[Closed] Do you ever think "I'm too old for it"?

You are not too old, you may be too unfit, or not skilled in a particular activity. Thats all.

I came off my longboard a few weeks ago and think I broke a rib! I'm 44, other people have said "maybe you're getting too old for that shit?...."

Me, I think, yes it hurts* more nowadays but as long as I keep healing i'm not too old yet....

*and bloody hell, it hurt!!

I don't think you're too old for skateboarding, but it sounds like you might be too old for falling off the skateboard, is that more the root of the problem? Just don't do that any more and you should be fine. HTH

However skilled or unskilled you are; hitting the deck when you’re not expecting it hurts in your 40s.
My front wheel washed off the the top of a BPW berm last year and I was catapulted into the ground. Everything hurt for weeks afterwards and my hand still isn’t 100%.
I’ll still ride as fast as I want but I doubt I’ll ever relax into the speed like I could in my 20s.

Age is a number. That is all. I'm 54 and haven't given anything up because of my age. When I was younger, passing 50 meant slowing down and getting yourself to M&S for the Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter "Beige" clothing selection. I fully intend to carry on doing what I enjoy for as long as I can. Life is far too short to "give up" what you love.

I got up in the morning with a dead leg put weight on it and it collapsed causing an injury to my foot.injuries can happen anytime in life.but yes skating is dangerous and hard on the body.longboarding is fine as injuries aren't usually expected as the norm.

Don't fall off.

HTH.

But seriously, I never think I'm too old for this, at 39 - but I do think twice (ok, 8 times) about sending stuff on the mtb that I wouldn't think twice of if I was half my age. Bills, long recovery time, etc etc. As you get old older, your attitude to risk definitely changes!

I played a lot of rugby in my twenties and thirties. I'm now in my 50s and am reluctantly having to consider that, after a 20+ year break, I may not be making a comeback! 😕

Definitely noticed the increased healing time and general niggles caused by previous injuries as I’ve got older. I think it’s adjusted my attitudes to perceived risk.

Only when checking out 20 year olds in a bar. Window shopping is still allowed?

You are not too old, you may be too unfit, or not skilled in a particular activity. Thats all.

I think you neatly summed up my 34-ish years of skateboarding there. Last traumatic bruise was from car knocking me off my Brompton, fair more age-appropriate.

I am 50, came back from a snowboarding holiday earlier in the year with a very sore knee (which I couldn't really understand because I had no incidents where I expected could have caused that much damage). After a month or so of pain I realised it wasn't healing so went to the doctor, with the pain and swelling he suspected a torn meniscus, so had to go for an mri. Turns out it is just osteo arthritis and I just need to live with it from now on.

So 6+ months later, still in pain and yes I do feel too old for it. At least cycling so far seems to actually alleviate the pain a bit, wish I had realised that much earlier rather than spending the last 6 months of lockdown barely moving from my apartment.

Anyone want to buy some snowboard gear?

You just need to take more care of your body as you age. Strength and flexibility don't come for free any more. So you need to do much more yoga, kettle bells, pylometrics and whatever else alongside biking.

And if you want to skateboard, make sure you do it regularly so your body gets used to taking hits. I really think that problems in middle age come because we can spend ten years not doing an activity, but our brains still remember the motions so we think we can do it. Then we discover our tendons/joints/muscles aren't as conditioned as they used to be.

Only when checking out 20 year olds in a bar.

You still go to bars, at your age?

57 still riding the MX bike.... it takes a long time to get over a big knock. Stopped skateboarding in my 40s its a long way from the coping to the bottom of the bowl...

Physical work as in good old fashioned manual labour is fine but it hurts for days. I think we are the first generation (x) that thinks we can just carry on doing stuff....

Its a sort of attitude " no one can take my right to limp for six months away from me"

58 and holding it together pretty well on the strength and fitness front. But surfing's about speed and coordination, or at least they're my limiting factors, and the boards are getting bigger, similar to modern mtb geom skill (lack of) compensation.

But no, I don't feel I'm too old. I very strongly feel that life's too short, by at least a couple of hundred years.

Well pubs molgrips but the occasional middleaged person bar that younger people wander into when lost.

Only when checking out 20 year olds in a bar. Window shopping is still allowed?

When it dawns on you that you're old enough to be their father. Time to walk away...

No.

I used to play football at a fairly reasonable level with guys who got 'too old for it' in their mid thirties.

Madness.

Every day.

When I was doing/coaching a lot of CrossFit the struggle to keep up with people half my age was tough. They just seem to recover faster than a mid-forties person with knackered knees and elbows.

Shit, skydiving is just the same. You spend an hour in the tunnel and the youngsters want to do more. The next day I can barely walk from all the arching.

Strength and flexibility don’t come for free any more.

I couldn't have put it any better myself.

Yes but no. I did myself in 4 weeks ago 🙁 Down a flight of stairs outside Hartlepool police station (we were handing a lost purse in), there's not much of a run up and is fairly steep and narrow between two walls, I clipped one wall with my bars and my front tyre spoinged sideways a smidge and gripped a step, cue me out the front door and over the bars. Fortunately my left hip and both elbows broke my fall rather than my face...

edit- also I've just bought a Sega Dreamcast 😎

Wtf do you expect skateboarding in your 40s? 😉
All I do now is skate concrete bowls and go round in circles or the odd grind. Nobody who hasn't skateboarded knows how much constantly throwing yourself into concrete at speed hurts, my body was effed at 30, had about 10 years off and have been skating again every few weeks few a few years now, but I just take it really easy.

I gave up Lacrosse at 30ish when I was regularly not recovering from spending saturday afternoon slamming into people and hitting them with sticks by training on Wednesday night.

As a non-skateboarder, it looks like an activity where you might expect to fall off more than MTB - or at least one where risk management is harder?

I certainly don't think I'm getting too old for MTBing anyway, but I'm experienced enough to ride technical stuff within my skillset the majority of the time - and control the risk when I'm pushing myself a bit.

One thing I ****ing hate is youngsters in their 40s saying they are old. You're in your sodding peak you weirdos!
But, you don't get too old for anything except crashing. Crashing is part of learning and used to be part of the fun of MTBing for me, I was always slamming into stuff, but only got hurt properly twice (not counting the VW Golf collision). But now mid-50s, stuff just doesn't heal, or takes months and months. I skateboarded gently at 50, but wouldn't like to have fallen off, nosiree.

Mid 40's and took up street trials riding. Finding I need to build strength and flexibility. Was watching a flatland bmxer talk about how building muscle is important for action sports as it acts like armour to protect you. Learning a new physical skill in 40's is frustrating especially when you're as undynamic as me. Fell off a bench and stubbed my big toe into paving. Might have broken or at least fractured it as it took almost a year before it stopped hurting. It doesn't bend much now. Hurt my lower back when I attempted a forward lunge and reach up (first time doing a lunge) and kept going out on the bike thinking it would be alright but wasn't. Took 3 months until it was ok to go and hop about.

I'd say you're never too old to learn a new physical skill/action sport, but need to be realistic about it. In your 40's and spent 34 years skateboarding I guess you probably reached your peak? Think about what activities you could learn to compliment it?

Rossi is in his 40's isn't he? Doesn't seem too old for bouncing into a gravel pit at 180mph.

I fell out of a tree last night and have a pretty sore foot.

If anything it's just taught me that i'm just too fat to climb tree at the moment and to use better anchor points.

Yup, it's just accepting it's time to move on to less damaging activities.

33 free solo, I injured a shoulder and realised I couldn't rely 100% on it so only left the ground with a rope.

43 snow boarding and skate boarding, planta facia injury after which it just didn't seem sensible, just too much strain on front-side turns on the snow board

48 X-C ski racing

48ish BMX, landings started to hurt ankles, knees, back, shoulders, hands - stop

50 MTB racing. An age group podium in my final race, the regional championships.

54 climbing, one carpal tunnel operation is enough, hanging on fingers had to stop. A simple choice, give up climbing or give up playing guitar and a host of other things I need supple hands for.

55 all racing, it got too hard to be a pleasure, or else I took it easy and finished too far down for my ego. A final triathlon and a ski alpinisme race (scratch podium finish) and that was it. 42 years of racing came to an end.

So what's left? Plenty! And if I'm sensible and give up things when my body tells me too as I have done so far then hopefully I can remain active. Just back from 4 days walking which Storm Barbara interupted.

Yes. Skiing. I am 56 and I very rarely think I am too old but in March I fell quite badly and my binding was too tight meaning my ski stayed on. I caused a lot of damage to my calf and during lockdown it was difficult to get it resolved. I took up skiing late (40) and skiied at least once per year since (not stylish but can ski most things) and my kids are very good but think I have given it up after that fall and the ongoing issues I have had and the fact it stopped me running for months and is still not right

Rossi is in his 40’s isn’t he? Doesn’t seem too old for bouncing into a gravel pit at 180mph.

Millionaire factory racer in doesn't-matter-if-he-gets-hurt-and-can't-work-tomorrow shock 😉

Yes, usually going up something steep or coming down something steep. I still do it though and keep coming back.

Knocked skiing on the head the other year. As much as I love it I’ve an undiagnosed knee issue that flares up when I ski. Ok, I could poodle but that seems a bit pointless & boring.....

But too old? Nah! I’m 49 on making my bloody comeback! A stage race planned for next year......🤣

Yep last time I slid off the bike commuting on ice, decided that i'd give up the winter commute. Its falling off you get too old for not the riding.

Anyway a life spent without a few signs of wear and tear is a waste 🙂

Windsurfing is fine, kitesurfing though is now firmly on the shelf.
Bikes are fine.
Its more life itself that is getting a bit beyond me at my age.

A month ago I fell off my bike attempting a bunny hop I could easily have managed in my youth. I cracked a rib which is still bothering me. It's stopped me from doing anything but cycling to work, but it's slowly getting better and I'll be right back as soon as I can. I didn't get much sympathy from anyone either: "well what do you expect at your age?".

I love still doing this stuff. I'm much slower than I used to be of course, and my sessions aren't so long, but stopping altogether doesn't bear thinking about. I think the main difference now is that I pause to have a think rather than simply charging down anything that comes along.

I still skate too. Not often, and a lot more carefully, but I still love it. I can barely olly up a kerb these days (in my head I can still olly over a shopping trolley on its side), but again I'm going to do it for as long as I can.

There'll be a long part of your life when you can no longer so these things. Keep going as long as you're able.

When you see 70+ participants in a sport what do you think? Do you think they are too old and should give up or legends for keeping it up? What do you think they think about their age? They love their sport and keep at it, they probably pair back their ambition with age but keep plugging away.

My Dad recently returned to running at 73 and I am very happy for him

61 I sometimes think I do a lot less than I used to but really all I've done is switch to stuff I can recover from and doesn't hurt but I enjoy...so after a couple of knee ops no running...after many years of climbing the head started to say no...but around 5 years ago I finally learnt to unicycle and I'm still improving..as to cycling knocked off 100km road ride yesterday afternoon and will do a similar but more hills/gravel tomorrow at the weekend will be doing trail centre stuff with teen antigee..last year rode highway 101 from San Fran to LA I've bought the Great Divide maps and am hopeful...down under and covid meant no ski season this year...recovery is harder after that it just getting out and doing stuff priorities might change but too old not an option

I'm 73 and  moved onto mtb from the road about a year ago.... (still ride my road bikes but less often these days).

I'm loving the mtb and for me the challenge is tackling trails that I find technically challenging...moving from initially seeing them and sort of bottling out of trying them,,,,   then having a careful and tentative attempt at it.... then having a more decent go at them and feeling reasonably confident doing it. Probably easy peasy stuff for most on here but tricky enough to raise my adrenalin and give me a buzz.

My overall stamina and climbing abilty is still pretty reasonable which is a bonus.

No never think I'm too old.....feel old maybe, but deffo no.

I love my boards and never think I'm too old.
I'm a total tart with my clothes. All 40/50s style stuff, even to go to Tescos.
I'm 60 and spend as much time on my hair as I did when I was 21.

That said I did have a wobble, but then thought #### it. I'll do beige when I'm dead.

'You don't stop playing when you get old, you get old when you stop playing'
You just readjust the level at which you're playing at, once you stop doing the things you love that challenge you, what do you then do to find that interest?

When you see 70+ participants in a sport

I'm 73 and now only participate in mountain biking and hillwalking. Over the years I've been a rock climber, winter mountaineer, skier, caver & last 25yrs a mountain biker & hillwalker.
All those activities have taken their toll on my body with arthritis in knees (2 ops) & hands.
Bad OTB crash end of July gave me a separated collar bone ACL3 no metalwork. Back riding again after 6 weeks but now a bit slower on rocky descents.

Sometimes, especially this year since getting Covid in late March with some form of "long Covid" since, I do wonder WTF I'm doing trying to beat my best times up cat3/4 hills, with my heartrate at typically 170bpm+ for approx 5-20mins.

But then I only started this malarky just over three years ago when 43 and there's been several small periods this year where I've felt at or very close to my best, backed up by the heart and power numbers... As recently as mid September up Cheddar Gorge.

What a difference a month makes!