I'll be 38 on Saturday and I feel old already. I think that's mostly due to being out of shape though which is something I need to work on.
I turned 48 today, at what age did you start to feel old?
- Thread starter Gimpy1
- Start date
Late 40's sounds about right for me. I am 51 now and feeling a bit of pain where they weren't there before and taking longer to recover. I work standing up 8 hours a day and it's taking some toll on my knees, ankles, and lower back after 28 years of work. Like many have mentioned, I have lost strength and some muscle mass as well. Eating better, taking more supplements, accepting reading glass usage, and having better regular sleep/wake schedule helps. Started intermittent fasting a couple of years ago and that helped with weight control (lost 20 lbs and managed to keep off) and better well-being feeling.
Can't wait to retire in 14 years. At least mentally, mind is still sharp.
Can't wait to retire in 14 years. At least mentally, mind is still sharp.
manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
68 and feeling pretty good. I've had a herniated disc since I was 28 but my back doesn't bother me too much now. But when I get down on the ground I can't get up without help or something nearby to pull up on. That's the worst for me.
What are you guys talking about? I'm 73 and still do everything I ever did, it just takes a little longer now. And I limit the really heavy work to 2 hours a day.
The way things are going I might start to feel old at some point, maybe by 85, maybe 90.
The way things are going I might start to feel old at some point, maybe by 85, maybe 90.
I felt "old" when I was 25... Legs hurting and had spells unable to walk hardly at all. . Went totally blind in my left eye too. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
A year later I felt near 100 percent a decent percentage of the time and was able to do things like I did before that prolonged rough spell.
Now 20+ years later I am doing fairly well considering everything. Good days and some bad days. . .
I know what it's like to struggle and not be able to do certain activities the way I want to.
I am grateful for everything I can still do.
A year later I felt near 100 percent a decent percentage of the time and was able to do things like I did before that prolonged rough spell.
Now 20+ years later I am doing fairly well considering everything. Good days and some bad days. . .
I know what it's like to struggle and not be able to do certain activities the way I want to.
I am grateful for everything I can still do.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
I'm 27 and similar, back bothers me. My knee was bothering me this summer but that went away a couple months ago. It's clicked off and on while walking for a few years now. Sometimes getting up and walking I feel like an old man.
I always hear that guys your age with those issues might just be low on testosterone. I'd talk to a doctor about it.
I feel awesome and I'm pushing 70. Although I'll never tell my true age. 
It became noticeable in my early 50s. I'm 58 now and have real problems.
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2024
I will be 47 this month. Still hike often. Exercise daily. Some stuff is sore from time to time, but I think working on Submarines since I have been about 19 beats you up a bit. Up and down ladders, crawling in the superstructure, climbing around the sail. However I think it keeps you young too because you are moving around and you interface the with the Crew and everyone on board is pretty young.
My observations at 43:
1. I've been a lifter for the past 10 years and while I'm in the best shape (I can easily lift +300lbs in all my main lifts) of my life there are some definite differences now vs 10 years ago - recovery being the biggest issue. As I've gotten older my ability to get through higher volume workouts has gone up but my ability to recover from them has gone down and I have to manage fatigue in a way I did not 10 years ago. That said, I have no physical issues or limitations and I did 10 years ago with multiple back issues, shoulder issues, and in general, I just felt like ****.
2. I work 4-days per week and I will probably go 3-days per week when I turn 50. I'm lucky I can do this but much like #1 above I'm finding with age I have to manage my work-life fatigue much more now than when I was younger. Long weekends, two big trips per year not to keep up with the Jones but to get away and recharge. Life is short and there's a lot to see in this world.
3. Sleep has become more difficult to maintain. I have no problems going to sleep but if I wake after 3:30-4 am for any reason there is now a 1/3 chance I can not get back to sleep even if I'm still tired. This is not fun because my capacity to function under sleep deprivation has also diminished. In my late 20's in residency, I could skip sleep for a few days and I also had infants and I would still get up in the middle of the night and do feedings when my wife was having a bad night. I could get up the next day and be at work at 6 am with no problems. Now, I NEED +7 hours or I'm miserable and on the rare occasions I have to go without sleep I pay for it for the next few days.
4. Work is on autopilot and while there are always new things it does not satisfy my intellectual curiosity anymore. I love learning and over the past few years, I've had a compulsion to read and learn about things that have nothing to do with work. History, mathematics, biographies, books on physics, the cosmos - I need to keep my mind busy. Early on this curiosity was occupied by school but now I have to search it out.
So, as long as I keep lifting but manage fatigue, manage my work-life fatigue, manage my sleep, and keep my mind busy, I seem to feel pretty young but if any of those are out of whack I feel old. Even at 43, there seems to be a lot more maintenance required.
1. I've been a lifter for the past 10 years and while I'm in the best shape (I can easily lift +300lbs in all my main lifts) of my life there are some definite differences now vs 10 years ago - recovery being the biggest issue. As I've gotten older my ability to get through higher volume workouts has gone up but my ability to recover from them has gone down and I have to manage fatigue in a way I did not 10 years ago. That said, I have no physical issues or limitations and I did 10 years ago with multiple back issues, shoulder issues, and in general, I just felt like ****.
2. I work 4-days per week and I will probably go 3-days per week when I turn 50. I'm lucky I can do this but much like #1 above I'm finding with age I have to manage my work-life fatigue much more now than when I was younger. Long weekends, two big trips per year not to keep up with the Jones but to get away and recharge. Life is short and there's a lot to see in this world.
3. Sleep has become more difficult to maintain. I have no problems going to sleep but if I wake after 3:30-4 am for any reason there is now a 1/3 chance I can not get back to sleep even if I'm still tired. This is not fun because my capacity to function under sleep deprivation has also diminished. In my late 20's in residency, I could skip sleep for a few days and I also had infants and I would still get up in the middle of the night and do feedings when my wife was having a bad night. I could get up the next day and be at work at 6 am with no problems. Now, I NEED +7 hours or I'm miserable and on the rare occasions I have to go without sleep I pay for it for the next few days.
4. Work is on autopilot and while there are always new things it does not satisfy my intellectual curiosity anymore. I love learning and over the past few years, I've had a compulsion to read and learn about things that have nothing to do with work. History, mathematics, biographies, books on physics, the cosmos - I need to keep my mind busy. Early on this curiosity was occupied by school but now I have to search it out.
So, as long as I keep lifting but manage fatigue, manage my work-life fatigue, manage my sleep, and keep my mind busy, I seem to feel pretty young but if any of those are out of whack I feel old. Even at 43, there seems to be a lot more maintenance required.
I'm where you're at, except I'm 44. My hair is migrating south aswell
45 and I don’t think I felt it until 41. Although a lifetime of desk work has not helped at all, been feeling older and older as the years go on. But nothing like being stuck home for the last year plus has really ramped it up.
Interesting thought about sleep up there. It does seem like, now that I am older, what I did yesterday is having more of an impact on how I feel today, more than it did in the past. Can’t just sleep it off and bounce back to 100%, now it is starting to feel like I need to have each day “go well” or it sets off a downward slope that one night’s sleep won’t fix.
Interesting thought about sleep up there. It does seem like, now that I am older, what I did yesterday is having more of an impact on how I feel today, more than it did in the past. Can’t just sleep it off and bounce back to 100%, now it is starting to feel like I need to have each day “go well” or it sets off a downward slope that one night’s sleep won’t fix.
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- Nov 2, 2021
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I just turned 59 last month. I took up paddling (kayaking in K1) in April 2017. I have completed 2 Berg River Canoe Marathons: my 1st in 2018 and my 2nd this year (2021).
Keeping active certainly does help the body to stay healthy.
Some of the men are in their late 70's and I think even 80's, and they are still keen paddlers, completing the Berg year after year.
I encourage you to get an active hobby and you will stay young, like me.
Paddling is water-resistance exercise, so is not likely to cause any damage to muscles / tendons.
Walking/ jogging/ cycling to strengthen legs.
I've heard of some (older) people walking / standing (permanently) bent over and their ribs were digging into their lungs. I don't want to experience that.
Guess what - my back (core) is quite strong, and I am not likely to land up a 'little old lady'.
PS. My username comes from last year (2020) when the Berg was cancelled due to the first lockdown.
The organizers hosted a 'virtual Berg' called Ultra Paddle 2020, where anyone, any where in the world, could paddle anything. During the month of July 2020 (when the Berg usually takes place), paddlers from all over the world logged their distances.
Those who paddled 50km during the month were awarded a Bronze Certificate.
Those who paddled 240km during the month were awarded a Silver Certificate.
Those who paddled 240km on any 4 days were awarded a Gold Certificate.
(The Berg River Canoe Marathon is completed over 4 consecutive days).
I paddled with my brother, to get Silver, while getting fitter (after staying indoors due to lockdown).
Then I went for Gold and got it.
My brother got his Silver and a beginner paddler wanted to do Bronze, so I also paddled with her in a K2.
By the end of the month, I had paddled 416kms. mostly in a K1. The organisers were impressed by my efforts and sent me a 2nd certificate: Queen of the Berg.
It's kinda unique, since this year's Ultra Paddle (run in May 2021) offered a Platinum prize for the person paddling the highest distance during the month. So, Queen of the Berg was a once-off title and it's mine.
This year, I paddled 556km, and a paddler from Switzerland paddled over 600km. So he won the free entry to the Berg, which is the Platinum prize.
However, he did not want to travel to SA to utilise his free entry, so he nominated me as 'a worthy winner'.
So, I won the Platinum prize this year and completed my 2nd Berg.
Keeping active certainly does help the body to stay healthy.
Some of the men are in their late 70's and I think even 80's, and they are still keen paddlers, completing the Berg year after year.
I encourage you to get an active hobby and you will stay young, like me.
Paddling is water-resistance exercise, so is not likely to cause any damage to muscles / tendons.
Walking/ jogging/ cycling to strengthen legs.
I've heard of some (older) people walking / standing (permanently) bent over and their ribs were digging into their lungs. I don't want to experience that.
Guess what - my back (core) is quite strong, and I am not likely to land up a 'little old lady'.
PS. My username comes from last year (2020) when the Berg was cancelled due to the first lockdown.
The organizers hosted a 'virtual Berg' called Ultra Paddle 2020, where anyone, any where in the world, could paddle anything. During the month of July 2020 (when the Berg usually takes place), paddlers from all over the world logged their distances.
Those who paddled 50km during the month were awarded a Bronze Certificate.
Those who paddled 240km during the month were awarded a Silver Certificate.
Those who paddled 240km on any 4 days were awarded a Gold Certificate.
(The Berg River Canoe Marathon is completed over 4 consecutive days).
I paddled with my brother, to get Silver, while getting fitter (after staying indoors due to lockdown).
Then I went for Gold and got it.
My brother got his Silver and a beginner paddler wanted to do Bronze, so I also paddled with her in a K2.
By the end of the month, I had paddled 416kms. mostly in a K1. The organisers were impressed by my efforts and sent me a 2nd certificate: Queen of the Berg.
It's kinda unique, since this year's Ultra Paddle (run in May 2021) offered a Platinum prize for the person paddling the highest distance during the month. So, Queen of the Berg was a once-off title and it's mine.
This year, I paddled 556km, and a paddler from Switzerland paddled over 600km. So he won the free entry to the Berg, which is the Platinum prize.
However, he did not want to travel to SA to utilise his free entry, so he nominated me as 'a worthy winner'.
So, I won the Platinum prize this year and completed my 2nd Berg.
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Happy Birthday!
I am 74 now and still active but it takes me longer to accomplish things I would have completed quickly when I was younger. I broke my left hip in 2009 and had to give up lots of things. Worst was giving up my Goldwing and trips with my wife on it. I am always the slowest walkerin a crowd. Just finish a big job for me of replacing the fuel pump on my 2007 Ram. Dropped the tank out the bottom since it has a 5th wheel hitch in the bed. After those kind of jobs it takes a day or two to tackle another one. Son and I have planned to take the front part of his Isuzu motor apart to replace the water pump that is leaking. I have a motor replacement coming up on my Ranger pickup and a pressure plate replacement on my 1965 VW bug. I still feel young, but just can't move like I did before I broke my hip on the ice.
Yes, I got to agree! The ONLY problem is when I get up in the morning and look in the mirror, for a while I had to get used to the image and accept that it was me.I'm 52 and still feel the exact same as when I was 18
When attractive young ladies started calling me 'Sir'.
I feel this, literally. Most of it is probably weight related though… 295lbs, but I’m also 6’2” and built like a linebacker. Leaning in and out of a lathe for 12 hours a day certainly isn’t helping though.
