Better Than Ever at 44

Jamie Chaos

October 23, 2020

Before you ask, I have only weighed myself twice in the last year. I was 226 maybe six months ago and am now between 197 and 205, depending on the day. I can run a 7 minute mile, strict pressed 275 out of the rack without having touched a barbell press in months the other day, and am in Xl and XXL shirts with a smaller waist than I had when I was competing in powerlifting, though I can front squat 500 to depth beltless pretty much on a whim. And I racked 600 without even looking at the bar weight high as shit a couple of weeks ago as soon as I walked into the gym, because I was going to curl in the squat rack and the bar was in my way. There are all of the metrics I can provide.

I turned 44 two weeks ago, and in spite of the middle part of the last decade being a dumpster fire in my life, I look good. Real good. And I will finally have a respectable bench in 2021, after discovering that all of my muscle was packed under eternally locked muscle knots radiating out from under my solar plexus was the reason I could never arch. As in, I could not physically arch, which no one ever believed. Well, that weird problem pulled my torso totally upright and sheathed everything from my abs through my forearms in rad little knots that kept shit from tearing because it was so out of place (too bad I didn’t discover this before tearing my bicep).

I am happy to report I can now arch and lay back in a standing press, and once I pulled apart my shoulders and arms I discovers my shoulders are so rad they look nearly tumorous. And my arms aren’t half bad either, even with the torn one on display. As to the knotting issue, I am not a licensed massage therapist and don’t recommend any of you do trigger point therapy on yourselves for six months- you might want to see a professional for that- but I will eventually cover it in a later installment, because I even discovered an extra two abs in all of that.

That smirk is some fake it till you make it shit, because I’ve been so embarrassed of the state of my right arm since I started unknotting myself that half the time I wanted to wear a burka. It went from just looking like a slab off off-color arm with no vascularity or definition into a puffy red monstrosity, then a bruised and sickly looking mess, then progressively less gross. This was maybe two weeks ago, and you can see I had none of the definition I have now.

I didn’t document it because frankly I still don’t think anyone will believe this shit- until last week I’d been off gear for a month (didn’t appear I needed it, really, and I was broke as fuck) and before that I was only running 200mg a week of test (again, broke as fuck), but even at my biggest doses I never really ran much more than a gram or a gram. Anyway, it was fucking ugly the entire time and I really didn’t want pics of my looking that horrible- most of the time my abs and arms looked like I was a leper who’d been hit by a car or two. Hell, this is just a couple of weeks ago, and you can see how swollen and gnarly my arm looks mid-release (and that release has taken at least 90 days).

What looks like weird vascularity is actually the skin pulling in weird directions all over that bicep. The tricep didn’t suffer as much, but you can see it’s fused to my brachialis and over my brachialis to my bicep. Like I said, it was fucking *weird*. Well, it is either that or I am just willing myself into being a super-saiyan using chaos magic.

Anyway, the point of this brief snapshot of my life is half to brag and half to remind you that although you might not see it in the mirror today, you’re banking gains every time you hit the gym.

YOU ARE, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, A WORK IN PROGRESS.

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Jamie Chaos

I am a former all-time, all federation world record holder in raw powerlifting at 181lbs, a record I broke just to say fuck you to the internet’s “lifting” community and the powerlifting community at large. Over the last ten years I’ve written over 500 articles on strength training, nutrition, and supplementation, and continue to do so simply to fight the tide of weakness and sadness that currently pervades the scene I’ve called home for the better part of three decades. I’ve got personal trainin certs, BodyPump and BodyCombat certs, a BA in History and East Asian Studies from the University of Arizona, and MBAs from the Vienna University and University of South Carolina on my side, in addition to some sick lifts and a hell of a lot of rage. What the fuck have you got?

35 responses to “Better Than Ever at 44”

Viva Steve!

October 23, 2020

Good stuff. I am 5’7″, a month ago I ate myself up to 206lbs which is horrible for me nowadays, but I was training a shed load and we were in full lockdown. Yesterday I weighed in 196lbs after a 7k run. I am 54 and am in great shape. I am not as focussed on strength as I was at your age, I have three irons in the fire more or less, weights, running and bike. It can vary, I was heavily into boxing training but Corona kicked me back to the more or less solitary path.
At one point, aged about 40 I got up to 237lbs and though I was gaining strength I was deluding myself, I was a fat fuck with a 40″ waist and good for little bar static strength. We are not forklifts, we are human beings, regardless of what this dumbfuck society would impose on us. Hopefully decades of training beckon.
1. Jamie Chaos
  
  October 24, 2020
  
  It’s definitely nice to be lean again. I don’t really give too much of a shit about the cardio aspect, but I don’t like being embarrassed by any sort of physical performance, so I figured I might as well get my shit together. Plus, it’s so fucking easy to be in good shape there is really no reason not to be. I’d just gotten lazy and stopped trying to be better than everyone at everything all the time.
Trinity

October 23, 2020

All impressive numbers. I, too, was at my strongest in my early 40s and I started weight training as a teenager. Didn’t Hatfield squat a 1,000lbs when he was 44-45? Might be something to be said about people peaking in strength in their early to mid 40s IF they have been training for a couple of decades. Hmm, while your weights are impressive, I guess with your build, a 7 minute mile isn’t bad, not outstanding to not bad either. The 500lb front squat is damn good. What’s up with your elbows though, dude? They have a Chris Dickerson look to them?
1. hurtin’ 4 a squirtin
  
  October 23, 2020
  
  THE ELBOW-IEST ELBOWS. RESPECT IT.
2. Jamie Chaos
  
  October 24, 2020
  
  Insofar as I know there’s nothing one can do about the shape of their elbows. I’m not even sure what your question is, haha.
  
  The point of the thing wasn’t to suggest I’m some sort of a super athlete- I am just stronger than I was when I broke the world record in the total and can actually run a mile now, hahaha.
Trinity

October 23, 2020

Saw an article about an arm wrestler named Norm Devio, the article was made when Devio was only 75 and still competing. I then saw a video of this guy a couple of years later on YT where it claimed he was 77. The guy was “pulling” against a much younger opponent but did lose but what the hell. Apparently this guy is a LEGEND in the sport of arm wrestling. Will have to research this guy a little, maybe you could do an article on the sport of arm wrestling and Mr. Devio?
Carey

October 23, 2020

It would be great to hear more about the unknotting you’ve been working on. I’m 41 and my entire life I’ve been extremely inflexible. While I have never fully committed long term to doing daily flexibility work, I have had bouts where I focus on it, and always make little progress which reverts quickly when I don’t stretch for a couple days.

I recently picked up a copy of ‘Becoming A Supple Leopard’ by Kelly Starrett, and I’m really wondering if I’ve been doing it wrong all along – I’m hoping that doing the mobility/trigger point work, I might finally start to make real progress. I really hope so, my IT’s are so tight that they ache/tingle and this has been going on for years.

Congrats on your progress!
1. Jamie Chaos
  
  October 24, 2020
  
  Thanks! I’ve actually nevr read that book- everything I know about massge is either self-taught or learned from my dad’s old physical therapist- he had a laryngectomy when I was in 7th grade, so she taught me how to give a proper neck massage. I’ll do an article on it when I get a min- at the moment I am finishing a senior thesis in math for a neighbor and trying to get the podcast popping all while writing those endless movie reviews (which I now regret, haha).
lulu

October 24, 2020

How’d you get rid of your muscle knots?
1. Jamie Chaos
  
  October 25, 2020
  
  Just digging into trigger points over and over for day after day.
Aiden

October 25, 2020

You have a very atypical muscle structure jamie, that’s for sure… as though your tendons and muscles are super dried out… Keto for so long? … or magnesium deficiency running in the family?

Good results bro looking sole, juicy and tight hahaha
1. Jamie Chaos
  
  October 25, 2020
  
  I genuinely have no idea. This obsession with my joints is entirely new to me. I was totally unaware of their uniqueness, and I don’t have any joint pain, so I’m not clear on your diagnosis. Can you guys expand beyond a fascination with the overall appearance of my elbows? I stopped eating keto in 2015, so it’s definitely not that. And I have nothing against eating keto- I just like eating food like a normal human being , and I have no need to push my bodyfat set point lower than it is.
Trinity

October 25, 2020

Nick’s Strength And Power on YouTube at a video on pointy elbows titled, “What Is Bodybuilder’s Elbow” if I am not mistaken. The video described it as being caused by inflammation and a build up of fluid i.e., bursitis that is a result of years of pressing heavy weights, and repetitive motion, etc. It shows how bad Ronnie Coleman’s elbows have become, Flex Wheeler was another one, and of course, Chris Dickerson. According to the video this condition has nothing to do with steroid use.
T.s

October 25, 2020

I’ve had the same elbows since before I even lifted. My dad also has the same thing. No elbow problems at all. I think it’s just genetics. No big deal.
1. Jamie Chaos
  
  October 26, 2020
  
  Well Tom, I finally looked up Chris Dickerson and those guys really need to stop watching Youtube in the hopes they’re absorbing facts. This is how we end up with Flat Earthers and “bodybuilder elbows.”
  
  What I and Chris Dickerson have is not a medical condition- it’s just different lengths of muscle insertions and tendon lengths. I genuinely have no fucking idea how that became some anti-vaxxer shit, but if Gen Z can be trusted to do one thing other than produce jail bait with a serious hardon for “silver foxes” it’s that they will hold the silliest shit near and dear to their heart as truth.
  
  Guys, this is the same shit as short calves with black people- I just have long tendons and short insertions in my arms. What’s weird is that 20 years ago this just resulted in a conversation about whether short muscle bellies were stronger or weaker than long ones, and the benefits of short bellies for high peaks on your bis. Now I am apparently a deformed cripple, hahaha. Just one who outlifts pretty much everyone all the time. Not bad for the castoff in 300, I suppose.
Viva Steve!

October 26, 2020

Main thing I worried about, recurrently, after late forties was knees. I was always thinking, man, this training shit is gonna cripple me. I would advise against such caution. Everybody has bad knees, it’s called being adult with knees.
Same as all the deload schemes and the like. Do you need to dial back the training, an easy week? Sure, it can help, but unless there is specific reason, unless your performance is actually going backwards, it is probably just a waste of time.
Overtraining? Well I recently watched a telly documentary with Samuel L Jackson. Apparently slaves in Brazil were worked 18 HOURS A DAY SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. They averaged eight years of that. So yeah, it eventually likely killed them, but really, under two hours a day if your lifestyle is overwise pretty easy is likely doable. One thing I noticed with age, and don’t get me wrong, it probably only apples to consistent trainers and there is going to be a cutoff at some point, is the amount of punishment I could take only went up. when I first started squatting about 18 it literally made me ill. I must have been desperate to keep it up because it was bad. Now what makes me feel under the weather is a day off.
Trinity

October 26, 2020

Tell Ronnie Coleman that there isn’t a limit to what kind of pounding the human body can take. Overtraining does exist and whether it is running 100 miles a week or blasting 600-800lb deadlift and squat sessions on the regular for years, it will take a toll on your body. More than likely you won’t feel the abuse until you hit your 50s but you will, believe that. Ask any serious lifter that lifted for years and is now in their 50s and 60s, very few even still lift, and those that do have issues that they deal with. And if Chris Dickerson’s elbows are genetic, damn if I see anyone else with elbows like that. Would have to check out what Dickerson looked like before he took to lifting and the drugs because those elbows, man.
Trinity

October 26, 2020

Do a search for olecranon bursitis. Case closed.
John

October 26, 2020

Happy Birthday! My strength peaked in my mid 40’s, my speed peaked in my late 20’s and my flexibility peaked when I was a new born. I’m now in my 60’s and am just trying to maintain. The upside is, I’ve maintained a youthful appearance partly through genetics but also through consistent physical work. Keep at it..
1. Jamie Chaos
  
  October 28, 2020
  
  That’s awesome to hear, man! If Grimek could do it, so can we all!
Viva Steve!

October 26, 2020

Not sure if you were replying to me re overtraining but if you read what I wrote I did not say it is not real, just that likely you can get away with a lot. Aside from stims, I don’t use PEDs and I think that naturals are going to have a harder time crossing the overtraining Rubicon, hitting those huge numbers etc. I was not being absolutist abut the matter.
However I think your “case closed” remark was absolutist, if you read for example http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=396395.25 you will see people are making the case for HGH. I simply do not know. I always thought Platz had strange jaw shape because of it (or roids), so why not elbows?

Also Jamie on Cardio – sure you don’t need to do much cardio. I suggest that you put a minimum of 15 minutes on your cardio session as this has aerobic benefits and fat burning benefits. I have done long periods where I started the workout with an easy mile then a hard mile for a warm up.
1. Jamie Chaos
  
  October 28, 2020
  
  I’ve been doing light sled pushes a lot recently. It’s why I’m so lean.
  
  And back to the joint thing, as I understand it most if mot all bodybuilders in the 90s were hooked on Nubain, and they probably fried the shit out of their joints ignoring accumulating injuries because they were whacked off their faces on opiates.
Viva Steve!

October 26, 2020

I think Ronnie could have done a very low volume routine with emphasis on recovery, almost Mentzeresque and if he handled those poundages, still have destroyed himself.
Landon Brock

October 28, 2020

Damn dude. Thats sounds horrible. Glad you got it figured out. Can’t wait to see that bench get as badass as the rest of your lifts.
1. Jamie Chaos
  
  October 28, 2020
  
  Exactly my thoughts!
Mike

October 28, 2020

“I was going to curl in the squat rack”

“I can run a seven minute mile.”

Who are you and what have you done with Jamie?
1. Jamie Chaos
  
  October 29, 2020
  
  😀 😀 I don’t think I was actually going to curl in the squat rack. That bit was hyperbole. That’s not to say I’ve never done it though, hahaha. I just prefer to use cables over barbells.
  
  The running thing was just a byproduct of doing GPP at work. Turns out I missed doing GPP and being in shape. Also, since I can breathe now, cardio is much less unpleasant.
  
  The most important part, though- is that relentless self improvement usually leads to improving shit you thought was just fine as is.
Viva Steve!

October 29, 2020

I’d say ” relentless self improvement ” trumps sort specialisation every time for all but the tip top elite, and then it is still debatable. But likely there are ways to do both.
When I was younger I had a long run at pl comp spanning years. I don’t think the bodyweight I ha then often over 220lbs was sustainable over the longer term, it was simply a brief exploration of my upper end strength.
~Now I have to agree with Rip, strength is force production. But beyond the strictly scientific, I think many of instinctively know that longevity is an indication of superiority. It is better to live long than short. Life is its own reason. Today I was told a friend of mine from schooldays mid fifties has been diagnosed has having less than a month to live due to a large brain tumor. I cannot imagine there is much he would not give for those stolen decades. “Only the strong will survive” may not be strictly scientific nor follow Rip’s definition, but I think you see my point here.
1. Mike
  
  November 1, 2020
  
  No, I don’t see any point to your incoherent ramblings. It’s not about how long you live, but what you do with the time you’re given. Greatness is rarely achieved by accident. If your friend had the foresight to specialize his efforts, he could have achieved something great and been satisfied with his time on Earth. Instead, he is left begging for more time because he has done nothing. But even if he were cured tomorrow, he would just squander the next thirty years like you are going to, either afraid to go all in or too stupid to know when the time comes. Longevity means nothing. Legacy means everything. I award you no points and may god have mercy on your soul.
Viva Steve!

November 2, 2020

Greatness, legacy….the narrative of aspiration and social mobility which in reality is a closed door for the majority. Or are you going to come out with some crap about being part of the elite, looking down on the working class at the bottom of the pile whose only hope lies in unity? Fuck the great, fuck the elite, fuck the ruling class, we don’t need them and their fake superiority.
1. Mike
  
  November 2, 2020
  
  Last post you were rambling on about “relentless self improvement,” but now you’re spilling tears in your soy mocha latte like some nihilistic Taylor Swift because, gosh darn it, life just isn’t fair. Well, which is it going to be, Cupcake? Perhaps I’m completely wrong and option number three is correct: you truly are so pathetic that the best you can strive for is absolute mediocrity. This option holds some merit. After all, the whole “Rage Against the Machine” routine at 50+ years of age does come of pretty sophomoric and you did state that purely existing is your goal, so maybe you are terribly wretched to a degree I was not previously aware. Plus, it doesn’t help that by your own admission, I am likely in a station of life well above you. Regardless, rub both of those brain cells together, and articulate a coherent response, peon.
Viva Steve!

November 4, 2020

Some good points. I think you needlessly employ a macho tone “cupcake”. (I assume that the soya reference is some sort of sexual barb) I do not see self improvement and “greatness and legacy” as being the same. I can pursue my goals and how I compare to others is not my concern. I brush my teeth twice a day, I have no thought for greatness or legacy, it is something that i think improves my life. Similarly I lift and condition. As you mention, I am 54 and with every passing year, health and longevity becomes the greater priority. I have no desire to become wealthier than I am, I put a higher premium on being free from wage labour. Free time is my goal. I have a great interest in revolutionary politics and spend a great deal of time pursuing it. My output is under a nom de plume and apart from my immediate family and political contacts, I am an unknown, a nobody. I am not sure why you think that revolutionary politics is the reserve of the young. Your concluding remarks I am not sure of, are you saying you are economically better off than me? Well, you and many others. As I say, I have achieved a level of economic security I am “happy” with, I do not want to spend my life pursuing financial goals. I would rather have a couple of hours training, reading, writing, socialising, I still work, part time. To the extent I can I try to shape life to my terms. To the extent I can. I just wrote this touching on topics of social mobility and the like. Perhaps you can read and critique if you enjoy such debate. https://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2020-11-02/education-and-the-class-divide
Viva Steve!

November 6, 2020

Jamie, or anyone, what is your opinion on the concept of “the culture war” which seems to be a USA “thing” and not a phrase one hears for example, here in the UK.
Rant

November 11, 2020

What a weird looking manlet you are! And have you stopped taking steroids? Why aren’t you muscular?
Viva Steve!

November 16, 2020

He is all talk. He needs to study his anarchism. When it comes down to it, he knows the bodybuilding deathcult is just another capitalist moneyspinning load of shit. Stay healthy. Anarchist greetings.