Not feeling so old after all!

[redsturgeon]

Sometimes at 63 I think I'm getting on a bit...next year I will be that person that the Beatles sang about,

"Will you still need me will you still feed me...."

But I've just been listening to James Lovelock being interviewed on the Today programme. What an articulate and intelligent man, I've always been a fan but then the punchline for me came at the end,

"Congratulations on your 100th birthday Mr Lovelock"

Wow! I can only hope to be as clear of mind as he is (next year let alone in 37 years time!)

Happy Birthday James...why is it not Sir James?

John

[Dod101]

Birthday is actually 26 July but I take the point.

Dod

[UncleEbenezer]

A couple of weeks back, they had a whole week of a feature called (IIRC) "Living Memory" ont'wireless, when they chatted to centenarians, all of them still articulate and coherent.

The first - and oldest - subject was a chap aged 111.
One of the last was the BBC's own June Spencer on her 100th birthday. She is a central character in The Archers, where she first appeared in 1950.

But you're as old as you feel. Nurse? Nurse!!!

[tjh290633]

It is evident that people age at widely differing rates. We have a couple coming for lunch today, one in a wheelchair and the other with a walking frame. Both in their low 80s.

Last Weekend we were in the company of a group of mid 80s people with just the odd stick to be seen.

I have a feeling that avoiding over-strenuous exercise is the key. Golfers seem to be particularly prone to suffering. I enjoy my walk of about 2 miles (almost) every morning for the papers. I do not do brisk, just steady. Occasional gardening, but not too often. When brambles impede my path to the compost bins, it is time to act.

Relax, friends.

TJH

[didds]

then again...

https://www.swimming.org/justswim/stay-younger/#


"Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and doing some form of physical activity on a regular basis can lower the risk of developing limitations in your body by up to 50%."

didds

[bungeejumper]

Last Weekend we were in the company of a group of mid 80s people with just the odd stick to be seen.

I have a feeling that avoiding over-strenuous exercise is the key.

One of the unexpected things about southern France is the frequency with which you come across whole gangs of wrinklies on bikes. There are few things more humiliating, I find, than the sight of these ancient superheroes working their way up some mountain pass that's straight out of a Tour de France special stage. And knowing that if you (or I) tried the same thing without training we'd soon be in coronary care.

Of course, it may be the Mediterranean diet, or the more inviting all-season climate, or the fact that France affords such a strong cultural importance to road racing. (In other words, they've been doing it all their lives, so why stop now?)

Or just that history is written by the survivors who haven't collapsed yet under the intolerable strain of such exertion. Either way, I take my hat off to all of them. In the meantime, it's back to my rowing machine. Hello, old friend, sorry you haven't been seeing much of me lately...…

BJ

[Dod101]

It is evident that people age at widely differing rates. We have a couple coming for lunch today, one in a wheelchair and the other with a walking frame. Both in their low 80s.

Last Weekend we were in the company of a group of mid 80s people with just the odd stick to be seen.

I have a feeling that avoiding over-strenuous exercise is the key. Golfers seem to be particularly prone to suffering. I enjoy my walk of about 2 miles (almost) every morning for the papers. I do not do brisk, just steady. Occasional gardening, but not too often. When brambles impede my path to the compost bins, it is time to act.

Relax, friends.

I do not golf but it could not be called strenuous, just a three mile walked spoiled or whatever the old saying is.

Dod

[UncleIan]

I have a feeling that avoiding over-strenuous exercise is the key. Golfers seem to be particularly prone to suffering.

Golf? You and I have *very* different definitions of strenuous! I mean, it's basically your steady walk, but stopping every 100yds or so for a rest.
Mind you, it might not be the exercise but the stress that gets them, depending on how chilled they are when they fluff a shot.

[bungeejumper]

Golf? You and I have *very* different definitions of strenuous! I mean, it's basically your steady walk, but stopping every 100yds or so for a rest.
Mind you, it might not be the exercise but the stress that gets them, depending on how chilled they are when they fluff a shot.

That's where the Donald scores a win-win. Firstly, the great tub of lard doesn't walk anywhere even when he's playing golf. And secondly, when he fluffs a shot he simply produces another ball from his pocket and carries on. (Or just plays somebody else's ball - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 09011.html).

Sweat? No sweat.

BJ

[Dod101]

I do not think, assuming that TJH is being serious, that exercise does any harm, certainly not brisk walking (and of course an elderly person's brisk walking is very different from a 25 year old, most of the time). BTW I do not like the term 'wrinklies'.

I think that UncleIan has a much better point which is stress, whether that comes from playing golf or something else.

Dod

[tjh290633]

I do not think, assuming that TJH is being serious, that exercise does any harm, certainly not brisk walking (and of course an elderly person's brisk walking is very different from a 25 year old, most of the time). BTW I do not like the term 'wrinklies'.

I think that UncleIan has a much better point which is stress, whether that comes from playing golf or something else.

Dod

In my view it is all this swinging around that causes the trouble. New shoulders, new hips, new knees seem to be needed.

Spare part surgery leads to all the other trouble.

Bird watching, either feathered or the other sort is far safer.

TJH

[UncleEbenezer]

In my view it is all this swinging around that causes the trouble. New shoulders, new hips, new knees seem to be needed.

Men (and women too, I assume) over 50 years old should do weights to maintain muscle mass. I think I read 3x20 minute sessions per week should suffice.

I'm no doctor, but I'd think maintaining and strengthening the muscle around complex joints would greatly reduce the chance of injury. I can vouch that, since I started doing weights back in April (and we're not talking silly weights), I feel a lot stronger and more flexible.

Isn't your body weight good enough?

At least if you live in a hilly area.

[scotia]

I think there are two significant features of living to an active old age - sex and genetics.
Lets clarify the "sex" statement - I mean that the fairer sex seem to last a lot longer. In my wife's (elderly) walking group she is the exception in that she still has a husband who is alive and kicking. And as to genetics, well it helps to have parents and grandparents who have been active into their 90s.
On the exercise front - I like rowing a boat on the local loch, watching the wildlife, and occasionally catching a trout. At this time of year, I can happily row until midnight - provided there is a reasonable breeze to disrupt the midges. I also walk a bit, and go for spins on my (electrically aided) bicycle along the old railway lines and canal paths around our area.
On the mentally active front, I still work through the various puzzles in the morning paper - but although I get the solutions, it is now taking longer than it used to, and sometimes I have to re-track after making elementary mistakes.
And tomorrow I'll be off to visit a 96 year old friend - and I hope that I'll also still be around in 20 years time.

[AndyPandy]

One of the unexpected things about southern France is the frequency with which you come across whole gangs of wrinklies on bikes. There are few things more humiliating, I find, than the sight of these ancient superheroes working their way up some mountain pass that's straight out of a Tour de France special stage. And knowing that if you (or I) tried the same thing without training we'd soon be in coronary care.
BJ

A few years ago I climbed Helvellyn for the first time. Took me 3-4 hours (can't remember exactly how long) due to my choice of route and mapreading skills. Got to the Trig point late morning and feeling pretty chuffed with myself.

Then someone jogged past.

Then someone cycled past.

They might not have been old and wrinkly (or they may have been, memory fades), but it still puts your own levels of fitness into perspective.

[bungeejumper]

In my view it is all this swinging around that causes the trouble. New shoulders, new hips, new knees seem to be needed.

My son in law (45, police officer, fit, keen hiker, regular runner) is among the latest victims to chronic knee-joint trouble, and it's the pavement running that's doing it. Unfortunately our skeletons and our tendons simply weren't designed for pounding along on hard flat surfaces. It surprises me a little that people survive it at all.

I've seen the other side of the coin, though, and it's a pretty big coin too. Our latest business tenant is a podiatrist who says that business is absolutely booming, thanks to a massive increase in the numbers of young fit people doing the wrong things in the gym, or maybe just too much of them. It's an ill wind.

Bird watching, either feathered or the other sort is far safer.

It is if the wife doesn't find out.

BJ

[ReformedCharacter]

Isn't your body weight good enough?
At least if you live in a hilly area.

Not in my experience. I've been generally pretty active since my youth but have had a painful knee for about 30 years, probably originating from a running injury. In my late 20's I went to see a doctor about it. No help at all. A couple of years ago I decided to try again and was told it was probably arthritis and sent off for an X-ray. The X-ray showed no arthritis at all and so I went to see a knee specialist. The doc looked at my knee and told me that a couple of muscles on either side of the knee had become atrophied due to under-use. This despite the fact that I was doing about 40k a week on an exercise bike! The doc told me to do some exercises which involve sitting down with a weight attached to my ankle and straightening the knee out, then repeating. A couple of months later almost no knee pain at all. I think the moral of the story is that muscle mass gets lost with age and even if you think you are doing enough exercise you may not be keeping all the muscles sufficiently developed.

RC

[EssDeeAitch]

At 66 I have been cycling up between 100 and 170 miles a week plus two to three gym sessions so considered myself fit (along with everyone who knew me). This follows on from 17 years as a marathon and ultra-marathon runner (stopped because the pre-existing arthritis in my knee became too painful to manage). I felt young, I felt that I deserved to be in the company of 50, 40 and 30 year olds.

But then I suffered from abdominal and chest pain (and passing out) which stopped me in my tracks all right. First thought was heart problems and a scan revealed the need for three stents (fitted a month ago) but the pain persists and so the investigations continue. I feel every one of my 66 years plus ten to 15 of someone elses years as well. Perhaps worse is the mental aspect, not being able to ride and go to gym curtails social interaction as well physical betterment and is having a negative impact on my happiness score.

But....I remain hopeful that this will be behind me at some point and that I will revert to being a 36 year old in a 66 year old body.

[ReformedCharacter]

I feel every one of my 66 years plus ten to 15 of someone elses years as well. Perhaps worse is the mental aspect, not being able to ride and go to gym curtails social interaction as well physical betterment and is having a negative impact on my happiness score.

But....I remain hopeful that this will be behind me at some point and that I will revert to being a 36 year old in a 66 year old body.

Good luck, I hope you make a full recovery.

RC

[Howard]

I posted about climbing Ben Rinnes over on OldFool many years ago. I was chuffed with my achievement - hauling my wheezing carcass up 2800 feet with the last third of it being in the snow was something I was proud of.

If the last third of your carcass was in the snow and the rest wasn't. How overweight were you in those days?

I can see why you decided to get fit

Well done!

Howard

[Dod101]

In my view it is all this swinging around that causes the trouble. New shoulders, new hips, new knees seem to be needed.

Spare part surgery leads to all the other trouble.

Bird watching, either feathered or the other sort is far safer.

I suspect that you are not being entirely serious. I have never played golf but I know a lot of people who do well into their 70s and it just seems to keep them fit. I have had two hip replacements and no problems afterwards except occasionally a trapped nerve which may or may not having anything to do with it. I walk about 3/4 miles at least on alternate days and do a lot of gardening and am just finishing redecorating my study so I think I am fairly active at 77.

Snorvey inspired me to try to lose some weight and by simply cutting back on food intake I have lost 7 lbs from where it needs to go, my middle. Also been in the garden a lot in the last few weeks, working I may say not sunbathing. I need to lose about another 7 lbs and I will be back to where I was 20 years ago.

Dod