Eric,
You are the exception, not the rule...you know how to take things slowly, work your way up and not over do...most people do not have your self control...most act like 10yr olds at the entrance of Disneyland....they want to do everything, Now. They do not know that building up slowly means month by month incremental increases in weight and not weekly.
I am one of the unfortunate enthusiasts that goes gung-ho and then has to put the breaks on slowly (I am a self admitted workout addict).
I have learned to 'slow' things down a bit but still overdo it.
369, your decision sounds reasonable. You need to be careful...having a pouch for 16yrs does not make you bullit-proof. It makes you more fragile than 10yrs ago. The older you get the more you need to be careful, not less.
Shen's 25lb rule has nothing to do with you in particular but pouchers in general. He knows that most people won't pop their pouches at 25lbs or even 50lbs but 1 in 100 will. (or 1 in 1000, I have no idea what the statistics are). So it is the generality rule that matters. Better safe than sorry.
If you don't warn them, then when the unlucky 1 in 100 pops or prolapses or herniates his pouch or abdomen he screams and yells that no one warned him not to. And he is right. So consider yourself warned....on the other hand, you can in all probability enjoy your sport for years without a burp and then one day find your pouch hanging out your butt for no reason whatsoever. It won't be the 'one time that you lifted too much' but the accumulation of 1000xs that you lifted just a bit too much.
It wears. So be safe and be careful.
Sharon