Cutting down in your 50s versus going for it

**HeavyDutyGuy** · 07-04-2012, 05:48 PM

If you're under 40 this thread is probably irrelevant and won't resonate with you, but for anyone who had competed, juiced or just trained with suicidal intensity in the past. If you had ok potential, a lot of strength and drive even while off, but could possibly blow up and do some interesting things if you "upped the dose" or started slamming down a gram or two a day of various goodies. Would you? Not interested in the it will shorten your life/ yeah it could but you lose the worst years. At 52, every year pretty much sucks worse than the one before. 2000 was the peak. Looking at having some fun before the whole shitty thing goes South. Some will get this, some won't, I fully realize.

**Curt James** · 07-04-2012, 07:02 PM

As long as you're not suicidal then why not push the envelope? I'm getting my blood work done -- have the paperwork here beside me -- for cholesterol, free testosterone, and a bunch of other stuff. The doctor's office called about a colonoscopy for me (oh, joy). Hitting 50 in a few weeks and, yes, this is the last hurrah. Life is fleeting and fragile, but that doesn't mean we have to resign ourselves to going out without a bang. :-D

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”
― Hunter S. Thompson

**retwa** · 07-05-2012, 01:46 AM

Do what makes you happy man. Better to go for it and experience the ride if it's something you want to do than to wind up thinking "what if" until you die.

**sassy69** · 07-05-2012, 02:18 AM

I would say if you want to do it, do it now. Not like things are going to get easier as you get older. The body is probably already demonstrating to you that it can't muscle thru stuff like it used to. All the stuff that used to be easier, including juicing, may have harsher effects on your body now. Training "smarter" vs. harder becomes much more important. From my own experience, more consistent warm up & stretching is necessary to even get started on a leg day. I have to be careful of working with all the tendonitis I already have - i.e .the wear & tear is something I have to deal w/ more regularly. Recovery is more important, my metabolism is different than it was 10 yrs ago, etc.

For guys it looks like an interesting new dimension in dealing w/ higher estrogey (lower test) - this is something women have to deal w/ when they are in their prime, but it becomes a deal for the guys that they never had to deal w/ the before. To illustrate, often the guys in the 40+ classes still look amazing. The guys in the 50+ class start to look more watery in the legs. Estrogen baby! So more & different things to deal w/ than what you had to deal w/ in the earlier years, but I don't think its necessary to throw in the towel just yet either , just because of a chronological age.