| I officially retired from weightlifting at age 23. My best marks in lifting at that time were 250 pounds in the snatch and 320 pounds in the clean and jerk. In the years since, I have undergone 12 major muscle or joint operations resulting from injuries sustained in collegiate football, boxing, javelin, skiing, and large animal training. When nearly 51, I snatched 270 pounds. In April 2000, just after my 60th birthday, I did some Olympic lifting, just for fun for an old friend, Dr. Pat O'Shea. Sandra took some pictures for Pat's book, Quantum Strength Fitness II. Dressed in hiking boots, fleece pants, a vest, and road racing cap, I snatched 220 pounds from the thigh 8 times in 10 minutes (see the picture above!). I also power-cleaned from the thigh 308 pounds 8 times, also within 10 minutes. These kinds of repetitions are very tiring! Sandra was strict, "You are not leaving here until you get it right for these pictures." I also like to do sprints on grass, 2-3 times a week. I time myself once a week. The distance is 40 yards, and in the spring of 2000, with my son Shane pushing me, I did my best time since I began recording in the early 1990s. The reason I am still able to progress is that I have never stopped training, in some manner with weights. I may have had only a month or two of complete lay-off in more than 40 years. With continuous training, progress is possible well beyond our "chronological prime." People cite Mark Spitz as proof that age alone impacts performance. At the age of 20, Spitz won 7 Olympic gold medals in swimming. At age 40, he tried again to qualify for an Olympic slot. He came out of retirement and trained very hard. Nonetheless, he failed to win a spot on the team. During the 20 years that elapsed since his phenomenal victories, he hadn't trained at all. The bottom line: you must continue training in your sport to progress. And that is the problem. Who can maintain interest in a sport for that long at that level of intensity? Me, because I am a little odd and because I truly like all aspects of Olympic-style weightlifting. By varying training schedules and routines meaningfully, you can keep progressing. It's important to keep training. Make it challenging enough and fun enough to keep it up. That probably means doing other activities, too, as long as they train the cardiovascular, power, strength, and flexibility systems of the body. There is not enough research to say at what age our ultimate physical health is best. It would require a very large scale study to measure the basic qualities of physical health. The study would take years, lifetimes even, to begin to formulate conclusions about the aging process. Until then, I believe that regular workouts, year after year, with such basic goals as cardiovascular fitness, strength and power, and total body flexibility are something to shoot for. That is meaningful. And still, as Rodney Dangerfield said when asked about his health, "If I take very good care of myself, I will get very sick and die." |
| Page | Contents |
| Home | Back to the beginning |
| Tour the Gym | View the inside of the gym with all its equipment. |
| Information for Prospective Members | A summary of member benefits and why we are different from other gyms! |
| Anatomy of a Program | An explanation of what a program is and how it is developed. |
| Weight Training for Your Lifestyle | The benefits of weight training (athletic training) regardless of your age or condition |
| The World According to Carl | Advice from Carl Miller |
| Our Staff | Meet Carl and Sandra's staff! |
| Miller Weightlifting | Our lifters compete in national and international Olympic-style weightlifting meets. |
| Fun Meets | Weightlifting meets for our members without the pressure of competition. Members can show their skills for fun in a meet atmosphere or tune-up for their next big meet! |
