Your body at 30 years old v 25 y/o

[MikeS]

I'm 40 and the only really significant difference from just a few years ago are joint problems when lifting - primarily elbows, shoulders and more rarely knees.
Shoulder impingement for months (more or less over that but still occasionally shoulder pain in either shoulder), elbows popping and snapping and cracking loudly from something as light as standard push-ups - also have more or less severe elbow and wrist pain (including but not limited to a trapped ulnar nerve for a while) that comes and goes.
I used to be able to lift heavy in the gym for two decades with just light warm-ups (which in hindsight might be what has caused some of these later issues) but the last almost two years I've completely dropped my gym membership and switched to calisthenics, heavy duty elastic bands (from Bodylastics) and still dumbbells for some exercises. All of it with a lot of focus on and changes to hand positions and angles to minimize direct heavy load on elbows and shoulders in problematic positions.
I still think it's possible to improve these joint issues though as they are most likely more from muscle imbalances than actual joint problems - some of the small surrounding muscles not keeping up well enough anymore perhaps without further strengthening.

Other than that I'm slightly leaner than I was through most of my 20s and 30s - and on track with my diet to lose the remaining 3-4 kgs to get down to around 10-12% body fat, no obvious drop in muscle mass that I've noticed (I've never been "jacked", just athletic), core strength has never been better, recovery time still seems good, rarely feel tired and cardio health is better than it has been at many times throughout my life.

 

[Razor Beast]

I'd say late 20's vs 20/21 is more noticeable than 25. Longer to recover from injuries, need slightly more recovery time from workouts, don't get as good of a pump in gym, can't push yourself quite as hard with overall workout volume, overall strength level doesn't seem to be affected by age at this point.

 

[Sooth]

Like others have said I think any change in the age range 25-30 is mostly dependent on lifestyle.

I'm right in that bracket and and am losing weight that has hung around for years. This is because of a change in job (more enjoyable work) and change in eating habits (probably from not being depressed and binge eating).

 

[Sooth]

I have noticed though that my eyesight is not as sharp long distance as it used to be. Probably due to the amount of time I spend at a computer and looking at smart phones... Not sure what to do about that yet. I'm definitely conscious of things like this now I'm "getting on a bit".

 

[Nascimento]

There was a guy at my gym in Canada who is in his early 50's. He could pass for 40 give or take and he's in phenomenal shape. Plus he more than keeps up with basketball, although I've noticed a dip in his endurance over the past couple of years.

If guys in their 40's and 50's can look good, there's no reason why you shouldn't reach your peak potential in your 30's.

 

[fortysix]

I'm 29.

I'll say this much - when I was 23 - 24, I was hitting the gym five days a week. It wasn't unheard of to hit squats heavy one day, then heavy bench / chest the next, and then heavy deadlifts the day after that. Then a 4-5 mile run. No problemo.

Yesterday I did a set of deadlifts, and today I'm yawning and tired as fuck all day, and its Sunday. My nose sniffling. Its like this all the time after a good workout (even though the day-of the workout, im on cloud 9).

My lifts are stronger than ever, but it seems that the time it takes for me to recover has at least doubled. However, part of the reason maybe that when I was in my early twenties, although I worked out a lot, I wasn't nearly as strong as I am now. Maybe because I throw so much more weight around today, my CNS just gets more taxed, and I need more recovery time, although all-in-all my actual hours in the gym have fallen significantly.

One other thing - when I was in my early twenties I kept getting injured every other week - a slipped disk, a f***ed up shoulder, twisting my ankle walking up the stairs (mind you I wasn't some snail - I was an athlete in high school and throughout college). These days, the worst injury I get is my wrist getting strained from moving my mouse at work. My body has toughened-up, it seems.

Anyway, the TLDR version: I'm about 2x stronger, but my recover time is 2x longer.

 

[Steelex]

At 22 I could work construction 14 hours a day and then go train, then go hunt some ass.

At 27 that ain't happening.

 

[scorpion]

It's well-known that professional athletes tend to peak around age 27. That tends to be the age where you have the best balance between experience/skill and physical performance. But speaking purely in regards to physical ability, you start going downhill before then. Even by 24-25 your recovery won't be what it was when you were 18-20. There's a marked decline by the early 30's, and by the mid-30's vanishingly few athletes will still be capable of performing anywhere near their peak level. You can stretch this out a little in strength sports, (especially with today's chemical enhancements), but even then you don't see many guys competing well past their early 40's.

As you get older managing recovery becomes key. If you want to be able to maintain moderate-to-high intensity workouts you really need to be dialed in with your training plan, diet, supplements and sleep. Injury prevention needs to become the number one goal ahead of performance. With the knowledge and resources we have available today, there's no reason that most men shouldn't be able to stay active, strong and vigorous even into their 70's (look at Stallone, for example, he's unreal). But if you want to stay in the game long-term you've really got to accept the fact that your body is constantly getting older and that your training must adapt as a consequence. The reason a lot of guys get injured 30+ is because their egos attempt to outlift their aging bodies. They don't want to accept the fact that they aren't as strong as they used to be and can't train the way they used to train. But that's the reality. It's a bitter pill for sure, but it beats the alternative: being dead or injured/disabled/unable to work out at all.

You've got to train smarter as you get older. Become the crafty veteran. You don't have the same physical resources so you've got to make up the deficit through wisdom and experience. There's a reason you can't spit without hitting a fit guy in his 20's but a fit guy in his 40's is a rare sight. And the reason is because by the time the average guy hits 40 not only has his life become considerably more complicated by marriage, career and children, but he's likely sustained a few nagging injuries along the way and hasn't taken the best care of his body. At that point men are facing such an uphill battle that most will just give up and resign themselves to being fat and out of shape, a shell of their former selves. But it doesn't have to be that way. It's much easier to maintain one's fitness than it is to reverse a decade of unhealthy living and bad habits. Accept the fact that you're aging and train smart (aka slower, lighter, and less frequent the older you get) in response, be disciplined with your diet and living habits and above all avoid injury. These are the keys to staying in the game long term.

 

[fortysix]

Well said ^ !

 

[JayD]

Work hard and train hard for years and you will have good physical condition up to our 40s and beyond ala The Rock with "additional supplements". He looks the best he has ever been and is about 45 years old.

 

[RichieP]

I want to stay "Jason Statham" level. He is 50 now. I think that is definitely sustainable:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlWn8Z7mhwg

Super lean and athletic with enough muscle to look good. But not so inflated beyond his natural size that it's an uphill battle to keep the muscle mass. I think alot of guys get injured/burned out from lifting simply because they are spending too much time lifting monstrous weights. The human body was not meant to be squashed under 2x+ bodyweight barbells every few days for 30 years.

I think if you can be cool with a lower - but still good - level of mass, you can keep going longer and save your joints and spine unnecessary punishment. And rely more on BW exercises like pullups that stretch the spine out, vs squats/DLs/rows that compress it or put torque on it.

I also just want to stay super FIT, with HIIT etc (but low-impact exercises). I feel like that sets you apart massively (especially in bed).

 

[Suits]

For me, there was a big change between 25 and 30. This is me at 25. Note that I've modified the photo to protect my identity.

Shortly after my 28th birthday, I realized that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life being a loser. I wanted women to want me and men to want to be me.

I was tired of having to make excuses for my failure at life. I knew that I needed to make big changes. While my biggest problem was that I was a broke college student double majoring in gender studies and art history with a minor in feminist literature, I decided to bite off just one chunk at a time. I needed to change who I was first...physically.

I started hitting the gym. First, I could only walk on the treadmill. Couldn't even run on the damn think. It was shameful. Every female in the gym (even the ugly ones) would always somehow be on the opposite side of the gym from where I was. I was a disgrace.

But as the months went by, I went from walking on the treadmill, to jogging and then after more time had passed, I finally reached the point where I could do 1 minute flat out sprints.

Same went for benching. At first I could only bench the bar itself. But then I added 5LB weights to each end and gradually worked my way up to benching 2000LB. That was a big moment of pride for me!

Anyway, I put in the work and I transformed myself physically. Here's a photo of me at 30.

Now that I've become a Greek statue, my next plan is to succeed in business. Sure, it won't be easy, but I've got a plan. In September, I'll be relocating to Thailand and I plan to get into ecommerce, helping to connect dealers of hard to find items to eager buyers. I've even already registered TheBetaPlace.com.

I just want all of you guys out there who are disappointing in who they are to know that you can be anything you want in life. You just need to put in the work.

#fuckya #YOLO

 

[Elster]

Suits, don't forget to use a Hotmail address in your auto replier bots.


As for me, between 25 and 29 I had a downward spiral with brief periods of leaning only to be destroyed again by my not very healthy bumming lifestyle.
It took meeting a very special bird to look at myself in the mirror and get back on track. Last year at age 30 I stopped drinking alcohol which coupld with a fanatical dedication to my training, diet and rest, within a year I recovered and surpassed what was Probably my peak performance of age 22.
Nowadays I can't pull all nighters any more and lack of rest is very noticeable.

 

[hooked_on_tonics]

Suits, that transformation is insane.

Thanks for sharing

 

[Suits]

Suits, that transformation is insane.

Thanks man. Here's a recent photo of myself at 31.

As you can see, the gains have continued. I've also hit 3% body-fat.

Swimming 10 km a day has been a big help.

Would post more about my workout regiment and diet system, but I gotta go.

The tide is going out, so I need to strike while the iron is hot and sail away. I'll be back online in three weeks after I've crossed the Pacific Ocean.

 

[aeroektar]

Unbelievable transformation congrats, your pecs look weird and fucked though, losing attraction points, here you go https://www.rooshvforum.com/thread-63875.html

 

[Steelex]

Suits is a beast

 

[miggyme1]

i just turned 30 and i havent noticed any difference. my pops told me he didnt start slowing down or noticing a change until he hit 45 (pretty fit for his age of 60 now). Everybody is different but i would like to believe that 30 is still fairly too young to notice any changes.

 

[n0000]

Guys are still gaining muscle through their 30s and even 40s. There are some legends like Jack Lalanne who are beasts well in to their 80s!

 

[Corollary]

I have a similar experience fortysix: I'm much stronger but take longer to recover. When I think of it that way, I'm not sure if it's because my age or my increased strength.

I don't feel like my potential is lower though. In fact, my goals are higher today than they were when I was younger. It helps that I see few guys older than me making good progress.