I’m half joking. But as a 30-something who used to be very active, I recognize I’m over the hill and my joints sound like pop rocks
Big one is just walk more. If there’s anything near your house that you regularly drive to, start trying to walk there as much as possible.
I have a lot of trouble motivating for the gym and similar self-directed activities, so I find classes or semi-organized sports much easier to do consistently.
Gym most mornings before work
A lot of people here are saying walking, but walking doesn’t actually do that much for you unless you’re really inactive or out of shape. Gotta get your heart rate up at least a few times a week at our age. Gotta be something you at least kind of enjoy or you won’t do it. I do a running club and go jogging 3-5 times a week at around 5k each time. Also keep track of your calories intake, I try and keep mine around 1800 a day.
Walk 5km a day during the week, and 8-10km a day on weekends. Weights three to four times a week, and a cardio session afterwards. I like using the ski machine, as it gives me a serious workout without any impact.
Weights has had a huge impact on my quality of life, as I am recovering (recovered?) from a serious head injury. I was not active for nearly 18 months and am feeling good about my body for the first time in years.
58m here for context.
If you are 58 meters tall it’s a breeze to walk that much. Please relate to the rest of us!
I wish I had 3-4 hours a day for this kind of activity.
It wasn’t easy getting into that routine. I get up at 4:30 for my weekday walk, and it takes about an hour. Weekend walks start at 5:00am, and generally take 1.5-2 hours. Gym is two hours, once or twice during the week and both weekend days. Life still gets in the way sometimes, and I am lucky that my job is flexible. For example, I started work at 6:30 this morning and will knock off at 2:30 and go straight to the gym. I will be home before 5:00.
The alternative was living with the results of an injury and letting my health deteriorate further than it already had. Some days, motivation is still hard.
Look at this badass over here. Im 32 and the idea of multi km walks everyday makes me knees hurt something fierce!
My job is super active. On top of that, I walk, run, and practice martial arts. I eat healthy af meals (vegetarian). I don’t drink. One cheat meal a week, I guess. Top-rope rock climbing once in a while. 5’, 118 maintaining…which sounds fat, but I’m pretty much just muscles if you don’t count the bewbies.
My vice is candy though. And it’s peppermint bark season. Send help.
I should get into climbing
It’s pretty easy to get started if you have a gym nearby and a little disposable income. They pretty much teach you everything and you can rent gear for a day. Over 30, you’re gonna want to take the next day off.
I sometimes consider taking the next day off after garbage day. Is it pretty common for people to go climb in the gym solo? I want something I can spontaneously do without having to make plans with a buddy
Never gone to a top rope gym, but bouldering gyms you can definitely go to alone. It’s just climbing without ropes, but not very high and with spongy mats.
Depends on the gym. There is boldering (no rope) you do that completely solo. Some gyms also have auto-belay which is with a rope rope but you don’t need a buddy. A lot of gyms have meet-up groups. It is a full body workout so I recommend giving it a try on a day you don’t have much planned the next day, that’s all. I did most of my climbing solo to be honest.
I transitioned to an ebike.
Swimming, going on long walks is a good start. Doesn’t stress the joints that much.
Cycling. I was too heavy and out of shape to jump straight to the deep end so I went with a pedal assist ebike, it allows me to move at a rapid pace while still keeping in the cardio range. I live close enough to work to cycle to and from, gives me an extra 30 minutes of high intensity cardio per day. That and cooking at home using fresh ingredients as much as possible. Also, less garbage carbs, more complex carbs (also learned I have celiac disease so I also had to go gluten free, though you might not have that particular issue)
Nothing. It takes like five times longer for bruises and cuts to heal, but it’s not bad enough for me to change my behavior to avoid them.
Make sure your iron levels are ok, my wife has this issue and had super low iron after pregnancy, but she’s in her late 40s now and still dealing with it.
Good advice I can use! I’ll switch to a multivitamin that includes iron and see if that helps.
how badly do you guys treat your bodies that you are decrepit in your 30s??
No exercise and lack of muscle really makes life harder.
Asking the real question. I’m in my 40’s now and doing fine. Sure I’m not literally invincible anymore like I was as a teenager but everything works as it should.
I’m 39, and the picture of health. I rarely injure myself, and when i do, it doesn’t take long to heal. Holy shit, how bad are these people treating themselves if they’re so decrepit so young? SMH my head.
I’m half joking when I say decrepit but I’m definitely not able to workout 6 days a week, play 3 mid intensity basketballs games back to back, or bike for 4 hours anymore. No major injuries but I feel the wear and tear a lot more than I used to. Biologically, people typically do go through a noticeable decline in performance after 30.
I read that there are two “waves” of rapid biomolecular aging in the mid-40s and early 60s. Still affects everyone differently and of course a worn-out body will feel that much worse.
In general, though, our bodies start wearing out in our mid-teens, about a decade before we’re even fully grown! High-frequency hearing is one of the first things to suffer. Bodily decline is really a constant companion in our lives; it only becomes noticeable when it starts accelerating.
I raise my standing desk. Occasionally.
For an hour once a month or so, right?
I started playing tennis 1-2 times a week and it’s been great. Also stretching in the morning works wonders
My physical therapists love to say “motion is lotion”, moving is what keeps our joints moving smoothly
I’ve had to come to terms with taking things slower than I used to. I learned the hard way that I can’t just train for a 10k in a few weekends.
The rule of increasing distance/duration by 10% per week is to protect our joints/bones/etc when they ain’t what they used to be.
I was in a terrible youtube rabbithole of knee replacement surgeries the other day and I’ve been hating our fragile corporeal vessels lately
Ah, yes. The Scared Straight, Couch Potato Edition. A classic at my house.
Same. I’m 43, and it mostly takes learning that you’re no long 20-something. I can do everything, I just have to do it more slowly, more sparingly and give myself the time both physically and mentally to recuperate.
I find a variety of activities help distribute the loads
I often push my older body when it’s not used to work. This means I pull a muscle once every few weeks, often in my upper body; or demand too much in my knees.
Fortunately I can heal in a week or two, but I definitely am slow to heal compared to before.
Spoiler alert, it doesn’t get any better. I need to do more yoga and cross training
I’m still trying to reach my potential two hours of workout daily, only doing one hour of things that makes me sweat.
I have alarms on my phone set every three hours to remind me to stop and do something
The alarm is a great idea. I should do that. Even just sitting for long periods hurts now!
Sometimes I only walk around, other times I do more like run
I road bike, try to do yoga regularly, and incorporate strength training when I have time (never). Don’t try to ramp up too fast with activity because not getting injured is the biggest priority. The more mindful activity you do, you’ll become more resilient and less likely to get injured.
Trying to eat healthy (really just avoiding ultra processed foods and not drinking too much) also helps. I normally check to see where stuff falls on the NOVA scale. If it’s higher than a 3, I try to avoid it all together.
I cycle when I can, I have a 20mi loop on trails I can do, but fell way short of my goal for this year. I also am trying to restart regular yoga classes with my partner at our gym, where we also climb and lift weights. Hiking is good too, or even just walking our neighborhood. Eating healthy (we focus on protein and whole food/plant based, but not completely vegetarian), and I’ve been tryin to cut back on the whiskey and beer but it’s just so good and shit is just so depressing in the world lately…
