Defo not at all fit and not likely to change much, I'm 59 in a few weeks and to be honest it's all too much like hard work. My sister on the other hand took up triathlon a couple of years ago after getting over the big C and at the age of 55 has just been accepted for the aquathon world championships in Denmark later this year. She clearly is doing enough exercise for both of us so I can take it easy.
Ex Bootneck here too. I'm 42 this year and I'm happy with 3 miles in 21 minutes in boots, cross country. 14 good pull-ups and 60 push ups. If I can keep that going up to 50 years old I'll be happy. I surf 4-5 times a week so that keep me fit and works wonders for flexibility. My main tip for guys over 40 is never miss a day training, even if its a light jog or just a few sets of upper body. As I've got older, taking any time off training sets me back so much more than when in my 20's or 30's.
Cheers Dave. I'm most proud of the fact I dont even own a pair of running shoes... I run in a pair of Scarpa's I used on selection over ten years ago. Ah the memories. Haha It's tough getting old for ex miltary guys because we were once defined by our physical abilities above all else and unfortunately age, will of course, beat us all eventually.
Hahahah... That is gold! To be honest lads... It never really mattered if Bootneck's were the best looking because we all 'went ugly early' anyway and the birds in most Bootneck hangouts were absolutely 'gopping' - Royal Marines slang for hideous
Moderation and not too much 'impact' sport/fitness work when it catches up me thinks. 51 and reasonably fit. Gym twice a week. 2 miles running machine, then weights but keep rests between to absolute minimum for cardio advantage. Walk to shops and back a few times a week, only 3 mile round trip, we have big hills here! In better weather a little bit running but a long time since I ran more than 6 miles. Used to do Taekwondo, but broken, bruised ribs and back spasms put paid to that. Its very easy to overdo things though, Burst a blood vessel in knee a few years back doing leg press, uncomfortable rather than painful. But knee can feel bit odd with popped veins etc. Super fit folk with high impact sports are always at risk of buggered knee joints imo. Just last year I spent a lot of money on physiotherapy for shoulder and neck pain, in part due to thinking I was indestructible when younger. For me its a case of keeping some muscle tone and heart/lungs in decent shape. Cant stay young forever.
Reading this I think that it is really time to exercise a bit more lol, also a fair few ex army personnel by the sound of it, I was for five years in the Dutch Army, and as some of you might have had the joy to see us in action, the Dutch Army has not exactly the same level of discipline as the British lol, on the fitness theme, when you start struggling with injuries at 40+ your in trouble, it takes so much longer to recover( if ever), so don’t over do it with loading extra weight onto your joints, much better to keep it light and do a few miles more!
I still don’t know exactly what went wrong despite finally being granted a scan and seeing a specialist. I probably should have got a second opinion as the first one fobbed me off pretty effectively. I still toy with the idea of getting a recommended knee specialist to look at it, but it’s tolerable now as long as I don’t overdo it, but there is a definite weakness there and I would think that is permanent now. I imagine all the time your core muscle strength is good throughout your body then hopefully no joints will get targeted, it’s learning how to spot those early warning signs like you had with your elbow. One final point on bursitis - what ever you do, do not lance it. This is an absolute last resort as if you think it was bad before it will be absolute hell afterwards as it often just keeps re-filling with fluid due to the agitation.
I watched a Christmas lecture on TV once and the professor on there said, all mammals have approximately the same number of heart beats, from a shrew to an elephant, and that shrews die before elephants because they use their heartbeats up at a faster rate, draw your own conclusion. And research done by Dr Michael Mosely, suggest HIT is a better form of training than long periods of exercise as the results last longer ? Personally with two shagged knees (waiting for new ones) knackered back and arthritis, despite all the squash, (had to pack in 2yrs ago) training, swimming, skiing and so on, I've come to the conclusion that if it's in your genes you can carry on but if it's not your fecked. So now at 65 I've decided, I'm not going to be the fittest corpse in the grave yard
It was twenty years ago now that I ended up in the med centre but it did give me intermittent grief for a while and swell up every so often for seemingly silly reasons. By coincidence I found this picture yesterday. This was probably ten years ago after having no issues for many years and after having the tiniest of knocks :
Wish I did more, 54 next month. Never been big into exercise apart from taking the dog in the park twice a day, I try and do walking to the shops etc but that’s about it. I eat well, no packet rubbish, fairly slim. Alcohol is a slight concern but compared to some it’s minor, glass or 2 of wine a night. I’ve suffered with heel pain for 12 months which is haglunds deformity, no real cure apparently, it’s becomming debilitating tbh and really starting to piss me off. My eyes or sore, lost even more hair.......the list goes on. Don’t like getting old but need to sort something out, perhaps cycling again and another dog as the old girl can’t walk far these days.
Was very fit in years gone bye, did rowing as main sport to a decent standard. Did this till mid twenties, then preferred to party. I would say a certain level of fitness remained for 10 years, but then the waist started increasing!! Now 55, I try to walk for local shops etc, love walking and for the past couple of years have been doing keep fit and boxing. However now have a trapped nerve in my neck, so no exercise for ages, and the loss of fitness will be huge. Hard to get back methinks.
