Welcome back to our open thread. Let’s get started.

Professor Twain:

Kap, thanks for the open forum. I’m 60 years old, have been lifting weights for 20 years. I’ve had a knee surgery, doc wants me to avoid too much strain on the knees. For the last 10 years my goal has been maintenance. I do circuit training, mainly dumbbells for upper body, pyramiding between 12 and 6-8 reps, and going with leg press, extensions, and hamstring curls light enough I can do 20 reps. Usually 3sets for everything. I push myself hard but I’m careful about safety and have avoided going heavy with fewer reps. I’ve been intrigued by your writing about 5 X 5 training. Any experience with guys my age going heavier for lower reps, and whether it would put me at risk for injury? Thanks.

PT,

I’d suggest starting extremely light (just the bar) and slowly building up over time. Your body will guide the speed at which you progress and let you know when you’re strong enough to add weight. “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

Stan:

What is your opinion on baseball travel clubs? I have heard a lot of pro’s and cons

Stan,

I’m a fan of any baseball that encourages kids to compete in an environment where development of boys and girls is prioritized first, baseball players second. The cultures of travel baseball teams are highly variable. There are some who focus on making cash and some who focus on making strong men and women. If the latter is the aim, I’m all in.

Kelebek:

Did you use writing as tool to manage stress or communicate when you were a player? You have openly discussed how much you write (as do I) and I was just wondering if it was also helpful to you back in the day.

Kelebek,

I did not use writing as a player to manage stress the way I do now. Frankly, I wish I would have. Today, as you know, writing is meditative. In this moment, it’s 6:30am, the sun is coming up, and I hear two sounds, waves crashing and my fingers hitting keys. There is a calming impact to my process. The release would have been helpful for me as a player. Thanks for the thoughtful question.

Michael:

I’m curious how you get your workouts in while traveling. Are you able to stick to the 5×5 or do you make adjustments for the time being.

Michael,

Thanks for stopping by. I stick to some variation of the 5×5 when I’m the road. However, I find myself regularly needing to adjust. For example, on a recent trip, I absorbed a gym with a single, outdoor rack. It was raining, and the tools I needed to squat were not accessible. They had a smith machine, but I despise them, so that was an easy no. Instead, I performed lunges. 5 sets, 5 reps, heavy dumbbells. As you know through following the blog, resourcefulness is a huge element of weight training.

The floor is yours.