Thanks to the OP for the reminder of why I do things completely different than the mainstream. I was a physical wreck at 30, am now in the best health of my life three decades later.
Aging = wear-and-tear (WAT), both in terms of injuries (mostly due to poor training, in our sport), and in terms of diet (mainly oxidative WAT due to high carbohydrate intake and processed food consumption). Avoiding unnecessary WAT, and emphasizing repair has paid off for this 60-something guy.
I've got to plug swimming as a great way to maintain aerobic capacity without the pounding that running entails. The other plus is that it adds upper body strength too. I'm mid 50s, started swimming 20 years ago as a complement (addition) to my running volume. I have replaced (junk) road miles with pool miles over the years, and haven't seen too much performance degradation. I swim about 4 days a week, 6 miles +/-. I figure every mile in the pool is 5 on the roads.
Good idea. I need to add at least a day of swimming.
Igy
Access to a heated pool is not always feasible for everyone. I'm guilty as I have a 80 degrees heated jr. Olympic lap pool at work and I don't utilize it. I agree though, more cross training as you get older and swimming is an excellent workout. Aqua jogging is good one as well.
Not half fast wrote:
I've got to plug swimming as a great way to maintain aerobic capacity without the pounding that running entails. The other plus is that it adds upper body strength too. I'm mid 50s, started swimming 20 years ago as a complement (addition) to my running volume. I have replaced (junk) road miles with pool miles over the years, and haven't seen too much performance degradation. I swim about 4 days a week, 6 miles +/-. I figure every mile in the pool is 5 on the roads.
Fat = Flavor wrote:
Thanks to the OP for the reminder of why I do things completely different than the mainstream. I was a physical wreck at 30, am now in the best health of my life three decades later.
Aging = wear-and-tear (WAT), both in terms of injuries (mostly due to poor training, in our sport), and in terms of diet (mainly oxidative WAT due to high carbohydrate intake and processed food consumption). Avoiding unnecessary WAT, and emphasizing repair has paid off for this 60-something guy.
Good answer. The OP is a weak, cowardly hump. Typical of so many of the brainwashed men in America today. You can bet he speaks in the same feminine tone and manner that would have been correctly labeled as "gay" just a few years ago. No doubt he has a trendy gay looking little beard and glasses (with plain glass lenses) for effect, to go along with his other sissy friends in their berets, fedoras, and knit caps.
What the OP posted may be true for those born in the 1950s.But things change, so here's an alternate timeline from age 20, for those who are 20:
Bored&aging wrote:
Age 20- A great age. Your entire life is in front of you.
Age 25- Another great age. You're not broke like in college and don't need to juggle both school and work. 30 is bearing down hard for some people. They're tied down with marriage and kids, but don't let society push you - both are completely optional.
Age 30- It's all real now, even though you're much younger than most CEOs and still not old enough to be the U.S. President. And while you may never get that Olympic gold, you can still make an impact on some niche fields that may gain you a footnote in history. You can find the largest prime number, write a film script or novel, or donate to research for a rare disease that has almost no funding.
Age 40- You really know yourself. Job, home, etc should be all taken care of by this point. You can start to travel and afford nicer things.
Age 45- See above. If you're smart (control your expenses, make reasonably good investments, and don't have kids), you should be able to retire now. If you want to continue working, it should be because you love your job, not because you need the money.
Age 50- You're caught between hope and despair. On one hand, you may have lost one or both parents and/ or dealing with their issues as they enter old age. On the other hand, you read about technological advancements to replace bone, muscle, nerves, and organs. You wonder whether you'll live long enough to swap out your failing body parts for new ones and possibly equal the PRs you set in your 20s.
Age 60- You could have retired long ago, but are still working because your job is tolerable and because you want to be able to afford the latest medical treatments. But you hedge your bets and finish checking off those items in your bucket list. You see the northern lights, go skydiving, and climb the world's highest mountains.
Age 65- It's really a race between your physical decline and improving medical technology. There are rumors that some reclusive trillionaire has grown a successful head and face transplant. He now has the wisdom of a 70 year old with the face and body of a 30 year old. You hope that the price of this will come down by orders of magnitude by the time you need it.
Age 70- The Internet and TV are your best friend as you watch for the latest developments. Will man establish colonies on Mars? Will self-improving AI become a reality and surpass humans in all fields? Will a woman run a sub 4 mile? You stick with that healthy diet and exercise in order to find out.
Age 75+- Glad to wake up every day. Even if it all ends now, you're happy because you've done almost everything you wanted to do, seen almost everything you've wanted to see, and experienced things that people from a century earlier could only dream of.
Age 80 - That medical treatment you've been waiting for finally arrives. It's not a full cure, but it'll keep you alive for 10-15 more years. Hopefully, it buys you enough time to live long enough to get better treatments later.
Age 90 - Full aging reversal is finally available to the common man, provided that they are permanently sterilized to prevent overpopulation. You're pretty much 20 again, except that you can now avoid the mistakes you made when you were 20.
Age 91-499: ???
Age 500 - You get hit by a flying car. You decline medical treatment because you're bored of life and want to know whether there's an afterlife.
People don't want to die but a world where people live hundreds of years would face enormous challenges regarding resources and social organisation. We're already finding it quite difficult to deal with the demographic changes of the last century.
Flying cars for all wrote:
People don't want to die but a world where people live hundreds of years would face enormous challenges regarding resources and social organisation.
It would be for the better, though. Right now, our biggest expense is treating the elderly, and eliminating that would go a long way toward raising GDP and reducing the debt. Productivity will also go up as well.
Situation right now for most people:
Age 0-18: Still in school, not productive
Age 18-25: Minimally productive. Either in college, grad school, learning a trade, or doing an entry-level job.
Age 25-30: Highly productive.
Age 30-50: Moderately productive, need to take care of kids and/or aging parents.
Age 50-65: Moderately productive. Greater accumulation of knowledge is compensated by decline in physical and mental abilities.
Age 65+: Minimally productive. Will likely become a drain on society due to increasing medical costs.
Potential future situation:
Age 0-18: Still in school, not productive
Age 18-25: Minimally productive. Either in college, grad school, learning a trade, or doing an entry-level job.
Age 25-500: Highly productive. Can explore multiple careers without experiencing a decline in physical and mental strength.
Age 500: Killed off in an accident. Minimal medical expenses.
Flying cars for all wrote:
a world where people live hundreds of years would face enormous challenges regarding resources and social organisation.
That would be a great thing, provided that everyone who receives the anti-aging treatment is sterilized to prevent overpopulation.
Right now, people don't live long enough to live with the consequences of their actions. Fossil fuel depletion? Global warming? Overfishing? Who cares, I'll be dead long before it affects me.
Very thoughtful and poignant.
Age 44, this morning, took a perfect dump. No court appearances, no debilitating injuries. Very promising...
cowbell2 wrote:
Age 65+: Minimally productive. Will likely become a drain on society due to increasing medical costs.
You got that right Charlie. About 80% of medical costs go to the 60+ age demographics. Society is living longer but more unhealthy than ever with a myriad of chronic diseases. It's this group that uses up all the medical resources and will eventually implode the system. I mean, really, 80 year olds getting joint replacement surgeries is one major area of waste...please.
Well, this is one thread that has degenerated into mindless and unrealistic hopes of the young and stupid isn't it? Hubris is ugly, youngsters. You too will be old, and soon.
Youth is a quality. Some people have it some don't. It has nothing to do with age.
Whiite Trash wrote:
Well, this is one thread that has degenerated into mindless and unrealistic hopes of the young and stupid isn't it? Hubris is ugly, youngsters. You too will be old, and soon.
LOL, yeah I like how this turned into a wish list. Sorry folks but you will not live forever, medical science can only do so much.
Maybe they will make advances that will make aging easier, but you will still age and you will still die.
jlc wrote:
Its really depressing when you hit your 60's and you realize all that after life nonsense is just that...nonsense.
You start to rush things, go places, do things.
This is a grim worldview. Furthermore, to me, this takes a bigger leap of faith than believing there is something bigger and beyond the here and now. To believe that your person/essence/soul/being just vanishes and that all of life here on earth is just some kind of coincidence. What are the statistical odds of the natural world being in such perfect harmony? The marvel of the human body. The ways our eyes and brains work (just a small example). It's all a marvel. Coincidence?
There is more out there. God loves you.
you are a hopeless loser25 isn't tough, it's endless possibilities. It's a very long way away from 30 tooif you expect life to be this way at these ages, i feel very sorry for you. none of the things you wrote below are what life has to be or is. If you want to fall into the rut and do those, have fun, but don't blame anyone but yourself.it's what you make it. every year of my life since 18 has been better than the last. I'm 35, in the best shape of my life. great relationships, haven't been to a doctor in 12 years, travel 6 weeks a year, live in a cool place and am always learning more.my parents are 70 and in better shape than when they were 50 and doing all sorts of crazy sh*t too, like hiking parts of the PCT, started a little company after retirement, it's inspiring but also very easy because the people that you are around are what helps you define age. they aren't grandparents because my siblings and i aren't stuck in the rut of kids, home ownership etc eitherif you think 40 is settled, you are going to be going to work, coming home and watching tv until bedtime the rest of your sad little life. honestly, get rid of your television and move somewhere where you aren't required to drive everywhere and you'll be young and interesting and fulfilled for a long timeonce i turned 30, life got way better, physically and emotionally, and i don't see it changing for a whilei feel very sorry for you you've accepted these truths to be the way it is. you're wrong
Bored&aging wrote:
Age 10- the best age.. you are old enough to do fun kid stuff but you aren't a small child either.
Age 15- a very tough age, early into trying to date, low rung on the HS ladder. can be very awkward. Music is EVERYTHING to you.
Age 20- a great age. everyone much older than you is just an old fart, everyone younger is just a kid. This is the age where you actually care about things, ideas and ideals, music, art and sex LOTS of sex. Your entire life is in front of you.
Age 25- another tough age. 30 is bearing down hard, are you going to get married & have kids, are you already started on a career or are you slinging coffee at Starbucks with that fancy degree, are you still at home in mom's basement. Life seems to really pile up around this time.
Age 30- It's all real now. The age where you realize you are not going to accomplish anything great or big. You are going to work, live and die a staid normal life like everyone else.
Age 40- You are settled, you really know yourself. Life seems to settle down, kids are old enough to do their own thing now. Job, home, etc should be all taken care of by this point. You can start to travel and afford nicer things.
Age 45- see above (but 50 is looming large)
Age 50- Your own mortality is quickly becoming more apparent to you. You may have lost one or both parents and/ or dealing their issues as they enter old age. Thoughts about retirement are now a real thing, not just a theory. Your kids are now young adults that you are watching make the same mistakes you did.
Age 60- You are considering retirement and counting the days until you can stop punching that clock. You have have dealt with at least one serious medical condition. You are a grandparent and officially "old".
Age 65- If you get here without a major medical issue you are winning. You probably have lost both parents by now, your kids are well grown and started their own family. You are free to travel, but you lack the energy to do so. You may have lost a close friend due to illness.
Age 70- You have lost many friends due to illness. TV is your best friend.
Age 75+- Glad to wake up every day.
Consider the alternative.
55 years old , just went over the handle bars 3 times on a
way too tough 20 mile mountain bike ride with my kid. Man do I feel alive! Boredom is a sin.
I want to be like those guys wrote:
You be da man! ðŸ‘. And I've seen some of your posts on the 50+ Masters Training Forum. You and some of the other cats that post their workouts, mileage & race times are unreal.
If you call people "cats" you don't have to want to be one of the old guys, as you clearly already are one. I'm almost 50 and the only people I know who use that term were hippies in the 60s.
what?!?! wrote:
[quote]I want to be like those guys wrote:
You be da man! ðŸ‘. And I've seen some of your posts on the 50+ Masters Training Forum. You and some of the other cats that post their workouts, mileage & race times are unreal.
what?!?! wrote:
If you call people "cats" you don't have to want to be one of the old guys, as you clearly already are one. I'm almost 50 and the only people I know who use that term were hippies in the 60s.
You're very perceptive ðŸ‘. Yeah...I'm a middle-aged cat struggling with chronic injuries (btw, my 60's lingo drives the Millennials crazy...ðŸ˜).
When I talk about "wanting to be like those guys" I'm specifically referring to how those 50+ guys (and gals) on the 50+ forum don't seem to age (or age very slowly) in terms of their mileage, race times, year-round race schedules, etc. Have you ever looked at some of those posts? Some cat in his mid/late-50s was posting his weekly training schedule - 60+ miles, twice-weekly speed sessions, hills, and incredible 5K times! Other cats in their 60s are doing high-mileage, regular speed sessions & year-round racing.
It's mind-blowing (and humiliating) at some of their training schedules and race results...those cats are FAST! That's why I asked what people think on this: Is it dietary principles, certain supplements, TRT, etc...or just plain good genetics? (or some well-hidden Fountain of Youth 😄).
Is there a rule against attaching a helium balloon to yourself while running a road race?
Jakob Ingebrigtsen has a 1989 Ferrari 348 GTB and he's just put in paperwork to upgrade it
How rare is it to run a sub 5 minute mile AND bench press 225?
Am I living in the twilight zone? The Boston Marathon weather was terrible!
Mark Coogan says that if you could only do 3 workouts as a 1500m runner you should do these
Move over Mark Coogan, Rojo and John Kellogg share their 3 favorite mile workouts