Originally Posted by
Classtime
At 66, I thought I was being careful and progressing sensibly with squats, deadlifts, and bench press — 3 sets of 5. But after needing help putting on my socks for a couple weeks, I’m back to my old routine which did not interfere with riding my bike and other normal activities.
5 is not nearly enough when you're starting out. Maybe in your third year of uninterrupted lifing. Start with 20-30 reps. Yeah, I know, the websites say you progress faster with 3-5 reps. Maybe when you're 35 or in your third year of steady lifting. As they say, listen to your body, but the real issue is understanding what it's telling you. I've never done fewer than 10 reps and I've been using weights for . . . 60 years. Only had one injury, did something which was not obviously stupid until I thought about it later. So yeah, it is possible to screw up, just one of the many dangers associated with being alive. I was reversing direction on a lift without waiting an eyeblink in the bottom position before starting back up. That vastly increases the loading on muscles and connective tissue. Don't do that. That said, I do bounce at the bottom of an ATG squat, something to do with tendon elasticity, works fine for me. I saw an Olympic lifter doing that and copied him. Of course I'd been lifting for many years, might not work for you.