think this is veeery individual. but 32? no that is not correct. dont have any spesific science to back this up, but.. yeah.. there are to many pro atletes over this age for this to be true.
hmm.. was gonna find some strong old dude`s profile here but i found this dude:) Chris Archer -57.. is`nt this taking repeating to a new level..heh.. and how can you flash a repeat?
ye well.. im 27, and if anybody tells me i cant gain power after 32 i`ll prove them wrong.
I started climbing at the age of 30 and I consider I'm still getting stronger and gaining power at 40. Eventually everybody will stop developing but it (hopefully) might happen quite late in life.
the point is that power is best to be done in the younger age. when you start working on it at 18-20 after correct training you can get to a level what will be imposible to reach if you start at age 30. but of course you cen get stronger and stronger in the older age but you will never be able to reach a level what in potential was your personal top (- if you will start work on it us a youngster....)
Knowing that the answer depends on the individual, I need to say this:
Ofcause you can improve your power even at a much older age!
I personally started climbing at the age of 25. This is 30 years ago, and I have steadily (but, OK, slowly) improved my power ever since. I am currently climbing harder than ever, and know for a fact that I can easily improve if I just put more time and structure into my training (and climb more outside). Just now job and family obligations prevents that, unfortunately.
I am aiming for my first 8a as a 60 years birthdaypresent to myself! So keep on pulling HARD!
Michael Hjorth / CPH
I would guess that have you been training for 20 years, than you will not gain any power after 33 years of age, as you say. However, power is just a small part of climbing and the reason why we keep improving is that we can improve the tactical and technical skill as long as we want.
Scientific facts:
Muscular growth through Hyprtrophia (each muscle cell growing thicker) can occur att any age but is seriously impared after around 55 much due to the then rapid decline in anabolic hormones and growth hormone. Hyper plasia (growth of muscularmass through cell division- much more effective) will not easily occur after exciting teenage. Muscular mass seems to peak around 35 but a person that start hard muscular training even after that age will still be able to acheive significant hypertrophia. The nerv to muscle connection - is a major factor in real strenght -it is trainable well up into the 80ties (Dr J Lexell trained 60-80 year old people that in 2 times 30 minutes strengt training per week doubled the strenght in 6 months). If taking anabolic and growth hormones (dangerous cheating) muscular growth is in theory possible at any age. That said the specific and highly teqnique related strenght used in climbing can proably be improved well into the 50ties due to neuromuscular adaption. Marilyn Ottey (Jamaican 200m sprinter) delivered world class results well into her 40ties which proves that the rapid degeneration of fast twitch muscle fibers that start to occur allready in the early 30ties can be compensated neuromusularly.
remember that what most often limits an acent in terms of strenght is not maximal grip power but grip endurance - capacity to grip hard over a longer period of time - most likely best related to ability to wash out lactic acid (pump) from the muscles- this ability is maintainable even longer.
In short there is hope-keep climbing hard
Bjรถrn Alber
Sports Physiologist, sport medicine MDr
Although that age is possibly the climax if not a little earlier on how effeciently one may grow more muscle mass or whether he or she may grow any more at all, there are still some examples of people who have pushed pass this consideration. Possibly one of the most referenced examples would have to be Frederic Nicole. Fred, also referred to as "The Father of the Rocklands" has been on the new frontier of hard bouldering for quite some time now. Now about 38 years of age, he is still getting stronger everyday, even at that difficulty. Personally, I believe that one is capable of gaining more muscle mass up until the age of about 50-60 years old, but you must be careful not to injure yourself while training. Possibly take vitamins and make sure you take plenty of rest days and eat 50-120 grams of protein depending on your training regime. If your body is hurting, listen to it. Hope it helped. -Connor
Is it possible to gain power after a certain age?