I’m half joking. But as a 30-something who used to be very active, I recognize I’m over the hill and my joints sound like pop rocks
I’m 57 and I started running this year. Overtraining is the biggest issue for me. I’m up to about three miles maybe four times per week, but most of those miles are zone 2 HR, really slow and easy runs. On the weekend I’ll do a tempo run, or intervals, alternately. If I maintain that schedule for more than a month or so I end up a little more sore every time I go running and my time starts to drop. So I have to take most of the week off every four or six weeks. I also take a lot of supplements; creatine, L-carnitine, Beta-Alanine, protein, etc. They help. I feel I can exert myself more since I started taking them. I also take EFAs for joint health, collagen for connective tissue recovery, and sometimes MSM, though evidence on that one is spotty.
I’ll be 55 this week. I just keep doing what I’ve always been doing and accept that cuts and bruises take a little longer to heal. What else should I do, cover myself in bubble wrap?
Military Service. I just don’t have to pay for pain meds and I still get to fall apart over time!
As a Lemming, I walk over cliffs.
I have a balance board at work, and if weather permitting take my dog on a 10 min jog every day… I hate jogging but 10 mins is less than 1% of your day (15 mins is 1% of your day)!
I also do daily stretches.
I have an app called Finch that keeps me accountable by gamifying habits.
Go for a walk (outside) every day. I used to try different posture exercises, running, sprinting interval training, but as you get older, nothing is healthier and easier on your body than just daily walks.
We kinda are walking machines anyway:
Bonus points for mental health if you walk in nature, without any headphones or entertainments.
Also do strength training (you can get hand barbells very cheap if you don’t have a gym close by), starting very light at first, and working up to whatever feels comfortable.
Over the hill at 30? Damn. I’m 49 and have no issues. Stay active walking, biking, hiking, I work an active job also. I live that I stayed in shape as a younger man and it’s worked well as a middle aged man. I plan on staying active for decades.
part of me envys you; my own middle aged body reminds me everyday that i’m middle aged and i curse the american diet & activity levels for it.
You know you can actively change that… You can’t blame American diet and body. Because I am both American and I eat out quite a bit but I make sure to balance it out.
the american diet goes beyond food to include psychological triggers as well as including foods that have been proven to be addicting to some of us. so yes, i’ve changed it several times in the last 30 years; but that addiction keeps making me “fall off the wagon” every time i face diet influencing psychological triggers like layoffs, evictions, deportation, etc.
20 somethings think 30+ is forever away.
It seems like some people here either never trained hard when they were younger or are deluded about their abilities. If you are in better shape in your 40s than your 20s, I applaud your progress but I don’t know of a single life-long athlete in their high 40s that would say they could outrun, outjump, or outpower their mid 20 year old self unless they’re on the juiciest of stacks. There is a reason we don’t have many 40/50 year olds in the vast majority of pro sports.
I would say that I could over power my 20-year-old self. But honestly I know that at this point I have more muscle and greater strength than I did at that point. In between then and now I trained in martial arts I taught for 15 years I didn’t stop doing that till I was in my early 40s. In my early to mid 20s I was definitely the definition of a skinny little guy. I weigh probably 60 lb more than I did back then at very least. And it’s not fat sure some of it is but overall it’s muscle. When I competed I was only about 8 lb lighter than I am now so I haven’t gained that much weight since then. And I definitely wasn’t a professional but I did compete and win at State levels. And even in the 8 to 10 years since I’ve actively trained I still can hold my own with my kids who are in their early twenties and active themselves.
Try not doing any stupid things that’ll harm the body more.
jerking off 3 to 5 times a day keeps the doctor away, especially if you don’t shower afterward
Disc golf. Standing and walking a lot. Keeping a strong back. I have a bulging disc and strong back really helps. Not being crazy overweight.
Sleep is the top priority. Warm-ups and active recovery has become mandatory
My 94yo friend is still going strong. His advice is to keep moving. Even just going for a short walk does more than you realise.
Look after your eyes, ears, and back, and always wear the recommended protective gear. People who say you look stupid using the correct technique or wearing protective gear will either die first, or regret their decision after it’s too late to do anything about it.
Most of all, learn from other peoples mistakes. You don’t have enough time or luck to make them all yourself.
as someone over forty: Have a hearty FUCK YOU, and buckle up snowflake.
As someone over 60: you ain’t seen nothing yet.
there aint no way gramps
Not gramps yet. My kid is just 16.
Beside obvious recommendations from other posts (visit a doctor, do exercise, eat healthy, sleep well etc)…
The truth is - aging is a bitch! It starts probably even before birth and start clearly manifesting itself usually in 30s. So welcome!
And the “best” part is - currently we do not have a medicine to reverse it, so at some point at the age of around 80-90 it will most probably kill you unless something else kills you first, or unless we develop effective cure. I don’t want to be morbid here or spread anxiety. I am writing this to accent the seriousness of aging and the need to tackle it. You can request your government to provide grants to researchers to reverse aging or if you are European propose researchers to apply for already existing grant call from EIC, propose your medical universities to participate in XPRIZE Healthspan, etc.
As you are quite young, if you are generally healthy, the best thing you can do really is doing the basics (as your mom told you) AND ESPECIALLY campaigning for development of aging-reversal therapies! Those are the only hope to be still kicking well in 80s in good health, and beyond.
If you are more interested, there is a community !longevity@mander.xyz and I also recommend the book Ageless by Andrew Steele, which provides great balance between scientific rigor and entertaining approach to public.
Keep moving
