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
Anyone replying “stretching” is basing their response on grade school gym class, not science.
Studies have not shown that stretching has a positive impact on injury prevention, and this has been widely known in the literature for over 20 years. Stretching can improve performance in some sports like gymnastics where increased flexibility is needed, but that is unrelated to injury.
Stretching has a negative effect on performance in other cases because it actually decreases muscle force generation.
Think about it, would you think that loosening all the belts on a machine would automatically make it less likely to break down?
So what does prevent injury?
- Good warm-ups. Walk before you jog before you run. Lift an unloaded barbell before a loaded one, etc.
- Strength. A joint surrounded by muscle is a stable joint. That means doing exercises that strengthen all the muscles, including minor ones. It’s part of why most people who know what they are talking about will try to get you to do compound lifts with free weights over single joint exercises on machines.
- periodization/progressive overload. Basically slowly building intensity and then backing off to recuperate.
Ping pong / table tennis (depending on how seriously you take it) can be a VERY good way to get your steps in. In a 2 hour session I get about 8-10 thousand steps. This is 4 to 5 miles. It is low impact and you can really get a good sweat on.
Wanted to get into this but couldn’t find a place or community close enough to play- settled for Pickleball. Is good fun, plenty of running around in singles.
Rowing and swimming (in a pool, not because the boat capsized). Both are non weight bearing, easy on the joints. Rowing is excellent for your core.
I cannot stress to people how much rowing is actually enjoyable as someone who doesn’t want to “make time” for working out. It’s so relaxing.
Not how I row lol. I’m trying to get the maximum workout in minimal time. I used to put on nature documentaries and go for longer, slower rows but with a kid I need to be done as quickly as possible.
I’m not talking about rowing machines. I’m out on the water with a crew, hauling on an actual oar. It’s the best thing ever.
Ah dang, that’s awesome!
Stretching before exercises and good rests between activities and actually waiting to fully heal if I’m ever injured
I still lift weights, although now it is more about staying toned than getting huge gains. I also try to do cardio at least twice a week.
Injuries are harder to recover from so if something starts to hurt in a bad way I stop and do something else.
ITT: One half providing helpful insight into healthy physical activities, the other half total assholes ripping into this person for not being a jock.
Some people have been living sedantary life styles, the reasons for such can range from lack of interest to mental illness. Some people get a good dopamine hit from exercise. For others, exercise is a pretty miserable experience.
If someone is reaching out to seek advice on how to improve their lives, lend a helping hand. Please don’t be an asshole.
Today I went for a bike ride. I regret it. Exercise is for chumps. Now, my eyes are dry and they sting. Also I might have asthma.
I am 40+ and I just realized the huge importance biomechanics has in choosing a sport or, in my case, the right free weights exercises to do in the gym: if you get someone who ACTUALLY STUDIED Biomechanics in university or anyway an academic-level course, they can take measurements of your limbs and torso and suggest literally the kind of exercise that would have the most return while keeping the chance of injuries at a minimum.
Of course, personal preference/enjoyment will always have to play the most important role in your choices, but when not having strong opinions reducing your chance of injury so that you can be constant in your practice is the best long-term strategy.
Couldn’t that be easily communicated without individual measurements? Like, people with long legs/arms do this, people with ling arms/short legs do this, etc? Generally curious: my partner is 6’4", and this could be useful for him.
There are several tipping points that are worth calculating abd having a proper measurements of the levers in one’s body allows for proper ranking of the possible movements/exercises.
But yeah, there are general rules one can look at, like when you see Phelps with a 2 meters arm aperture that makes him very fit for swimming.
Also people tend to enjoy things more when they get injured less doing them.
45M
I’m probably in better shape now, than when I was in my late 20’s and defiantly in my 30’s.
I go rock climbing once a week. And general running around with my 3 boys… For the exercise part.
But about 90% out the improvement is, I have a way better diet. If you can’t identify it by eye, severely limit how much of it you eat.
If you can’t confidently state “hey, that is a bit of broccoli” or “that’s beef mince” etc…don’t eat much of it.
Fruit, vegetables, meat, spices, simple grains, rice… Keep your ingredients simple, it will pay dividends in health long term.
Climbing and living in a city where I walk everywhere is how I get fit too.
I learned that no matter the diet, spices can compensate for the stuff that is nice for the tastebuds but bad for the diet.
When I was that age my main exercise was commuting by running or biking. I got additional sporadic exercise doing miscellaneous sports. Having kids made it very hard to do more than that. I’m not working now and have the time and energy to do much broader and consistent exercise.
Turning your commute into your exercise regimen is great. Be warned though that the human body is great at optimizing and will quickly adapt to that specific routine. When you vary off that routine you’ll find you’re not in as great of shape as you thought. But you’ll be miles ahead from where you’d be otherwise.
Stretch, start slow, build up gradually. Stretch again. Stretch a third.
I turn on a bubble pop playlists and move wildly (sort of 80s aerobics videos style mixed with dance) until I have tired muscles all over. It’s mostly to ensure that weird muscles get worked that don’t with standard exercises, which tends to help with stability and overall strength. It’s also good for my mood. Bubble pop is happy dancy music, and free-form semi-dance movement feels good.
I also practice balance -a lot- such as standing on one foot while I cook or wash dishes. Helps prevent tripping and falling and hurting myself, and helps when I have to juggle stuff because I refuse to set it down. Also impresses the hell out of people when I use my thigh as a table while standing on one foot.
Best time to build muscle for the rest of your life was 20 years ago. Second best time is now.
Hookers and blow.
My heart is the size of a basketball. I’m going to live forever.
How do you even get back into it… So hard
No joke, progressive resistance training (weightlifting) for older people can be better bc it has cardio built in but takes less time and is more precise so you can really manage exertion well. It signals the body to retain muscle so you can intermittent fast w/out losing ability while on a caloric deficit and w/out inflammation and other crap while on a surplus, making it easier to keep precancerous bodies swept up. I am not actually old yet, but I plan to be old.
Also, people may not realize poor sleep hygiene can reduce your physical strength by 30% (measured by resistance training) or maybe more due to coordination issues
