Adjusting rep range while aging

[crilloan]

Hi!

Turned 50 last spring and while running HT I then an PB I now im pondering If those rep range are sustainabi for me.
Im definitely more beat up by a set of 6-8 reps on squat/deadlift than i were when i came back to training 4 years ago.

Have any of you made changes to programming as years go by?
Regards
C

[DorianStarbuck]

I'm not sure it's productive to think about lifting experience in this way. The whole point of auto regulation is to adapt your training to your experience, and it doesn't make much sense to predictively make changes to your programming based on guesses about things that are out of your control, like aging.

If you're finding that a specific rep range of a specific weight is "too much" for whatever reason, make a change that will address it. If you think it may be at least partially related to some lifestyle choice that you have control over, then consider making a change to that lifestyle if you want. But it's unproductive, and arguably harmful to worry about whether or not something that is literally uncontrollable, like aging, is "affecting" your ability to make progress towards your goals. There's only one thing you can do to "solve" aging, and it's something that will DEFINITELY impact your training.

[crilloan]

Good point on autoregulation.

I have started to go over my RPE estimates.
My main culprit have probably being that I Sometimes overshoot targeted RPE.
So going forward I will adjust my mindset to "better undershoot and leave a rep more in the tank" than training in a way that leaves me battered for days

C

[jjw]

I am your age and I couldn't agree more with autoregulation. When I get beat up it is because I overshoot my RPE. Since I have been running PB3 which prescribes RPE 7 I don't have the same problems with volume. Yeah some say as you get older volume hits you harder than intensity but if you look most of these guys who say that they are pushing the limit in every workout. You simply don't have to do that and the recovery cost isn't worth the extra benefit of going at RPE 9 or RPE 10 all the time.

The biggest thing I have had to do is estimate my RPE and bring it up a .5 or 1. If I think it is a RPE 7 it is probably a RPE 8 or 9 because my ego gets in the way and I underestimate my RPE constantly. So I try to overestimate RPE. It is just lifting we aren't trying to break records does it matter if you lift 5 lbs less and don't get some optimized benefit? Not really you will still progress if you don't overestimate your RPE by too much.

[Euby]

It's hard to say, but I'm closing in on 51 so definitely no spring chicken any longer. For the most part, I believe in autoregulation, but you can still have too much stress in your programming even when using that. Don't be afraid to lower the RPE by 1 point across the board and see how things go. You won't digress for sure, and you might even thrive. I purchased the Low-Fatigue template package recently, and though I haven't had a chance to run it yet, the layout looks fantastic. It's a good bit of volume, but at much lower intensities overall. Might be something you could consider and use as a learning tool.

[crilloan]

Good points all, relearning to follow the same mindset as jjw

It really hits me hard if I reach a 9.5 or 10, technical fail on a set of 6 in the big lifts, kinda irritating to having to extend rest with two days because I failed a rep.
(the cost-benefit of that one is abysmal )

Curious about the low fatigue template, might have to check that out.
With slowly getting back into karate to support my daughters training I really have to manage fatigue

Regards
C

[Euby]

Why would you be hitting 9.5 or 10 on any set though unless you are in a leaking phase?