DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Aging

I find myself thinking more and more about aging as I get older (I know... funny how that works). My playing hockey has been a really good barometer. Starting at mid-thirties, just doing a couple laps around the rink and a quick stretch was no longer enough to get my body ready to play. I realized that I had to be more disciplined about exercising (not just hockey as exercise, but cardio and stretching) so I didn't pull a muscle or worse while playing. I've still got work to do there, but now (getting into my mid-forties) I'm finding that sometimes all the discipline in the world won't stop a random muscle pull or other minor injury... and now those take a LOT longer to go away.

What's more interesting to me, though, is how I'm aging upstairs. Even after I got married, I was still playing 3-4 times a week non-stop with a couple tournaments each year. Now I only play once a week and look forward to taking the summers off. Yes, kids and house and job are the reasons (just like everyone else), but I always imagined that I wouldn't be able to handle playing so little.

Sorry for the tangent, reading your post and feeling my shoulder from when my dog yanked on the leash got me in a sharing mood.

My chronological age is 63.

My biological age is 496 and 2 months.

Don't you know it. Last year, I had to sit there and think about how I'm getting onto the ladder from the roof without losing my balance, and I struggled doing it. I don't know if it's the lack of flexibility or just the lack of confidence, but I decided right there that I'm not doing this anymore. I've been up there many times in the 30+ years I've been in this house, climbing up and down that ladder without a second thought.

I wish you young punks would stay off my lawn.

I agree with you about trying to always move forward and push yourself to continue doing what you can. But as with your story about fly fishing and getting up on the roof I think you make the point that when it gets to a certain juncture where you no longer have the ability to do something safely your mind and body certainly send you a warning it's time to stop doing those things. We don't like it but it's inevitable.

Those who ignore these warnings are the people we see on the Six o'clock news.

My chronological and biological age



[image]https://i.etsystatic.com/5175241/r/il/282b2e/1638464770/il_1588xN.1638464770_86sd.jpg[image]

...Does yoga do anything for the undead?

I didn't know you were the 4,000 year old son of a two headed man and a mummy named Myrna, GM.

I am now lifting weights in addition to do some cardio at the gym. Had two surgeries last year but trying to get back into working out every single day like I used to.

It keeps the skeleton flexible. As far as the 4,000 year old son of a two headed man.... well as Paul Harvey always said "and now you know the rest of the story"

I just walk and stretch.

While activity is a sound plan, I think how we age and longevity is about 60% hereditary based. Look at Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. There is no logical explanation as to how that guy has lived as long as he has. In just looking it up, by an odd stroke of fate he is 82 years old today.

None of this is about being fair sadly. My mom's side of the family generally live into their mid 80's or longer with few major health problems. Mainly heavy drinkers, smokers and grew up on terrible diets.

My dad's side of the family have lived much cleaner lives and taken much better care of themselves overall yet they often die in their late 60's or early 70's.

I tend to agree with Peen. I think a lot of how long you live is largely based on heredity. I'm sure diet and exercise play a roll but maybe not as much as some people thinks it does.

Oddly enough Keith Richards mom lived to be 91 and his father lived to be 84.

My Grandfatrher lived to be 96.He worked through the great depression, and outlived 2 wives. He smoked and had a beer or 2 every night.

My Aunt was type 1 diabetic from her teens, and lived to be 86 or 87. She was a housewife, and was married for almost all of her adult life. Never drank or smoked, but my Uncle smoked.

My Mom lived to be 93.My She had a difficuly life. She never smoked and rarely drank.

My Dad, who lived to be 89, left when I was 10, and left Mom to raise 3 boys. He smoked and drank for many years. (not a super heavy drinker though)

All lived very different lives. All lived very long lives. I think that genetics has a great deal to do with thing, as much or more than most factors.

Genetics play a larger part in lifespan than previously thought

A person’s lifespan may be up to 55% heritable, according to new research.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...lay-large-role-lifespan-study-rcna256502

Genes influence human lifespan far more than thought, new study suggests

Heritability of longevity is pegged at 55%, more than double previous estimates

https://www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/human-longevity-inherited-new-study-published-in-science/

I suppose the conclusion one may reach might depend at least in part on the sources they use to form their conclusion.

Fair is a fairy tale. We like the idea of things being fair and mostly equal, but the reality doesn't play out that way, be it pretty much in anything.

I just watched that Rodney Dangerfield bit the other day.

You know you are getting older when you have to stand up for 10-15 seconds before you actually start to walk anywhere.

And then forgot why you stood up in the first place.

No one here gets out alive..... but that doesn't mean you should lay down an just accept it.


The human body will adapt to whatever you consistently ask of it. If you ask very little to nothing of it, it will adapt to being able to do very little to nothing.
As you age, recovery takes longer, we aren't pumped full of the growth hormones of the young and so it takes longer and longer for the body to repair itself.... but that doesn't mean you stop testing it.
Things begin to ache that never used to, but often times that means needing to learn to understand that you need to stretch and work on mobility because your muscles are tight.
There is definitely an age-related back slide and as we get older we have to push ourselves just to maintain the status quo, but you can still improve and reverse that slide.

We're all going to eventually succumb to one thing or another, and there are always things that are out of our control, but the condition we're in when we arrive there is largely up to us.

I am fortunate in the fact that I have a very physical job. But I'm still aging.

When I walk into a gym and look at the basketball rims - the same height as when I played - back when I could dunk 1 handed, or 2 handed - I know look up and wonder "HOW did I do that?"

Takes me a good 10 minutes, in the morning, to feel like I 'should', as far as walking.

Best thing for me is my job. Just getting to work is a privilege, and starting makes me feel good. I don't jump anymore. I don't run, but I am physically active, through work.

Facts.

And things will cause you discomfort. I hear people say all the time "I can't do that because this hurts or that hurts". Now, granted, plenty of folks have real structural issues that prevent them from moving the way they did in their youth, but I'd venture to say that the vast, overwhelming majority simply have bodies they haven't used and the inertia of doing nothing overrides any notion of breaking out of that. That leads to weak muscles which leads to small gaps in joints. It leads to poor balance and being easily injured because the body no longer has the strength to control itself against other forces. Complacency kills.

Conversely, working out all the time may cause lots of soreness in muscles, but I'd rather be sore than hurt. I'd rather be strong and resilient. Strong muscles create space in joints which leads to better joint health and it gives me the ability to still get around easily, to still be able to get out of a chair easily, to still squat ass-to-grass and just hang out there and then stand up like it's nothing; things actually move the way they are supposed to. Strong means that I'm still self-sufficient. Carrying 100lbs of chicken feed at a time on my shoulder from the car to the feeders 100 yards away is trivial. Getting two 50 lb bags onto that shoulder at once is just another thing. It means that I rarely, if ever, have an unexpected fall. Your balance *IS* your core muscles. Having strong core - abs, lower back, obliques, glutes, hips - means that your body can react and brace against unexpected things like a shoe toe getting caught in the carpet and tripping you. People fall because those muscles are no longer able to react fast enough or strongly enough to prevent the fall.

Personally, I absolutely LOVE to lift heavy. At 55, I am a good bit younger than most of y'all in this thread, but I'm still getting up there and I see the effects of age regularly.... but, I refuse to let that stop me. I acknowledge what I must and adapt my training only as required, but I still go heavy and still push to get stronger constantly, and then I pay extra attention to how I recover and help the body repair itself.

AI was very helpful for me. Workout plan, adjusting my diet, deep dive on supplements I should be taking as a 55+ male. It put together a quick HIIT workout that kicks my butt.

I workout with weights, I have since high school. I get lazy once in a while so I just quit adhering to a firm schedule; especially as much as we travel. I hate structure and I like to mix things up.

I do pushups nearly every day of my life. I mean, drop for 35 with perfect form... sometimes 40. Every year I make sure I can do my age in pushups in one drop. Other than that, I embrace activity as much as I can. Walking, biking, hiking, etc... I would love to have a pool as close as you do, Bone. That's an amazing way to stay in shape.


My biggest hurdle right now is trying to understand what I can do to improve my mind. I'm tired of forgetting things... forgetting words mid-sentence. No, it's not something that goes on all day, it's just very aggravating when it does.

Anybody have a magic elixir for that??

That's what she said.