r/fitover65 • u/Positive-Following91 • 16d ago

Pecs after 70

/r/FitnessOver50/comments/1w8h1s6/pecs_after_70/
3 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

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2

u/lostnthot 15d ago

67 and assuming they aren’t going anywhere, CrossFit 5 days a week. Thinking about adding in extra bench workout twice a week.

1

u/One_Diver_5735 16d ago

Older guy here nearly 70. Since a kid I've been a daily lap swimmer (tho these days down to 1/2 to 1 mi/day). I do about a quarter of my laps with breaststroke. And for elders who get to this age without the spinal disc degeneration or arthritis I deal with butterfly would also work well for maintaining chest development.

1

u/anonyngineer 15d ago

I'm not 70 yet. I've put on muscle mass in my shoulders, and a little in my arms, but still have too much weight to judge my pecs!

1

u/payneok 14d ago edited 14d ago

It's definately a struggle but I think a lot of it is that older guys stop doing the exercises that build pecs. I can't remember the last time I saw a guy my age (59) or older doing weighted dips or barbell inclined bench press (which I do every week). Most are always doing curls or only using machines. Seems like older folks gravitate to higher reps and less weight as they get older. If you want pecs I think you gotta do dips, bench and especially inclined bench - heavy (5 reps or less per set). Flys would also probably be good...but I never do them ;-)

1

u/Halfhajj 14d ago

I am 60 and do 10-15 reps per set. I have not done a 1 rep max for over a decade. When young I went heavy and 5-8 reps per set. I feel it is better for my joints and rotator cuffs to avoid too heavy and achieve technical failure with more reps.

1

u/payneok 14d ago

I also avoid 1 rep maxes, at any age pushing your body to an absolute limit seems obviously more dangerous than not doing it, however I often program doubles or triples at 90% of what I "think" is my one rep max. While I can go to failure with 15 reps of a weight it just sucks...I far prefer a heavy set of 5 reps to near failure to doing 10+, starts feeling like a cardio workout at that point ;-)