Hello,
I seem to be carrying a variety of niggly injuries lately, they seem to be taking longer to heal than I am used to and I’m wondering if it is age related or if there is anything I can do to make myself less susceptible.
In addition to age, other contributing factors I can think of :
* Doing lots of DIY recently shifting heavy stuff about awkwardly
* No time to do any light weights core strength training recently (last couple of years, due to all the DIY!) so joints might be less stabilised than they used to be.
*When I’m on the bike or out running I tend to push myself very hard with no letup in pace if I can get away with it. Is this knackering me?

I have no intention of ever stopping riding if I can help it, so, is there anything I can do to rekindle the font of youth and remove my susceptibility to injury?
Things I can think of:

* Start light weight training again
* Do some stretching (never been one for doing this, always thought it pointless)
* Do yoga or pilates or some other yougurt knitting exercise stuff?
* Ride less hard?
* Accept that I am slowly but surely approaching the scrap heap?

* Anything else which has helped you keep injuries at bay?

For the record, things wrong with me at the moment:
Hand feeling a bit weak, aches a bit if I grip too hard, did somethign to it doing doing DIY, not healing quickly, been like this maybe 6 weeks.
Lower back a little sore now and again, gives the odd twinge
Elbow still not right after fracturing it 3 years ago. Hurts if I use it too much
Feel generally a bit achy/sore when I get up if I spend to long inactive, (like sitting on the sofa).

Have you got an organ donor card?

…and on an equally cynical note, wait until you’re 50; you’ll pray to the lickle Baby Jesus to be mid 30s again.

Human growth hormone FTW.

I personally find that heavy weight training strengthens all the bits that niggle. Squats, deads, shoulder press, bench, rows with a barbell (work up on the weight on each) are all you need.

Wait ’til you’re my age! Will be 50 soon enough.

I have to do lots of core and stretching and stuff. 3-4 sessions per week of at least 45 minutes.

It’s the only way.

You need to do some yoga man.. At least a few times a week. Just get yourself a dvd and crack on with it when you can.

I started a few months back and it’s really ace. You’ll quickly realise how unflexible you are and how much you can improve. It chills you out too. Alot.

I’m 55 in March and I ride 4 times a week, I have had a number of serious injuries over the last few years from MTB, broken tibia (plated), clavicle (plated), T9 vertebra crushed, wrist and 3 separate occasions of cracked ribs. In the evenings the T9 fracture causes me pain and I take opiate pain killers for it.

My solution is just don’t stop, ride as much as you can and if you need painkillers then take ’em.

Riding gives me far more than it has ever taken away.

Put some peaks and troughs into the year… spend some time in recovery mode and other times working a bit harder. Build it around the main riding season or an annual race or something.

Swimmimg resistance training and stretching would cover a lot of the rest if you put a bit of thought into what, when and why.

If you are not healing or recovering maybe not enough sleep or diet or both.

Mid 30s isnt that old…. mid 70s is fall apart time.

Core strength and breathing exercises to stabilise the centre then reactivate the hips and shoulders

Glutes bridge, plank and side planks. Squats and dead lifts. Kettlebell swings to strengthen rotation

Had something similar with a broken collarbone, old car crash whiplash injuries and a job where I sit down and hunch over a computer. Now doing strength and conditioning work with a good physio who specialises in mobility and fitness movement

Have a look at evan osar and James Wilson stuff on the web

cool thanks all, good to know my thinking is in the right direction – I’ll take a loo at all that stuff.

if you are leathering it every ride, you’re not recovering properly, get a plan together of when you are going to do big rides and smaller easy ones and plan rest days in

I think as one or two others have touched on, rest is crucial. I seem to recall something about a triangle of rest, exercise, diet. If one side is weak the triangle collapses…. Or becomes a wonky triangle

Yes and do some weights no doubt about it

My main issues are my Back , fractured my spine 12 years ago and it’s not been right since.
My left knee and elbow also can be very painful, these I think are just wearing out.

When my back plays up the best remedy I have found is to stay as active as possible as rest actually makes it worse.
My knee I do have to rest otherwise it gets worse and my elbow I have found doing some weights keeps the pain away.

When you hit your forties you have to actively try and keep yourself fit and strong as it’s a slippery slope.
where previously I took mobility for granted.

Stretching saves me big time. I just do a set of stretches when I can and it removes a lot of the pain I get otherwise. I’m in my thirties, like 37 or 38 , but have been like that since a while.

I have to stretch for about 45 minutes every night before bed. If I miss more than 2 nights in a row then everything from my ankles to my neck starts to click/ache/pull/rupture in a random order.
I have a genetic issue with my lower back which doesn’t help but I’ve managed to stabilse it with help from my chiropractor and a variety of stretches.
I’m 37 and while I have an active job that keeps me on my toes all day, I can’t get away with sudden, violent activity without suffering later. However I can get away with unplanned, more stamina based stuff…Malec from on here took me on my longest ‘proper’ mtb ride for ages back in October, much longer than I was expecting but I was pleasantly surprised that I could walk the next day!

I think variety, diet and stretching all have a part to play.

El-boufador, you have just described exactly how I felt for most of 2013 & my reasons/lifestyle sounds similar, although I am 42. I have sorted myself out with some simple exercises 🙂

Basic hamstring & quad stretches.

Press ups. 2 narrow, 2 wide, 2 wider, 2 wide, 2 narrow x 3

Chin ups, 3 x 8 reps, if you can’t do manage 8 use a chair to do negatives.

Kettlebell’s, only done very basic moves but great for legs/knees.

Running. I thought my running days were over but following advice I’ve read on STW, 15 mins gentle running, 30 mins proper running, 10 mins walk home = no pain 🙂

I haven’t even done any of this religiously, I just think that fatherhood, running two business, and life in general meant that my only exercise had become my bike and that’s not enough. I also read a great book on knees that I think applies to your whole body.

1. Strength
2. Flexibility
3. Endurance
4. Priopriception (might have spelt that wrong but it the connection between your joints and you brain).

Cost, a pull up bar & kettlebell, time, fit anything in whenever you can cos it all helps.

Good luck.

A couple of thoughts from a reasonably active 50 year old

The older you get the more preparation you need to do, ie warm ups and midweek excersizes
The older you get the longer it takes to recover from injuries (I smile at the human growth hormone post above but some truth in it) and they don’t just “go away”
The older you get you loose speed and strength, your endurance you can retain – so smashing it flat out is always going to get harder and harder

As above, excersize a little regularly and work on core strength. Smashing a ride flat out, not sure that’s ever a good idea on a regular basis, sportsmen and athletes don’t train like that.

More rest between ‘beasting’ yourself on the bike and try changing your diet….bit of a long shot but your body may have developed an intolerance to certain foods as you get older.

I’m 45 with various permanent niggles including my dodgy back and wrist, plus intermittent problems with my knees. I started Pilates 3 months ago and that has helped my back. I also find Physio keeps me going.
Apart from that I have to MTFU and grit my teeth through the backache because the alternative of taking it easy would make my back deteriorate.

I have some hamstring stretches I do otherwise I feel terrible.
Spent a year trying to fix a back problem with back exercises and it got fixed quickly when I did hamstring stretches instead.
All thanks to lovely @millsphysio

You said the magic word yourself: Pilates. Did it for 3 years, stopped, fell to bits. Starting again in Jan and cant wait.

Cheers all,
Will be researching all of that

Ta!

Weights, just some movement/stretches with weights to keep the core strong.
Weight, keep it down.
Rest plenty of, my weak point.
No heroics, there’s always tomorrow. No showing off, no point knackering yourself to impress a stranger.

Plenty of good ideas above.

Take it all on board and start asap. Don’t wait a few years. Be pro-active now.

As one or two others have said, heavy weight training with compound movements (squat, dl, press, bench) is the fountain of youth. Go heavy and look up any 5×5 program; Mark Rippetoe Starting Strength is the benchmark program. Guaranteed within 6 months all your niggles will be gone and you will be faster on the bike than you have been for 10 years. It is unbelievable how well this seemingly simple program works.

Do you swim ? Good complimentary exercise to riding and helps the stretches