CHRONOLOGICALLY BLESSED

[Scumspawn]

Thanks for all the migraine tips everyone. I've not tried cold things at the back of my neck, and I like the tennis balls in a sock idea a lot - I have an eye mask stuffed with rice and lavender I use. Drug wise I have tried neurofen, which usually knock me out and make me feel dizzy but since I feel terrible with a migraine anyway that doesn't matter. I suspect the trick is to catch it quickly with the drugs but I get the visual warning with my eyesight going weird before the headache starts so that is easy enough. Water I never drink enough of but as soon as I have an indicator of a headache I start drinking more - which means that when I can get to sleep I wake up wanting to pee, and I am a total atheist so there is no god I believe can help.

I don't think I'd be able to keep a cold tin of beer in the fridge just in case :-) It would get drunk way before it was needed - I don't like coke though, maybe I could buy a tin of that, I could always use it to clean the loo if it didn't help the headache!

[Mark D]

Honest question here. Do you ever think you're too old for this stuff, or ask yourself why you bother.

I backed off my stronglifts program because it took me longer to recover from deadlifts than the time between workouts, I'd go to my next workout still tired from my last. I think that's just reality, I don't recover like I once did.

How do you deal with the little voice inside that says "Hey, you're 52 years old. Stop all this nonsense, stop pretending you're 25, and accept it"?

Until a year ago I accepted the fact that I probably wouldn't live long enough to retire. Men in my family don't live long, as a general rule. Now I suspect, no matter how belated I've come to it, that I may have a long retirement with my beloved wife.

I feel better when I work out, but I also ache. My dad told me that after the age of 50 if he woke up and nothing hurt it meant he died during the night. He felt good if nothing NEW hurt. Now I have new stuff hurting all the time...

I couldn't think of a better place to ask this question.

[wildross]

Honest question here. Do you ever think you're too old for this stuff, or ask yourself why you bother.

I backed off my stronglifts program because it took me longer to recover from deadlifts than the time between workouts, I'd go to my next workout still tired from my last. I think that's just reality, I don't recover like I once did.

How do you deal with the little voice inside that says "Hey, you're 52 years old. Stop all this nonsense, stop pretending you're 25, and accept it"?

Until a year ago I accepted the fact that I probably wouldn't live long enough to retire. Men in my family don't live long, as a general rule. Now I suspect, no matter how belated I've come to it, that I may have a long retirement with my beloved wife.

I feel better when I work out, but I also ache. My dad told me that after the age of 50 if he woke up and nothing hurt it meant he died during the night. He felt good if nothing NEW hurt. Now I have new stuff hurting all the time...

I couldn't think of a better place to ask this question.

Find the closest powerlifting meet or strongman competition and either register or just go attend.  I'm 55 and have yet to be the oldest at a meet, or the strongest "master" lifter.  2 weeks ago I squatted 446#, benched 352# and deadlifted 452#, all personal bests in competition.

 

For me, living in Florida (aka God's waiting room), I see evidence around me every day of what happens when you don't do something.  I refuse to go that way.  And that's what it comes down to.  Refusing to go quietly into the night.  

 

I didn't start lifting heavy until I was over 50.  I feel better now than I have in decades.  My ankles don't twist on pebbles in the driveway.  My back doesn't hurt when I wake up.  I walk taller and straighter and am excelling in an industry dominated by the young.  People constantly peg me as in my early 40's (granted, I shave all the gray hair off).

 

While the Lord blessed me with good genes and has preserved my youth, it's my job to do all I can to take care of myself.  I am not pretending that I'm 25.  I'm acting like a 55 year old who cares about his body and is doing what he can to maximize what God has given him.  The biggest thing I do different than when I would have when I was younger is walk away when I start to feel the urge to prove myself against the younger dude is lifting next to me.  I credit that with saving me from all kinds of injuries.

 

With all due respect to your dad, if that is the attitude the men in your family have held...they will die "young".    Attitude is the most important thing in almost every endeavor and certainly is as we age.

[AverageFish]

Even at my age sometimes adulting can be very hard. My juggling act is getting a little wobbly, just hoping I can keep everything up in the air!

Assuming you're using "juggling" as a metaphor for trying to get everything done at once, yes yes yes! I always feel like I can keep caught up on all but one of my obligations, although which one I let slide varies from day to day.

And if you meant literally juggling, just disregard the above and I'll say Wow, impressed with your coordination.

[Sloth the Enduring]

I was just confronted with this tonight. At the restaurant we were at there were a couple of guys, both ~65. One looked fit, fairly muscular, good posture, moved easily. The other, fat, slow, hunched over, probably a couple of years from using a cane.

Every day you're getting a bit better or a bit worse. Every day is a decision about who you want to be in the long run.

[Mark D]

Wildross: you're right of course. Last nigh was the end of a very tiring week for me, and I was on the train going home, knowing I was going to get up early to hit the iron. Guess j had a bit of a pity party.

Right now I just got back from the gym (yay deadlifts) and I'm tired but feel good. I have to remind myself of this when I have to drag myself.out of bed to hit the gym before work.

As for Dad, he lived a rough life and was pretty well beat up. And I have to remind myself.that, altough neither grandfather saw 70, that was the male.life expectancy for people born in the late 1800s. So in reality they didn't die young. Even my dad was born in 1919 and died at age 68, not an unreasonable age.

Thanks for the words, and for listening to me bellyache.

[Granny Nogg]

I was just confronted with this tonight. At the restaurant we were at there were a couple of guys, both ~65. One looked fit, fairly muscular, good posture, moved easily. The other, fat, slow, hunched over, probably a couple of years from using a cane.

Every day you're getting a bit better or a bit worse. Every day is a decision about who you want to be in the long run.

I thought you said this very well. Reminded me of my maternal grandparents. My grandmother didn't do what her doctor and her husband urged her to - eat healthy and get regular exercise. She had both heart disease and diabetes, which could have been prevented or greatly managed if she hadn't been a 4x4. Loved her dearly, but she was also a typically stubborn Portuguese matriarch who listened to no one. She passed at 65 from a heart attack.

My grandfather, on the other hand, was always athletic, he gardened when he could and bought organic when he couldn't. He was an irritant when I was a rebellious teenager, droning on about the dangers of my diet and lack of exercise. But he lived a long life, active into his 90's when alzheimers took his ability to live on his own. My mother had to put him in a nursing home, but even then he was very particular about his food, and would still exercise, though they wouldn't let him walk because he was a fall risk even with a walker, so they let him scoot himself all about the place by his feet from his wheelchair. The nurses would tell my mom, 'oh he's around here somewhere, visiting the old people.'

He always had a great attitude, and his favorite shirt for doctor visit days said "chick magnet" across the front, which always garnered plenty of attention. He died at 103.

What a legacy! The genetic potential is there for me, too (my paternal grandmother is still alive at 96). It spurs me on when I think I'm just too frustratingly old for this.

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[ChristArtist]

My grandmother's lived long lives. ...one gardened until the year she died. I knew it was the end when she said she wasn't starting her tomato plants that year.

My other gramma ended up in a home. ...masonic, she planned it that way.

They were both always busy, always doing.

I want to exceed them.

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[SevenofSeven]

I say an older woman in her garden the other day, she was digging like a maniac! Looking at her I would guess she was in her 80's. I look at my mum in her 60 and she is so sedentary and full of excuses as to why she can't, her idea of gardening is sitting on the verandah, yelling at my Dad to do this and don't cut that. My Dad on the other hand is still working part time, as a gardener/farm hand and has 3 days of sheep work coming up. Even though he has a heart condition due to rhimatic fever as a child, he hasn't let it stop him. I know who I want to grow up to be.

[wildross]

One of the big adjustments I've had to make is my definition of "old" and "older".  I've taken to using age ranges instead.

[ChristArtist]

I say an older woman in her garden the other day, she was digging like a maniac! Looking at her I would guess she was in her 80's. I look at my mum in her 60 and she is so sedentary and full of excuses as to why she can't, her idea of gardening is sitting on the verandah, yelling at my Dad to do this and don't cut that. My Dad on the other hand is still working part time, as a gardener/farm hand and has 3 days of sheep work coming up. Even though he has a heart condition due to rhimatic fever as a child, he hasn't let it stop him. I know who I want to grow up to be.

This is one reason I want to grow our own food at our new house. Gardening is therapy AND exercise for me! And the fresh food is a perk!

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[wildross]

Today is one of those days that I just want to take certain of our children and <insert mean thing here>...not that I would, but I (thought) we raised them better than that.

 

If my parents were alive, I'd go apologize to them (again) for the times I know I was a jerk, mean, rude, inconsiderate, disrespectful or unloving to them....and probably take them some ice cream or something....

[SevenofSeven]

Your feelings towards your kids.......totally get it! Love them to bits, but sometimes, I could do the Homer choke on one or two!

[Granny Nogg]

I successfully dyed my hair using strong tea and coffee.  It actually works, including my gray hair.  I wrote about it on my battle log.  

[originalpiratematerial]

Hi all, I've just posted a long (too long) post in the Introductions bit describing my journey from chronic lack of fitness to being in probably the best shape of my life.  I turned 50 in June.  I love running but I'm also getting more and more into lifting weights.  

[SevenofSeven]

Welcome, I was wondering if you had found this awesome little thread.

Good luck with your lifting journey, although word of warning, it is addictive!

[originalpiratematerial]

[emoji123][emoji106]

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[bim]

Honest question here. Do you ever think you're too old for this stuff, or ask yourself why you bother.

I backed off my stronglifts program because it took me longer to recover from deadlifts than the time between workouts, I'd go to my next workout still tired from my last. I think that's just reality, I don't recover like I once did.

How do you deal with the little voice inside that says "Hey, you're 52 years old. Stop all this nonsense, stop pretending you're 25, and accept it"?

Until a year ago I accepted the fact that I probably wouldn't live long enough to retire. Men in my family don't live long, as a general rule. Now I suspect, no matter how belated I've come to it, that I may have a long retirement with my beloved wife.

I feel better when I work out, but I also ache. My dad told me that after the age of 50 if he woke up and nothing hurt it meant he died during the night. He felt good if nothing NEW hurt. Now I have new stuff hurting all the time...

I couldn't think of a better place to ask this question.

 

I know I'm late to the party with this, but yes, I do sometimes think I'm too old for this stuff. I have oddball aches and pains every day, and sometimes I wonder if I'm nuts for putting my "old" joints under a hundred pounds of pressure or going up against people half my age (and well over my weight) in combatives.

 

And then maybe I skip a workout (or even a couple) and go to bed early that night, and then I get back on it the next day. Why? Eeeeeeh... because I can?

 

I was over 45 the very first time I ran a mile without stopping. I'll probably be 50 before I can bench my bodyweight, if I ever get there at all. I don't know how long I have left to enjoy this kind of activity. Ten years, 20? Five? One or two? No idea. I haven't done it before. That keeps me going. That, and wanting to be "the fun grandparent" for my son's kiddos, when he has them.

[Rowan Caldecott]

Once you've quit gaming it just doesn't seem to matter anymore.

 

Quit gaming?! Never!

[originalpiratematerial]

I sincerely doubt I will ever be able to bench my body weight - I'd be over the moon if I could deadlift it! That's my goal!

Being able to keep up with my autistic son is a big motivator for me, especially as his father has osteoarthritis and, although much better since he had a hip replacement, not really able to run.

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[megnaripd]

I sincerely doubt I will ever be able to bench my body weight - I'd be over the moon if I could deadlift it! That's my goal!

Being able to keep up with my autistic son is a big motivator for me, especially as his father has osteoarthritis and, although much better since he had a hip replacement, not really able to run.

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I'm working my way up to lifting my body weight. Maybe i can bring my weight down to what I can actually deadlift?

[SevenofSeven]

2 more kilo and I can deadlift my BW. It has taken almost 2 years, it's something that I never thought I could be capable of but, never give up, never surrender!

[Mark D]

2 more kilo and I can deadlift my BW. It has taken almost 2 years, it's something that I never thought I could be capable of but, never give up, never surrender!

 

I think everyone has a lift they excel at, and ones they don't.  After two months I was deadlifting over 2/3 BW for five reps, and I while it was hard I felt there was still some in the tank, my 1RM would probably be close to BW.  That was before my healing month off.  My OHP and bench are FAR behind, as in I failed reps on OHP on 1/4 BW.

 

I've always had more lower body strength than upper though, which is why my accessory work is all upper body.  I'm pretty sure I'll hit BW on deadlift and squat while doing Stronglifts, maybe not ever on OHP and BP.

[Granny Nogg]

2 more kilo and I can deadlift my BW. It has taken almost 2 years, it's something that I never thought I could be capable of but, never give up, never surrender!

Oh bonus points awarded for the Galaxy Quest reference!

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[originalpiratematerial]

So...now I'm here, how should I start? It's probably a little late to join in the current challenge maybe?

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