getbuff17's picture
getbuff17
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+ 1 Female bodybuilding and aging

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I have been bodybuilding for 6 yrs, since I turned 39. I have made tremendous natural gains because of my hard work and dedication. I have always had a nice figure – been on the slender side with low body fat even before this fitness hobby. I loved the way I looked the first 4 yrs of working out with my determination and rigid routine (I lift heavy weights). Unfortunately, this hobby has aged me – I may have definition of abs and lean muscle mass but my face, neck, and prominent veins in hands has shown the detriments of bodybuilding in just the past 1-2 yrs. I love most aspects of my appearance, but I wish I could turn back time and maybe not work out so much or with such force. My advice is just be mindful and careful of your exercise regimen. While it may not affect every women the same, however, in most circumstances women show signs of aging faster than men and even more so with weightlifting.

ericssacheen's picture

I believe there is a lot to be said about including peptide treatments and collagen as part of any well rounded ladies training cycle because I believe the "againg" game is held against us a little more then the men. Science is slow to work on anti aging routines that aren't either a)purebly cosmetics or b) surgery... but we all know there is far more out there if you aren't afraid to pin and experiment a bit. The peptide game is changing every day and I think we will see some HUGE things with in the next year or so.

getbuff17's picture

yeah, maybe i'll do some research on peptides

getbuff17's picture

I guess I should be flattered to be asked recently where are my sisters (my two young adult daughters, come with me to the gym sometimes). Lol. I think I'm being harder on myself than needs to be, the changes are one's that I only notice. thanks for the info

0newheelup's picture

I find that stress is the biggest factor in the aging process along with genetics imo. Alot of things put stress on the body, working out too much without proper rest, anabolic substances, or just raising children can advance the aging process. U deffinately seem to be already on top of this process. Much respect to u and ur commitment to being fabulous.

0newheelup's picture

I saw that, What a punk kid! Arnold just turned around and blew it off. Hes a true terminator.. lol..

I feel normal training is great and doesnt age (if anything makes u younger). But some people take it to that next level. when ur stressing ur body over prolonged periods to achieve advanced goals by overworking and extreme dieting, I feel it takes a toll on ur aging process especially w performance enhancers are being used. And again that is just my opinion because I look at Arnold and hes pretty good looking for his age.. no homo.. lol

press1's picture

I absolutely dread the day of not being able to train anymore or gains being so minimal its not even worth it, Arnold and Sly still look fairly okay body wise for their age but you just know its down to Very superior genetics mainly as they still have the massive natural rib cage look going on Lol

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press1's picture

Oh yeh especially Sly - that and a tonne of plastic surgery Lol Although Sly has that permenantly surprised eyebrow look going on now doesn't he ...

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Ozninjaguy's picture

I have always had a nice figure – been on the slender side with low body fat even before this fitness hobby.

For me, this is the crux of the matter. Being slender or thin means that you have very little subcutaneous fat to help 'plump' out your skin and avoid those age lines that develop as we get older. Combine this with genetics,as other people have pointed out, and it's a recipe for looking older than our chronological age.

My personal experience is that having a fit looking body makes a person appear to be much younger than their age. Regular exercise with healthy eating habits will keep skin and taut more youthful looking even in the absence of SQ fat.

You are 45 and without being disrespectful, age is just taking its natural toll - I wouldn't be blaming exercising for it, unless you have been doing strict dieting and using compounds that will strip the fat from your body, including your face.

getbuff17's picture

that has a lot to do with it I'm sure - little subcutaneous fat. I guess I should be happy that I do get told I look younger than what I am but we are all our worst critics.

Ozninjaguy's picture

Yes..we are our worst critics but that can work as a positive to keep us motivated to achieve...I regularly get told that I look younger than my age - it's a wonderful motivator when I am feeling my age and feel like giving it all away. Keep training - I'm sure that you are being a little too self-critical. Good luck.

dextetherdog's picture

It could be just an age factor really, not necessarily the BB. I do agree though that competitive BB may cause some harm to the health in general considering the amount of stress you put your body through. However if BB is just a hobby, I consider it rather healthy activity.

press1's picture

Its definately the more competitive side to it that is way more dangerous to health than just generally taking gear and training to compete with and improve yourself. There was a programme on a few nights ago where a very fit young lad got more into it as time went on, ended up taking a load of Clen and went to bed and died of a heart attack in his sleep. Its always when guys start getting into that side of it all that the fatalities seem to occur.

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Dr.BroScience's picture

Blaming training for "aging"? Things that make you go hmmmmmmmm

chunkypbnj's picture

I call total bullshit. Weight training never made anyone appears older in appearance

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getbuff17's picture

yeah, ok

getbuff17's picture

There are in fact topics on how bodybuilding can age a female more so because of factors of dieting, straining while lifting, etc. This can take a toll in the face/neck areas. Luckily, I still get told I look like I'm in my mid 30's but it's me who notices the differences.

kodiakGRRL's picture

I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about? I still pass for mid 30s if not younger and I am definitely not younger. I have been a competitive athlete since high school, started serious weight training when I was 18... how you age has a lot to do with genetics and how you take care of yourself over your lifespan ... body building or no if you don't age well you don't age well.

IrishMack's picture

Not true, I work in the same building as several fitness models that are over 40 and still workout and they do not look like wrinkled prunes. They take care of themselves, I see on their desks lotions, creams, and all the other shit women use. One woman had 4 kids and her abs look great. Its all about how you take or took care of yourself. Now if you were one of those bodybuilder type females that had to be bigger than everyone,, then yes you will not age well lol.

helloBrooklyn's picture

I’m seeing people suggesting growth hormone usage, which is kind of surprising, given the usual nature of this board. Not judging at all, don’t get me wrong, I’m just surprised. I would expect that on getbig or evo, but definitely not on eroids of all places

Occam’s Razor. The simplest explanation is oftentimes the correct one. The most likely answer to the riddle is simply that the correlation isn’t matching the causation. You started training very hard when you were 39 years old. Who’s to say that, if anything, training isn’t actually stymying the aging process to a degree? That is, who’s to say that had you not started training hard at 39 that the aging would have been more pronounced to this point? It could just be coincidental that you started training at an age where you in particular would have started to show visual signs of aging over the course of the next 6 years anyway. Without turning back the clock 6 years and seeing how things would have panned out had you not started this endeavor, it’s imposible to say for sure if the correlation implies causation at all.

kodiakGRRL's picture

seriously .. just throw a compound at it.. or peptide in this case I m sure it will fix everything ..

press1's picture

It all depends on which is the most important to you - are you more bothered about how old you look or how much healthier you are and better you mentally feel. Looks vs. Inner happiness

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addicted.to.pain's picture

A wise statement dude. That's a question we should all ask ourselves.

press1's picture

Some days when you are feeling rough on the gear sides and you see everyone else looking fine on a naturally functioning, healthy endocrine system you do ask yourself is it really worth it don't you mate.

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Sam I Am's picture

Truth is heavier people look younger in the face.
It fills there face out more.
Just get some botox, use a good skin care line and enjoy your nice body.
Personally I'm all for face lifts or any kind of plastic surgery.

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herpjunkie111's picture

I read on article the other day, here on eroids I believe, that linked accelerated aging to high carb intake. As lifters, crossfitters, etc. we really have to up our carb intake to do what we do. And I agree, I think it does age us more, I've noticed that about myself and other dedicated lifters - we do have a weathered look to us.

My wife doesn't lift but she exercises. She's 43 and looks much younger running 2iu/day hgh. Have you tried an anti-aging dose of hgh to see if that helps?

IrishMack's picture

False. I am 47 years old and have a massive love affair with carbs. My coworker said to me, Youre the same age as me right? I said how old are you? She said 30.
My wife is a vegetarian not vegan and she eats more carbs than I see myself eat. she still looks 21 and she is 33. Aging process is hereditary and based on your environment. High stress and shitty diet will age you faster than any loaf of bread will do.

press1's picture

x2 High Stress levels definately age you, in fact its being around stressful and dramatic people that I find the worst. Alcholics & pill poppers are the worst for it...

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herpjunkie111's picture

22-25 year old single females in my office stress me the most. And not for the reason you're probably thinking, lol, they're just drama queens from hell and constantly stir crap up just because they can or because they're bored or whatever. Idk.

kodiakGRRL's picture

Yes ... right on the money Mack ... genetics and environment ... leave my bread alone dammit.

IrishMack's picture

Take my eyes, take a finger, don't touch my godamn bread. Funny enough I put myself on low carbs this week, and my carb cheats were fresh italian bread and peasant bread lol. You grow up with it you cant stop it.

kodiakGRRL's picture

I haven't had a piece of bread in .... weeks ..lol. But I m doing a nice slow cut so I pulled bread off the table for the time being. I can always make it fit my macros but there are other things I want to eat so .... no bread for a while ... watch I ll end up eating sub or something this week ...lol

herpjunkie111's picture

Subway steak and pepperjack cheese on that new jalapeno bread with spinach, bell pepper, onions and southwest sauce. If you're gonna cheat do it right.

kodiakGRRL's picture

it won't be a cheat I ll make it fit into the macros I ll just have to eat extra veges that day instead of other carbs
I have been known to make a stack of pancakes fit .;

herpjunkie111's picture

I've never been big on pancakes but eggo waffles are a different story. Pour a little maple syrup and melted kerrygold butter on top and tear that up, lol.

herpjunkie111's picture

Makes a lot of sense, I'm not going to pretend I know everything, here to learn more than anything else. That study with the 3 rats and varying degrees of carbs and how it impacted, or seemed to impact, lifespan did shake me up a bit. Of course I still had 100 grams of carbs preworkout this morning and another 100 right after along with 3 poached eggs and 6oz of leftover filet mignon from last night though, lol.

There's definitely no denying how much of a role stress plays on the body though, that's for sure. I've spent a lot of time lately, due to my job being very high stress by nature, trying to incorporate a more correct thought process in my life to basically just not let life stress me out. It's working, but it's a process.

IrishMack's picture

In that same study they also fed 3 rats 6 meals a day and another 3 only once. The three rats fed once a day lived several years longer than the ones eating several times. They fed both study groups the same balanced diets obviously with the exception of the ones they starved. The ones that lived longer were also healthier. They need to seriously stop testing on mice and rats, we do not share the same genetics or dna.
I watched stress age people. I work with these 2 guys that seriously look like they are 60+ abnd they are younger than me. They constantly stress at work and home and eat fast food all the time. I seriously tell them everyday they need to rethink their life choices and just like a fat addict they say "just one more cheeseburger and I'll stop."

herpjunkie111's picture

I see that a lot at work too. I get comments about my physique but they're not very nice, yet they come from desk jockeys that have no physical aspect to their life and it's very obvious. So i get snide comments about how I must spend too much time in the gym and obviously have no life. Not true, I'm living the exact life I want to live now. So if I make suggestions to others about diet I get demonized, I'm the office pariah. That's ok though. I'm 43 and pass for much younger yet there are guys my age that look like they're in their 60's and 25 year olds that look older than me. I eat zero fast food unless I have no choice and it's very rare. We all make our choices.

kodiakGRRL's picture

idiots ...

0newheelup's picture

Same at my work also. I cringe at lunch time listening about all their health problems while shoveling burgers and summer sausages down their throats by the pounds. I used to try to help them but I'm just a joke to them. They bring in donuts and tell me it's ok to eat "they're all natural".. I'll eat one or two to drown the hurt.. The struggle is real... lol

herpjunkie111's picture

Lol, yeah donuts are a sore subject for me, I catch a lot of grief bc I want eat them.

There's one girl at work that bakes ALOT. Constantly brings cupcakes, cookies, etc. Shortly after she started working there she went desk to desk offering everyone cupcakes. I very politely declined. She pressed. I politely declined some more. She kept pressing, aggressively. She told me there were starving kids in Africa that would die for one of her cupcakes. I told her she should FedEx them gd cupcakes to those starving children then and leave me tf alone, lol. Not my finest moment for sure. She doesn't bother me now though...

0newheelup's picture

Lmao... GD cupcakes!!!!

kodiakGRRL's picture

herp .. try Yoga or if you need a more manly name try mobility ... teach yourself how to breathe

herpjunkie111's picture

Lol, yes GRRL, "mobility" it is. Nah, don't care what it's called, if it helps we can call it whatever. I actually have thought about that.