Iron Cross After 50

[anhisking]

hope ill be such a beast at that age

[pritchardiamark]

@anhisking And still doing it at 54!

Thanks.

[jake0the0muss]

fuckin respect bro! i use to do gymnastics, my brother was incredy close to the commonwealth gammes and i know this is fcuking hard to do! i hope im as fit and strong when im your age..... jake

[pritchardiamark]

@jake0the0muss Thanks for the supportive comment. Sounds like your brother was a stud! When did he try for the Commonwealth Games?

[TheExgymnast]

The straps are about 3 feet long....thus, it's MUCH easier to do a cross (whether its an L-cross or an regular iron cross). Props for the effort (and age!) but it wouldn't be considered a real iron cross by FIG.

[pritchardiamark]

@TheExgymnast Very observant. Physics still rules. Having competed at both the high school and collgiate levels back in the 70s, I do know the difference. I recently had access to FIG rated rings and still was able to do 4 L-Cross pullouts. Not too bad for a guy of 53! Thanks for your review of the video. PLease check out my other one doing 4 pullouts (53-year-old iron cross).

[rollybody]

Looks very good to me, you are great. I am 50 and I have been in weight lifting for many years and now i just started also into gymnastics. I have the rings and try also the iron cross. Pretty hard work. Whats the best exercise to get bigger arms in your opinion, the iron cross or back lever...or something else?

[pritchardiamark]

@rollybody Thanks for your interest. How get bigger arms is really not the question to ask; getting stonger is the key. It takes a combination of exercises. One exercise I like to do are pullups with a grip with hands parallel to the body. It feels like an arm curl and actually is. You get the benfit of the curl and building lat muscles at the same time. Kinda like a two fer one!

Don't forget doing front levers. Strong ABS are key to most every move. Good luck!

[FIRST465]

wow !!

Is L iron cross harder than iron cross ??

[pritchardiamark]

@FIRST465 At my age, any cross is hard to do!  Actually, I find the L-cross a bit easier to do.

Thanks for the kind reply. Keep at it.

Mark

[FIRST465]

@pritchardiamark I can't do any cross :P it's too hard ;) SO, you are very strong ;D

[pritchardiamark]

@FIRST465 D-

Probably a carry-over from my college days........................ov­er 30 years ago. Just like riding a bicycle.

Thanks,

Mark

[pritchardiamark]

@SidneyTurnerMedia D-

It does make me feel pretty good when people assume I'm on steroids when they see the videos.

Thanks for the kind words and let me know your impressions on the four, L-Cross pulls video.

Mark

[SidneyTurnerMedia]

You lied! thats not just an iron cross.....what you did was harder :D (legs out straight)

[pritchardiamark]

@SidneyTurnerMedia What can I say? Guilty! I have another short video "L-Cross at 52-years-old" I did last October. It consists of 4 L-cross pullouts. Some seem to think it is all steroid based. I'm flattered. All I know is maybe its the Centrum Silver.

[CrossfitRJG]

Great Video Keep it up!

Check my page, I just made a PULL UP VIDEO!

[pritchardiamark]

I can assure you and anyone else who thinks along this line of BS that in no way do I take any steroid to be able to do this. And if you want to see an additional video, check out my video from late last year at 52-years of age. I'm just a damn lucky guy to be able to do this. Special thanks to all the others who posted kind words of encouragement.

[yarfbarg1]

@pritchardiamark I dont care how much steriods somone takes... especially at your age. I know plenty of guys youngers and older than you hitting sauce who could only dream of doing that.

[pritchardiamark]

@yarfbarg1 It sure makes me feel good to have such great compliments from people thinking I use steroids at my age (53) to do iron crosses, etc. Maybe taking one of those Centrum Silver vitamin tablets does the trick!

CHECK OUT MY VIDEO DOING 4 L-CROSS PULL-OUTS!!!!

[yarfbarg1]

@pritchardiamark Dont really know if you do them. Just saying, even if you do, its still impressive. Iron Cross is no joke.

[pritchardiamark]

@yarfbarg1 I want to make it perfectly clear that I don't and have never taken steroids. I gues I am blessed with good genes. Sometimes the body never forgets what was once achieved. It then becomes a mental exercise to attain what was once easily done.............even after 30 years! Kinda like riding a bicycle.

[blackjad100]

nice :) 

[5degree]

Very impressive.

[coachgeo]

gymnast don't get old........ they just can't remount in 60seconds :D

[wonphi]

Props Sir for being able to do that. You are only as old (and as injured) as you think you are.

Definitely an inspiration to the younger and older generation to keep going despite of injuries and age.

[pritchardiamark]

@wonphi

Thanks very much for the kind words. To show we can get better with age, I added a video at 52 years of age.

[MrArbitrager]

You are a BEAST!!!

[phyzxman]

I LOVE videos like this. I plan to still be fit as I approach "retirement" age when a lot of people feel that they have an excuse to stop working hard. You're my inspiration! Never quit!

[pritchardiamark]

@phyzxman

Thanks very much. I'm still a bit away from "retirement" but QUIT is not in my vocabulary. Comments like yours keep me motivated.!

[RiverCityPC]

power to you Comrade!

[pritchardiamark]

@RiverCityPC

I appreciate the compliment. Comments like this keep me going! Best to you.

[tylerthepoo]

Wow thats a nice cross man, I saw that u could get hold of rings like the ones in the video. How much do they run?

[hyundaiisthebest]

holy shit man

u are one tank old man

[pritchardiamark]

@hyundaiisthebest

Not tooo old!

[JohnnyVegaz007]

Enable ratings, you are the man!!!!

[Silent13Assassin]

wow thats nice, Im trying to learn it now, hope I still have it when im 50 :)

[pritchardiamark]

@Silent13Assassin

All it takes is staying with it. Thanks.

[BigPashka]

VERY GOOD!!!

[Sportfreakify]

VErry veRRY nice man !!!!

[pritchardiamark]

Thanks veRRY much. Apppreciate it.

[pritchardiamark]

@Sportfreakify

I appreciate it. Keep at it.

[trueaim01]

Dude WTF you need to enable ratings so I can give you 16 stars for being a beast.

[pritchardiamark]

You never know what you in you until you try. The Maltese may be in there somewhere, I'll look. thanks for the comment and time to view the short video.

[hidemysocks]

im 17 and i learned mine 2 years ago but i don't think i'll be able to do it by 50.. nice job

[pritchardiamark]

I had mine at 16. Way to go! Just stay in shape and keep the weight down. Best to you and thanks for the kind words.

[YTBT]

Whether you were in your teens or twenties, the strength it takes to do this move is more than enough to get positive feedback, but at 50,... to me you are INSPIRATIONAL! Guys like yourself kill the notion that you have to sit on the porch and chill in your older age. Great form and strength displayed right here.

[pritchardiamark]

What a wonderful statement. I really do appreciate it very much. Comments like yours and others help keep me motivated as well! We'll have to see what happens in 2010.

[colorblindfool]

wow. i'm less than half your age and i don't think i can do that. lol

[pritchardiamark]

I hope you are, too!

[omxpablo19]

glad it wasnt a gay video with someone doing only a partial cross. good job man.

[pritchardiamark]

I'm glad I wasn 't either. Thanks.

[pritchardiamark]

Thanks for the comment. If your rings turn out to be less than dersirable, I can put you in contact with the source for the rings shown in the video.

[kamikazefighta]

thats pretty animal... makes me wish that there was a set of rings at MY gym so that i could try that out...

[mbradlcu]

wow fantastic!!! seriously. You're strength is amazing but as and "older gentleman" myself, I'm more impressed with how steady you are. Any tips on how you keep your nerves so youthful?

[pritchardiamark]

Thanks very much. Youthful nerves, I wish. I guess the body never completely forgets the early years of conditioning......or injuries!

[bloekendesschaf]

Excellent cross! You are a inspiration!

Thanks for posting.

[pritchardiamark]

I appreciate the nice comment very much.

Are you a (former) gymnast?

Thankyou

[wealthcreator]

Awesome and inspiring! Unlike you, I was merely a wanna-be gymnast in my college years -- too busy partying and fighting. Like you -- I am 51 now -- have been steadily building strength to do the iron cross, L-cross -- close but not like you yet. Maybe by 53, I'll be able to do the inverted cross, Maltese and Victorian crosses. :-) At least I can dream and aspire -- if you can do it, I can do it -- thanks for the inspiration!

[pritchardiamark]

Thanks so much for the warm comments. I hope to be doing it for quite a few more years.

[KevinR305]

my god that is unbelieveable! forget being 51! the fact that its a L seated ironcross is enough

[pritchardiamark]

Thanks. I'm up to 4 pullouts now.

[pritchardiamark]

RyuSujin-

Thanks. If my wife thought of me as a beast, I'd be doing more chores! Not bad for a guy of 51?

Mark

[pritchardiamark]

raa914-

Thanks! I feel pretty good for a guy of 51. Now on to inverted crosses! What's your background?

Mark

[RyuSujin]

That is AWESOME! Glad to see you still have it even after surgery! You're a beast!

[tobymax123]

Wow, awesome. What is this guy's name? I was a gymnast back in the day, just wondering if I would recognize his name.