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
Quite s bit older than you and I:
- Hike and/or backpack, anywhere from 3-12 miles and up to 5k ft elevation depending on the weekend (and weather, icy mountains are slow going)
- Gravel biking, or on the trainer with Zwift
- Running, though I don’t particularly like it, so not much
- And days I just want to move around, archery
You are not old at 30, your body is just out of practice and your mind lacks motivation. Both can be tough to overcome.
If things are hurting, I highly recommend cycling of some form, as it’s way less impact. Or hiking with poles, helps a ton. Just take it slow to start.
Anyone replying “stretching” is basing their response on grade school gym class, not science.
Studies have not shown that stretching has a positive impact on injury prevention, and this has been widely known in the literature for over 20 years. Stretching can improve performance in some sports like gymnastics where increased flexibility is needed, but that is unrelated to injury.
Stretching has a negative effect on performance in other cases because it actually decreases muscle force generation.
Think about it, would you think that loosening all the belts on a machine would automatically make it less likely to break down?
So what does prevent injury?
- Good warm-ups. Walk before you jog before you run. Lift an unloaded barbell before a loaded one, etc.
- Strength. A joint surrounded by muscle is a stable joint. That means doing exercises that strengthen all the muscles, including minor ones. It’s part of why most people who know what they are talking about will try to get you to do compound lifts with free weights over single joint exercises on machines.
- periodization/progressive overload. Basically slowly building intensity and then backing off to recuperate.
As a 54 year old who has just had two weeks of agony because he forgot his age and tried to deadlift a 225kg motorbike by himself, I’m going to skip this one because I clearly haven’t learned anything.
Mustn’t’ve groaned enough.
A for effort though
I’m 62 and had to be advised to get a few fit young people to assist with moving a piano.
Nothing. It takes like five times longer for bruises and cuts to heal, but it’s not bad enough for me to change my behavior to avoid them.
Make sure your iron levels are ok, my wife has this issue and had super low iron after pregnancy, but she’s in her late 40s now and still dealing with it.
Good advice I can use! I’ll switch to a multivitamin that includes iron and see if that helps.
I’ve had to come to terms with taking things slower than I used to. I learned the hard way that I can’t just train for a 10k in a few weekends.
The rule of increasing distance/duration by 10% per week is to protect our joints/bones/etc when they ain’t what they used to be.
I was in a terrible youtube rabbithole of knee replacement surgeries the other day and I’ve been hating our fragile corporeal vessels lately
Ah, yes. The Scared Straight, Couch Potato Edition. A classic at my house.
Same. I’m 43, and it mostly takes learning that you’re no long 20-something. I can do everything, I just have to do it more slowly, more sparingly and give myself the time both physically and mentally to recuperate.
I find a variety of activities help distribute the loads
I often push my older body when it’s not used to work. This means I pull a muscle once every few weeks, often in my upper body; or demand too much in my knees.
Fortunately I can heal in a week or two, but I definitely am slow to heal compared to before.
Spoiler alert, it doesn’t get any better. I need to do more yoga and cross training
I’m still trying to reach my potential two hours of workout daily, only doing one hour of things that makes me sweat.
I have alarms on my phone set every three hours to remind me to stop and do something
The alarm is a great idea. I should do that. Even just sitting for long periods hurts now!
Sometimes I only walk around, other times I do more like run
how badly do you guys treat your bodies that you are decrepit in your 30s??
Asking the real question. I’m in my 40’s now and doing fine. Sure I’m not literally invincible anymore like I was as a teenager but everything works as it should.
I’m 39, and the picture of health. I rarely injure myself, and when i do, it doesn’t take long to heal. Holy shit, how bad are these people treating themselves if they’re so decrepit so young? SMH my head.
I’m half joking when I say decrepit but I’m definitely not able to workout 6 days a week, play 3 mid intensity basketball games back to back, or bike for 4 hours anymore. No major injuries but I feel the wear and tear a lot more than I used to. Biologically, people typically do go through a noticeable decline in performance after 30.
I known many people 30s-40s who can do routines of that intensity, including myself. Anywhere near 30 is far more about conditioning than it is age.
I read that there are two “waves” of rapid biomolecular aging in the mid-40s and early 60s. Still affects everyone differently and of course a worn-out body will feel that much worse.
In general, though, our bodies start wearing out in our mid-teens, about a decade before we’re even fully grown! High-frequency hearing is one of the first things to suffer. Bodily decline is really a constant companion in our lives; it only becomes noticeable when it starts accelerating.
No exercise and lack of muscle really makes life harder.
NOT GREAT, TBH
Walk 5km a day during the week, and 8-10km a day on weekends. Weights three to four times a week, and a cardio session afterwards. I like using the ski machine, as it gives me a serious workout without any impact.
Weights has had a huge impact on my quality of life, as I am recovering (recovered?) from a serious head injury. I was not active for nearly 18 months and am feeling good about my body for the first time in years.
58m here for context.
Look at this badass over here. Im 32 and the idea of multi km walks everyday makes me knees hurt something fierce!
I wish I had 3-4 hours a day for this kind of activity.
It wasn’t easy getting into that routine. I get up at 4:30 for my weekday walk, and it takes about an hour. Weekend walks start at 5:00am, and generally take 1.5-2 hours. Gym is two hours, once or twice during the week and both weekend days. Life still gets in the way sometimes, and I am lucky that my job is flexible. For example, I started work at 6:30 this morning and will knock off at 2:30 and go straight to the gym. I will be home before 5:00.
The alternative was living with the results of an injury and letting my health deteriorate further than it already had. Some days, motivation is still hard.
If you are 58 meters tall it’s a breeze to walk that much. Please relate to the rest of us!
I road bike, try to do yoga regularly, and incorporate strength training when I have time (never). Don’t try to ramp up too fast with activity because not getting injured is the biggest priority. The more mindful activity you do, you’ll become more resilient and less likely to get injured.
Trying to eat healthy (really just avoiding ultra processed foods and not drinking too much) also helps. I normally check to see where stuff falls on the NOVA scale. If it’s higher than a 3, I try to avoid it all together.
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.
Healthy Hobbies instead of Gym - stuff that’s actually fun for me instead of just a chore
In my case, Sport Climbing and Yoga
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.
20 somethings think 30+ is forever away.
tbf, every decade thinks the next decade is basically game over and will take an eternity to reach
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.
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.
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.
Cycling is great. Not hard impact. Can really push yourself if you want to. Cardio and strength training. You get to be outside feeling the wind against your face. And you can cover a lot more distance than walking or running so you can make a trip out of it.
I was ignoring bicycles for the most of my life, and only recently re-discovered them for myself.
Even a daily ride to the train station feels good
- Evening random trips are priceless for body and soul.
I totally agree!
And don’t feel bad for getting an e-bike. Riding that is still a good workout if you get into the habit of going fast. E-bikes usually have a hard speed cutoff (25 km/h by law where I live); if you want to go faster it’s all you and the motor is just there to give you better acceleration and take the pain out of things like hills or opposing wind.
If you don’t want to go fast, the bike still expects you to put in a certain amount of work. Low-intensity training is still training. Most crucially, getting that bit of assistance might get you to use the bike when you otherwise wouldn’t, turning no exercise into some exercise.
People underestimate the benefits of light exercise. Even brisk walks or relatively leisurely motor-assisted bike rides can absolutely be beneficial if done regularly.
Any recommendations for an affordable e-bike? Cost can be a limiting a factor as well.
Not really; mine was eventually too expensive and I only got that model because a) I could get it for cheaper through a leasing arrangement and b) I don’t need to pay for a car.
I must admit, though, that having a belt drive is extremely nice and worth the money. 10/10, top tier bike component.
For sure. I know some places have incentives to buy an e-bike for certain income levels.
I used to love riding my bike, but I can’t really do it anymore because of low back pain. I’m also in my 30s.
Oh man. I’m sorry. Is that what those sitting bikes are for that are low to the ground?
I think so. I used to work in a bike shop though, so I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to overcome the cringe of riding one.
All kidding aside, they do tend to be expensive and take up more space and a lot of bike shops don’t like working on them.
Haha I get that. Guess it’s roller blades for you then.
Electric scooter :p
Nice
Just walk for everything under a mile. Eat one type of new fruit a week.
The less you weigh, the easier life becomes.
Drop alcohol completely.
Buy high quality shoes, beds, tired & brakes.
Which fruit you got last week?
Gooseberry last week. This week it’s Lychee.
Great choices! Have you tried kumquat?
I have not. Thanks for the tip. I will try this.
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.
