Rant: But I'm too old for...

Barneystinson

Know what really burns my hide?

The "But...I can't do that. I'm too old to do that!" excuse or the "you'll understand when you're X age" excuse.

I'm 27 - that's in my profile. You may be saying "well, you're young and have no idea" ... but let me explain. Some of my side hobbies are rock climbing, bicycling, and running. I am an active person and enjoy being active. I'm way more active as an adult that I ever was as a kid!

People find out I do these hobbies and most are like "ooh that sounds cool" but there's always that naysayer that chimes in with the "Wait until you're [insert arbitrary age here, 50, let's say] and you won't be finding those activities so cool."

Seriously?

Since when did the age of 50 become a death sentence to all that is "fun"? The group of nutcases that I go exploring and rock climbing with are nearly all over the age of 40! My boyfriend and I are the young'ins of the group at 27! So what's "up" with that naysayers? I still can't wrap my head around that concept that we all hit some magic age where we fall to a heap on the floor and become incapable of physical activity. I see lots of people well over the age of 50 that remain active and lively (on here and in the real world) and I reeeeallly want to blast their stories to the naysayers. Shoot, my grandma is 80 and still walks 2 miles every morning.

There's no "age limit" to staying active and having fun. Just sounds like a bad excuse in my book. Anyone else hear this a lot?

pa_jorg

Isn't there a HIMYM episode about that very topic?

kutterba

"There's no "age limit" to staying active and having fun. Just sounds like a bad excuse in my book. Anyone else hear this a lot?"
And you are correct about the age limt! At 50 I was active, at 62 I'm struggling because of arthritis. Yes, the doc says to keep moving to keep from the surgeon's knife, but somedays it's just hard, ya know? I have a bike & skis that I cannot use... But I walk and I swim - and lift the weights at the gym. You have my permission to tell those naysayers to pull up their big people pants - there's something out there for every one.
Thanks for letting me join your rant! :happy:
katey

TS65

yep, age is no excuse. I just started running at 46 and I'm loving it! Of course, I need to be careful to avoid injury, but that's true for any new runner - young or old.

edorice

Ug!!! I am 41 and over the weekend I met a woman that is 51. She's already put herself out to pasture. She had extra weight on her body, but had no illness or disability. It was so pathetic. I seriously don't believe in just sitting around and allowing myself to rust. My dad is 76 and walks every day. He had a heart attack in his 50's and completely turned his life around. This mind-set just drives me crazy.

myofibril

Anyone else hear this a lot?

Honestly? No.

Most of my friends are in their late 30s / 40s and are active in one way or another. Cycling, swimming, running, mountain/rock climbing, football, weights, rowing.

Ok, sometimes we all moan "I'm too old for this" but it doesn't mean we stop doing it. We just have an extra pint in the pub afterwards to sooth the pain...

If I heard one of my friends say it seriously I would slap them upside the head.

FairyMiss

oh i definitely more fit and healty and active at 42 then i was at 22

baisleac

This gets my goat too. I just give examples:

Grandma Pat: Started competively swimming in her late 50s. Swam the English Channel at 77. Set multiple world records in her age group until the day she died... at 94.

My parents: Started dirt bike riding in their 20s. Still go out riding in their 60s... and my dad can still outride more than half the "youngsters" out there.

One or both of those will generally shut the naysayers up. Hell... I was supposed to be in a wheelchair by the time I was 30 due to degenerative joint issues. I'm 36 and doing heavy weight lifting and Insanity... no wheelchair.

shar140

The first stair-climbing race I did last year (for the American Lung Association), there was a lady behind me, I was guessing she was in her early 60s, who struck up a conversation with me as we waited in line to start...she'd been doing this for 20 yrs!! And....SHE BEAT ME, like PASSED ME and beat my time too! Granted, I was probably 30-40 lb heavier than I am now, but (I thought) I was half her age...turns out she was like 73!!! :noway:

And I think she still out-paced me this year too! And I even slashed my time from last year! :grumble:

fruitloops313

hog wash !! I'll be 50 in a couple of months and I feel that I'm better than ever ! This is "me" time again now. Children are grown and I have more time to do things for myself again and enjoying every minute of it.

staceyseeger

I hear the ALOT, but from people my own age, which is 40. WHATEVER! The way I see it...you can sit on the couch eating Bon-bons, while taking meds for your high blood pressure & high cholesterol and feel (insert age here) OR you can get off of your A** and do something about it. I would much rather have a conversationwith you about how last nights work-out went or the recipe for a low-calorie, healthy snack INSTEAD of the latest updates on the latest REALITY show. :noway: Your life & health is the REAL thing! :explode:

Sorry...I had to chime in.

JenniferAutumn

I run with a guy who is 74 years old and he can seriously kick my @ss in any race and or any distance.

Age is just a number.

staceyseeger

Anyone else hear this a lot?

Honestly? No.

Most of my friends are in their late 30s / 40s and are active in one way or another. Cycling, swimming, running, mountain/rock climbing, football, weights, rowing.

Ok, sometimes we all moan "I'm too old for this" but it doesn't mean we stop doing it. We just have an extra pint in the pub afterwards to sooth the pain...

:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

If I heard one of my friends say it seriously I would slap them upside the head.

UpEarly

My husband and I participated in a beginner's backpacking workshop years ago, and we were the youngest people in the class! Most of the people were in their 40's, 50's and 60's and had never been backpacking before. They all did GREAT!

It's never too late to try something new!

dbanks80

I am 43 and active and I love to see older people in the 50's and 60's being active enjoying life and doing their thang!! It motivates me and keep me acting and feeling young and enjoying life!

Good post!

knittnponder

I started doing taekwondo at 37 and our "Master" is 65 and still works out regularly (and can whup all of us!) I'm in better shape now than I think I've been since I was 16! And as I get stronger I'm going to keep trying new things. Use it or lose it!

dbanks80

Oh and I still get carded at 43!! I am going to enjoy life to it's fullest! You're only here one time!!!

Barneystinson

Oh and I still get carded at 43!! I am going to enjoy life to it's fullest! You're only here one time!!!

I hope to get carded at 43 :happy:

staceyseeger

Oh and I still get carded at 43!! I am going to enjoy life to it's fullest! You're only here one time!!!

I still get carded at 40.

And what really makes me :happy: is when I went to purchase my first bikini in 30 years. My husband, who's 53 went with me & the young 19-year old sales clerk thought I was his daughter. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

BerryH

The coach for my former running group is 63. She didn't start running until she was 40. She started because she ran a newsagent and the newspaper boy didn't turn up, so she ran to get the round done quicker! She got talent spotted while out running, joined an athletics club and won a gold medal for the Marathon in the world veteran's championships! Now she coaches all abilities, from pensioners and the seriously obese who can barely walk through to club athletes. She's awesome :flowerforyou:

Nanadena

:laugh: I am 60+ and hunt the elk in the mountains of Colorado. I also hunt the plains for deer and pronghorn and bring home meat every year. I plan to do this until I cannot walk

georgiajuly

I still get carded at 40.

In Tennessee, you get carded forever! We were getting a burrito and beer at Moe's when we were 53, and the girl mumbled to my husband, who is sometimes mistaken for Santa Claus by small children, "I need to see your ID". I started snickering, and she said to me, "I need to see yours too". My jaw dropped - it had been 30 years since I had last been carded.
But my favorite carding occurred at the grocery store, when the charming young man peered very closely at my ID, as if he needed to confirm that I really was over 21!

CCJ13

We just went on vacation a few weeks ago. We went tubing & went swimming around waterfalls. We stayed in a cabin with my parents one night & I was talking to my dad about how I could do "boy" push ups now. He said that I wouldn't catch him doing any push ups. He is only 55. I told him I couldn't even do 5 girl push ups when I started. Not only is he not interested in any type of exercise, he just won't do anything fun anymore. When we were kids, he rode roller coasters, went to waterparks, rode go carts, went bike riding. My kids were begging him to go tubing with them & he wouldn't. I told my husband, I will never be like that. I am never going to be too old to have fun. I remember camping at the outer banks with my family when I was little. My grandmother (dad's mom) drove all the way out there by herself & found us. She had an idea of where we were staying & drove to the different campgrounds until she found us. That is how I am now. If I want to do it, I just do it. I plan on staying that way. I have 5 kids & we go all the time. One child is special needs & in a wheel chair. People tell me all the time that they don't know how we do it. We actually wore out the tires on his old chair because we are always going somewhere. We even took it hiking. The guy at the wheelchair place said he has never seen anyone wear out the tires on that kind of chair. lol I am actually looking forward to when my kids are older & I can go do fun things with just my husband.

jfinnivan

I'm 53, and I'm more active now than I have ever been in my life. Started taking karate at age 46. I run 5 days per week, lift a few times per week, climb mountains, bike, etc.

myofibril

I still get carded at 40.

Hey, I get carded at 36.

Red carded that is...

edorice

I'm 53, and I'm more active now than I have ever been in my life. Started taking karate at age 46. I run 5 days per week, lift a few times per week, climb mountains, bike, etc.

That's awesome!

atsteele

Know what really burns my hide?

The "But...I can't do that. I'm too old to do that!" excuse or the "you'll understand when you're X age" excuse.

I'm 27 - that's in my profile. You may be saying "well, you're young and have no idea" ... but let me explain. Some of my side hobbies are rock climbing, bicycling, and running. I am an active person and enjoy being active. I'm way more active as an adult that I ever was as a kid!

People find out I do these hobbies and most are like "ooh that sounds cool" but there's always that naysayer that chimes in with the "Wait until you're [insert arbitrary age here, 50, let's say] and you won't be finding those activities so cool."

Seriously?

Since when did the age of 50 become a death sentence to all that is "fun"? The group of nutcases that I go exploring and rock climbing with are nearly all over the age of 40! My boyfriend and I are the young'ins of the group at 27! So what's "up" with that naysayers? I still can't wrap my head around that concept that we all hit some magic age where we fall to a heap on the floor and become incapable of physical activity. I see lots of people well over the age of 50 that remain active and lively (on here and in the real world) and I reeeeallly want to blast their stories to the naysayers. Shoot, my grandma is 80 and still walks 2 miles every morning.

There's no "age limit" to staying active and having fun. Just sounds like a bad excuse in my book. Anyone else hear this a lot?

Im 44yo in a few weeks and I took up TaeKwonDo in my old age. LOL (Seriously, Im not so sure how smart it is because Im constantly bruised up and/or injured and it takes a lot longer to recuperate than it used to... but that's okay, what am I going to do? Sit on the couch and watch soaps all day? No way!!

atsteele

yep, age is no excuse. I just started running at 46 and I'm loving it! Of course, I need to be careful to avoid injury, but that's true for any new runner - young or old.

Good for you!! Ever hear of Jeff Galloway? He writes in Runner's World for beginners. He always has excellent tips... even for those of us who have been running for years!! Good luck!! And hope you can continue to run injury-free!!

atsteele

Ug!!! I am 41 and over the weekend I met a woman that is 51. She's already put herself out to pasture. She had extra weight on her body, but had no illness or disability. It was so pathetic. I seriously don't believe in just sitting around and allowing myself to rust. My dad is 76 and walks every day. He had a heart attack in his 50's and completely turned his life around. This mind-set just drives me crazy.

My grandparents gardened and went fishing and walked miles with me into their seventies and eighties!! I hear you!! There is no way Im gonna just "lay down and die". Life is a gift! I intend to enjoy every moment of it!! And in fact, I feel like in some ways my fitness has improved since I have to be more careful about putting on weight as I get older. (Darn metabolism! hehe)

atsteele

The first stair-climbing race I did last year (for the American Lung Association), there was a lady behind me, I was guessing she was in her early 60s, who struck up a conversation with me as we waited in line to start...she'd been doing this for 20 yrs!! And....SHE BEAT ME, like PASSED ME and beat my time too! Granted, I was probably 30-40 lb heavier than I am now, but (I thought) I was half her age...turns out she was like 73!!! :noway:

And I think she still out-paced me this year too! And I even slashed my time from last year! :grumble:

Those are the people that you MUST clothesline when no one is looking! LOL j/k

montana_girl

I didn't start running until I was 39... and I had never really ran before in my life (didn't even play "tag" as a kid). Now at 41, I'm training for my 4th Half Marathon.

Nope... never too old to try/start something new! :happy: