42 here and used to skateboard (badly), climb, box and practice martial arts. Also the opposite of risk averse in my teens and twenties (stupid?) and still ride bikes like an idiot when time allows.
I sound like an Orange 5 riding down a metal stairwell when I get up on a morning. My favourite is skateboarders ankle, wherein my ankles make snapping noises when I walk upstairs. If I ever become a burglar it’ll be bungalows only.
I’m beginning to accept I’ll be utterly ruined in my 50’s. Bring on the Tramadol!
50, can still climb and ride with my younger mates for around 2hrs then I tend to slow right down. I struggle with multi-day rides, we did 5 days in Wales and TBH I could’ve sacked it off after 3 days.
I really struggle with sleep, getting to sleep, staying asleep and then waking up at the crack of dawn. That really impacts my motivation.
Injuries from crashes take a lot longer to heal and after an infected bite last year my rh little finger is rather wonky and tight. I also have trigger thumb from too many shifts with tight cables, they sound like gunshots every now and again when I bend them (Mrs M does not think this is a valid reason for getting AXS)
I really should stretch more and eat better and cut back on the booze.
Currently running a singlespeed and that’s really helping with the fitness.
69 here, no aches or pain still working part time - electrician. only suffer if I don't get enougth sleep
This post has made my day. I'm 46
*My head is f@#$&d
*Everything hurts
*Don't know who I am, what I should be like or what I want
The bared suffering of singletrack souls suddenly makes more sense. It's normal(ish) by the sounds of it. Once I accept that and stop dwelling on my suffering it'll probably improve.
Right I'm heading out the door...once I've had a few tramadol
I'm 57. I gave up motorcycling at 50 due to the numb hands. Took up cycling instead and have never looked back (I never did much exercise before). I still get numb hands when riding but waving them in the air sorts that out. As for the bed aches, it probably is your mattress. Take the missus to a few really nice hotels and you'll see the difference it can make
49 and pretty ****ed really! Knee replacement last year with my good knee grumbling most days. OA in both wrists that's managed with steroid injection. dodgy shoulder. Under investigation for some cardiac issue and waiting and MRI for it. History of CFS/ME too.
Lots of sport and abuse in my yoof with martial arts, climbing, running, long distance walking and back packing, plus cycling.
Can't remember a day when I wasn't knackered and aching, but I still cycle, walk and have an active job. I just suffer lots and enjoy my sofa at home!
2 car crashes - one that got me in hospital for a few weeks. Most ribs broken, collar bones several times, sternum cracked 4 times in the two crashes (pre inertia reel seatbelts). Left arm broken twice. Most bones in both feet broken at some point (See car crash from when both feet hard on the pedals met engine in a Mk1 Escort coming to join me in the passenger compartment.) A lot of torn bits in the waves.
Currently I just ache a couple of days a year when it is really cold and damp but when I get old I'm not looking forward to it.
Sleep is pretty crappy though and I find after tracking it for a while that alcohol really affects resting heart rate and sleep, so I try to have 2 weeks off it a month and only one binge weekend.
Luckily never had weight issues other than being a bit too light at times and have consistently exercised a lot since forever.
I feel when it goes it will be a massive failure of everything over one weekend adn I will have the Monday from Hell.
Although typing this now I feel a bit stiff and achey.
Mindgames.
54. Motorbike accident at 22 (broken nose/scaphoid, facial lacerations, skinned knees, thousand cuts and bruises), broken arm a couple times, dislocated a finger (needed reseated by operation). Bad back (it seizes up every now and then).
I found things went down hill fast from 46. Eyesight (needed specs for reading then), and everything just takes increasingly longer to heal...
About to turn 49.
Interesting last 5 years where I've had a couple of ablations for AF, a PE and found I likely have an autoimmune condition resulting in blood clots. So I'm on anticoagulants, beta-blockers and a few other concoctions for life.
Funnily enough this doesn't affect me too much but I find the small things do - a lot like the aches and pains discussed above. I don't get them often but they do get me down when I do.
Cycling has proved incredibly therapeutic for my body and mind. I found I was slightly losing my mojo for it over the summer but events like North London Dirt and a bikepacking trip to Mull in two weeks seem to sort me out.
I quite literally feel your pain. Same age at 46, used to skateboard till early 20's, 2 broken arms a broke wrist and a leg in 2 places.
I also have a disabled son who I have to help get about. My lower back is a complete mess!
My neck and shoulders are tight as a granny knot.
I've just got back to mtb after many years of just being a roadie.
So your not alone with your constant aches and pains.
I think I can attribute most of mine to everyday life unfortunately.
What are all of you mid 40's types doing to yourselves to end up in such a state 🙂
I'm 55, have been playing sport Karate/Squash/5 a side/MTB, with weight training and running thrown in all the way through, and am feeling no different or less fit than in my early 20's.
Well, I must say it makes me feel better that nearly everyone else is ****** too .. 😂
I've recently had some tests for carpal tunnel due to the hands numbing thing but not had any results back yet.
I'm not convinced it's that. I mean, tonight coming home on my motorbike, my hands were just really painful more so than numb. My thumb wrapping round the throttle could be very much felt and was very uncomfortable.
I've been using my hands all day though I guess, building some plywood furniture.
Drinking water I'm definitely bad at. I'm kind of addicted to diet Coke... I know, I know... But yeah, I need to get on top of the water thing. Most days I would say I rarely drink any actual straight up water, bad as I know that is.
Had blood tests which I think ruled out any rheumatoid presence. I don't know... Gets me down. 😐
As for the bed aches, it probably is your mattress.
+1
For years I'd been having constant funny aches and pains, sometimes quite bad back pain that would last days. I put it down to age.
Last month we bough a new bed. For no particular reason a firm mattress was chosen. 2 months later no pain. Literally no pain. Totally unexpected and welcome.
Mind you the best thing I did to counter feeling decrepit was lose 3 stone and increase exercise.
Get your testosterone levels checked and Testo replacement of low! Muscle mass starts going downhill after 30 something. Good article in the guardian the other day.
What are all of you mid 40’s types doing to yourselves to end up in such a state
It would seem skateboarding could be the culprit. Smashing yourself repeatedly in to concrete, tarmac, stairs, kerbs and handrails at speed in hindsight would appear to be a terrible idea.
61 soon and, sorry OP, I don't recognise much of your post as being relevant to me.
Just got myself a motorbike a couple of years ago after a 25 year absence and really loving it again. Rides are getting longer and longer. A couple of wee tours lined up for next year.
Still bivvying regularly all year round. Sleep well in all temperatures and don't moan and grumble getting up etc.
No supplements, quack treatments, weird or restrictive diets.
I could do with working on upper body strength as I think I'm losing that but currently about as fit as I've ever been.
Sleep about 5 hrs per night but that's been the case since my 30s.
Maybe it is an attitude of mind thing?
As others have said, hydration, good sleep, (sleep aopnea?) getting enough sunlight? (Vit D broken bones are a red light for that ) some sort of yoga pilates type thing every week. Environmental health eg limit blue light (screens at night) get black out curtains, open the window a bit at night so getting enough air. No caffiene after midday. Eat some cuciferous veg every day, cut out sugar, eat fibre, eggs avocados more rice and protien and fish less wheat. Do electric motorbikes cause numb hands less? Possibly look at them in future.
Plenty that is worth trying that wont cause any harm and may well do some good but habits can be hard to break too.
I didn't suffer any aches and pains until after about 60. Apart from my knees which are a bit screwed and don't have as much stamina as the rest of my body. However, since retiring at 65 and spending several hours a week on the bike and losing a bit of weight (I was an enormous 10st hulk due to Greggs and the Coop) I'm back to no aches and pains at all. Well apart from those wretched knees, but they are OK on the bike.
Did my first Ironman aged 49. Did IM Wales aged 52.
Mid 50s now and feeling good.
Can still get up the big mid-Wales climbs on the mtb and not at the back of the group of younger riders.
Bit of a medial meniscus tear had kept me off running for a year but just getting back on that.
Generally feeling good.
Just gotta keep getting on with it.
40, arthritic elbow due to a crash and problems with my knees over past couple of years. Stretching and core strengthening exercises are helping with the latter. Getting better.
Previously, had a really bad lower back. Pilates, stretching and lifting weights has fixed that. I would v recommend mixing all that stuff up. Just cycling is really bad for you.
One revelation I had recently though was riding with a very very quick rider in his mid 50s. Inspirational. Just when I am wondering hmmm how long can I keep going, maybe I should ease off a bit, he comes along and proves it is possible to carry on hitting it hard. I'm aspiring to that.
Feeling pretty good at 48. I've always been a big fan of circuit training and have started flexibility and core training this year which really helps. Being an intermittent night worker I've also found Vit D supplements help generally.
On top of this I can only recommend to all who haven't done it yet - get yourself down to a Well Man clinic at the doctor's. Why wouldn't you?
It would seem skateboarding could be the culprit. Smashing yourself repeatedly in to concrete, tarmac, stairs, kerbs and handrails at speed in hindsight would appear to be a terrible idea.
Dunno, i'm still skating lots at 42 without ill effects! The entire weekend was skating 1/2 pipes and concrete bowls and was still OK for work at 5am on Monday. Takes a couple of days to get over a really bad slam but other than that i'm all good.
I played football, skated, raced BMX & MTB in my younger years and moved in to working very manual jobs offshore later on and have been lucky to have never suffered much in the way of injury and feel pretty fit and healthy as a result. Now i primarily sit behind a desk.
I do take supplements for my joints and general health and eat reasonably healthy foods. I also drink lots of water.
Yeah, supplements... Never sure if they're a waste of money or not.
I had been tested with low vit D before so might be worth a look. These supplements though, don't you just wazz them right out?.💧
47, fixed lots of my post 40 blues... (Bad back and feeling rough).
Sleep, limited or no booze, sit stand desk, virtually no sugar, hard riding regularly - doesn't need to be a long one. Just hard as you can.
Good food. Limited pasta.
Stretches - have minimal success with. But new physio has given me a nicely mixed routine.
Get up early and caffeine.
Not a saint, too many chips!
It's all about figuring out what works but if I had to come down on one thing I would say a consistent sleep pattern.
49 been active all my life trained reasonably hard for various sports for a majority. Rugby and sprinting have had an effect as has climbing and MTB.
Some mornings my legs are sore most mornings my feet and ankles make lots of clicking sounds.
Pilates has really helped. Recently started 5km runs before work(on a treadmill) and I feel best on Thursday after Pilates.
44 here, running has been best thing I've done, 2 years now, started doing couch to 5k, done a couple of ultras now, have a 40 miler on Saturday.
3 stone down, knee that used to be stiffer than coal is now brilliant, and I don't get up in the morning like a wooden man any more.
As scotroutes above, I could do with doing some upper body stuff too, starting a bootcamp next week if I don't die in Saturday. 😊
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”
Hunter S. Thompson
49. Done lots of hard physical jobs, hard partying and hard travelling. Painter and decorator now so still an active job. 5 minute stretching routine morning and evening has made big difference. Treadmill in gym over winter when it’s dark and rubbish weather midweek helped a lot this year. Definitely takes longer to recover these days but that’s life. Elbows bit knackered and dodgy knee but still head back to Himalaya to ride next year. Keep on keeping on.
Lol if this post proves anything... it's that we love to talk about our health! My turn...62 and riding harder than ever, plus kitesurfing, racketball, weights and snowboarding when I can. I have more aches and pains than I care to think about (see my stw handle), BUT see those as a challenge to overcome rather than a reason to stop. It's amazing what you can do if you stay positive (and yes to the younger woman 62/32...or did that happen because of the positivity?)
Timely thread - I am definately aching more (46) than 2 years ago, and more tired. Life of sport with various injuries niggling still but have really only done cycling regularly now for 10 years and since finishing house renovations 4 years ago my core strength is dissipating. Going to put that right and the quick regular twice a day stretching/yoga thing seems to be the way to go as I can't stand gyms.
When I was 38, I was taken to hospital by ambulance because I had lost all feeling in both of my legs. It turns out I had a double prolapse that was impinging on the nerves on both sides of my lumbar spine.
Since then, I have managed to keep things under control with a combination of NSAIDs, a heating pad, stretching, losing two stone, and regular cycling. (Believe it or not, cycling has actually improved my back pain!)
I am now 47, and my accident has set me back somewhat. I haven't had a completely pain-free day since last October, but I stubbornly refuse to give up. I get sad and frustrated all the time, especially when I see that my jeans and t-shirts are too tight with all the weight I have put on; but I absolutely refuse to give in. Too much to live for.
I've noticed a few folk in this thread have mentioned sore necks and I also get this. I regularly go to the physio for him to mobilise it, but does anyone have any good neck stretches they can recommend?? Apart from a noose (bad joke)
almost 44 and a lot of the time my body feels like a skin sack full of broken glass.
Still have a good quality of life though and mostly doesn't keep me off the bike!
Another one feeling lucky here, 46 and largely trouble-free. Feeling stronger and fewer niggly little pains since starting gym this year too.
Recovery time is the main thing I've noticed slipping, be it from over-exertion or over-indulgence.
47, arthritic finger from crash, slightly unreliable knees, but otherwise in pretty decent shape. No real aches and pains, happy riding as much as I can fit in. May race BMX next year. I could do with getting some upper body strength back, but otherwise feeling pretty lucky compared to some on here.
Although I did have cancer when I was 43 and will be pissing in a bag for the rest of my life, so swings and roundabouts!
37 and it varies
I've got a ceramic hip after a broken pelvis ages 25.
Did t12 vertebrae at 18
Thumb fracture that's giving me issues
Some days I'm fresh other days I struggle
Not looking forward to being 57
im 39,
not particularly fit but my god my knees. they hurt after any form of riding. I struggle to keep up with the Wednesday night social rides (im riding at 100% all the time) everything hurts and i dont sleep like i used to. Id pay for a good nights sleep tbh. the neck shoulders and arms are really sore every other day and go numb at night. I look at the people i ride with that are 10-20 years older and they seem to have no such issues.
apart from that alright.
39 here, my right big toe joint hurts daily and has done for a few years. I still have a frozen shoulder from collar bone annihilation in March, my left knee is b*ggered from my ACL going at 25 but it only gives me grief if I really push it. I ache a bit but not like some.
Overall I consider myself lucky, but I feel this is fairly normal. We're human, not machines. Keep going until your body literally prevents you from doing so.
Edit: forgot the sciatica too.
Arthritis in my big toes
Tendonitis in my Achilles
Torn all bar 1 ligament in my ankles playing rugby
Torn cartilage in right knee twice
Currently got a dodgy muscle in my lower back
Broken rib in my back which never set properly
Sore wrist from chipped bone which never set properly
Fingers and thumbs variously broken and twisted out of shape.
And currently most annoying is my badly broken nose rubbing on my glasses
Of the above I get pain from one or more body parts daily, particularly in the winter, but it moves around a bit so none of it is chronic, just annoying. I can't really run anymore, but I can hike up to about 10 miles and then I'll be in bits the next day. Similarly a long or rough day riding and my lower limbs complain. I'm not too disappointed with how my body is holding up, but I am starting to feel my youth is catching up on me.
Importantly though I dont regret any of my actions that ended up with my trips to A&E (or when I should have gone there). I would go back and do it all again as it was a bloody good laugh!
Jeez this thread is just an excuse for people to let us know how awsum they are by humblebragging about all their injuries!
If you want to feel old in your forties, keep thinking that way...or just get on and do stuff and feel young!
+1 for daily stretching here. I'm 44, sedentary job, my back really used to bother me but I feel the benefits of stretching every day I do a regular routine that mixes static and kinetic stretches. Static stuff is always for 30 seconds I read somewhere that this is the minimum time to get the benefit. I also recently got a pull up bar to do dead hangs. Initially I could last a few seconds before hands, wrists etc would fail but over time I've really progressed. It's been a revelation, really opens up the spine and shoulders I don't get any bother in my upper body on longer rides.
Another big lifestyle change has been giving up booze. As I got older I just couldn't take as much and was always getting unjustifiably severe hangovers. I did miss a good beer though. Happily, there's some really good low/no alcohol options now. Try Big Drop Brewery. Their stout and pale ale are excellent
If you want to feel old in your forties, keep thinking that way…
There's a good quote in Joe Friel's 'Fast After Fifty': "you aren't old until you use age as an excuse".
I feel much better at 49 than I did at 45, mostly because of lifestyle choices (eating less and keeping weight down - still allowing junk and beer, just less often, all things in moderation) and making time to exercise more, which has become easier as the kids get older. Following advice on here, stretches and yoga plus some resistance training has sorted out my greatest issue, which was my lower back.
Approaching 47 and feel in pretty good shape.
I actually have found that the times I’ve stopped exercising is when I’ve had more aches and pains.
I’ve done lots of sport over the years and no long term issues from that
I’ve always had office based jobs though which in some ways helps but also doesn’t help.
49, and feeling lucky after reading this thread!
Generally pain free day to day unless I'm injured from the bike (getting to the end of a suspected broken toe at the minute). I do have a mystery inflammatory foot condition that flares up once or twice a year and pretty much immobilises me for a day or three until the Naproxen kicks in (7 years into this with no diagnosis, other than it's not Gout and might be related to Osteoarthritis but not sure since it moves around both feet at random), but apart from that I'm good.
Actually feel better now than I did in my mid-forties. I started to get the stiffness and involuntary groaning when I stood up thing around 45/46 but that's disappeared now. I do have some odd creaks and 'grating' feelings in my neck from time to time (no pain at all) but that seems to have improved noticeably over the last year or so. Early forties I had 6 months of irregular heartbeat and ectopic beats with no identified cause, but they went away and I now maybe get an isolated skip or two a couple of times a year if I'm unlucky.
Could do with dropping 15kg or so, and really should have a proper go at that over the winter as I've got the vague notion to JOGLE in my 50th year. Should also really get into Yoga and some strength work now my muscles are apparently wasting away, but overall feeling as physically good as I ever have.
This is great to hear. At 42, a decade of diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis in hands, not enough exercise, too much beer and 2 young children,I thought it was just me that felt like this😜