50s and constantly stiff ....

[TissoT]

Been using a blended nut oil called "Undo"s Choice" for a couple of years
It helps me for this Reason + ..http://www.detoxyourworld.com/udo-s-choice-ultimate-oil-blend

 

[Fab Foodie]

,... and that sound you seem to need to make to bend or sit down!
.

I've caught myself doing that too ....

 

[ayceejay]

The day I stop falling off my bike will be the day I die.

I'm trying to get my head around this. Do you mean you will die because you have fallen off your bike? Or do you enjoy falling off so much that without it you would rather be dead?
As for the OP's problem I would recommend yoga, not the contort yourself into pretzel type but something simple. It is important to find a good teacher as stretching incorrectly can do more harm than good. A lot of yoga is oriented towards the spiritual and you may not want this so have a read of this website http://www.bandhayoga.com that gives an excellent explanation of postures and how to do them properly.

 

[uphillstruggler]

At least you made it to 50.

I have to stretch before and after exercise, and even if I'm not doing exercise.

 

[cyberknight]

Im dgetting not as flexibleas i used to be , i could do this 15 years ago

Kill me if i tried now !

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Paging @Fnaar

No seriously, me and the fragrant (and long suffering) Mrs FF are both *ahem* physically active and generally healthy 50 y/olds, but notice that we also getting increasingly stiff in our bones ... actually, it's muscle stiffness more than anything else. Not just stiff in an non-mobile way, but painfully stiff, sit down or lie down for say 30 mins and it hurts to get going again.
Mrs FF stretches after every class, so she should be OK (stretching post exercise is not one of my strong points).

Is this normal for our advancing middle age?
Do supplements help (we have a very good diet)?

Seems a bit early for that, but we're all different, I'll be 63 in a couple of months and though I'm not as free moving as I used to be I'm still moving OK, my main problem is my back, I've done a lifetimes manual labour and I suspect I've worn it out. Have you thought about Yoga? I did it for several years and found it to be very good, I had a good Yoga teacher who actually taught Yoga rather than used Yoga poses as an exercise class.

 

[Katherine]

+1 for Pilates. I think it should be on the NHS. After 4 years of Pilates, I'm more agile and less stiff at 51 than I was 10 years ago.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I'm relatively lucky on the stiffness front for 60. I do find that if I've done a bit of cycling that the next day or so it becomes unpleasant to have to walk. It feels like a constant grumble from my leg muscles at being asked to work without really warming up. I think that it's a stage I go through on the bike but quickly get past it as I warm up. Walking doesn't do anything other than to get my muscles into the grumble zone where they stay complaining. Oh, and it's a ridiculously slow way of getting anywhere anyway.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I'm relatively lucky on the stiffness front for 60. I do find that if I've done a bit of cycling that the next day or so it becomes unpleasant to have to walk. It feels like a constant grumble from my leg muscles at being asked to work without really warming up. I think that it's a stage I go through on the bike but quickly get past it as I warm up. Walking doesn't do anything other than to get my muscles into the grumble zone where they stay complaining. Oh, and it's a ridiculously slow way of getting anywhere anyway.

I've been out for an enjoyable 53 miles in the sunshine this morning, I'll probably find that my thighs wont like me walking downstairs later, apart from that and a little backache I should be fine.

 

[G3CWI]

i could do this 15 years ago

Kill me if i tried now !

A few years ago on a walk with friends I demonstrated a "gate vault". The only slight problem was, I am in my 50s and the last time I did this was at school. To say that I regretted it was an understatement...


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_c0-4pC57E

 

[swansonj]

"Now I got mortgages on homes
I got stiffness in my bones...."

 

[snorri]

Try going alcohol free for a time.
www.livestrong.com/article/546230-muscle-soreness-the-day-after-drinking-liquor/

 

[Low Roller]

Try cross-training - not jumping about whilst angry - swimming and walking , I meant. ( Or whatever)

I remember cycling-touring Ireland for a fortnight, feeling fit as a lop and then running to the top of Helvelyn. Going up was a doddle, probably using the same muscles as cycling. Coming back down was absolute purgatory. Similarly, half-way through a 4 month cycle touring trip, having gone over the Pyrenees, I went swimming at a municipal pool in northern Spain and was amazed to find I was weak as a kitten.

So, getting your other non cycling muscles working might be helpful to you.

 

[bowtomephil]

I wish I was stiff where I want to be stiff.

50 and ache everywhere, slipped disc in back doesn't help but doesn't stop me doing anything. It does now take all night to do what I used to do all night.

 

[Dayvo]

+1 for the swimming and maybe water aerobics.http://www.aerobics-online.co.uk/water_aerobics.html

And as Crax said, try and incorporate stretching into your daily life (maybe 5 mins every morning when you get up).