Any seasoned old jocks finding it hard to keep training?

[WYFSKAAR]

Originally Posted by SSABAD

Great pic!

I know I could still be going heavy and working hard but based on my life right now and the last few years, I'm doing what makes me happy, what I fit in my life without missing the important things...important to me...and still get a great feeling of accomplishment.

Adjustments come for two reasons...physical or mental...physically I can still do it, but mentally I made the adjustments. Different reasons and everyone will be different and only you know why...hard to explain but I'm sure you understand.

So well I understand. The old addage "moderation in everything" may be corny but yet it makes sense. As for my little workout dilemma, the alert tone has been sounding and I pretty much know why. Exercise has largely defined who I am for over four decades. Whenever I fall away from it, I feel terrible - mentally and physically. It's an identity thing. I'm certain you can relate. I'm sixty now and the wolf is at the door. Fellas I played ball with decades ago have already fallen prey to this advancing enemy. They no longer fight back from it and they have become soft, badly out of condition, old guys that do not do much of anything involving genuine physical exertion. I won't let this happen to me. Well, maybe the "old" part but not the other.

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[USRWDV8]

Don't give up the fight because it's getting tougher, man; you knew it would. And you see the alternative in your contemporaries: not pretty.

I hesitated to respond because although fit, "seasoned jock" doesn't exactly describe me (), but yeah, at 48 I may be trailing some of you guys but I do know what you're talking about. 15 years ago I worked with a 50+ retired cop and bodybuilder. The dude was huge and I clearly remember him saying stuff like "I now have to work out twice as hard to get half the results" or "I'd eat a turd to be 35 again". I was in a kick-ass shape without trying and didn't quite get it back then, but his words have come back to me a few times in the past few years...

While until 40 I felt like time had no traction on me (people often thought I was 10-15 years younger), after that it's definitely gone downhill. Talking workouts specifically, I have a harder time getting motivated and I started getting joint and muscle pain recently, which never happened before. You don't have to go down without a fight, but you definitely have to warm up and pace yourself more. I haven't looked into testosterone, but all the serious guys do it and there's probably a reason. You do get softer with age.

Another often forgotten reason why staying in top shape gets harder is that many men our age have had, or are having, health problems. Most guys I know (myself included) are on some sort of medication, and drugs often have nasty side-effects. Plus, as the end becomes visible on the horizon it gets more difficult mentally to keep being so hard on oneself.
I'm starting to consider changing jobs because of my diminished physical capabilities, but truth be told, most guys even younger are woefully out of shape and worse off, so this reassures me some. I see 25 year-old kids with a good size gut who think they're in shape while I still have a flat stomach so it's not that bad if you watch yourself.

[WYFSKAAR]

Originally Posted by USRWDV8

Don't give up the fight because it's getting tougher, man; you knew it would. And you see the alternative in your contemporaries: not pretty.

I hesitated to respond because although fit, "seasoned jock" doesn't exactly describe me (), but yeah, at 48 I may be trailing some of you guys but I do know what you're talking about. 15 years ago I worked with a 50+ retired cop and bodybuilder. The dude was huge and I clearly remember him saying stuff like "I now have to work out twice as hard to get half the results" or "I'd eat a turd to be 35 again". I was in a kick-ass shape without trying and didn't quite get it back then, but his words have come back to me a few times in the past few years...

While until 40 I felt like time had no traction on me (people often thought I was 10-15 years younger), after that it's definitely gone downhill. Talking workouts specifically, I have a harder time getting motivated and I started getting joint and muscle pain recently, which never happened before. You don't have to go down without a fight, but you definitely have to warm up and pace yourself more. I haven't looked into testosterone, but all the serious guys do it and there's probably a reason. You do get softer with age.

Another often forgotten reason why staying in top shape gets harder is that many men our age have had, or are having, health problems. Most guys I know (myself included) are on some sort of medication, and drugs often have nasty side-effects. Plus, as the end becomes visible on the horizon it gets more difficult mentally to keep being so hard on oneself.
I'm starting to consider changing jobs because of my diminished physical capabilities, but truth be told, most guys even younger are woefully out of shape and worse off, so this reassures me some. I see 25 year-old kids with a good size gut who think they're in shape while I still have a flat stomach so it's not that bad if you watch yourself.

Ya' know, that's what I need. Kicks in the ass. Mental pictures of the alternative, etc. You prompt my pea brain to harken back 39 years...Abnormal Psychology class. The professor explained how the popular phrase "misery loves company" is not accurate. Rather, miserable people love miserable company. LOL I appreciate hearing of my challenge from your perspective.

[USRWDV8]

I'm sure you've heard it before, but "beware of an old man. If he's too old to fight, he'll just kill you". What we lose in edge, we make up for it in wisdom and meanness... Also a reassuring thought to me that I found to be true. And I'm lazy enough today already that I hope I'll have the juice to work out when I'm 60!