this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2024
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Dear Young Folk,
Physical aging happens ridiculously fast. Faster than you imagine. The years just tick away like minutes.
Mental aging goes much slower (barring dementia or other malidies, of course).
The crazy thing is that even once older (I'll turn 60 this year) your view of yourself quite often feels like you're still much younger.
I internally feel perpetually 30-35. Until I try to (say) run or sprint, or jump off something, then... oh my. I really am 60. Another example: my brain knows how to throw a fast ball (ingrained from when I was a teenager). If I actually try... uhh.. no go. My arm revolts.
I've even asked my 83 year old mom how her internal self feels. She says the same - still feels like she did in her 30s on the inside. On the outside she has to intentionally walk very carefully so as not to fall and break something.
Moral of the story? Enjoy that young body while you have it. Seriously. It won't last.
I'm 38 and right around 34-35 is when you start to notice it IMO. I have minor scoliosis in two places and I threw out my back getting out of bed one morning when I was like 34.
I'm 37 and about 6 months ago I woke up and my back and shoulder hurt like hell.
It got better when I moved around but it hurt a lot if I didn't move my arm for a few minutes.
I tried median nerve flossing like in this video and it gradually got better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQWy_M9Lso
43 here. Still feel strong thanks to the gym. I've been lifting since I was 17. Longest I've ever stopped was about 2 years. I still lift heavy and don't have any of that "older folks" back pain, and "it's really hard to get up in the morning" and all that. I'm thankful for that. It's never too late (if you don't have a condition that prevents you) to become a gym goer.
I'm 57 and I bike 25 or 50 miles four days out of every five, and I work out at the gym every day. I had stretches when I was a decade or two younger where I did nothing but eat and smoke pot and I weighed forty to fifty pounds more than I do now; during those stretches I felt like I was 80 and hurt all over all the time. Sometimes older folks have severe injuries that prevent them from doing anything physical and the decay just adds up, but for a lot of people being sedentary creates the illusion that aging is unstoppable. Of course it is unstoppable ultimately, but you can sure as fuck do a lot to slow it down.
Good for you and thank you for sharing. My dad always told me "I'd rather die walking". Dude is right. He's in his mid 70s and is still pulling like he's 20 years younger. I want to be that guy. Not guaranteed of course, but it's my goal.
I'd rather die running, but I recently had to quit because of arthritis in my knee. So I guess I'll just have to die biking.
Just change it up, don't always work out in the sagittal plane
Do yoga, that's what I started doing after the back issue mentioned above and it has definitely helped.
It really hit me in my early 40s. When i noticed my hair thinning.
My hair-thinning had gotten really bad, plus a wealth of other health issues. It was only when I realized that I had been taking high-dosed tranquilizers every day, starting in the morning, that I could admit to myself that I had a stress problem. On top of my objectively ridiculous workload, I started interviewing, and it took a long, very painful year to find a new job that was better in every way. And wouldn't you know, within a year, my hair grew back so thick that I could hardly run a comb through it even when it was short and wet. It took a few more years for most of my other, stress-related issues to abate, though.
And to counteract some of the negativity in this thread, some people positively don't seem to age, especially those regularly working out. I've known men and women that looked exactly the same over 20, even 30 years.
TLDR: Work out for fun, and don't ever get salaried.
Salary is fine. Just don't ever work more hours than they pay you for. Lack of manpower is your manager's problem, not your golden opportunity to subsidize the company payroll budget at the cost of your health and sanity.
I'm 43 and the thinning hair the only real indication so far. I stretch, and lift weights so that I can stay fit enough to surf, and I ride my Ebike everywhere that I can. As long as you stay active, you don't really feel it till your 70s or 80s. Eat your veggies kids. You can't outrun your diet.
I have had constant physical pain since my 20s, and had to to accept being bald before I turned 30.
Speed running life, basically.
I'm only in my 30s, but it was quite a wake up call, when I noticed my body simply started "failing" in small ways. Knee injury wasn't just a week of "taking it slow", but months, and it's still not really good. If you go to the doctor, you'll suddenly get diagnoses like "yeah, that's how it'll stay now".
The really disturbing thing though is seeing your friends age. That dude who got all the girls in school now has more trenches on his face than Verdun, the super good looking girl now is a woman and becomes a pudgier each year, hair gets gray, skin gets loose. You don't notice that on yourself so much.
And on a social note: the world is shrinking. Those kitchen parties with 30 people you barely know, but met a bunch of new friends are gone. Most of the people you knew in school or university are gone. You try to keep in touch, but that's hard after years of separation. Those who are still close have barely any time left and just hanging out for no reason this evening is no more.
Having a full time job, family and friends simply doesn't work. And that sucks.
Are you saying I should try to make the most of Uni life? (Or potentially get myself one if I'm locked at home)
You don't really have to do anything special to make the most of life. Different people like different things; and whatever you choose to do is likely to be valuable to you. Just be mindful that that you don't sleep-walk through it all. Make the most of it by being conscious of it.
I was trying to explain this to my kids - about the mental aging part. Mentally, I don't feel any different than I did 25 years ago. I don't even know what mentally aging would feel like, other than dementia or something like you mentioned.
I was blessed with a strong body. Even as I age my reflexes are still there. My whole body coordination still exists. I am still strong, physically adaptable, and can lose weight easily. Any physical activity is not yet out of reach I've found. However...
My metabolism has slowed.
Injuries heal slower.
I have some pains I didn't have before.
I do get tired more easily.
It catches us all in different ways. I've been luckier than most in some aspects, feel it I still do and it'll only get worse.
not to shit on you or anything, but I think this is also probably a result of modern sedentary lifestyle. (I am currently in my mid thirties and feel physically broken). just a PSA to everyone—continue to just do physical activity so you can physically perform activities.
Mid-thirties here, 6 months ago I started taking my diet seriously and 3 months ago I started with regular exercise and weight lifting. I've lost over 30kg, back to a healthy weight, and starting to see muscle definition. More importantly than the visual changes, I feel a lot better, better than I did at pretty much any age. I wish I started sooner with this but I'm confident if I keep it up it will have a major, major impact on my quality of life as I grow older.
What are the best ways to enjoy it would you say?
Make lots of sweet love
Ah, just what I was expecting
Tons of sex
The older you get, the harder it becomes to find time with your friends. Go out and do active things with them, go camping, spend all night driving around or playing pool and talking about life. That stuff will fade way before your physical fitness.
I'm 38 and I often forget that I'm not in my early 20s.
My knees won't let me forget.