The pain of getting older

Philly_Q

MtB said:

Sage advice for the youngsters: don't exercise too much when you're young otherwise body parts will wear out quicker. All the guys that used to play regular Sunday morning footy are having their hip and knee joints replaced in their late 50's and early 60's.

Interesting point.  My dad's mobility has declined quite rapidly in the last couple of years and I've been thinking fuck, I should exercise more, I don't want to end up like that (although he is nearly 84).

I suppose what you really want is exercise which maintains muscle and flexibility, but doesn't strain the joints too much.

randella

boogieman said:

My GP reckons we’re not designed to live beyond 40. As he put it, if we were still hunter gatherers, by the time you’re middle aged you’d either be too slow to hunt so starve to death or you’d get eaten or trampled down by what we were hunting. I think he has a point. I’m 64 this year and most of my body parts are slowly getting more and more knackered. 

He’s a cheerful bugger, your GP!

Mine just hands me a script for codeine and shows me the door. I’ve often lamented the lack of personal touch but, on reflection, I’m probably better off without

darthed1981

Philly_Q said:

MtB said:

Sage advice for the youngsters: don't exercise too much when you're young otherwise body parts will wear out quicker. All the guys that used to play regular Sunday morning footy are having their hip and knee joints replaced in their late 50's and early 60's.

Interesting point.  My dad's mobility has declined quite rapidly in the last couple of years and I've been thinking fuck, I should exercise more, I don't want to end up like that (although he is nearly 84).

I suppose what you really want is exercise which maintains muscle and flexibility, but doesn't strain the joints too much.

Interestingly, they did a documentary on this once, forget who hosted it, possibly Hamster.

Anyhow, they went through all the common forms of exercise and the pros and cons, and came to the conclusion that best form is... a nice regular walk.

Best defined as a balance of benefits to health compared with damage to body.

SidNewton

I'll be 48 in a months time and generally feel great. No doubt in better shape than I was 20 years ago, which is just as well as I plan to live until I'm 100 just to spite the government for making me work until I'm 68.

hywelg

Jeez we are a bunch of old fogeys aren't we... I'll collect my OAP next year and I want to be fit to enjoy it. Going to the gym twice a week has helped my heart/lungs but my muscles take days to recover. And I find when i get up out of a chair i've been sitting in always results in aching bones or muscles and they need a stretch to free them off.

I can still lift heavy stuff and am planning a garage extension very soon and intend doing it manually to help keep everything moving, but I know its going to be a struggle especially if I keep spending time sitting relaxing, reading tFB, which is much more tempting than a pick axe and shovel.

Roland

jellyroll said:

I'm 52. 

MtB said:

56 year old here.

boogieman said:

I’m 64 this year 

SidNewton said:

I'll be 48 in a months time 

Philly_Q said:
I'm nearly 54.  

JohnnyPlectrum said:

54 

Youngsters!

scrumhalf

I'm 56 (how did that happen?) and my physical and mental ages vary widely and wildly. I will still run through piles of leaves in the autumn of no-one's watching but people ask me for advice on things that only sensible grown-ups know.

The main thing I've found in recent years is that I care about far fewer things, but I care more about the ones I care about.

gringopig

.

Kilgore

scrumhalf said:

The main thing I've found in recent years is that I care about far fewer things, but I care more about the ones I care about.

Very true. Wiz duly awarded.

boogieman

randella said:

boogieman said:

My GP reckons we’re not designed to live beyond 40. As he put it, if we were still hunter gatherers, by the time you’re middle aged you’d either be too slow to hunt so starve to death or you’d get eaten or trampled down by what we were hunting. I think he has a point. I’m 64 this year and most of my body parts are slowly getting more and more knackered. 

He’s a cheerful bugger, your GP!

Mine just hands me a script for codeine and shows me the door. I’ve often lamented the lack of personal touch but, on reflection, I’m probably better off without

Heh heh, I like to think he’s just a realist. He’s actually the best GP I’ve ever had, he spends a bit of time with you and tries to diagnose the real problem rather than just dishing out pills. 

randella

boogieman said:

randella said:

boogieman said:

My GP reckons we’re not designed to live beyond 40. As he put it, if we were still hunter gatherers, by the time you’re middle aged you’d either be too slow to hunt so starve to death or you’d get eaten or trampled down by what we were hunting. I think he has a point. I’m 64 this year and most of my body parts are slowly getting more and more knackered. 

He’s a cheerful bugger, your GP!

Mine just hands me a script for codeine and shows me the door. I’ve often lamented the lack of personal touch but, on reflection, I’m probably better off without

Heh heh, I like to think he’s just a realist. He’s actually the best GP I’ve ever had, he spends a bit of time with you and tries to diagnose the real problem rather than just dishing out pills. 

Joking aside, it's something I do miss.  My own GP is good and pragmatic, I like him a lot.  Problem is - at my practice at least - with 15 GPs and rapidly counting you've better odds of getting an appointment with Lord Lucan.  At least half of the others are locums, you never see the same one twice.

I did have another good'un a while back - he swapped the pills for a referral and did more to help in ten minutes than the others managed in 18 months.  Typically the next time I requested an appointment with him he'd buggered off, lasted about eight months as far as I can tell.

@thomasross20 - look after your back.  I look back on the days when I cheerfully humped washing machines and Marshalls about the place and wince.

Phil_aka_Pip

randella said:

I look back on the days when I cheerfully humped washing machines and Marshalls about the place and wince.

I bet you never cleaned up afterwards either

scrumhalf

Buy a good mirror.

Things you could wear when you were younger may still fit but you might look like a right nob in them nowadays.

BloodEagle

scrumhalf said:

Buy a good mirror.

Things you could wear when you were younger may still fit but you might look like a right nob in them nowadays.

This applies double for hairstyles - very few men can get away with a fashion-do or any ‘youth subculture’ style beyond about 40 

Fretwired

ICBM said:

I’m 50. I tried to lift a Fender Twin (135W, the heavy one) onto my workbench yesterday... I had to do it in two stages onto a step first so I didn’t hurt myself, and even then it was a real effort. Only a couple of years ago it wouldn’t have been a problem.

Bloody hell .. I'd have thought many people in their 20s would be hard pushed to do that ... :-)

randella

Phil_aka_Pip said:

randella said:

I look back on the days when I cheerfully humped washing machines and Marshalls about the place and wince.

I bet you never cleaned up afterwards either

It was a more innocent time.

HAL9000

My back sounds like internet dial-up when I get up in the morning. ;-(

My main exercise is walking. Try to do a walk of between 5 and 10 miles every week. Friends who do more strenuous exercise often seem to suffer more with muscle and joint problems.

revsorg

thomasross20 said:

What advice would you give somebody in their 30s right now?

Don't die of embarrassment.  Problems peeing, lumpy testicles, problems with your bottom, see the doctor and get them sorted.

ICBM

Fretwired said:

Bloody hell .. I'd have thought many people in their 20s would be hard pushed to do that ... :-)

True! I attribute my relative fitness and strength for my size - I don't quite weigh less than a Twin, but I'm not a big bloke - to doing this sort of thing for a living for the last thirty years .

Dopesick

Well isn't it all sunshine and rainbows in here.