Olympic Weightlifting for Masters: Training at 30, 40, 50 & Beyond

by Matt Foreman

25-year weightlifting veteran Matt Foreman takes on the topic of weightlifting for the masters crowd, from brand-new lifters who have discovered the sport later in life, to those who are simply trying to continue the sport past the age of 35. Sections include Addressing Prior Notions of Age in Weightlifting; Physical Assessment, Prior Training, and Injury History; Coaching and Lifting; Programming and Training; Pain Management and Injury Prevention; Resolution and Attitude. The book also includes actual training programs and advice from several successful masters weightlifters.

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 26, 2014

Reviews

[Scott Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. I have been trying to transition to a more age appropriate way of training and i have found this book amazing.
This book is not just informative about all aspects of weightlifting as a master. It is also funny. This book didn’t read as a textbook but read more as a conversation between a funny and well respected mentor. 100% 5⭐️’s

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took up the exquisitely maddening sport of Olympic weightlifting last spring, at the not so tender age of 41. For comparison, most of the people I've met (so far, all men) who are familiar with the sport stopped doing it by the time they were 25. This book was very much needed for older Oly lifters (note that "older" starts at 30 in the title, and the highest age bracket in competition is "35 and up"), who are more prone to injury and can't take the volume of training that younger bodies can. My favorite part was the interviews with lifters of various "older" ages and time spent in the sport. I learned that everyone gets injured at some point or has existing injuries they must work around. The book presents good ideas about determining your optimal training frequency and solid programs for as little as 2 days a week lifting schedules. The mobility warmups are also well thought out. The reason I'm not giving this book a higher rating is that the author takes frequent jabs at his audience about their "advanced" age. One of the messages I took away is "you're too old, do you have any business doing this sport?" He probably meant it as a friendly tease, but I think he took it too far.

[Brent Latimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for an aspiring weightlifter to understand the differences for an older athlete.

It is easy to look at elite lifters and their programs and think I can pull it off with a full-time job, kid and other hobbies. Book provides a wide view of a 30-80 year old lifters and how they manage training volume and peaking for competition.

Only recommend for someone interested in lifting as a master or coaching older athletes.

[cellomerl · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The voice in your head that tells you to quit must be treated with suspicion." -- Ranulph Feinnes

The problem with Olympic Weightlifting is that once you get into it, all other sports start to seem kind of stupid. Matt Foreman writes wonderful chatty articles for Catalyst Athletics (wonderful stuff on YouTube). This opus is a collection of his thoughts on being a serious athlete though a geezer. After the first ten pages of the book, where I was mildly irritated to be repeatedly reminded of how old I am because I'm staring at forty in the rear view mirror, I started to get into the groove of the conversational writing, brothers and sisters. I began to feel the love and support and shared experience and great ideas radiating off the pages. Then I realized that lifting isn't only for babies, and I'm just as badass as Lydia Valentin although with a few more wrinkles and a (much) lower total. It made me want to go downstairs to my basement gym and start pulling PRs for triples, people. I need to get caught up. Happy lifting.

[Jacob Hackl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book seems focused on the beginning weightlifters. The true meat in this book began in the end where it shares how other master (35+) lifters train.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 2.5