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

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.

I still get carded at 40.

Hey, I get carded at 36.

Red carded that is...

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!!

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)

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:

Adding to all the comments that negate this as an "excuse" for not doing something. There is NOTHING that is off limits to me and fortunately my husband and sons encourage my exploring new avenues for fun and fitness. I am biking 25 miles per day every day that it isn't storming after work. (I will start a new fun thread on that topic after this! ) My son is in Peace Corp and we were chatting online the other evening when I commented that I was starting to think about a ride up "the canyon" but I wasn't sure if I was ready for it. This is a mountain canyon with lots of hill climbing and other environmental challenges. Hills are my nemesis and I won't feel like a real biker until I can meet that challenge and conquer it. My son told me in his typical gentle but pragmatic way...mom, if you are thinking about it you are ready...go get started NOW. Even though that was only a couple days ago they are words to live by for sure.

You guys should check out Ernestine Shephard. She's a weight lifter in her 70's.

I think people who say such things are just jealous. Jealous because they have physical impairments that keep them from participating in such activities, or mental impairments like depression, anxiety, or lack of motivation to get moving.

I come from a long line of women who don't do sit-still well, and I'm proud of my family's collective accomplishments.

Kudos to those who keep moving, whether young or young at heart.

Nice post!!!

My husband and I are great friends with a 50 + couple and they are more active than us... They kayak, mountain bike, and rock climb! I want to be like them when I get older... Having fun and enjoying an active lifestyle!

My husband also bikes with a 80 year old man who rides his bike more than 200 miles a week. He is one awesome dude and has a certain zeal for life that I think we can all learn from!

I always throw Tony Horton in their face. He's what....54 now?? And I just watched a recent video of a 3hr workout he did on the beach. Awesome!