Well, how about that? I’m officially over the hill, now. After several months of pushing hard and giving it my best, I am unable to gain any increased muscular power by progressive weight training. This is no ordinary plateau. Sometime during the past few months, it quit progressing. This has never happened before. Even as recently as a year ago, I was able to make gains that are no longer possible.
It finally caught up with me in my 68th year.
Of course, it’s hardly a waste of time to lift weights. Rather, the purpose and expectations have changed. Now, the primary objective is to keep the arthritis at bay, preserve the range of motion, and continue burning calories in the kind of workout that emphasizes heart fitness. Not simply aerobics, but I’m pushing hard to improve my recovery. I’m doing more repetitions, but reducing the rest time between events. The goal is to almost collapse by the time I’m done.
I suppose I might be doing at least something right, because my weight is slowly dissolving and more of my musculature is visible. Again, it’s not a waste of time. The weight room still has a place in my life.
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I don’t know how this came up, but more than one person has asked about my IQ. I have no idea, and I don’t think it matters. When I applied myself in school, I always aced everything. I do just fine with STEM stuff, but it’s not my real interest. I do much better with philosophy, the social sciences (history, economics, geography), and of course, biblical studies. I remember the most obscure stuff about the Bible, and have been blessed with the ability to synthesize it all together so that I can perceive the broad sweep of how things happened as they did.
Far more important are the indefinable gifts of the Holy Spirit. There’s no doubt in my mind that what appears to be sharp intellect is more a matter of being driven to excel as a servant of God. His moral truth is far more critical than facts.
And it’s not just knowing, but being able to relate these things to audiences that might lack some of those gifts. What I might understand is of no use if I can’t share it. I have a heavy burden of duty to make sure nobody has any excuse for failing to grasp what God requires of them.
There’s always TRT, which is very effective with even a mild regimen, but I wouldn’t bother unless it can help in your mission overall. I might consider it if you were doing some physical things that could result in injury. Have that extra muscle mass can help avoid things like that.
TRT is a medical treatment, and according to my VA lab work, it isn’t justified. Then again, I have plenty of mass. I’m just trying to keep my metabolism high and avoid the systemic degradation most older people allow to overtake them. The mission is not physical itself, but keeping the physical functioning so the heart, mind and spirit can keep on chugging along until death is unavoidable.