old men don't get low T from age, they get it from fat, compounded stress, accumulated injuries limiting their strength activity
and most of all from just not caring anymore. Many are already sick of life and would welcome death in some forms. There was a famous eel, who was thrown into a well by a Swedish boy, and was cruelly left to spend the next 150 years trapped there. Quality of life is a huge factor.
Me, I expect things to get hard around the age of 110 or so.
Balony...you know nothing about aging (you're obviously not a senior). I'm 64 & a former national class natural bodybuilding champion back in 1980s. After retiring from competition in my 30s, I still remained active over the years working out almost daily (even after getting married & raising kids). Currently, I work out everyday with a 50/50 cardio-weight training split. I also eat a 100% organic whole foods diet with plenty of protein. I've got low BF & decent muscularity for someone my age not on TRT.
However, my test levels have steadily declined over the years - last year's levels were at 480 ng/dL - about half of what they were back in my peak youth years. Other hormones like DHEA & HGH also decline with age. The signaling pathway between the brain & hormone-producing organs diminishes with age-related degenerative changes.
Why do you think so many middle-aged & senior men go on TRT? If working out, eating healthy, reducing stress, lifting weights hard & caring etc, reversed low test levels, there would be no need to use TRT. 😉
Many, or all?
I'll tell you one thing: not merely many, but all seniors I've heard insist their own personal experience applies to everyone. Why is that?
since you copped a "you know nothing" attitude, I'll add that I do know "natural" bodybuilding is the opposite of what it claims to be. So why should I believe your t-level tragedy is "natural" either?
I'm 64, still run 70 miles per week. Feel good and no physical problems but notice a substantial decline in my capabiltities more than I did turning 40 and then 50.
I'm 64, still run 70 miles per week. Feel good and no physical problems but notice a substantial decline in my capabiltities more than I did turning 40 and then 50.
I am finding the 50's tough particularly after 55 (I'm 57) . I still strength train 2-3x per week and run 25 miles a week with a session or two but the body is struggling.
One way to analyze this is to compare racing times of aging men with growing youth. I've compared the world record 400m times by age to get these roughly equivalent ages. 41 = 13 48 = 12 54 = 11 65 = 10 69 = 9 72 = 8 76 = 7 78 = 6 86 = 5
This played true in my family, as my son at 11.5 years became faster than me at 53.9 years. As you can see, there's a big age range for older men who can keep up with 10-yr-old boys until age 65, after which the drop is steep. While this particular analysis is from world records, I've watched this curve be reliable and useful even more generally.
One way to analyze this is to compare racing times of aging men with growing youth. I've compared the world record 400m times by age to get these roughly equivalent ages. 41 = 13 48 = 12 54 = 11 65 = 10 69 = 9 72 = 8 76 = 7 78 = 6 86 = 5
This played true in my family, as my son at 11.5 years became faster than me at 53.9 years. As you can see, there's a big age range for older men who can keep up with 10-yr-old boys until age 65, after which the drop is steep. While this particular analysis is from world records, I've watched this curve be reliable and useful even more generally.
You could just use age-graded performance charts in situations like this. That is a better indicator of your relative change in performance over time. If your times placed you in the top 10% of people in their 40's, but only the top 20% in your 50's, and then 25% in your 60's, you can say that your 50's were your biggest dropoff period.
Balony...you know nothing about aging (you're obviously not a senior). I'm 64 & a former national class natural bodybuilding champion back in 1980s. After retiring from competition in my 30s, I still remained active over the years working out almost daily (even after getting married & raising kids). Currently, I work out everyday with a 50/50 cardio-weight training split. I also eat a 100% organic whole foods diet with plenty of protein. I've got low BF & decent muscularity for someone my age not on TRT.
However, my test levels have steadily declined over the years - last year's levels were at 480 ng/dL - about half of what they were back in my peak youth years. Other hormones like DHEA & HGH also decline with age. The signaling pathway between the brain & hormone-producing organs diminishes with age-related degenerative changes.
Why do you think so many middle-aged & senior men go on TRT? If working out, eating healthy, reducing stress, lifting weights hard & caring etc, reversed low test levels, there would be no need to use TRT. 😉
Many, or all?
I'll tell you one thing: not merely many, but all seniors I've heard insist their own personal experience applies to everyone. Why is that?
since you copped a "you know nothing" attitude, I'll add that I do know "natural" bodybuilding is the opposite of what it claims to be. So why should I believe your t-level tragedy is "natural" either?
I have no idea what point you're trying to make? First of all - how old are you? Because if you're not my age or older (64), it's going to be difficult to discus this logically.
Certainly not all, but many men over 50 are going on TRT. It's a multi-billion dollar Industry. "Low T clinics" are cropping up everywhere. But many guys aren't just bringing up their test levels to what is normal for their age, instead they want peak youth levels.
And yes, declining testosterone & other hormone levels occurs to all aging men. You can look it up the medical literature (about a 1% decline per year after age 30). Now a healthy diet, good sleep & regularly strength training can slow the decline down to maybe a .5% a year but it won't stop it nor reverse it.
And yes back in the 80s there were naturally bodybuilding competitions that were drug tested. I didn't want to go the steroid route & liked training & competing naturally (my dad was a Silver-Era bodybuilder back in 1950s [pre-steroid era] & had an influence on me to compete naturally(
I just hit 69 and realized everything is falling apart. Arthritis has claimed my knees and now is taking my shoulder and elbow. I ran for most of my life, did triathlons and was always very active. Had both knees replaced 10 years ago and nothing is the same. Memory is leaving me and I can just feel things inside me just not working right. Its gotten to the point where I'm thinking what can I start doing to make everything easier on my wife and kids for when I'm gone. Theres just nothing I can do to make it better - it's just getting older, living a good clean life, worked hard as a laborer my whole life and body just breaking down.
One way to analyze this is to compare racing times of aging men with growing youth. I've compared the world record 400m times by age to get these roughly equivalent ages. 41 = 13 48 = 12 54 = 11 65 = 10 69 = 9 72 = 8 76 = 7 78 = 6 86 = 5
This played true in my family, as my son at 11.5 years became faster than me at 53.9 years. As you can see, there's a big age range for older men who can keep up with 10-yr-old boys until age 65, after which the drop is steep. While this particular analysis is from world records, I've watched this curve be reliable and useful even more generally.
Just look at the Masters records. The times are insane until 90. The Mile record at 80 is 5:56. At 85 it's 6:40. At 90 it's 8:31. You're almost never too old to run respectable times.
Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for athletes of over 35 years of age. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. These are the current world records in various five-year...
Circle of life at work. I don't even know if I want to live past 70. Because at some point you're going to be physically and then mentally relegated to doing the most boring things in life. And being a burden on family, etc. Those are truly the darkest times and then depending on your situation with kids, etc, you might be resigned to having to live in an assisted living center but even those cost money and you're not guaranteed to have humane caretakers. Best thing is to grow old in your own home and hope your kids never decide you're so much of a burden they have to put you in a senior home.
At 70 you might still have 20 years of living left if you have genes for long life. 20-years of watching the world change in ways that you cannot fully experience anymore due to physical limitations. I think about how that can be torturous existence. And then that unfortunately frees your mind up for more time to think about something yo'd rather not: death and its inevitability and the afterlife as you know it's closer than ever and that you can count your days.
I know that once I turn 70 I would not want to hear or see anything about funerals but I know I'll probably still have dreams about caskets since the thought of that would weigh on my conscience. But I think I will request cremation in my will.
I turn 65 in July and have been running 50 years. It is hard to distinguish between limitations driven by lifestyle or other time commitments vs. true physical decline. In my early 20's I'd run 2:30 - 2:40 for a marathon. I could only run 3:04 when I hit 40 because I could no longer fit 3 solid training days in one week without getting hurt. When I hit my late 50's my calves and hamstrings could no longer take faster intervals on the track. Max HR and VO2 Max do not automatically decline at the rates of the general population. Your ability to complete a single workout at a race type or hard effort does not go away. What becomes more difficult is recovery between hard efforts and thus our ability to finish a week with track work, temp, and long run
For me was 46. Just suddenly went “soft” could sense a muscle tone shift. Still capable of running well (mid 16 for 5000) but I was sub-16 at 45. Trying to gain it back figure it out but I suddenly lost my abs just noted a shift.
Ive been around long enough to realize a few things. Mostly, it's relative to what you did in your prime years and your personal motivation minus any debilitating or chronic conditions you've developed or had to overcome since.
Considering how long you survive...ie avoid walking out in front of a bus, shark attack, ski off a cliff etc... as an athlete who trained mind and body for many years, mine and others...I havent forgotten what it means to just feel good in a natural way, without drugs.
Active lifestyle, great amout of sleep and a healthy diet to start. Dont avoid seeing a doctor, dentist, counselor etc..when you recognize a change that can lead down a path that reduces quality of life. Also generally be ok with aging and enjoying each phase without depression for what it is and be happy youve made it yhat far while looking forward to the next phase.
Personally, I dont look forward to having someone else wipe my butt if I make it that far so I also have an exit plan. But Im not afraid because I know this world is not my final resting place and thats where so many people get off track and slowly diminish their worldly existence here which is unfortunate. I want to live for many reasons buy when my time here is up, Ive got other places partial wrap to be and things to do when I get there.
It's all relative. "Get busy living or get busy dying".
The age or decade of life when physical capabilities decline most sharply varies among individuals, but for most people, the steepest drop tends to occur in their 60s and beyond. This is typically due to a combination of factors, including reduced muscle mass (sarcopenia), slower metabolism, and decreased bone density, as well as a decline in cardiovascular and respiratory efficiency. However, lifestyle choices play a significant role in the rate and extent of this decline. Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and staying active can help mitigate these effects, allowing individuals to maintain much of their strength and agility well into later life.
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