Because to be honest, it feels pretty ******.

I get a lot of aches and pains these days. Some of these I assume are normal but I would like to hear how anyone else is who’s about my age.

I grew up skateboarding so I guess that’s hard on the body, I have a physical job as a furniture maker/joiner, I don’t get that much time for regular exercise that isn’t work except for maybe a mid week razz on the bike and a longer one at the weekend.

I broke my right arm and lost a finger in a motorcycle accident in my twenties, I broke my leg dh mtb’ing in my thirties, fallen off countless times.

But anyway, most of that is normal human stuff right? So how come I struggle to stay in bed long because of aches and pains, takes me ages to get moving, my arms go numb on my motorbike within a few minutes, I generally feel some low level pain all the time I’d say.

Am I normal? Will it subside when I die, or can I do anything to help before that?

Tell me what ails thee.

So how come I struggle to stay in bed long because of aches and pains, takes me ages to get moving, my arms go numb on my motorbike within a few minutes, I generally feel some low level pain all the time I’d say.

Am I normal?

Don’t know what is normal but if am in any way normal (at 52) I don’t have any of what you are describing other than my neck aching most of the time.

I’m 53 and have similar issues.

I’d genuinely recommend a decent routine of stretching done daily. Or take up Yoga (but again with daily practice).

I struggle to motivate myself to do this but when I manage to string a week or two of doing proper stretching very day it makes an appreciable difference to my low level discomfort from old injuries plus the impact that scoliosis has on my upper body musculature.

Yep. 50 here and training for my 2nd Kyu Karate at the moment. After a session it feels like I’ve been beaten up.

If you feel it just now you will hate your fifties, im 12 years older and i ache quite a lot. Back, neck, tennis elbow etc. They take longer to settle down, just tying my laces on boots can trouble my back. Joys of the building trade

I’m 45 in January, never broken a bone in my body but I sound like a bowl of rice crispies when I get out of bed in the mornings. It’s just an age thing, our bodies just wear out. I do basic yoga/stretches to keep the worst of the aches and pains at bay which has helped loads since I started doing it. Human bodies haven’t evolved to live much past 40-odd I reckon.

But anyway, most of that is normal human stuff right?

Don’t think so. Perhaps for a certain personality type. I’ve been MTBing over 25 years, never broken anything (except I suspect a rib) and only had a couple of knocks that caused anything more than a few days of pain. But this is because I’m innately risk averse and I always ride within my ability. This is why I’ve never cleared a proper double or done the road drop at Cwmcarn, even though I know damn well I could.

It’s also why I won’t ride a motorbike!

Re age, at 44 I’m generally ok. I realised a few years ago I’d been carrying an improperly healed shoulder injury sustained lifting a fat toddler out of a car seat from the wrong side of the car, but I’ve worked through that mostly. Only annoyance is some kind of ganglion or something in my right wrist that prevents me putting weight on it in a press-up type position.

I’m stiffening up though, so I’m making an effort to stretch. I should do pilates or something.

+1 for stretching. Also don’t get too dehydratedw. Water is cheap.

Constant neck ache? Get an MRI. BIL had that, it was cancer.

I’m  about your age, and have a similar background, skating and mountain biking and don’t recognise those ‘daily’ symptoms, on some poor mattresses I get a sore lower back, but then it’s gone in a few moments of getting up. I’ve not broken anything (that I know of) but I think I’d be worried if I felt some sort of low level pain all the time.

I’m 53 and I regularly wake up feeling like I’ve been hit by a bus. I also get really stiff if I sit in one position for a long time driving, is worst.
All much worse if I’ve had a hard bouldering or mountain biking session.

I think it’s partly age, partly hard exercise,partly that my back is **** from rugby when I was younger

I tend to loosen up after a few minutes of walking about. Yoga has really helped too.

Yup,I feel your pain(literally some days).I guess stretching does help a bit but old injuries do like to make themselves known.In my case late onset weight training and accidents have been letting me know through this summer.

[strong]oldnpastit[/strong] wrote:

Constant neck ache? Get an MRI. BIL had that, it was cancer.

Other (none scaremongery) sources of neck pain are available.

46 here and feel very similar.
Mostly due to the abuse of 10 years working in the mountains and too many flat landings.
Already had 1 ceramic hip and due another in the next few years.

Not sure it’s normal but you can help it.
As mentioned above, stretching and yoga can really help aches and pains as can core strength work (yoga again, or Pilates). Non-impact exercise can help as well, swimming or road/indoor biking can make a difference and not make you feel beaten up.

I’m a 43 year old ex-skateboarder with a very bad sleeping 2 year old son.

My “freshness” and tiredness varies masively based on sleep. But also, if I’ve slept well AND had a bout of good quality exercise I feel fantastic.

The other factor is mindset. If you can get your mind right and do a few week of good quality exercise (that probably include stretches) you will feel great.

two examples:

1) early in the year I ended up with about 5 days holiday I had carried over that I had to use by the end of april. i used most of these riding and after a 3 week run with lots of rides I felt great.

2) i started the https://mtb.fitness/ an mtb dedicated 12 week programnme which involves stretches and an workout plan. (you basically buy the pdf ebook which has hyperlinks to private youtube links that explain the workout). its a one off cost and you can do the programme again and again. (note: the weeks aren’t split, its just a workout pattern.. so due to low spare time I was doing a ‘weeks’ worth of plan over about 2.) I felt great again, really good actually but pulled my neck doing something else so had to stop. lukcily for me, my employer has just started a wellness benefit and will part most of gym fees so am going to be doing that mixed with swimming (if i’m achey/need rehab) a morning or two every week now. (if curious about the programme theres a very active facebook group)

I have a physical job as a furniture maker/joiner,

I would suspect that has a lot to do with it.

I sit on my arse all day staring at a computer, so the toll on my joints is much less…..

There is something called the “Exercise Paradox”, where more is better unless it’s part of your job, where less is better…

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/exercise-benefits-job-physical-roles-death-rate-health-link-amsterdam-study-a8352061.html

Oh, to feel like I did at 46!

I’m close to 10 years older, and now I feel ****! At 46 I was in my prime (ok, about 10 years off it, but not much different!)

Other (none scaremongery) sources of neck pain are available

Yes, especially when I know the cause (cycling) and had it for 20 years so if it is cancer it is a slow one.

My “freshness” and tiredness varies masively based on sleep. But also, if I’ve slept well AND had a bout of good quality exercise I feel fantastic.

I follow a lot of fitness stuff and the world of PTs / coaching has definitely moved on: The key ‘client’ gains they desire are #1 7-8 hours sleep a night and #2 drink enough water. The Physical exercise bit now comes 3rd.

45 here and a lifetime of sport, exercise and generally messing my body up.

My elbows are both pretty fscked, my knees are both pretty fscked, I have had broken fingers and have several fractures in them that are still fresh. Most mornings are painful with joint or muscle soreness or, on a good day, slow to get working. Some days I walk like a zombie until my legs warm up.

That said, these last few years have been the fittest of my life, so it’s difficult to regret much. Everything still works (mostly) and it does not impact work or home life, so all good.

Well, mostly.

After practice on Saturday and racing the PMBA at Kirroughtree on Sunday, then riding Helvellyn yesterday the whole of my 47 year old body aches! TBH I feel pretty knackered most days but today is bad.

63 here and feel like 17. Had a few injuries off the bike (broken hand and big back issue) but all sorted and no lasting effects. 6 foot and 14st, I suspect in some cases excess weight puts unnecessary stress on joints etc. I try to have a good diet plus supplements and despite all sorts of other abuses I’ve not noticed much difference in moving into the departure lounge. Been retired for 5 years but spend a lot of time over a bench which can make me a bit stiff but it soon passes.
Stick to the adage about being as old as the woman you feel.

42 and feel like hammered crap, but that’s because I fired myself head first into a rock garden at the weekend.

I was feeling like the OP, just battered, a lot of the time I couldn’t really pin-point what was off, just I felt a bit of a wreck and was making a lot of ‘old man noises’.

In the end I saw a Chiropractor, yes I know they’re all quacks blah blah blah, but they’re not, well the one I see isn’t anyway. There are official bodies and proper science based courses they can pass if you want a good ‘un. Mine is also a Sport Physio and her partner rides Motorcross Endruo which probably helps.

So, first session was amazing, after telling myself my knees were too shot for me to jog ever again, I jogged out the door. I went back once a week for a few weeks, then every other, then once a month. I do a few stretches every day and a few exorcises a few times a week and I feel as good as I did in my 20s, well when I’m not OTBing anyway.

I do work in an office mostly though.

There are official bodies and proper science based courses

Yes there are and no they aren’t.

But they’re a sports physio too which is science and this is the bit that works for you.

Yes there are and no they aren’t.

Aren’t they the ones whose own governing body warns members not to make any claims they can actually cure anything as there’s no evidence for it?

48 and I’ve got a knackered shoulder (otb years ago) bad back and two dodgy knees. I’m always being told it’s just ‘wear and tear’ by the doctors. Just have to man up and get on with it I suppose? Might start doing Pilates at some point when I get the time.

For all the constant neck painers* out there….

Get yerself down John Lewis and buy one of these bad boys. It’s all that gets me through the  day sometimes.

*Renault 5 Gordini – v – 27 other cars. December 1991.

I’m 37 and I’ve had Rheumatoid Arthritis since my mid-20’s. I got diagnosed after suffering with carpal tunnel syndrome and a lot of numbness in my hands and arms. Other than the occasional flare-up I managed to get to my early 30’s in pretty good nick but these last couple of years it’s getting pretty bad. Takes me about 30 mins from waking up to actually be able to get out of bed and walk downstairs. I used to walk everywhere, now I struggle to walk much more than a mile without having to stop and I can’t ride my bike for more than about an hour before my knee seizes up. Hence I’ve gone from riding this

To riding this

Having a baby has really not helped, all the lifting, carrying and chasing about, not to mention the lack of sleep has ruined me.
When it’s just pain it’s not so bad, you can rationalize it and get on with stuff, but when your knee just stops bending it really starts to make life difficult.
Still, there’s plenty worse things to suffer with and my job’s a piece of piss, just have to appreciate my lot and get on with it.
OP, worth getting yourself looked at cos some of them symptoms are a bit similar to mine and the sooner they find a problem (if there is one) the more that can be done about it.

I’m 38 and still sleep like a teenager.

Apart from some back muscle ache after a day on the bike or bending over (which is more core strength and not back issues) I’m fine, stretching out the back normally sorts that and *touch wood* no health issues or pains or anything.

Thing playing on my mind… good a place as any to put it! Got my son a new bike… we go out for his first ride… climb, descend, climb, descend… I feel the same as I ever did on the descents, was pretty close to the kid on most of it. The climbs though, never before has climbing on a bike left me feeling so wrecked, until this past year or so. I used to be able to keep going all day! Used to enjoy climbs! We got to the end of the second lap, and I was the one saying I’d had enough, couldn’t do the climb again. I feel so shit about that. (Still not getting a sodding ebike though! :lol )

At 43 my day consists of being tired and hungry, occasionally with a bad back.

PP – that’s a very elaborate codpiece.

47 here and what you’ve described sounds like me. I wake prematurely every day with back pain at the mo, and it stays all day. Stretching and yoga help, office job and 20+ years of biking (and crashing) probably don’t. I have toddler, which possibly doesn’t help the back thing, so I’m hoping things might improve a bit as he grows and needs less lugging around (and more time becomes available for stretching etc).

PP – that’s a very elaborate codpiece.

I’m a very elaborate guy

46 here. Broken one and dislocated both shoulders on a number of occasions. They cause me so.much grief daily. I have not much strength in my left one.

My back is buggered. If I stand up after sitting in one movement I won’t be able t0 walk for a couple of days. I have to get up from where I’ve been sitting, then slowly straighten my back before I walk.

I feel happier reading this thread as I thought it was just me.

Not sure my ramblings are going to be of any help, but…

When I started my bike fitness quest in Jan 2017, at the age of 43, I was able to push myself to do an extended commute home involving approx 30mins of hill reps. Now at nearly 46, I’d struggle to tell you last time I did this.

When I bought my road bike in May 2017, I’d often come back from work, have an hour tops relaxing and then head out to the South Downs cat4s near Butser Hill for a few hours. This year, I’ve done this less than a handful of times.

I’m a postie, which is quite a physical job, been doing it nearly ten years. I only do three days a week, I don’t know how anyone could deliver five days a week and have energy for exercise! My shift rotation changed last year, I went from static mon/tues/sat to a rolling rotation of working three of mon/tues/weds/sat each week, which means working three of every four heavy weds in exchange for a thurs-Mon inclusive “long weekend” every four weeks.

I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, so as much as I enjoy trying to improve my power stats, cycling also gets me outdoors on the days I don’t work, or at least that was the plan!

This year has been a cycling write off, due to a lurgy that knocked me for six from early March until at least mid May. Then felt sorry for myself having lost my winter power gains on the turbo, but on the negative side it meant that I had completely lost the confidence to do 3+ hour rides, because I’m often saddle sore by approx one hour on turbo. Then I messed my left knee up by not setting my new 3-bolt cleats up correctly for my bow legs around mid July. Then we had rubbish wet weather through August and I have still to go out in the rain on my road bike… So back to the turbo, even subscribed to Zwift for extra motivation.

I’ve definitely turned the corner on the power stats, but I’m now feeling the SAD mental fatigue kicking in, plus I probably ramped up the frequency/intensity of the turbo sessions too quickly during August as I’m often feeling physically drained too… It’s also getting busier at work, as per normal for this time of year.

I feel absolutely knackered right now, despite it being a very light day at work, but I couldn’t say just what amount of it is just age related.

things might improve a bit as he grows and needs less lugging around (and more time becomes available for stretching etc).

Good luck with that! IME all that happens is you end up carrying a heavier weight!

Ive had 18 months of similar chronic pain.
Same age, and just felt f****d
Yoga when I go regularly really helps, good sleep does too, stretching, and not eating crap but drinking loads of water seems to make a big difference too

Carrying this around today. Might see if I can blow it up later, purely using the power of misfunctioning heartbeats 😆

I follow a lot of fitness stuff and the world of PTs / coaching has definitely moved on: The key ‘client’ gains they desire are #1 7-8 hours sleep a night and #2 drink enough water. The Physical exercise bit now comes 3rd.

interesting.. my desk is 3 steps from the open office water dispenser thingy – always have a pint glass of slightly chilled water on the go (Yeah i know about chilled water/heart attack risks etc)

today i feel knackered. mostly as my son woke me at 5 and had 3 bad nights prev.. last night was an improvement so here’s hoping!