How Old is too Old in Weightlifting?
I was recently just in Salt Lake City for the Master National weightlifting championships. It was so cool to see all the different ages and type of athletes competing there. While I was there, I thought a lot about the age of these athletes and I started thinking, how old is to old in weightlifting?
I feel like we get asked this question a lot at Garage Strength and I wanted to express my opinion on it. I don’t think anyone should every stop lifting if they can stay healthy and if they love it. While I was out here I saw incredible passion for the sport and it had an amazing feel behind it. I spent a lot of my time with the older crowd as I was one of the youngest there and realized they only did this sports because they loved it. They did not care if they won or lost, and most of them didn't care if they hit a personal best. All they cared about was enjoying their time on the platform and enjoying the opportunity they had to compete and stay healthy.
A lot of lifting individuals think just because they can’t win a meet anymore they need to stop the sport, and it's just not like that. Weightlifting is about competing against yourself and trying to better yourself each and every attempt. That is why weightlifting has no age limit. There is no restriction on how old you have to be to want to better yourself, and there is rules against how long it's supposed to be fun. The minute the sport isn't fun anymore that individual should stop, but if you are 80 years old and love lifting everyday, why stop?
I want everyone who reads this to understand that you do not have to be a superstar to be a weightlifter. It's no different than golf. A lot of golfers go out once a week and just like to participate in the sport because its fun, and that is how weightlifting should be. Have fun, train hard, and don’t worry about being “too old” for this sport.
Check out Earl's 123kg National record snatch!
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