[Closed] Middle-age - managing the physical side

Bought a sports car yet? Loads of blokes your age do it, so it must help?

Alas I've arrived at mid-life without a pot to p%ss in but I did buy a baseball cap last week and I look like William Hague.

Shit...you've got my sympathy 😂..

Just don't think and act " middle-aged " ..and you are half way there ..

Interested in this. I’m now 43 and my biggest problem is the middle aged spread ! Despite exercising a lot I just can’t shift the gut. I do karate twice a week and ride my bike 3 times a week. Also knock out a couple of rowing machine sessions.

still the weight just doesn’t shift 🙁 it’s getting me down a bit !

I'll quote Joe Friel:

Age is only a problem when you use it as an excuse

I'm 59 and basically just get on with things. Don't let anyone say "Oh, you can't do that at your age" Obviously things like full contact rugby might be pushing things a bit. I'm not going to keep up with fit/strong 20yr olds (If I could then there's something wrong with them!) but that's no reason not to try occasionally.

You'll have more days when you just feel wasted than when you are young but if you accept that they'll happen and don't worry about them then you'll recover and can do stuff a day or two later.

Exercise is shit for weight loss really.  Humans are really efficient.  Eat less too!

I'm finding my recovery times have got a lot worse since I hit 40 something. Nutrition helps me I think.  Forgot to eat for a few hours after a ride the other week and felt awful the whole of the next day.

Came across this a few years ago:

http://www.rajeun.net/rejuvenation.html

what age OP?

A lot of it's in the mind I reckon. I'm 41 next week, 2 young kids, demanding job etc. I see a massive difference in demeanor between myself and most guys my age - I refuse to become that grumpy middle age man who's always out on his bike to avoid his wife etc.

Add in some interesting commutes on your mountain bike, try not to spend too much time on a road bike (that seems to make men grumpier. I'm ****ed if I know why but it does. And I find if I go on my gravel bike on the road it's not involved enough, so I end up thinking too much which is generally a bad thing. MTB forces you out of consciousness which is super important). Embrace fun times with the family and accept life is different. Box clever in terms of creating to.e to ride and stay fit, but be accepting that you're not 25 any more.

Most important, keep a positive outlook and sense of fun - that'll pay dividends in both physical and mental health.

59, had to give up squash about 50'ish as knees were causing me a problem. But continued riding bikes, climbing and caving. I'm fortunate that I don't seem to put on weight - still the same weight and waist size as I was in my 20's.

If I do anything which uses different muscles, then I notice the following days. I wouldn't hesitate to try another activity ( surfing still on the bucket list ), and don't worry about age specifically.

Just get on with it as Whitestone said !

taken up yoga and mindfulness

I've heard of yoga, but WTF is mindfulness?

41 here and still think I’m in my 20’s. Do a circuit class for an hour on Monday, Wednesday is boxing and a core class and Friday is functional fitness. I’ll get out on the MTB when possible and hit the gym to mess about on the Olympic Rings, barbell (compound exercises) or heavy bag after the kids are in bed.

I’m not as fit as I was and am now around 12st instead of 10st. Other than that I don’t feel mentally or physically old. Still see being in your 40’s as being young really. Don’t concern yourself with how you look and avoid the scales.

Some good points esp about not skipping meals and accepting rest days not fighting them.

Mindfulness is basically meditation.

I think my main issue is energy levels. When i spend the day in london just walking around the next day i feel like ive been hit by a train. Hence the question about supplements.

Oh im 45 btw but my knee surgeon says i have the knees of a 70 year old due to injuries.

@handybar one thing I've found that definitely helps my energy levels is using a supergreens powder mixed with a lean whey protein each morning.

I don't claim to know the science but definitely feel the benefits. Here's the one I have been using for the last few months:  https://amzn.to/2LSLXZQ

I'm 45 on Tuesday.

Ooh death
Whooooah death
Won't you spare me over ‘til a another year?

😐

I don’t feel old at all, having a 2 and a 9 year old keep me mentally young (and acting stupid 99%of the time 😀) , but I just can’t shift the weight around my middle and moobs.

I’m 43.

42-43 something like that, idgaf.. baby at home, job where i sit on my ass all day in front of a PC...eat bad, and go to bed too soon after.. get out when i can, which is less lately. weight has gone up a touch since the littleun, as wasn't a whippet before.. dont worry about it - do the best you can and remember to have fun. if you really want to shift the timber..diet. my boss was around my age when he cut out sugar and he went from 20+ stone to 11 stone through that, and taking up running.

I,ve found 55 to be the age where health problems seem to be multiplying.Youve just got to try and rage rage rage against the dying of the light.Dylan

48 few weeks ago. Physical job lots of driving. Taken up yoga more stretching at home. Watch what I eat, cut down on booze, accept rest days are needed. Keep doing it all. Got mates in 70's still climb at a high level and bike hard. Accept midweek rides are a necessity for fitness more than fun. A lot does appear to be a state of mind. Think your old you will behave old.

Joe Friel's book, Fast After 50, is excellent on the basic principles. Explains what elements of your fitness tend to deteriorate as you age and how to train, eat and recover to stay quick. In really simple as you age you lose explosive power and strength unless you're prepared to train those elements of your fitness. You recover more slowly. And you need to eat more protein.

If you just potter along at a steady, slow-ish pace you'll simply turn into one of those trundly old gits who can ride all day at 5mph, but can't sprint, or support their own bodyweight... or something like that.

I think part of the problem is that people start seeing themselves as trapped in a vicious circle of inevitable deterioration, but there's a whole generation of cyclists and other athletes who've been training and racing hard for their entire adult lives and showing that's not necessarily the case. But if you don't use it, you'll lose it. Someone like Nick Craig's now almost 50 and still kicking butt at elite level. Inspirational.

Anyway.. it's a good book for basic principle stuff, even if you're not going to get into the detailed training suggestions.

One of the few good conversations in Top Gear was Hammond and Clarkson suggesting that they best way to go through the pearly gates was backwards with your hair on fire in some mad sports car that had just been through a hedge...The trick is pulling that off when you're to decrepit to actually get out of the car...

Rob Warner said something similar, he wanted to stand in front of St Peter an absolutely battered wreak of a human, properly used up. There's nothing worse IMO than expiring in some bed all flabby and rounded.

so use it, don't worry about age, who cares about that shit?

There is a lot of difference between 40 and 50.  At 40 I still felt like I did in my 20's, at 50 I don't.  I am still the same weight as when I was in 20's but I am not as fast and I do not recover as well.

What do I do about it, nothing - continue to eat well and do exercise and accept the fact I am no longer 20.  I still enjoy riding just as much I am just a bit slower

The trick is to get past 50 as that seems to be the age where you see quite a few people die!

Californian anti ageing clinic. Come out with T patches and HGH cream. Drop a couple of Cats and hook up with a 20 something gold digger.

Sounds like a good way to go.

Whitestone has it:just get on with doing whatever it is you do. The people I know who complain about age fall into 2 camps: the ones who've always found a reason not to excercise and the unlucky / silly ones who've genuinely buggered themselves in some way.

I'm 40 and find I get a lot more tired than I used to from work and riding, and the body hurts more from old injuries especially in winter. I just try and be more Hunter S Thompson though

+ 1 for JF's book particularly regarding nutrition.

I ride with some TT'ers much older than me (I'm 56) and much stronger. So old age is less of a limiter with greater understanding of your bodies needs and tolerance to exercise. I've become more risk averse and ride less mtb and more roadie stuff. Much bigger now on nutritional requirements for the old(er) body too pre/during/after exercise.

Being more Hunter S Thompson could cover a lot of things!

@whitestone @handybar Completely agree! If you think 'old' you'll feel old...

I'm 48 with 2 kids under 6 - maybe that helps as I don't get much chance to slob around 🙂 Do still get out on the bike out weeks though and still enjoy it and don't have recovery problems... yet. I also do simple things at work such as going to speak to people in person if possible, rather than pick up the phone. All the little bits of exercise help. Weight can become an issue. I've found personally that watching what I eat is the most important factor - exercise has many benefits, but it isn't the best tool for losing weight. All the little snacks don't help  - I lost a stone or two by cutting them out and not overdoing the carbs at meal times (less pasta/rice/potatoes, more of everything else to compensate). Otherwise I try to be very disciplined through the week and eat/drink what I like on holidays/weekends. What I find most frustrating is others, including my dad, asking if I'm well because I'm thinner than I was at 40  - what was a normal weight before the turn of the century now appears to be a cause for concern... My GP is happy though!

What is middle-age anyway? I'm mid 40s and going by average life expectancy, I'm over the hill already. But some say more 50s+ is middle-age.

Anyway, I'm fitter than I've ever been in endurance terms. Was only as a teen I had sprint ability that I'd never match now. Less agility now though, but more than 10 years ago when I did very little riding.

Main thing is stuff hurts more when I crash. And then outside of riding, stuff is going downhill. Eyesight is in the reading glasses required territory and noticeably changing over time. Digestion is struggling now, though it's mainly a realisation I can't pig out on stuff with loads of booze and feel fine about it the next day/week. I've seen the doctor more in the last 10 years than I've ever seen them in the rest of my life. Also got a bathroom cabinet full of drugs. A clear middle-age sign. Though half of it is painkillers for all the bike related injuries 😀

just coming up 40 with 2 under 3.  I find I'm knackered a lot.  I am still reasonably quick on the bike but nothing like pre kids.  I find to do a hard ride I have to take a caffeine pill to get going.  once I'm up to speed I feel good, don't have the top end I did but not far off.  But recovery is horrible tend to be hurting for 3-4 days after.  Not nice doms type pain, hurting hips / neck / lower back. Generally stretch / yoga every day or I start seizing up and it gets worse.  Add that in with breathing issues due to anxiety I'm finding stuff tough this year.  Working on it and it is getting better slowly.

I take a bundle of vits.  seem to help.  omega 3, iron and myproteins 'alphaman'.  turns your wee a funny colour....

50 too and if it was not for my busted knee I'd feel no different from my 20's except all-round fitter. I do make sure I 'rage again the dying light' as often as I can. For instance, I will do heavy squats/bench press for power, regular sprints with my cycling group and do 100m swim sprints (this is exhausting). My endurance is still good but it is the power that needs to be worked on.

My then 90-year-old granddad told me always make sure you do something that makes you sweat at least once a day.

I don't think it's a complaint about age, simply advice on managing it. All this motivational crap is going to be wasted here since the OP is clearly committed to exercise as it is.

I'm 42, my bike fitness is probably as good as it's ever been and my weight is similar to what it's been for the last 15 years or so, but my flexibility is deteriorating. Wondering if Pilates would be worth it - but I generally need something I can do on my own at a time that suits, rather than a class.

48 and I can not see how people could say they are fitter than ever. There is no way I could compete with a version of me 20-30. Not on any level. Unless there there has been some serious slothdom involved.

Oldest offspring(15) had a bash at Zwift on my account. Pissed all over what I could do for 20 minutes once we adjusted body weight. About right for the real world where he kills me on the climbs but suffers on the flats. He has not ridden a bike since I fell off(four months ago) and buggered myself whereas I have been thrashing myself since I could stand my arm hanging there.

You can kid yourselves, but 50 is not at any peak of physical optimum. There are plenty of books telling you it might be but......Nah. Actually you are way past optimum.

48 and I can not see how people could say they are fitter than ever.

It depends on how much riding you did in your 20s doesn't it? 🙂

I used to have much greater ability to sprint, so with far less training I could probably have kept up on most climbs. But back then, 20 mins into an XC race I was buggered, now I can keep at it with consistent strength for far longer.

45 pfft youngsters of today.

53 here enjoying cycling more than ever. yes bumps and bruises take longer to heal.

Testosterone levels plummet as you enter your 50s and 60s and the natural female hormones don't diminish so you grow man boobs and accumulate fat. Alcohol also suppresses testosterone, a double whammy.

I'm 62 and I started that mountain biking lark when I was 32 so that kept me fitter than I was as just a climber and walker. Then about 9 years ago I swopped to road riding which got me much much fitter; I don't think I could sustain my current lifestyle without that fitness. The only problem with road cycling is that it gives you fantastic cycling muscles at the expense of everything else so now doing DIY and anything involving arm strength is hard work.

Still, retirement looms, we've bought a plot in Scotland and the house will have a bike workshop, gym and pottery studio for Mrs Gti, plus I dream of having a skiff on the nearby loch for enjoyable exercise and keeping the back and shoulders strong.

47 here ... not as good as some things I used to do on a bike 15yrs ago, but also better than some things I used to do on a bike too.

Strava tells me some of my times are not as fast as before; but occasionally I will get a PR which tells me that decline is still not happening.

An advantage of getting older is that we learn more about our bodies. I know alcohol and processed foods do not burn well with me - both slow me down; so I avoid both as much as possible.
Rest and recovery become more important for sure also.

I’m 50 in a few weeks, balding quickly and really overweight.

but if I’m out on my bike and see an opportunity to show some **** the way, that’s what will instantly happen.

whitestone has it above,

attitude matters, get on with it, and accept that recovery may take a little longer than before.

Age is a state of mind imo.

The only problem with road cycling is that it gives you fantastic cycling muscles at the expense of everything else so now doing DIY and anything involving arm strength is hard work.

That's why it helps to factor in some sort of resistance training, even if it's just a couple of core sessions and some pull-ups every week. There's a mental thing for sure, but as per the Friel book, if you want to stay fast - or fast-ish - you can tweak your training, recovery and nutrition to help, which is where the Friel book is useful.

It's irrelevant whether you're faster or slower than your younger self since you're never going to run into that person who may or may not have been as fast as you remember / think / imagine. But it doesn't really matter, what counts is where you are now.

Overall I guess you have the option of just doing what you've always done and gradually fading, because that's physiology, or - if you're that way inclined - you can actively tweak your lifestyle to stay stronger and decrease the rate of decay. I guess it's down to how you're wired and what matters to you.

The problem (in my personal opinion) with fit people as they age is that many don't do enough resistance work, instead sticking with the cardio they've always done.  Whilst cycling will always be my overriding passion I make sure I fit in 2 to 3 HIT/Circuits/Insanity/flexibility and balance sessions a week, variety is key.  Whilst I can't stand the boredom of weights, a bit of jumping around and push-up type stuff makes the world of difference and, being purely vain, once you get moobs they don't look easy to shift.

I recall a Radio 4 programme recently that detailed how complications from trips and falls often lead to death in the elderly and maintaining good balance and core strength was essential.  They said a good test was to attempt to balance on one leg for 10 seconds with your eyes closed; it's surprisingly difficult.

I'm 44 and have been cycling for fitness for ~19 months, easily the fittest I've been since ~1995.

As a teen in the 80s, I was sports mad and a decent level at many, but cycling was simply a method of transport. Came to Southampton uni in 1992 and the number of sports I did regularly were drastically reduced, besides Taekwondo. By '96, I was working crazy amounts of hours and made no times for fitness activities. Then I went pear-shaped around 2000, dealing with mental health issues and eating far too much. Fitness improved for a while in 2004, using the aerobic machines at the gym with a bit of weights, but that stopped once I began working again which lead to me piling on the pounds again to ~85Kg or so. It was only when the car had to go in late 2011 that I began to any exercise again that would regularly got my heart going, by commuting by bike (but oblivious to Strava). But then I had a freak RTA on the way to work on 23/12/2013, catastropic brake failure and ploughing into the back of a stationary rubbish collection lorry resulting in serious skull and hand injuries that kept me off work for several months. Over the following 2.5 years, my weight piled back on again to ~95Kg and I was seriously unfit, as demonstrated one morning running late for my bus (as cycle commuting was now very sporadic after the rta).

That's when I realised something had to change for the better, I was heading for an early grave if I carried on as I was. In June 2016 I began a ruthless quest to eat less, then in January 2017 began very local intensive rides of ~1 hour most days before discovering the South Downs last June.

The heatwave hasn't helped, but generally, I try to do two power/heart intensive rides of ~30-40 miles per week on top of commutes, plus ones or two gentle paced rides. DT78 was indirectly a good motivator for helping me improve my times up a lot of the cat4 climbs, as he was the Strava STW leaderboard #1 for many and I was quite chuffed to beat a fair few of them.

Usually I go hard on the climbs and then take it very easy after the summits, but sometimes I will throw in continuous efforts of 20+ and 60+ mins, which means trying to keep power up on the flats and downhill.

Buy a ebike - ride with a smile on your face......

52 and ****ed.

1 thing i know, is that too much sport wears your body out a lot quicker than doing no sport.

ex professional rugby player, life long cyclist.

3 serious surgeries in the last 4 years, and 2 more to come in the near future.

3 fused joints, 1 new hip.

wish i had spent more of my life relaxing and reading.

Didn't realise I had a target on my back 🙂

I'm on my way back to form....concentrating on dropping weight at the moment, down to 78, 6 to go.  Plan to get motivated over winter and have a good 2019.  Then I hope my times will tumble.

I went back to riding math more just to get the enjoyment back.  Once youvelost some fitness road riding and strata become depressing

Forget all the gym crap, strava etc. Don't train, ride for fun.

Don't do anything that risks joint injury.

Don't eat shit food, and remember that beer gives you tits.

Ride a singlespeed because it tones the entire body so you don't need to waste riding time doing "exercises".

Lift your riding position so you can enjoy the views.

Try to knock off a 200km audax every few months.

That's the advice my 73 year old self would give my 40 year old self.

And I have the advantage of knowing it works. 🙂

Ok you win! Although the beer thing....?

I'd suggest that generally the same principles apply for healthy eating and exercise at any age, but I think weight training is a good idea for older cyclists. I definitely notice my muscle mass and strength decreasing in the last few years.

The good news is that the decline is manageable and not inevitably catastrophic. I was riding a 600km Audax recently, in a fairly brisk group, and one older gentleman was consistently giving us a hard time and powering away on the climbs. He turned out to be 62, lives near Rosedale Chimney, and rides up it every day!

Ride a singlespeed because it tones the entire body so you don’t need to waste riding time doing “exercises”.

I have to disagree.

I'm 57 and I'm finding its all about rationing out energy and recovery. If I only cycled and devoted all my training energy and recovery to that then I'm a decent cyclist able to finish in the first third of sportives regardless of age group. However I do other things like hill walking and life in general which require resistance to impact and upper body strength both of which I do not get from cycling so in order to do a hard days hillwalking and not have my legs screwed for three days afterwards or being able to do a days gardening without aching the next day I have to do some running and gym work as well as cycling. I don't now have the energy and, more importantly, the recovery to do all that without something suffering so I've accepted that I have to let my cycling performance slip a bit in order to do the other training which lets me do the other stuff that's important in my life.

Seriously....life’s too short to worry about it.

Eat healthy (ish)

Exercise (which you probably already do)

Have fun doing what you love.

Middle age....sorted.

Thanks all.

I think some of my problems come from the fact I did lots of sports previously and picked up injuries which were never properly addressed. I also kept up the rugby binge drinking sessions for too long.

In terms of energy levels, much of this is also probably to do with just being very busy in terms of work and family. I've noticed it does return when I go on holiday.

The lifestyle changes are early days so hopefully I will start seeing some results - I will update this thread accordingly. Cheers, handybar.

Things I've noticed:

One you've lost your speed, its a lot, lot harder to get it back - make sure you do some maximal effort stuff now and again, even if it's just blasting hills on your regular rides.

Recovery - doing back-to-back 'hard' days is far tougher - take an easy day after a hard one.

Be realistic about your weaknesses and do something about it - riding a bike lots won't fix a weak core.

Ride with younger people as it'll work you harder.

For me the tricks that seem to be working are:

Focus on getting good core strength - the most important thing - every time you move it is working off your core.

Look after your back...once to 'do it in' it will never be the same again and will be a weak point forever. So trying to lift up the washing machine by yourself is something you might have got away with twenty years ago...but not now.

Prevent or stop doing anything explosive....work colleagues of mine of a similar age still playing football, playing squash or anything like that are now dropping with busted achilles...if they wait for them to heal then go back then they bust them again. It's your body telling you something....explosive sports are for youths.

Stay flexible, especially the lower back

Warm up and cool down before any exercise with emphasis on warm up.

Keep mobile..do as much exercise as often as possible. I aim to do something every day..even if it is a 30 min gym session or a stiff walk at lunchtime at work...fast enough to get a little out of breath.

Stay young in your mind and outlook. As soon as your mind starts giving in to old age then the next thing you know you'll be looking at adverts for those fur lined, ankle high shoes with zips up the front and thinking "They look comfortable, I'll get a pair".

66.

Ride bikes a lot and get a power kite for a decent workout of legs and upper body.

On the roadie (which is my sole form of exercise at the moment) I've been concentrating on quality rather than quantity, so for exampe driving out to ride thus missing the boring 10 miles I've ridden a hundred times and starting the best bit with fresh legs.  So the tour of the Bowland fells with a climb of The Trough becomes 35 miles of enjoyable cruise without the 15-20 miles of trudging out and back. I do car-borne trips to The Dales and I'm planning a trip up to Penrith soon to ride Hartside Summit and the access road to Cross Fell, short but better done on fresh legs. This way I enjoy the rides and don't find them an exhausting pain in the arse.

no quick cure for your ills..... I just hit the gym as much as I can and also get out on my bike as much as I can, I don't take supplements at all, but I try to eat sensibly (notice I never mentioned healthy), and I am 61 and still feel the lactic burn of a heavy workout or bike ride...

Whilst more prevelant in America, proper male TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) is available privately in the UK and there are a few clinics about.

I know a number of people over 40 and 50+ who this has been life changing for in both physical and mental health.

sync - does that then affect race entries? Pushing into drug assisted performance surely.

46 here, just ride my bike. Mix up local rides, sometimes short, sometimes long. MTB and a little CX. Just did my first "road" (CX bike with slicks Inc pave) ride this year = 163.41 miles / 9000' / 13hrs and finished in reasonable condition, so pleased with that.

I get that strength work would probably help, but time constraints mean I'm looking to start some yoga sometime soon.

Cyclings a good sport for an aging body to participate in

Keep the intensity and reduce the volume, cycling and swimming are ok but really two sides of the same coin.

55 here and training to do a handstand atm, really love my calisthenics and recently nailed the muscle up on the Olympic rings. New challenges is the key and plenty of recovery time. Another main area is mobility and would recommend working on this every day, it's surprising how rejuvenated you can feel after stretching.

I plan on going down fighting, just keep the excuses at bay and last but not least, STOP EATING CRAP.

Yeh stretching,must remember to do more of that.Does a chicken dinner at my local greasy spoon count as junk food or good food.I would have no idea.

50 and fitter than I have ever been. Always cycled, always been relatively slim (179 cm and <75 kg). Started competitive cycling at 45 and have trained and improved since. Retained 2nd cat license this year with first win. Sadly for my racing, I'm really designed for endurance not sprinting, and placed 11th in the National 12hr TT. I find I do not have the top end short interval power the young riders have, but can hang on in flatter races. As soon as they put down 600 watts for a minute up a hill, I'm gone.

So racing E12 with kids my son's age gets me interval training, vets racing is pure entertainment, long-distance racing for fitness. Recovery may take longer, but I have little to compare with as 10 years ago I was playing village cricket.

Volume matters, but you need to hurt yourself sometimes. Cycling is low impact compared with other exercises, I don't plan on ever stopping.

I don’t know about middle age stuff, because I’m way beyond that now. However, what I find hard to come to terms with is the fact that I can’t help but compare myself now with the person that I was twenty years ago (when I was middle aged, I suppose...) and those comparisons are usually unfavourable.

If I limit this to bike riding then I can console myself with the fact that I’m riding stuff now that I wouldn’t have considered ten years ago - only because I made it some sort of personal mission to ride stuff that previously I’d walked down and thought “oh, to be able to ride this”. And there never was any real reason that I couldn’t - I used to be a pretty reasonable trials rider, after all. Once I was much past 50 though, I had a period of telling myself that I was too old for this or that and that was what stopped me - I could visualise myself cleaning a particular rocky chute but couldn’t quite overcome my demons and just do it.

Now I’m constantly mourning lost years and lost opportunities - to ride more big descents in big mountains. If only I had a good friend or two to do this stuff with.....but I don’t, not where there are big mountains anyway. So, at the age of 66, I content myself with riding a rigid singlespeed 90% of the time and telling myself that I enjoy riding alone (actually, tbh, a lot of the time I do) and that I prefer my Hummingbird singlespeed to my Liteville 301. In many ways I do, too.

What I’m really getting at is to embrace “middle age” (whatever it is) and set yourself new challenges right now, don’t leave it as late as I did, because new skills are sadly wasted on a useless old **** like me.

Gunz

I have to disagree.

Why?

Do you think it hasn't worked for me?

Andy R

...Once I was much past 50 though, I had a period of telling myself that I was too old for this or that and that was what stopped me – I could visualise myself cleaning a particular rocky chute but couldn’t quite overcome my demons and just do it...

That's common sense kicking in, not fear. I have a few years on you, and I've seen too many friends try to hang on to their heroic youth.

Most of the time it works, but then one day a reaction is a millisecond slower than it used to be, and when that happens the potential price paid can stop you riding forever. Young folk do the rubber ball bounce, older folk do the dead cat bounce.

The reality of the Hunter S Thomson quote is you don't broadside into the grave fully used up.

First you cripple yoursel, Then you spend years of inactivity with life closing in around you and your circle of friends evaporating as your grumpiness and inactivity removes the common ground.

They all do turn up for the funeral though, and say nice words about what a great guy you used to be and what a shame about the last 15 years of your life. Then your bloated body gets tipped into the grave, and your family breathes a guilty sigh of relief.

Far better to still be riding for that 15 years...

https://mobile.twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1020322584070680577/video/1

Just incase you haven't seen it. DMCs 900. Just do whatever it is he dose to keep going!

I only really started getting fit in my 30s so at least I don't have a 20-25 year old target in my head.

Staying fit isn't that difficult but, as has already been said, lost fitness is really hard to restore. Injuries and illness have hit me this year and I know I'll have to really work hard. Most of my riding is done with folk that are around 20 years younger then me. Sometimes I just have to let them go.

OTOH I ran my first marathon today, with little actual running train. 4:36 isn't exactly setting the heather on fire but as a 59 year old I'll take that gladly.

Well done on the  marathon Colin never managed a road marathon myself.

Thanks Bob. Never again though. If folk think that cycling the canal between Gairlochy and Banavie is interminably boring then they really need to try it on foot 🙂  Leanachan Forest was lovely though.

The reality of the Hunter S Thomson quote is you don’t broadside into the grave fully used up...

Ah thanks, I was wondering how to put it and that does it nicely. Some folks really can run until they burn out in a blaze ofglory but most of us by 50 already know if that's our style, and if it isn't then the trick is to find the maximum peace that allows you to keep going without damaging anything

For me it's mostly mental (I think).  I'm losing fitness because I don't ride so much and I don't ride so much because after a while you start to lose enthusiasm.  Changing things around seems to help though, so riding on your drop bar bike on worries you would normally have the mtb on can help as can just setting aside time to ride stuff further afield

And new bikes. New bikes always help

leffeboy

...And new bikes. New bikes always help...

Changed it slightly for you...

And different bikes. Different bikes always help. 🙂

Hence my recent excursions into wrong places on rod-brake roadsters.

scotroutes

Well done on the marathon Colin.

Great thread, my 10 pence worth , is that as you get older you should embrace the fact that you are still able to ride tricky techy descents  on that 2 hr Sunday afternoon ride , whilst most people of your age and type are in the pub drinking ale and never having any back wheel slide outs that you catch , and make you feel alive!

You will never compete with the fit 25 year old you, but just enjoy what cycling gives you , and set new goals.

Interesting thread. For me, fitness, or fitness as I want it to be for me, is a bit of a struggle. I used to run and ride as I pleased. I'd never be lighting up strava but stuff like that is of no interest to me anyway. I used to run and ride alone with the odd social ride with one or two others. Now, after a prolonged bout of metatarsalgia that took a while to control I find myself at 42 with a 2 year old boy, another little one on the way, an old house that needs constant tlc and a 24/7 constantly varying shift pattern and precious little free time to do any exercise (I have precious little free time for anything,  I don't go out, I don't socialise, my other hobby of bird watching, not done that since the wee man came along and I only really get the chance to indulge my inner DezB in the car but I'm digressing). Tiredness from family life and work led to stress and anxiety and a shocking diet. A two year overdue wellman check up at the doc's however returned a bill of health to be proud of and it gave me the kick up the arse I needed. A new pair of running shoes were invested in and I now use my downtime at work (I often get downtime of 2.5 hours plus) to get changed and go for a run. It doesn't always work out, some shifts and locations don't allow for it so I might go a week or whatever  without managing a run but every little helps and it beats sitting on my backside filling my face with crap. I just have to remember I'm lucky to be able to indulge myself and that I'm lucky to have been able to pick up not where I left off but at a reasonable level rather than trying to discover my fitness all over again. I dread to think how off the pace I'd be on a bike though...

Oh, and another "nice one" from me too, Colin. Fair play to you.

Gunz

I have to disagree.

Why?

Do you think it hasn’t worked for me?

I just can't see how solely riding a single speed can entirely replace a more varied exercise regime for the whole body.

If it works for you though, good luck, I hope I'm still as active as you at your age.

I'm 61 ride for fun ..and always have .

I'm also very fortunate to have a bunch of mates ( all over 50 and some over 70 ) with years of mtb experience who get out most Saturdays at different places across the North of England & Scottish Borders..

I gave up Squash aged 39 when the knees started to hurt ..that's when I started mountain biking ..I had a 5 year flirtation with badminton ( used to play regularly in my late teens ) in my mid 50's ..and packed in completely when joints in arms & legs started to hurt again ..and I couldn't play to a certain level anymore .

But as I mentioned earlier in this thread don't start acting middle aged ..keep a young outlook on life ..I've seen too many people my age just waiting to die ..years before their time ( and Ive absolutely no sympathy for their plight which is mainly self inflicted ) ..

An old but true saying ..age is just a number

An old but true saying ..age is just a number

The point of this thread though is that that isn't quite true.  You have to approach things differently as that number goes up otherwise you will hurt yourself, be disappointed in how poorly you ride or end up permanently exhausted.  The good news is that a lot of this is avoidable but only by changing how you do things (unless of course your regime was already appropriate)

I wonder if the reason then singlespeed works so well for epicyclo is that you get a lot of the resistance work that you tend to avoid as you get older through having to crank up hills in a gear that is larger than you would normally use

Gunz

I just can’t see how solely riding a single speed can entirely replace a more varied exercise regime for the whole body.

If it works for you though, good luck, I hope I’m still as active as you at your age.

I get your point now. You're right.

However the realities are that only highly disciplined people do keep up an exercise schedule of fitness for long. Lazy people like me don't. 🙂

My post was worded as advice I'd give myself and based on the nature of the beast.

It's easy to jump on a singlespeed bike and go for an ad hoc ride and get most of the benefits of a core workout simply by having a bit of fun.

A proper core workout in a gym would be even better but...

I suppose my point is that doing activities where the purpose is enjoyment, and the exercise is a by-product, is more likely to keep the average person functional and fit than a schedule of exercise that requires a disciplined approach.

BTW I'd add to my original post - get a big dog that needs a decent walk every day. That gets you off your couch in even the foulest of weather, and walking the dog always turns out to be fun regardless, and running with it is even better.

And I'm pretty sure my lazy man's approach to exercise means I'm fitter than most of my contemporaries as a result.

I wonder if the reason then singlespeed works so well for epicyclo is that you get a lot of the resistance work that you tend to avoid as you get older through having to crank up hills in a gear that is larger than you would normally use

It's not really resistance except in relative strength terms - if you held, say 40rpm for five minutes, that would be a notional 200 reps. If you did 200 reps of a resistance exercise, you would actually just be developing localised muscular endurance. More likely the benefit is from high intensity on climbs and a certain amount of core stabilisation at the same time.

So better than a geared bike in the sense that it will probably be more intense on climbs, but not really strength training in the strict sense. But if it works, it works. It's better to do something than nothing. And better to do something more than less intense.

Edit: and pretty much what Epi himself says above. It all depends on how focussed and motivated you are. The Friel book is slanted towards folk who've always been quite structured and intense in the way they approach training I guess, but it's still excellent on the general principles of age-related deterioration and how you can work to minimise the impact.

44 here and probably just a hair less than the fittest I have ever been in my life, the slight drop being the move overseas and not hitting the gym five times a week. Mind you, I am cycling to work every day, so I get more cardio in than I used to and i am still lifting weights twice a week.

But... My body is pretty ruined. Years of martial arts and other stupidity (including a lot of running) are making themselves felt with ropey knees, elbows and other problems, so I have to rely of ignoring problems to carry on. When i get a long ride in, it does take a while to recover and the last really heavy leg day I put in at the gym took four days to get over.

I think the best thing i can do is just keep cycling to work and keep hitting the gym a couple of times a week. It seems to hurt less if I do that.

Its not a just a number unfortunately. As a keen runner who's enthusiasm to train and race hard hasnt diminished at 53 I simply cannot run as hard or as frequently as even 10 yrs ago. Recovery is slower and top end sprinting speed has almost totally disappeared.  Its about managing the decline, being bloody minded and setting your sights on runners who are in the same age group.