AboutPatrick Ward Expertise I am available to answer questions on exercise and program design, nutrition, sports performance training, youth strength training program design, weightloss, soft tissue therapy, sports massage, mobility/flexibility, pain and injury.
Experience I have over 6 years in the industry of personal training, rehabilitation and sports performance. I also am a sports massage/soft tissue therapist.
Organizations National Strength and Conditioning Association
American Massage Therapy Association
American College of Sports Medicine
Publications Local publications in the Phoenix area as well as several websites on health and fitness.
Speaker/lecturer at events (NSCA - AZ State Clinic, USA Volleyball - AZ Region) on the topic of developing strength and conditioning programs for youth athletes
Education/Credentials MS Exercise Science
NSCA-Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
NASM- Perfomance Enhancement Specialist
NASM- Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Active Release Techniques - Upper Extremity
Past/Present Clients Everything from professional athletes to soccer moms.
I'm 64 and have read deadlifts may be unwise for a person my age due to the high risk of injury. I've noticed, for example, my shoulders strain easier than when I was younger and could bench press with impunity, and haven't benched in awhile because of a shoulder strain; thus I wonder if the back, like the shoulders, could be more susceptible to harm in an older person. I don't want to risk serious back injury, but I like the functional strength deadlifting gives me. Would I be wiser to forgo deadlifting at my age, do them only with a weightlifting belt, or do deads just with dumbbells?
Also, I'm curious if I should work out twice a week to give my older body more recovery time rather than three times a week. I read somewhere that many older bodybuilders work their muscles once a week because they need much more recovery time. I'm no bodybuilder but being older I wondered if an older person could make better gains with more recovery time than the conventional three times a week.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Answer The problem isn't one of deadlifting or bench pressing and you being 64. The problem is more centered around "what qualifies YOU to perform those lifts."
That comes back to your overall limitations and abilities, which need to be assessed by a competent trainer. They can then determine if those lifts are good for you (or maybe those lifts aren't good for you RIGHT NOW, IE you need to correct somethings first, or maybe those lifts are good for you never).
You have to have a requisite amount of movement (mobility and stability) to safely perform these exercises. That is something that needs to be evaluated and worked on.
As far as training frequency goes. I tell people that 2x's a week of lifting is the minimum. Three times is usually good for most people. What you need to do is ensure that the program is (a) balanced and (b) accounts for volume, so that you don't blow yourself out of the water in one training session and then you can't train for the next 10-days. A safe bet is to push something (upper body), pull something (upper body) and do something for your legs (lower body). Then do some cardio, cool down and go home.
