going from working the hands, forearms, and arms to working the back and shoulders, and legs. I lost 50 pounds of blubber.

The point to this diatribe is that I started with grippers, and it took me years to add more body parts. I wish I had done more sooner, but I do not regret taking things very slowly, whether it is Trap Bar Deadlifts, High Pulls, or whatever. You get used to the movement, add weight slowly, and the gains come. At 51, I hit PRs between once per week and once per month. At a Rolling Thunder contest in Portland in August, I heard a "group gasp" when I pulled 196. I look every bit of 51, and the small crowd did not expect someone that looked like me do make a lift like that. Kara "Bench Press Barbie" Bohishian(sp?) made quite a fuss over me when she gave me the geezer(master's) award. At the time, I didn't even know who she was, I thought she was someone's girlfriend. I don't feel like an old dude, but that is what anyone over 40 is to young people.

I could not close the #1 at age 44. I am 3/16s of an inch away from closing the #3(IM 2004 version, credit card set) today. I think I will be 1/8 inch away within a month.

Listen to your body, listen to what the pain tells you, learn what is good tired and what is overtraining. Read what Climber511 said in the above post, as it has lots of good information in it.

And best of all, getting stronger and healthier as you get older is a refreshing change from everyone else your age whining about what does not work like it used to any more. The hands are the last body part to go out on our bodies. This stuff is flat out fun.

Best of luck with your training, and have fun!

Hubgeezer

[Janne]

I am 51. I started 7 years ago, very slowly. I received a IM Trainer for Christmas from my Musclehead/Strength History/Iron Game Fanatic older brother.

I threw the ridiculous gripper in the trunk of my car. It ended up in the office getting passed around. After a couple of months, I stopped playing with it and started working out with it. Every time I picked it up, I was stronger. I thought I was not supposed to be improving on something physical at my age.

My brother kept giving me gifts of IM crap, until I started buying it myself. I subscribed to MILO. I subscribed to the now defunct Iron Grip magazine.

I entered a contest 2 years ago, and joined the Gripboard shortly thereafter.

In 2003, I injured my back, seriously, due to a lifetime of neglect. I had gained 100 pounds since my days as a skinny long distance runner. Slowly, I added exercises, going from working the hands, forearms, and arms to working the back and shoulders, and legs. I lost 50 pounds of blubber.

The point to this diatribe is that I started with grippers, and it took me years to add more body parts. I wish I had done more sooner, but I do not regret taking things very slowly, whether it is Trap Bar Deadlifts, High Pulls, or whatever. You get used to the movement, add weight slowly, and the gains come. At 51, I hit PRs between once per week and once per month. At a Rolling Thunder contest in Portland in August, I heard a "group gasp" when I pulled 196. I look every bit of 51, and the small crowd did not expect someone that looked like me do make a lift like that. Kara "Bench Press Barbie" Bohishian(sp?) made quite a fuss over me when she gave me the geezer(master's) award. At the time, I didn't even know who she was, I thought she was someone's girlfriend. I don't feel like an old dude, but that is what anyone over 40 is to young people.

I could not close the #1 at age 44. I am 3/16s of an inch away from closing the #3(IM 2004 version, credit card set) today. I think I will be 1/8 inch away within a month.

Listen to your body, listen to what the pain tells you, learn what is good tired and what is overtraining. Read what Climber511 said in the above post, as it has lots of good information in it.

And best of all, getting stronger and healthier as you get older is a refreshing change from everyone else your age whining about what does not work like it used to any more. The hands are the last body part to go out on our bodies. This stuff is flat out fun.

Best of luck with your training, and have fun!

Hubgeezer

I know that I am not supposed to bring too much spiritual-speak into my

posts, but Noah was 500 when he built the ark.

[j.scribner]

John-

I'm 52, going on 53. I started grip and strongman training about a year ago. Previous to that I had done some lifting over the years, running, martial arts, and general strength-endurance stuff. But until a year ago, I hadn't really made any significant gains. Since last year I have about doubled my strength in many lifts. I am just beginning to see over the immediate horizon, and realize what I can accomplish. My hands are getting tougher, and I have been injury-free for this entire year. I can lift everyday heavy objects no problem. And I can hold my own against most of the gym rats 20-30 years my junior. (best way to clear them out is to start doing deadlifts and squats, v-bar lifts and pinch-gripping ) Stay the course, and have patient perseverance, and you will see tremendous gains. Don't try to compare yourself too much against the guys here- don't let Climber fool you- for a Geezer he is REALLY strong. And, his advice is rock-solid. Build a base with deadlifts, squats, and the odd-ball stuff like stones, kegs, and the like. Build total body strength as well as grip. Try not to get injured, and take good care of yourself. Welcome to the club!!

John Scribner

[Big Steve]

42 here in March and getting stronger by the day. Three things I have noticed is warm up really really well, cool down a long time, and build a very strong base with a lot of 50% of max volume. I remember in the day I could run throw walls and not get hurt, not anymore. If you need help PM me please.

[Janne]

I remember in the day I could run throw walls and not get hurt, not anymore. If you need help PM me please.

Throwing walls is in the next WSM. Get thee to a qualifier.

[king crusher]

welcome and no, your not to old to train grip! alot of help can be had from this board.

im 122 years old and close the 4 so anythings possible...jk but welcome.

p.s. no proof of noahs ark, just like santa and the easter bunny imho.

[Grh122]

I am 42 and have been training grip for close to two years. The demands of my career eased up around three years ago so I decided to get serious about physical fitness. This started with an emphasis on cardio fitness, but has evolved into an emphasis on strength training. I don't view age as much of a factor - what is more important is the amount of time and energy that you have for the task of getting stronger.

Build a well-rounded foundation (e.g. squats and deadlift, pullups and shoulder/tricep work) and then gradually specialize at what you are good at. For me, that has definitely not been grippers, but it has been things like bending, card tearing, horseshoes, etc.