Time to throw the towel in

Sorry for making this very downbeat post once again. I’m getting to the point of just packing in exercising. I’m really struggling with staying injury free. I’ve mentioned my back injury that basically started this downward spiral back in 2018. That got better, but then other injuries kept happening. Recently my arthritis in my knee, which I worked hard on helping with physio and easing back into it really gently. Now over the last few months that has been doing well and now I seem to be constantly getting muscle pulls and strains everywhere. Hamstrings, quads, calf’s, neck, shoulders. Yesterday and today I’ve been getting shooting pains in my left leg, down my shin into my foot. Likely back related. I also get pains in my hands and this has been a real concern. I’m worried there is something neurological going on. I have an appointment to see my GP in a couple of weeks to discuss that particular point.

Because of all this, I can’t get fit. I manage to get back on the bike, or back running and playing football for what seems like a week, before I get another niggle and I’m out for weeks. And each time I get back at it, it gets harder and harder. I don’t really enjoy it anymore. But the biggest issue is how it makes me feel. I feel useless. I don’t have anything to look forward too, it’s only of the only things I have that I can find any real joy in. And without that, what’s the point?

I’m ‘only’ 41. But I didn’t think keeping fit would be this difficult and stressful.

Rant over, sorry.

Could you not try other less impactful forms of excercise? Swimming, hiking, yoga? If you’re going for long periods without excercise then going back at it too hard to make up for lost time then that’s going to have a big impact on your body, particularly with sports that cause a lot of strain like football and running. Even cycling, when the doctors say cycling (clarified this with GP family member when I had knee problems) is a great form of excercise with little strain on the body, they’re thinking of a gentle ride on mostly flat land which isn’t really putting any strain on the body but keeps you moving for an extended period of time. Road cycling with big hills or mountainbiking isn’t that!

Maybe concentrate on mastering something genuinely low impact for a while, then add another to the mix, and then maybe look at just getting out and about on the bike and slowly building up from there. If you set yourself realistic goals and a long term plan you’re less likely to get so demoralized and feel held back which you’re currently feeling

or back running and playing football

Both of these are horrendous for injuries when you aren’t fit, or highlighting issues that you didn’t know you had.

I’ve mentioned my back injury that basically started this downward spiral back in 2018. That got better,

Did it get better enough? I had a back injury in my mid 20’s that didn’t give me any problems until my early 40’s. It had got “better”. Now it’s not better, it’s a bloody nuisance is what it is.

I would recommend stopping everything and going to a strength and conditioning coach and following a very carefully thought through 2 month plan.

I did that back in 2016 or so after thinking I was totally on the scrap heap – I was able to get through reserve commando training in 2020 after that, ran several marathons and god knows what else.

What you do have to do is commit to the program and believe it is working…

I gave up football in my late 20s because of injuries. No major incident, but constant small injuries that added up over time, removing  my ability to keep fit and thus perpetuating a vicious cycle. As above, switch to a low impact exercise. Take it easy. Get medical advice and a good Physio. Good luck.

Maybe looking at it as “exercise” is part of the problem? Don’t exercise any more. Just “go out” instead. Easy bike rides. / walks / golf / swim whatever. Look at it as just the activity for enjoyments sake (and thus better mental health). Do whatever doesn’t give you an injury and have fun.

yeah nothing wrong with giving up running and especially football to avoid injury!

yoga is hugely underrated by most people for fitness & strength, it’s also great for injury prevention – doesn’t sound like you’re really doing any stretching/flexibility/strength or full-body work? Can be very positive for mood/MH also.

As others are saying, football and running are high impact and hard on the body.

Perhaps rather than give up all exercise it is a case of finding other things to do – swimming, yoga, cycle pootling / touring / meander, etc

Because of all this, I can’t get fit.

There’s (obviously) a difference between exercise for health, and exercise for fitness. Even if you can’t do the latter, do the former. Make things like your HbA1c  replacement for watts/kg, use, I dunno, BMI instead of RHR that sort of thing; I can’t run at the the minute as my lower back is sore, but I can do yoga and go for a walk…The things you need to do for those measurements are no less difficult and challenging, and after some time, when you’ve worked on your internal rather than external measurements, by the time you are in a place to get fit again, you’re starting from a healthier place.

I spent months, almost a year, recovering from my back injury with strength and conditioning. And with no surprise, was constantly interupted with injury, cramping hamstrings, tight glutes etc. I can accept I get injured, but it is constant. There is always something wrong that stops me from exercising. I built up the strenght in my back, glutes etc. I feel like all that is gone again.

Historically, I played football for most of my life. Pretty much injury free until these last couple of years.

I’ve tried swimming a few years ago after my back injury. I can’t really swim and found it very frustrating. Even after lessons.

My latest round of physio resulted in cramping hamstrings again. I highlighted it with the physio and changed some of the strecthes. I had no range in them, the would cramp under any loaded stretch.

I know what you mean about injury and recovery time as you get older. Bent a few fingers back in August, only just about recovered now.

I’m “only” 54.

On the yoga side of it, I can’t. I’m not supple. I have really really poor flexibility. The most basic yoga poses will have my hamstrings cramping or my back pulling. I’ve tried multiple times. Everytime my body get’s stressed, it just seems to give up. The exercises I did for my lower back were very limited due to all that.

I know this probably seems a bit ridiculous or trivial, but I’m utterly fed up with it.

Historically, I played football for most of my life. Pretty much injury free until these last couple of years.

Nah, no such thing as an “injury free” footballer.
Jut not injured enough to stop them playing.

You have my sympathies. My last 6 months have been spent in ct and mri machines, and every time one part of the body heals, another breaks down. 

im going to undertake a strengthening programme over the winter to try to improve the outlook

Do whatever doesn’t give you an injury and have fun

That would limit me to sitting on the sofa. This mornings dog walk included really sharp knee/shin pain. I hobbled for an hour. Tonights walk will likely be pain free, like nothing has happened, then tomorrow it will be something else.

The day I stopped running was the day my injury problems started going away.

I’ve been through horrendous periods of injury that stopped all sorts of fun stuff and exercise.

My advice is just go and do something else for a bit, stay active but focus on something else or new. Walking is great, make some walking plans and tick them off.

In time a lot of my injuries healed upl and eventually I got back

I took most of 2022 off stcolin to refocus – just rode with my kids mainly, didn’t see z3 or above for 10 months. Similar to what you’re saying with the body needing some attention, had chest pains I needed to get a proper opinion on, back and sports hernia issues. Started regular gym work which was a huge difference-maker. Got back on it in a much better place.

You have to be realistic, though – you don’t really fix musculoskeletal issues on an aging body in a one-and-done way. It’s more of a lifetime commitment. But you can get a lot of agency and control over things, which is what sounds like you’re missing atm.

On the yoga side of it, I can’t. I’m not supple. I have really really poor flexibility.

Uh-huh, You should watch me, it’s like watching a statue do yoga. But regardless of how lame my bridge pose or my cat-cow, I can feel the benefit. Walking feels stupid compared to running but at slow speeds the health benefits overlap pretty considerably

TBH if you think its bad now see how well it goes without any form of exercise in later life :-)

Engineer more pootling in your ride routine and mix it up, its easy to get too fixated and do to much without enough rest.

TBH Playing football,running and riding(non-pootling) are pretty harsh on the body.

On the yoga side of it, I can’t. I’m not supple. I have really really poor flexibility. The most basic yoga poses will have my hamstrings cramping or my back pulling.

at the risk of over-simplifying it, is that not the cause of all the problems then? Especially with a really dynamic activity like football? Maybe just start off really slow/gentle and built up? But it’s not (supposed) to be a quick fix, or something you do for 6 months/a year, you need to stick with it & make it part of your routine.

Yea, I have no control. Speaking of hernias, got one of them too. Getting worse.

I love football too much to give it up, but accept it will happen. I don’t mind walking, but would always rather cycle. I probably need to get over myself and just ride for the sake of it and not worry about getting fitter or faster etc. That’s a whole other disussion.

But nothing othet than walking for now until my legs recover enough.

On the yoga side of it, I can’t. I’m not supple. I have really really poor flexibility. The most basic yoga poses will have my hamstrings cramping or my back pulling. I’ve tried multiple times.

That’s the whole point of it. You’re not going to be able to do some human origami thing that yoga instructors seem to be able to do. Short and regular sessions and it’ll improve, it just takes time.

Stop beating yourself up over it and don’t compare what you used to be able to do to what you can or can’t do now, it’ll just frustrate you. Take it slow and steady me you’ll find improvements. From what you’ve mentioned about your physio, I’d also be looking for another one to see if they’re any better. A good physio can make a huge difference.

That sounds really rough and I can see why you’d feel dispirited.

I know you didn’t really ask for alternative activities and I know it hardly sounds like exercise but along with MTB, I play table tennis for a very very low level league team in my area. We come up against teams of all ages, up to folks in their 80’s sometimes and I’ve always thought of it as a sport that you can make as “active” as you want to and that I’ll probably play my entire life.

For me (39 years old) I get up a proper sweat and it’s an okay light workout.For other folks with less mobility they still get a base level of exercise. It is really good for your reactions and you have to think and focus really hard. It’s also very skill based which scratches an adjacent itch for me to mountain bike skills stuff.

Whatever it is, I hope you find something that can help.

Giving up exercise will make things far worse. What you need is the right exercise.

at the risk of over-simplifying it, is that not the cause of all the problems then? Especially with a really dynamic activity like football? Maybe just start off really slow/gentle and built up? But it’s not (supposed) to be a quick fix, or something you do for 6 months/a year, you need to stick with it & make it part of your routine.

It has become part of my routine. I have never rushed back, I always take care. I always warm up and I don’t push my luck.

The cramping hamstrings are linked to my back. My weak back and glutes. I’ve been working on these for years, but the issues remain.

During my knee physio, I got my bloods taken to rule out any inflammatory issue. Thankfully there wasn’t. I do worry something else at play.

On the yoga side of it, I can’t.

It sounds like you are an all-or-nothing sort of person. The whole point of Yoga or Pilates is to gain flexibility and strength, so if you can’t do it you’re exactly the person who needs it. But as said, start small. If you’d never ridden a bike before, you wouldn’t expect to jump on one and do a century or a BPW black obviously.

I do worry something else at play.

It’s probably more useful to concentrate on the things you can effect a change in rather than worry about unknowns.

A couple of years on and my favourite Kassandra video on YouTube is still the 30 minutes Beginner session. She closes with “don’t worry if it was hard, just know that every time it’ll get easier”. She’s partially right I guess 😂. I really wish I’d discovered yoga when I was your age and not in my 60’s. 

You gotta do what you can do and not look back at trying to relive your youth. After a while, maybe you’ll begin to stretch yourself some more. But whatever you do, don’t become the couch potato you’ll begin to hate. 

On the yoga side of it, I can’t. I’m not supple. I have really really poor flexibility. The most basic yoga poses will have my hamstrings cramping or my back pulling. I’ve tried multiple times. Everytime my body get’s stressed, it just seems to give up. The exercises I did for my lower back were very limited due to all that.

All the more reason to do it. I can’t touch my toes or stuff like that, so thats why i now do yoga (when i remember to) rather than thats why i don’t. 

A couple of years on and my favourite Kassandra video on YouTube is still the 30 minutes Beginner session.

I do one that was posted on Pink Bike a couple of years ago titled Yoga for mountain bikers with a sore back, it’s 25- mins or so if I get through it without grunting…win.

OP, definitely go and see your GP.

It may be worth discussing medically unexplained symptoms with them when you see them?

What is your diet like? That will be affecting both mind and body.

There’s a big push these days to encourage people to cut down/out processed foods. That’s a game changer for a lot of people.

You just need to get through a couple of weeks of cravings to start seeing benefits.

You gotta do what you can do and not look back at trying to relive your youth. After a while, maybe you’ll begin to stretch yourself some more. But whatever you do, don’t become the couch potato you’ll begin to hate.

I am really struggling with getting older. I feel like everything I used to do is slipping away with nothing left.

Kassandra video on YouTube is still the 30 minutes Beginner session

Tried that particular video a few times. Too difficult for me. I couldn’t even manage to get into some of the starting positions, never mind doing the actual stretches.

What is your diet like? That will be affecting both mind and body

It’s not great. Far too much sugar. But my main meals are okay. I don’t really drink, I don’t smoke.

Sign up to a pilates class run by a physio therapist. Do it religiously for a year and see how that sorts stuff out. Could hardly walk when restarting squash in my 40s – did pilates and it properly sorted me out – not just me legs

And as others say – if you give it all up now you’ll feel properly sh1te in your 50s

I truly feel your pain OP. 53, knee replacement, wrist fusions down the road, heart issues and an ongoing history of CFS/ME, but I keep pushing on (though not just now as I’ve got COVID 🙄).

I can’t do any ‘standard’ exercise classes such as yoga, pilates, gym as the whole thing is just too much, not a chance of a club run on a bike. However, I have found a range of mobility and strengthening mobility exercises that work for me that I can do on an off throughout the day to pace them and they are very useful. Not that I’m able up for them.

After my first major CFS bout I managed to get some strength and fitness back (as in so I could get out and about), by doing a very abbreviated ‘Body By Science ‘ routine, Google it. Basically one set of 8-10 slow rep weights of each of  deadlift, bent over row, bench press and should press, once a week, sometimes twice. I used my brother’s garage gym set up . Currently (before this COVID) I was doing a little more than than with some isolation exercises on top, but still only one working set and twice a week at local low key gym, but before that just had a set of dumbbells at home.

Running has been out of the question for years with my knees and walking takes it toll, so my main aerobic exercise is my bike. Recently converted my hard tail to an ebike to be able to keep my heart rate down and make that more manageable. But my riding is road, old rail routes and estate tracks both for heart rate and my wrists. Generally to a cafe too 😄

I was also doing sea swimming for quite a while, but where we live now is not the best for that. It was good exercise, getting out, and the other cold water benefits as well as seeing other people.

It’s a constant battle pacing my driven head, versus what my body can handle and I keep a diary to try to help me balance things better, though I usually fail as I push myself far too much.

It does get very depressing. I sometimes end up in tears watching adventure type films and documentaries as there so much I’ll never be able to do, and it’s endlessly exhausting trying to find the balance, but I’d not give up, just find a way to do the things you enjoy at a new level.

Too difficult for me. I couldn’t even manage to get into some of the starting positions, never mind doing the actual stretches.

If that’s true, it can’t come as a massive surprise to find that you’re not blissfully injury free then, surely? I mean you’ve got to put in the routine preventative maintenance as you get older, Sleep, Food, Hydration, Physical and mental health, restrict your alcohol intake; all those sorts of things. You’ve got to take positive steps to reinforce good habits and do them frequently.

It does get very depressing. I sometimes end up in tears watching adventure type films and documentaries as there so much I’ll never be able to do, and it’s endlessly exhausting trying to find the balance, but I’d not give up, just find a way to do the things you enjoy at a new level.

+1 @longdog this is what has hit me after what is a really relatively minor injury sustained in early Sept on the bike–basically just overdoing it and getting a muscular injury of some sort–seen a physio, been given some stretching exercises, I have been back out on the bike but short rides of 10-20 miles, and nervous about overdoing it…

but these past months have been worse for the mental impacts of the injury as much as the physical impact, I really want to be fit enough for the summer to get out for longer off-road rides and a few multi-day trips, I keep telling myself go easy and build up, over the winter, with warmer and longer days on the bike the motivation.

I bet alot of your niggles are all related.
No warm ups before rigorous exercise
No cool down and stretching after rigorous exercise
No daily core strength / stretching regime.
Too much time sat down, with potential bad posture.
Thing is , it’s all do able . Put aside 20 mins daily and a few mins pre and post match and I would fully expect improvement over time

I too am making a connection between your poor attention to flexibility, core strength, warm up, and your attitude around expecting to ‘just do it’. (etc)

Maybe looking at it as “exercise” is part of the problem? Don’t exercise any more. Just “go out” instead. Easy bike rides. / walks / golf / swim whatever. Look at it as just the activity for enjoyments sake (and thus better mental health). Do whatever doesn’t give you an injury and have fun.

Is what i came to say… just go riding for the hell of going riding :) Nice and gentle, cruising round… easy.