Should You Lift Heavy After 40?

A case for going heavy if you’re over 40.

If you’ve been a reader of this blog for any time whatsoever, you’ve noticed I’m a big believer in a more moderate-to-high rep range. This is due in part to several factors.

1. My joints have a few miles on them. I’ve done all sorts of training programs, including heavy-duty style training (low volume, lots of weight for low reps), rest-pause, and other styles requiring heavy loads. Over time, my knees and elbows had a sit-down chat and informed me that they were clocking out for a while.
2. I started to get demotivated over the heavier, low-rep training. I’m progressive-minded and had the illusion that I would either move forward with reps or weight every session. With a lower rep range, this became not only difficult but frustrating when I didn’t make those goals.
3. I simply needed a change. Lifting heavier requires a bit more rest between sets, and supersetting can be rather challenging when I needed it to be effective. Going from a heavy press to a heavy pull was just daunting, to say the least.

So, I adopted a higher rep, moderate weight training protocol. I stuck with the 10 to 20 rep range, moderate sets, and less rest between sets.

To this day, this still works incredibly well. My joints and I have made amends, I’m not as overwhelmed with striving to get that “one more rep” on every set, and I don’t feel as crushed by the weight I’m lifting every week. I can walk out of the gym without a limp.

I have had a few joint scares recently due to the pure increase in frequency of training. I experimented with training everything three times per week.

It didn’t go well.

After only a few short weeks, I found my elbows and knees in pain once again. I wasn’t lifting heavy, my reps were high enough, and I wasn’t performing a ton of volume.

I thought about two things that could have been the culprit:

1. My form started to break down. I found myself hurrying through the workout since I was training one half of the body on one day, and the other half the next day. This was repeated three times each week. Instinctually, I was blasting through the workout without much attention paid to form.
2. Some exercises that place a sheer force on my joints (I’m looking at you, nosebreakers and leg extensions) were simply performed too many times per week. My joints just couldn’t handle the repeated stress week in and week out. They decided to take a vacation.

I returned to my normal split (3 days) and began the rebuilding process to mend my poor joints and get back to regular programming.

Now, after a time (and speaking with my podcast co-host, Mike), I’m reconsidering a lower rep range while practicing impeccable form.

I’m not saying a heavy 4 to 6 range, but more like something along the lines of 8 to 12.

Yes, it doesn’t seem that far off from my usually higher rep 10 to 20 range, but I think a slight bump in weight will provide enough difference.

I’ve experimented with a few movements recently, namely squats and incline chest presses (dumbbell and barbell) and I will say, it’s quite a difference. The extra 10 or so pounds added is definitely felt.

I’m still hashing out the details, and I’ll have updates on my programming soon.

Do you find yourself in the same boat? Comment below!

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