Oldies - at what age did you notice your fitness tailing off

56, what I've noticed is that my "top end" (for what that was actually worth) has gone. I'm as fit as I've ever been, I can do a 1000m+ ride or bash out 80km off road, or go for 4-5 hours and be fine, but my sprint has all but disappeared. Max HR has dropped as well over time. I used to be able to top out at 185-190 something like that, I'm now at low 180's and done.

Mid 40's things started to slow (54 now) - linked with an op that went wrong, wrecking my blood levels, and then getting my spine broken which really set me back. Lost  alot of fitness, but been getting that back in last 2 years and back riding lots and commuting to work on the bike (this is key). Bloods still a bit up and down, so that can leave me knackered, but still riding at a decent pace. Get a bit of back trouble, but that's to be expected. I can still ride my two race road bikes that were made to fit me 30 years ago, and I'm less flexible, but still comfy on long rides.

I've always found commuting on the bike is an excellent way of building fitness for 'free'. You fit it into your daily life, and don't have to go out 'after work'. Means base fitness builds fast for great weekend riding.

64. I haven't noticed a big change, but I'm probably a bit slower than I was at 50, and as Nick says my max HR has dropped from 186 to 180. Recovery time seems a bit longer too.

I'm not sure I can provide a proper answer to this - mainly due to my fitness tailing off due to a lack of exercise regularly for several years - I ride my bike but it hasn't been 'proper' biking - short ride, less technical and a lot of stops. When lock down arrived, I've developed a fantastic ability to sit all day without much movement.

As such, I'm on a wee bit of a fitness improvement kick - has been slowly improving over the last few weeks - just doing some more riding - started Zwift - not having much success as I'm still finding it boring, but it is better than nothing at all.

I'm needing to spend more time in the saddle out on the bike for several hours to help build that up.

I'm finding the same issues as you - longer warm-up, but once warmed up, I am seeing small gains...however, I'm not sure what I'm doing would be called training by any stretch, suspect if I did manage to commit to it then I'd say improvements happening a bit quicker, but the fact it is slowly improving is good.

What I am finding though is as I'm nearing 50, fitness improvements are taking much longer to be seen, but they are happening.

I was on a pretty even keel despite injuries and recovering from cancer related problems but doing ok and thinking I'd go on for ever. Then I turned 60 and it was like being hit by a truck.

Man hadn't stepped on the moon when I was born and I'm a stronger rider than I've ever been. Apart from the screwed knee, but I've had that 20 years. My key strategy is to lie to myself about my age, I get quite cross if the Mrs mentions the real number.

I have found it has happened fairly imperceptibly until you stop and think about what you were doing ten years ago. I am just not doing as much as I was. It doesn't really matter as long as you are not racing, just keep getting out there.

Second Cat road race license gained at 53, COVID saw the fitness fall off for a couple of years. Struggling to get it back at 56 with decent training. I'll give you a more accurate response come Tuesday night thrashings in the E123 at Hillingdon in April 😉 . If I can stay in the bunch, that's a win. The Vets 50+ races I entered last season seemed faster than before COVID! It's either too much Swift, or me declining.

59 and as I ride as much as I ever did, +150 rides of at least 2 hours last year (with at least one all-day'r every week).

My fitness hasn't tailed off, in fact my endurance is probably better than ever (mind games?)  but my strength/power has dropped away.  Does take me longer to warm up, and when out on enduro type trails usually need a 'starter' trail to get my head/body into 'gear'.

While I do have an e-Bike for the enduro stuff, it's an SL, for the rest I ride my FS/gravel/road/bikepacking bikes - yesterday was a couple of hours at night on the gravel bike, about 50/50 tarmac vs off-road.

@grimep

My key strategy is to lie to myself about my age

This is the way.

I'll be 56 in a few weeks time.

Still doing pretty well as I now have almost unlimited time to ride and live in a mega area for taking advantage of that.
However when I compare myself to what I was like in my 20 I'm no where near.
Then I just seemed to be naturally fit now I have to work for it.
The days of getting smashed the night before a 100KM race and riding it on a singlespeed are long gone.
Being able to do that stopped in my mid 40's.

Still have no problems doing multiple back to back rides with a 1000 meters+ of vert, just need to go about it in a more sensible fashion.

I think I’m at the age when I’m going to have to accept the inevitable – from now my fitness is going only one way.

I don't think that's true but it does take more conscious effort to get and stay fit. A big ride now will wipe me out for a day afterwards whereas 10-15 years ago, I'd be straight out the door again next day.

The days when I could realistically get a KOM are also long gone!

Gradually is my take, except for 18 months of long covid, which has taken a while to get back from with top-end still a bit flat - more/smarter intervals needed... or maybe just some full on mountain bike rides.

As ever, Joe Friel's 'Fast After 50' is a really good take on how ageing impacts your overall fitness and what you can do about it - very basically, it does, but you can significantly slow the decline by... including some intensity, doing resistance/strength training, eating more protein, and boxing clever by accepting that you'll take longer to recover.

I think I’m at the age

How old are you OP?

64. I haven’t noticed a big change, but I’m probably a bit slower than I was at 50, and as Nick says my max HR has dropped from 186 to 180. Recovery time seems a bit longer too.

65 this month and find just the same as Onewheel.  I actually got progressively fitter up to about 50-55 by having time to ride more and more as the children grew up. Now doing 2 x 20mile/2000ft off road and 2 x 60 miles on road most weeks. Strava shows I got most PRs 10 years ago and none significant in the last 2-3 years. No doubt Covid and lockdowns played a part, but I definitely notice the need for the 3 days recovery I get a week - a few years ago that wasn’t really an issue.

I think I'm actually fitter now than I was 20 years ago.

56, and fitness has... changed.

like others top end has gone but endurance has increased so if I can hold on for the couple of hours at the start of the ride I'll be dragging everyone home 🙂 guile helps a little here too, which is definitely an age and experience thing

both maintaining fitness and recovery is harder though, and it's worthwhile spending as much time on body maintenance as time in the saddle with stretches and core work which I think has made the biggest difference to me in keeping me keeping me going

you have to work at it a *lot* harder as you don't have the natural spring of youth, it's absolutely worth it though

62 here. Did a 10km race last year in about 44min. I keep a record of all my results so can say I'm getting slower at about 3min per decade.

I still feel ok, regularly commute 45km a day, just not as quick on the stop watch.

Mid-to-late 40s was the inflection point for me too.

Still doing OK, and might be fitter than I was 20 years ago - but nowhere near where I was 10 years ago.

Maybe I need to get back on the road bike?

For me it was about 51.. but i think that's as much my brain as it is physically. I now just can't be bothered at times to drive myself into the ground time after time, hill after hill, so i end up 'cruising' a fair bit of the time instead.

I need to get out of that mindset and back into pushing myself again.

Some of the Zwift STW rides really helped with this i must admit.

My key strategy is to lie to myself about my age

Yep. By pretending I'm older than I am I can justify my fitness.

Nearly 49. Haven’t noticed much difference but I’m sure there has been. What’s harder is motivating myself to get off the sofa and out, particularly during the winter months. As you get older, it’s too easy to let the lure of creature comforts get the better of you.

I have been pushing through this though and had the best start to a year for ages. I do think regular hard, high heart rate 1 to 2 hour efforts are really beneficial as you get older. I tend to do these rather than loads of Z2 plodding (although that’s good occasionally). Can be horrible at the time but feel great after. Maybe helps avoid muscle wastage?

No doubt I’ll start getting slower but as long as I can keep moving, I’m happy.

35.

One knee gone and the other on the way.

Gone from 11-12k/year, racing, TTs, big road trips, etc to nothing. Fitness gone and likely won't ever be back.

NorthOTB

Interesting on the z2 stuff.  I did change my turbo approach a year or so ago, following some advice from STW - and started going for higher peaks on the intervals but easing off during the recoveries. Previously I was more focussed on an overall average speed, without  much difference between the intervals and recoveries.

Might need to go back to that approach - but its going to take some determination.

Interesting stuff.

I am 56 in a couple of weeks and ponder this all the time. Never been a racer and really the only metric I have to go by is Strava times, and obviously without a record of conditions on that day it's all by and large bollocks. But it doesn't take a genius to work out I'm slower than I was ten years ago.

However this winter see's me in reasonable shape which is a miracle given the recent weather. Always manage 100 miles a week but since November I've started really upping my swimming. Doing about 8-10km a week in the pool and I think this has been the difference this year. Shocking the body by doing something a little different I guess. Helps that improvement in the pool is blindingly obvious whereas I'm on a plateau at best on the bike.

So by and large fairly happy. Hoping there isn't a cliff edge just over the horizon.

Just turned 60 and it was about 5 years ago.. last time I joined a group ride arranged on here... Tried to keep up with the front runner, like I always could and suddenly I just "died"! It was a proper WTF moment. Had to leave the ride and go home. Turned out heart was in AF, otherwise still reasonably fit but just couldn't sustain a pace.
Now I've become accustomed to that, niggling little joint and muscle injuries join the party. I ref rugby and am always relieved when I survive a match unscathed!

Late 30's got bad Pneumonia, never really got back. Late 40's hip issues. Now can do f-all

Mid 50s. Fitness is OK, but I'm picking up niggly injuries that I can't shift.

50. Absolute night and day. In my late 40s I did a fair bit and got quite fit, but my 50s have been a total car crash.
Went from being happily able to do big days ( 20 hours plus) to just being useless.
Got really depressed and down about it and now rarely cycle much at all.

Have forced myself to get back on the weekly road club runs. Have done 5 so far since Christmas, which is only one less that my yearly record and theoretically should be all I need to get back to peak fitness,. But it isn't, and I'm not.

I look back now and am amazed by what I managed in my 40s. A decent day ride with the family and then a Munro bagging fest in the evening. Or LoTL starting just before midday. 4 day long weekend with Glen Sligachan, Torridon Loop, Macdui and Cairngorm being the easy days! Week climbing in Provence with Ventoux being the rest day At the time I didn't realise it, but towing trailer with two kid and bikes on it, and later just towing 2 kids, on what most would seem a decent day out. I was actually quite fit.

OTOH, seeing people using 1000+ as a benchmark for supposedly big day out makes me realise that perhaps I'm not doing all that bad 🙂

It hasn't!

61 here, and way fitter than I was 20 years ago, and as fit as I want to be. I haven't been this fit since I waterskiied every weekend in my 20s...

It's all in the head...

@thegeneralist.
Depends how much the + is.😉
That was just an indicator of a ride from the door monday morning kind of ride.
No one mentioned big days out.

Looking at Strava from when I started using it at 45 (now 56) I am generally a slight bit slower that I was back then but not enough to be that noticeable over an hour or two ride.

Have just been riding my usual amount each year with no training whatsoever for those years.  A bit of actual training and I would be faster than I was 11 years ago most probably.

Round about 50 is where you start to fall off a bit of a cliff. Early 40s people are still fit as **** if they train properly, by the time you're 60 you're definitely an old codger even if you've got some stamina. Somewhere in the middle it becomes noticeable that you really are slower than you used to be, and can't do a thing about it. My running PBs were almost all set aged 50 (after about a decade of running reasonably seriously) and although I'm not massively down off them aged 55, I know I won't threaten them again.

(Of course you can get fitter for a few years from any age if you start as a couch potato.)

51 here - i've never been particularly fit, and i'm pretty overweight, but i started going to the Gym 3 x per week in November and i've noticed a big improvement in both strength and my performance on the bike - i think if anything its helped me hold on over the winter to the little fitness i had.

I ride with a club, most of whom are a fair bit older than me - a couple of the retired guys (67 + 76) ride together a bit during the week - they're regularly doing 100 miles per week over the winter and 150 miles+ in the summer. They're also fairly quick on the flat but all say the explosive sprint and HR top end is where it drops off.

If i'm able to ride like them in my 70s i'll be very content.

and it’s worthwhile spending as much time on body maintenance as time in the saddle

I've started doing some yoga. I've found some on YouTube that Pinkbike did a while back, so I don't feel like I'm "becoming Gwyneth", but it's really helped my recovery and flexibility

by the time you’re 60 you’re definitely an old codger even if you’ve got some stamina.

I've a mate who is 60. Starred riding a few years ago to help his core strength. Has retired and become an absolute weapon. He trains like a madman (IMO) and races gravity enduro, gravel and xc marathons. Wins everything he enters in his age group but is competitive with younger riders too.

It doesn't get any easier, you just get slower.

Feels like around now - 55

I don’t think actual age is the key factor. Lifestyle and life changes,  more non bike time ? I changed jobs at 53 and couldn’t commute any longer, and don’t get nearly as many miles. If I was still commuting I think I’d be still as fit ? (58 now)

In my riding group of oldsters we have opposite extremes. One guy used to be very good but now tags along at the back and he just can't handle it. He hardly comes out and moans all the time when he does. Another seems just as strong as he was years ago. He can't understand why the rest of us have got so slow . You just have to accept what you can do and enjoy it. After all, consider the alternative

From racing and seeing others in that 40-60 block I don't think there's much in it 45-55 on average - see some animal-strong testers in their mid 50s. But as you hit late 50s things must start to slow up. Some v60+ riders can mix it in a v40 race but they are exceptional.

I've not hit a really significant power drop yet from 40-50, but training is trending towards getting / feeling harder for the same sort of condition. Biggest raw difference is eyesight for me - having not needed glasses this is now noticeable on night rides and harder MTB descents.

51 and I feel but don’t look just as good as I did when I was younger. Waiting to start the decline…

"I've a mate who is 60. Starred riding a few years ago to help his core strength. Has retired and become an absolute weapon."

Yeah you can still be pretty decent but....

Eg the world record for a Vet60 marathon is 2:30. Now, that's still amazing, but the open record is half an hour quicker.

56 here. Yes, I've noticed the drop-off in the last 2-3 years. In our riding group (everyone is 6-15 years younger than me), I always used to be probably 2nd/3rd quickest up a climb, but latterly, I feel I struggle more obviously.

I'm essentially a 'just go riding' type of person so never do any structured training etc, and I think that starting to come home to roost a little bit. So, my fitness/stamina is good, but top end/strength less so. I do notice the benefits when I think a bit more seriously about sleep/rest/diet/core & stretching, but essentially, I just enjoy riding my bike too much to give serious structured time to other aspects that would offset my age.

Theres a bloke in our local running club, I think late 60's. Hes really makes a big thing about he runs for team GB.

I get its good, but there are only about 3 blokes in his age group. So are they fit or just who is left standing ?