How Many Is Too Many?!

I hadn't seen him at the academy in a while. He trained for several years, but had been gone about as long. 

Handsome guy, middle aged, probably late thirties, maybe mid forties... Possibly older, his face looked younger than his years would lead on to. 

He had the typical dad bod, you know, he hadn't let himself go totally, but, like many folks he struggled to keep those love handles at bay. 

If you don't know the 'secret,' stress, career, family,  and a real life seems to be the enemy of working out and staying in shape.

It's harder than when you were younger. 

So, (let's call him) Hank comes in like a hurricane, hard charging at the academy, not in a delta bravo (douche bag) kinda way, just not really understanding how to train sustainably.  

No matter how many times I say, "Go slow, take it easy....Smooth. Relax a bit..."

The encouragement and advice seemingly falls on deaf ears. In his head, he's moving to the beat of a much younger, more resilient drummer.

The first time he hurt himself is while doing drill too fast (and hard) and he 'tweaks' his shoulder hitting striking pads. 

The second was doing simple warm ups. Going to fast and coming down unnecessarily hard on an exercise.

The final,  before he decided to 'throw in the towel' happened in class while working on a grappling drill.  

I saw him and his partner (who's half his age) rolling hard, doing things not really what we were working on. 

Before I have a chance to say something,  looked over to see him grimace, just before having to sit out for the rest of the session. 

I go over to him to ask him if he's alright, to which he reply's,

"I'm too old for this."

That was a couple years ago now. He never came back for another class.

I remember talking to him shortly after his absence. He was convinced that class was, 'just too difficult." He went on to say that "he wished he was younger." 

Even though there are many folks in class who are a full decade and a half (or more) older than him and thriving. 

Heck, I'm probably 8 or 10 years older than him, maybe more. 

My guess is if he doesn't change the way he approaches his training, he'll find the same problem where ever he goes... Doing whatever he's doing.

Three Strikes & Your Out

For him it was three times...

He hurt himself three times when he came back to class and that was it for him.

Others it's only once getting tweaked or injured and they give up... Figure it's "not worth it."

So, my question to you is...

How many times will it take for YOU to get hurt before you throw in the towel?

How badly do you have to hurt before you figure you're "too old' for this?!

Why Is It...

Maybe a better question is, why is it that some people can train into their 40's, 50's, 60's and beyond and they not only seem to do fine, but they THRIVE!?

...While other people just keeping hurt and injure themselves right out of their training and chance at a safer, healthier, more active life...

Heck...

I'm 51 and going strong.

Many of my students are older than me and rocking it in their late 50's and 60's.

(Our last Krav test had more people in their 40's, 50's and 60's than in their 30's, 20's or teens.)

Jack Hoban, one of my friends and teachers, is still training everyday (now in Hawaii...) He's in his mid 60s.

His teacher Massaki Hatsumi turned 90 in December and was actively training into his late 80s.

My old kung fu teacher, Master Yen Hoa Lee is in his late 80s and still training. 

His top student Rick Powell is in his mid-late 50's still teaching and training. He seems to be getting stronger every day.

Friend of mine, Moshe Katz who runs one of the largest Krav Maga organizations in the world is turning 60 pretty soon and he still travels the world training and teaching!

Don't even get me going on my buddy Lt. Col. (ret) Joe Shusko, who ran 60 miles for his 60th birthday... He was running the MACE - Marine Corps Martial Arts Center of Excellence when he was still in his 60's. 

....And let's not forget the late Bruce Lee's top student Danny Inosanto, now in his mid 80's who still moves like he was in his 20's and is as smooth as butter after a lifetime of training.

Or Helio Gracie, (father of the guy who created the UFC) who was still training well into his 90's! 

I could go on and on...

Why?!

Why is it that some people are able to train as they get older and others aren't able to. 

 

Some folks seem to get more vital as they get older, whereas others just keep getting wrecked and weaker...

Most people are just one or two injuries away from stopping their training!

How many will it be for you?!

How do you Keep Training!? 

Doesn't matter if you train with me or not. (...although I'd love for you to be a part of our training community).

Regardless of what you do, you have to do it SMART!

You have to change and adapt as you get older. 

No, it's not just genetics... 

You have to learn how to train smarter as you get older. 

That goes double if you want to still be able to actually defend yourself against younger, faster, stronger assailants! 

One of the Main Things...

Mindset is key once again!

I know, you're probably sick of hearing me say this...

You have to know where you're at with things (body, age, injuries, limitations, etc)

Your ego isn't your amigo! Get over yourself and go slow, smooth. 

Warm up!  Don't just jump all in.

Take it easy. It's better to do more slow and relaxed reps than it is to go 'at it' full tilt and wreck yourself good, so you can't train for a while. 

Remember training isn't 'real' it's training. Only real is real, so stop approaching things like every move, technique and drill is a life or death situation. 

There is a lot more to discover when it comes to training over 40...

That's why I recently put together a full course to share with you, what I've learned throughout my lifetime of training, coaching and real world experiences in defensive tactics. 

I'm calling it Over Forty 10x. 

In the next few weeks, I'll be doing some zoom workshops to share the basics of this approach to training. 

This mini-course is free, you just have to register, so I can send you the link. 

This workshop will go over how to:

- Train smarter. 

- Save Time w/Shorter, Yet More Effective Workouts. 

- Avoid getting hurt and if you do...

- How to recover faster. 

- How to gain an unfair advantage in the gym and in the street.  

If this sounds at all interesting to you, shoot me an email and I'll get you access to this free training.

kravronin@gmail.com

Have a great day and...

Keep going,

~Craig