How to Maintain an Active Lifestyle Even After Retirement

By Dane C. Fletcher

Like in all other professions, there comes a time when even the most die hard body builders has to lift the last set of bicep curls, leave the barbell behind and wave goodbye to fellow power lifters. No matter how well the bodybuilder may have lived his or her life, no matter how successful his or her body building career was, no matter how illustrious was the glory and no matter how big and powerful the body builder’s physique is, there is always a time to call it quits.

Retiring from body building is not accompanied by a clear cut check off system. At most, it is a very personalized decision and arises out of several factors. The first indicator that it is time to call it quits is of course age. There is an age that comes and it becomes unhealthy to take daily doses of intensive workouts. The bones become fragile and other body organs like the ears, eyes and teeth develop complications that make body building workouts impossible. This can happen when a bodybuilder is 70 years old or 120 years old. It is not about the number of years but the effects of the years to the physique of a body builder as determined by genetics and physical fitness.

The second factor that goes into determining that the bodybuilder can now retire is body health. A body builder may get injured during his or her body building career and the negative effects of such an injury be compounded with advance of age. The injury may also incapacitate the bodybuilder even in young age and the determining factor is not the age but rather the body’s status of health. Another scenario possible is an incapacitating terminal disease like cancer or any other that wastes the health, strength and agility of a body builder. If a medical condition and or a complication develop in the body of a bodybuilder, he or she usually has to retire from intensive body building so as to enable convalescing, treatment and management of the disease. Again, this is not determined by age or the number of years a body builder has been in the gym.

The third factor is personal decision. A bodybuilder may live a life of disciplined training and workouts until a certain time when he or she decides that enough is enough. Although the other two reasons are viable, acceptable and even well advised, retiring from body building because of a personal decision is not well advised. Body building is all about developing and maintaining a physically fit body and it is supposed to be enjoyed not endured. Unfortunately this is the reason that most professional and armature body builders give for quitting the vocation. The body immediately goes into a retro-drive if sheltered from routine workouts without viable reasons and usually looses out to medical conditions of unfitness.

Whichever reason is quoted by a bodybuilder when retiring, it is important to make the process gradual and not abrupt. The body builder should gradually decrease the workload of training workouts until the body draws back on the challenges previously expected. The frequency can also be reduced gradually until. Even after stopping to lift weights and pump up the muscles, all body builders who have retired are well advised to keep an active lifestyle with simple aerobics and cardios.

Dane Fletcher is the world’s most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals.

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