60 is the new 40? Training Regimen for Old Farts

[wiesiek]

spending more time for keepin` the flexibility + breathing and meditation , /yogataiji-fu/
is the clue, from my two years to 60 perspective,
also
sword training, looks like good change from "pumping irons"

[aamc]

You with your CMA masters....

I give you Grace Jones: 66!

[kenneth fish]

My regimen:
Every Morning: Muscle Changing Classic or Cotton Boxing exercise
Every day: Stretching and kicking: 100 on each leg of eyebrow height kick, cross kick (gua er tui), inside crescent, outside crescent, front toe thrust kick, externally rotated stomp kick (chest height)
Horse stance holding weights, cat stance holding weights, bow stance held isometrically. Dragonfly posture. Then stepping drills.
Walk - average of 3 miles a day (thank you fitbit)
Alternating days: Indian clubs, sledgehammer exercises, squats (at least 10 reps bar only for form), overhead press standing, pullbacks (like a deadlift but in a 3/4 height squat/high horse stance, pulling the bar back to work the lats), kettle bells, stairstep machine
Springing legs 1-12, tongbei or Xingyi drills. Rotating series of Shaolin Jibeng Gong.

The above is spread out over 90 minutes of my day (I put in about an hour in the gym, some is done upon arising and some in my office during my mid-day break).

[I am...]

Movement that uses the legs and mingmen/lower back as engine for the movement, as men age (can't speak for women) the lower back tends to become less mobile and more achey, and the breath and movement tend to carry upwards into the upper torso and shoulders.
Regular meditation/quiet practice that allows the body to empty, relax, and release tension and habitual patterns of carrying itself as well as for the wonderful benefits in perception and day to day attitude adjustment
Running, or some similar activity that works the heart and lungs but does not require more impact than you can personally tolerate, my father swears by his bike and puts 50+ miles on average per day on it.
Standing on one leg as John said. My Hung Gar Sifu put heavy emphasis on developing and keeping this ability as one ages to prevent falls and improve quality of life.
Eat what your body does well with

[Michael Babin]

Training 90-120 minutes a day five days a week with students and colleagues.

Walking regularly, lifting relatively light free-weights regularly and stretching.

Doing taiji forms five days a week, doing bagua forms three times a week. Taking a day off every week.

Trying to develop a sense of humour about being 62 and the reality of diminished abilities. I have also been doing more-and-more sword work in recent years as my ability to engage physically lessens because of age, an artificial hip and a retina that has detached in the past. An old guy with a sword can still be a dangerous opponent [for duelling anyway, not so much in a shield wall].

Getting old isn't for the faint-of-heart.

[johnwang]

Standing on one leg ...

Instead of just standing on one leg, you can train stretching and kicking such as kenneth fish has described:

- eyebrow height kick,
- cross kick (gua er tui),
- inside crescent,
- outside crescent,
- front toe thrust kick,
- externally rotated stomp kick (chest height),

you can also train the leg skills such as

- 踢Forward kick (TI),
- 撮Scooping kick (CUO),
- 粘Sticking kick (ZHAN),
- 彈Spring (TAN),
- ...

This way, you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone and get "single leg balance" and "leg skill" at the same time. Instead of doing just "static ZZ", your "dynamic ZZ (leg skill)" may give you better return for your training time investment.

[dspyrido]

Seriously though, the thing that amazes me in China, particularly the north, is how these masters drink and smoke so much, eat super greasy salty food all the time, live in hardcore pollution, and yet are still amazingly healthy.

Is it partly mental attitude?

I agree - why is that?

I have three theories:
1. They do die but due the population size statistically there will just be more of them
2. Sure alchohol, smokes, environment can kill you but more likely the west has something else - stress or other lifestyle habits?
3. There is something they do in their training that is being missed in the west - chi gung idk?

[dspyrido]

Morris is an inspiration, but I can't think of too many others like him in MMA.

That's because guys in mma aren't training like he's training.

And I'm talking about healthy movement as well as fighting ability.

Recommending mma guys for health is like recommending health tai chi level practitioners for mma. For the aged guys in mma (ie those really really old 40 something year olds) things just don't seem to be faring well for them. Steve might be the 0.1% but I cant think of one mma guy who I believe will fare well into the 90s. The ones in the 50s that I know who are coaches are more than capable of messing up younger lads but you can see their bodies are paying for it.

[yeniseri]

Schedule:
1. 3 miles/day , 5x week for job for the past 2 years. Prior to that 2 miles/day for 1 years in the Big Sandbox at 8000ft above sea level. over 110 degree daytime summer and 25-35 degrees in winter and that was a warm winter. Minus 10 days 5x on R&R in Dubai and Kuwait and Turkey.
2. TKD kicks 100-200 2-3x week
3. Sun Salutation type routine with lots of squatting. Standing squats.
4. Cleaning the house 3-4 days/week.
5. Varaitions of changquan 3-5x/week

[Ben Fisher]

Kenneth Fish, are your squats regular or front squats? I have been playing with the front squat to improve the femoral/ace tabular glide and am really liking it.

[Ian]

Morris is an inspiration, but I can't think of too many others like him in MMA.

That's because guys in mma aren't training like he's training.

And I'm talking about healthy movement as well as fighting ability.

Recommending mma guys for health is like recommending health tai chi level practitioners for mma. For the aged guys in mma (ie those really really old 40 something year olds) things just don't seem to be faring well for them. Steve might be the 0.1% but I cant think of one mma guy who I believe will fare well into the 90s. The ones in the 50s that I know who are coaches are more than capable of messing up younger lads but you can see their bodies are paying for it.

I didn't recommend mma guys.

I said Steve moves better than mma guys, and he trains differently than mma guys.

No offense, but you didn't read carefully.

[chenyaolong]

Seriously though, the thing that amazes me in China, particularly the north, is how these masters drink and smoke so much, eat super greasy salty food all the time, live in hardcore pollution, and yet are still amazingly healthy.

Is it partly mental attitude?

I agree - why is that?

I have three theories:
1. They do die but due the population size statistically there will just be more of them
2. Sure alchohol, smokes, environment can kill you but more likely the west has something else - stress or other lifestyle habits?
3. There is something they do in their training that is being missed in the west - chi gung idk?

Stress is just a big... if not bigger... problem in Asia, where the society is so competitive, and status and displays of wealth mean everything. Top that off with shit to non-existent welfare systems, and corruption and bribery common practice in most workplaces

[kenneth fish]

I do my barbell squats as part of a compound movement - squat, grab bar, bring it to my chest, stand to an overhead press, bring it down to my shoulders, squat down, then up to an overhead press, then bring the bar to my chest (zercher squat position but with the forearms parallel to the ground) , squat down, come up, then bring the weight to the floor slowly (I never drop weights - I think that is asinine, rude, and you miss the benefit of the negative part of the lift).

[bartekb]

The older I get the more I try to train with younger guys, right now Im the oldest guy in my sparring/bjj class. Im 37. Theres one more guy that is in the same club and follows similar logic - hes 63 - the coach sometimes jokes that we both total 100 years old:)
Im actually thinking about adding some heavy lifting / barbell to my training. My general observation is the older you get the more you need to train to compensate for your decline.

[dspyrido]

I said Steve moves better than mma guys, and he trains differently than mma guys.
No offense, but you didn't read carefully.

None taken thanks for clarifying.

Even though steve sometimes likes to fling mud at TMA & is loud about doing mma he probably owes a decent part of his aged ability to his TMAs heritage (or genetics or a ruthless view on training). Sure he is inquisitive and insightful which has led him to move differently to mma but it's unlikely from mma. MMA in the sense of the sports application is a terrible practice for longevity. Hell fun but very damaging especially when practiced with intensity.

But you seem to know steve - what would he recommend?