# To the 50 somethings, and beyond



## yello (24 Jan 2012)

Is it to be expected that you'll get all manner of niggles, aches and pains?

I chalked up a half century last year. I also seem to be increasingly troubled by silly aches and pains. Is it downhill from here on in? I hope so because frankly my knees are killing me!


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## dellzeqq (24 Jan 2012)

the short answer is no. I'm as limber and as ache free as I was forty years ago.


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## Crackle (24 Jan 2012)

There is no definitive answer Yello, we all age differently. I'm not as limber as I was in my 30's but I blame that not on ageing but posture and sitting at a desk too many hours a day. I could probably do something about it with yoga or something but I find it hard to do things that don't appeal.

As for knees, my knees have always been a weak spot for me. In response, I changed my pedalling action and cadence and the gears I used, a few years ago. That's helped.


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## lukesdad (24 Jan 2012)

I just ignore mine ( except for the pain in the ar*e at home she s hard to ignore )


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## Banjo (24 Jan 2012)

I believe cycling helps keep me supple. My back was very stiff for years after a car crash since I started regular cycling again about 3 years ago the back is hugely improved.


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## PpPete (24 Jan 2012)

Only persistent "niggle" I have is in my right shoulder - but that was there long before I took up cycling in my 51st year !


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## yello (24 Jan 2012)

dellzeqq said:


> I'm as limber and as ache free as I was forty years ago.


 
So, you were geriatric in your teens too 

My question's semi-serious but largely tongue-in-cheek. Clearly, the body does clap out as you get older - that's to be expected - but I just wondered how others perceived this and dealt with it.


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## carolonabike (24 Jan 2012)

I feel exactly the same as I did 25 years ago, no aches or pains at all. perhaps I've been lucky so far.

The only sign of ageing I have experienced so far is that I now have to wear glasses for reading which I do find a massive pain . At frst I spent a large sum on one pair of glasses from the opticians but quickly realised it was totally impractical to depend upon one pair. So I got some cheap reading glasses from the supermarket. Now I have one pair at work, three pairs in the house (I'm always putting them down) and another pair which live in my handbag. I'm thinking about getting yet another pair to leave in my bike bag. for when I'm out and want to look at a map.


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## DougieAB (24 Jan 2012)

I sometimes wonder how long I will be able to commute to work. Managed 180 days (4500 miles) in 2011. Even though I try to keep the joints lubricated (oily fish, supplements) and stretching exercises each day I still find the hip joints are occasionally very stiff. Not really painfull as yet more of an ache. I am hoping to start doing yoga again once the local health centre re-opens after re-furbishment. I cant give up now, I have a new commuting bike waiting for me on my birthday (not till May) and of course there will be long, warm sunny summer days by that point


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## mistral (24 Jan 2012)

I'm fortunate too, into my 55th year, I'm hardly ever ill and don't feel any adverse affects from cycling 150+ miles a week for work, then longer weekend rides.

I don't really do any other exercise - apart from longish walks, but came across these that may help

http://www.active.com/cycling/Articles/8-Core-Exercises-for-Cyclists.htm


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## ianrauk (24 Jan 2012)

mistral said:


> I'm fortunate too, into my 55th year, I'm hardly ever ill and don't feel any adverse affects from cycling 150+ miles a week for work, then longer weekend rides.
> 
> I don't really do any other exercise - apart from longish walks, but came across these that may help


 
Here is a man that says he's 55.. well I tell you what. If I looked as good as this man does when I reach that age I will be a very happy bunny.

I'll have what you are having Mick.


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## mistral (24 Jan 2012)

ianrauk said:


> I'll have what you are having Mick.


 
That'll be one expensive teen daughter and an even more expensive one away at Uni....
...what you won't be having is any meat or my wife for that, who looks after us all amazingly, but complains she's often on her own on Friday nights, can't imagine why.


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## GrumpyGregry (24 Jan 2012)

yello said:


> So, you were geriatric in your teens too
> 
> My question's semi-serious but largely tongue-in-cheek. Clearly, the body does clap out as you get older - that's to be expected - but I just wondered how others perceived this and dealt with it.


Past 45 you have to work harder to stand still as the testosterone production levels fall.

I find DOMS can be a bit of an issue, and feel more beaten up after riding an MTB these days than I have before but maybe that's because I've been spending too much of my time on tarmac. Nothing that a bit of core and upper body work in the gym wont fix in a month.

The arthritis is a bugger though...


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## ColinJ (24 Jan 2012)

I've had aches and pains since I was in my 20s and they aren't much worse now I am 56 , except that my hip joints are wearing out so I can't risk running any more. I'm fine walking and riding my bike as long as I make sure that I am not overgeared.

I think once you got to your 70s, you'd be doing well not to suffer from any niggling aches and pains.


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## Ian H (25 Jan 2012)

Some years ago when I was a mere youngster of 40 something, I had a serious (well, it was to me) achilles problem that I thought was going to stop me cycling. Various friends advised seeing a proper sports physio. I did, with great success. I now regard my physio as like a garage mechanic - take the old carcass in to be fettled when necessary. Last year, at 58, I posted the fastest of my four PBP attempts, so I'm not done yet. Aches and pains? Oh yes.


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## Edge705 (25 Jan 2012)

I think a lot depends on what you did in your youth and in to your twenty's for example I played a lot of football, I did a lot of running and as a result I suffered injury's and like any youngster I couldnt be told and went back to football, running and made things worse and then there was a serious bike accident fractured pelvis and 3 months in hospital with subsequent severe muscle wastage. Im sitting here now readjusting my position freqently to stop parts from ceasing up but Im flexible on the bike and little bits hurt and it all boils down to me getting older so yes Yellow it hurts more the older you get or should I say its more of a pain when you get older


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## deptfordmarmoset (25 Jan 2012)

At 57, I've found that for me the worst part is that the body recovers much more slowly than it used to. Heck, it does everything much more slowly!


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## dellzeqq (25 Jan 2012)

deptfordmarmoset said:


> At 57, I've found that for me the worst part is that the body recovers much more slowly than it used to. *Heck, it does everything much more slowly!*


that's not always a bad thing......


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## bicyclos (25 Jan 2012)

I think with age your life battery flattens a lot quicker and needs a lot longer to charge up the older you get. I know I am slowing down at 52 and enjoy my cycling at my pace without any aches and pains. I dont like to beat the clock or chase anyone down, but I love climbing a big hill or two and know that I can still do it........We are all genetically different as well, I compare myself to a Lada car, not very fast but just keeps going......


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## derrick (25 Jan 2012)

60 next week just a bit stiff in the mornings,
it annoys the wife.


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## growingvegetables (25 Jan 2012)

At the risk of lowering the tone - what was it Fred Wedlock said "When it takes all night to do once, what you once did all night" ........... ?


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## Camrider (26 Jan 2012)

I will be 58 in a couple of weeks and actually feel better than I did 10 years ago. I've been lucky health wise, but got rather fat. Having got rid of most of that excess weight my endurance, speed and recovery time have improved dramatically and I'm now riding further than at any previous stage of my life.

I road my 1st 100k audax last September and was quite impressed by the guy in his mid 80's who rolled up to the finish just 10 minutes behind me, so there should be no throwing in the towel for us 50 somethings unless fate deals you a bad hand health wise.


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## gavroche (26 Jan 2012)

I am with you all the way. I am 61 now and feel more like 40 although had a bit of a shock last week when my grandson found out that when I was young I could break a bit of wood with a karate chop. I have not done that for many years but decided to have a go so as not to disappoint him. So I chose a suitable piece of wood, laid it acroos two bricks and .....whammm!.... my hand just bounced off it. Cant do it anymore!! Never mind, at least he is still pleased that I could do it all those years ago. By the way, he is 9 years old and I promised to take him riding in the summer.At least I can do that!


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## bof (29 Jan 2012)

At 58 I have a touch of osteoarthritis in my little fingers, need 2 sets of specs, am going slightly deaf and I have chronic shoulder problem - not caused by cycling. I am also not as fast on the bike as I used to be.

On the other hand I realised at a works outing involving vigourous exercise that I am fitter than almost all the generally 30 somethings I work with, I can still easily average 16-17mph without drafting for a flattish 100 miles and I virtually never suffer aches and pains except with said chronic shoulder problem. Oh yes, and I have had 3 days off sick since the turn of the millenium.

I put it all down to restarting cycling and taking up gentle weightlifting (12reps in 3 sets of my upper body and core main muscle groups is my present regime) about 12-13 years ago.


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## dave r (29 Jan 2012)

60 years young and no regular niggles, except for a bit of back ache here and there. I'll ache a bit when I get back from a ride, or after I do hard manual labour, but by the following day they have largely cleared. I've slowed down noticeably and I need a bit more recovery time, I also tire a bit more easily. All in all not as bad as I thought it would be.


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## yello (30 Jan 2012)

For instance, I sometimes get a chest ache. Sometimes after eating, sometimes not - I can wake up with it. Like a broad, flat hand pressing on me. Not severe and it passes.

Or my right hip is stiff after being still for a while. I have to do this curious 'leg swing' movement to get walking, like I'm deliberately rolling my hip joint around the socket. Couple of steps and I'm fine, walking normally again.

These are things I've not had to deal with before. I carry a lot of tension, I can feel it in my jaw, so I reckon such niggles are tension related rather than strictly medical. I think I need to practice yoga or somesuch!


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## BigonaBianchi (30 Jan 2012)

I seem to have one constant ache...but I'm not telling you where


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## Arsen Gere (30 Jan 2012)

Look at the advantages of being over 50!
More time and money available to do stuff you want, kids getting older - left home etc.

At 52 this year I'll be doing my first ironman, I could not have done it any time earlier because of the time involved in training, all the kit to buy, travel etc.


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## Fiona N (30 Jan 2012)

I reckon it depends on how much you've abused your body in the past - and I'm talking about sporting abuses rather than other sorts (/blushes/.....no emoticons on this beast). 

I've never been one to take the easy path if the hard one was more fun but the downside of that is now I'm accumulating a growing list of injuries (mostly acute ankle, knee, back, shoulder ligaments rather than broken bones where I've been fairly lucky), medical interventions (ankle reconstruction, back surgery, 5 knee arthroscopies...) and I see my physio more often than my best friend. I've got arthritis is several joints and permanent vascular damage due to frost bite etc. but apart from hobbling around first thing in the morning after a long ride or, even more particularly, a short day in the hills, I wouldn't say I've more aches and pains just different ones from when I was younger. I rarely get delayed onset muscle soreness now whereas it was a frequent condition when I used to run, climb and mountaineer. Not to mention that, on the whole, I have fewer sudden contacts with hard surfaces than I used to - I frequently looked as though I'd been used as a punchbag by a psychopath as I bruise easily so a weekends climbing left a veritable rainbow of bashes. 

I've taken to heart the exhortation from my Swiss GP who told me never to stop exercising or I'd seize solid and perhaps that is the secret.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## yello (31 Jan 2012)

Ah, brought up in the school of hard knocks eh Fiona!

No such excuses in my case. Never even fallen out of a tree, but there's time enough for that yet.

I was reading something yesterday regarded something I eluded to above. That is, tension. I don't mean nervous tension (but that as well) but muscular tension. The article was on prostate problems (not that I have those.... yet!) and was offering the opinion that some such problems could be caused by 'pelvic tension'. The pelvic muscles becoming squeezed due to holding tension.

Tension causing headaches, stiff jaw, shoulders and neck etc is well documented. People brace themselves to contain the tension. We even jokingly refer to 'buttock clenching' as a stress response! So this idea of pelvic tension seemed intuitively plausible.

This got me to thinking that tension could be the cause of many aches and pains. Maybe what I need is not a physiotherapist but a dance teacher!


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## billy1561 (31 Jan 2012)

Been a late starter at most sporty things me so hopefully can equally go on for a bit longer. Started football late twenties, Packed up at 40 cos of my job! Started cycling in my 49th year and now im a good 50 i feel fitter and better than for many a year.


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## dave r (31 Jan 2012)

Arsen Gere said:


> Look at the advantages of being over 50!
> More time and money available to do stuff you want, kids getting older - left home etc.


 
Chance would be a fine thing, my kids moved out then moved back in again, I got made redundant a couple of years ago and I'm working harder for less cash, as for time whats that? I've less time now than I ever had.


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## Camrider (31 Jan 2012)

> kids moved out then moved back in again


 
The old forgot to change the locks after they left mistake


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## Globalti (1 Feb 2012)

Would you like a catalogue of my aches and pains at 55? I can't resist telling you:

Occasional lower back pain esp. after careless lifting.
Crunchy neck joint.
Unidentified chronic pulled muscle at top of left thigh.
Chronic testicular pain from climbing harness accident 20 yrs ago.
Chronic mild Baker's cysts behind knees.

Other age-related irritations:

Reduced urinary flow.
Hair loss.
Poor close-up vision.
Tinnitus.
Nostril and ear hair.
Reduced testosterone and loss of muscle tone with moob growth.

So yes, it gets worse!


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## Crackle (1 Feb 2012)

Globalti said:


> Would you like a catalogue of my aches and pains at 55? I can't resist telling you:
> 
> Occasional lower back pain esp. after careless lifting.
> Crunchy neck joint.
> ...


 
Wasn't a Whillans harness was it?


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## Globalti (1 Feb 2012)

No, I had lent my Whillans harness to a novice and was abseiling using a couple of tape loops; I ignored the warning signals coming from the nether regions and probably stretched and tore the epididymis, which has given me pain in the intervening 20-odd years. Have had ultrasound scans but they were inconclusive so I just live with it. Even a sudden movement while "relaxed" in a hot bath can re-aggravate it and give me two weeks of dull aching pain until it settles down again. Tight pants help with recovery. I have fathered a child in the last 12 years!


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## Crackle (1 Feb 2012)

Globalti said:


> No, I had lent my Whillans harness to a novice and was abseiling using a couple of tape loops; I ignored the warning signals coming from the nether regions and probably stretched and tore the epididymis, which has given me pain in the intervening 20-odd years. Have had ultrasound scans but they were inconclusive so I just live with it. Even a sudden movement while "relaxed" in a hot bath can re-aggravate it and give me two weeks of dull aching pain until it settles down again. Tight pants help with recovery. I have fathered a child in the last 12 years!


 
Tape loops, I see: Tried that once as practice for an emergency, over a very short drop. I can easily imagine how that could go wrong.


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## Davidc (1 Feb 2012)

A lot depends on family history. With genes like mine I have some problems, but fitness helps keep the body working.



> At the risk of lowering the tone - what was it Fred Wedlock said "When it takes all night to do once, what you once did all night" ........... ?


 
It was "When it takes you all night to do what you used to do all night, you're the oldest swinger in town"


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## User269 (1 Feb 2012)

In recent years the numerous aches and pains have multiplied and have now joined up, so there's no 'good' bits left. Despite the pain, I've never felt better, but then I always did like a bit of [censored] ...........


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## summerdays (1 Feb 2012)

Do you have to be over 50 to join in this conversation? I've noticed the niggles starting since hitting 40, though I start with having a few congenital bits in the first place. Cycling can be difficult to get on the bike occasionally when I'm feeling a little seized up ... but being on and cycling seems to limber me up and make me feel better. I suspect as time goes on it will get worse and that I will have to devote more time to stretching.


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## dellzeqq (1 Feb 2012)

yello said:


> Is it to be expected that you'll get all manner of niggles, aches and pains?
> 
> I chalked up a half century last year. I also seem to be increasingly troubled by silly aches and pains. Is it downhill from here on in? I hope so because frankly my knees are killing me!


well, matey, you've done it now. I've been stricken by a stabbing pain in my left hip joint for the last couple of days. In fairness _it's not entirely your fault_ - I cracked my pelvis ten or so years ago, and I was told that I could expect the inevitable damage to the bone to come back and haunt me sometime. But, still and all, I think you owe me a Sanatogen.


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## ufkacbln (1 Feb 2012)

The big question is can you still wear light coloured trousers?


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## Ian H (1 Feb 2012)

Cunobelin said:


> The big question is can you still wear light coloured trousers?


As long as you're still continent.


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## jay clock (2 Feb 2012)

50 yesterday. My daughter asked if I had woken to find huge strands of nostril and ear hair erupting! But the answer is no, I feel much younger, fit and healthy and several people thought I just had hit 40. When I was 40 I was 3 stone more, unfit, etc...


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## VamP (2 Feb 2012)

HA that


Crackle said:


> Tape loops, I see: Tried that once as practice for an emergency, over a very short drop. I can easily imagine how that could go wrong.


Ha, that 's nothing... ...I once tried the 'old school' abseiling method of wrapping rope over shoulder, then around leg - should have paid more attention when shown how; my wrap very quickly unwrapped, leaving me suspended over the drop just with hands on rope 

I have since then learned how to do it properly


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## postman (2 Feb 2012)

I am still having sex at 62. Not bad when i live at number 23.


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## Ashtrayhead (5 Feb 2012)




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## Old Plodder (11 Feb 2012)

61,looking at 62, just seems recovery has slowed down somewhat. Not as flexible as I once was. Don't seem to ride as far. (Mind you, that is more likely down to the years spent off the bike). Intending to do a ride to the coast end of March, 80+ miles, turbo being used whilst the weather is bad.


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## Old Plodder (11 Feb 2012)

Typical postman.........


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