does everyone fall apart at 40?

[Accy cyclist]

Looking back i suppose my fittest days were from being 25 to 47. Before that i was a lazy so and so who drove everywhere, developed a beer belly, ate the wrong things etc. Then i got into weight training(no stupid steroids or popping veins, just a toned figure). At 47 i developed neck cancer which meant my right pectoral muscle had to be grafted to fill the hole in my neck, so no more bench pressing, hence depression because of my loss. Then i got a hernia(groin) one day from coughing due to swallowing difficulties. My latest malfunction is my detached retina where they are having trouble in fixing it.
So i'm living and cycling with a pec' muscle for a neck, a bulge in my shorts that makers the ladies swoon(if only they knew)!, and one working eye!
I'd like to think that plenty of exercise, cycling and a decent diet in the last 25 years has helped me stave off probably worse things than i have had. You have to think positive thoughts about how you'll cope with whatever life throws at you.

 

[Licramite]

who's waiting for 40 - I fell apart at 28 , why do you think I cycle , cause I can't run !. - and I can't see me doing that in 10years time.

yep do it whilst you can, cause you never know how long you can do it for.

 

[ColinJ]

my grandfather died late 30's, heartattack, very heavy drinker, my uncle died 40, heartattack, fit but drinker, da had a triple bypass at around 40, fat, heavy drinker, smoker but changed his life never drank or smoked again,started running, still around after 28 years, they only gave him 10...my da at 68 has now become the longest living member of my family, among aunts, uncles grandparents etc, ma side both parents dead before 50, cancer
we have a running joke between me and my 4 brothers, 2 of whom have spent their whole lives drunk, stoned, imprisoned and the other 2 are fat.... that no matter what I do, I'll be first to go....you never know .

The opposite of my family who typically live well into their 80s, many into their 90s and a couple of whom have reached 100+. That's why it came as a huge shock to me, having hardly been ill in my life, to suddenly find myself close to death aged 56!

I hope that you don't follow your family history, and that I do follow mine!

 

[stu9000]

Im 42 and feeling more mortal than i did. I think that is partly watching my parents get older although if they read this id get a clip. Shoulder issue and high cholesterol I'm hoping to sort out with cycling. Good so far and feel a lot fitter. Knees fairly buggered from skiing but ok with a support. Finger joints have been getting worse and i expect will be a mare later in life. Comes and goes, bit weird.

My memory frustrates the hell out of me. Not sure if its always been bad or whether its getting worse. However I'm celebrating my grandfathers 100th birthday next week. So a bit of exercise and a positive attitude is my ongoing strategy.

 

[C7KEN]

Here is a short update to my post in 2012. I now lead a group out every Monday and Wednesdays this can be up to 20 riders. We sometimes have new people wanting to join so I will go out on a separate day and make sure they know what to expect and can keep up a reasonable speed. I find its not the distance that causes problems but the speed but I find that if riders know what to expect they cope very well. Living here in Spain we are in cycling heaven but strong winds at this time of year can make life a bit harder so we always ride out into the wind and hope to have it behind us on the return home. We aim to do at least 100kms over the two days and it's either flatter and longer or shorter and more hilly. Not one single person has pulled out from our group and they all tell me how they enjoy it. I am not the oldest as we have two riders 75 years old and one of these is amazing as the youngster's cant keep up with him when we get to a hill. We are on hybrids as we ride the canal roads its safer and quieter, we have found all the good coffee stops in the area over the last nearly 3 years and we can look at men much younger knowing we are fitter than them and look good for our ages. I now no longer take statins I am very pleased to say and for sure cycling has been a huge help in lowering my cholestrol. I say this as others in our group have found similar results. so to sum it all up cycling for myself and friends is the perfect pastime

 

[Dirk]

I must be the exception that proves the rule.
Turned 60 last month and retired two days later.
I'm in better physical shape than I was 20 years ago and feel GREAT!!!

 

[addictfreak]

I got through 50 years with out incident, not even a days sickness from work. Made up for it in the past 2 years, suffered a Sub Arrachnoid Haemorrhage in December 2012. Was lucky to survive, had surgery to place coils in an aneurysm which had ruptured. If that wasn't enough, they found a second aneurysmn which they treated by performing a craniotomy and placing a clip on the aneurysmn. Spent a total of 8 months on the sick and a further 6 on reduced duties before finally being able to return to my full role in Feburary this year.
Have returned to my normal self with no illness since. Return to hospital next week for a check up and MRA scan, hopefully all will be well. Must admit when I look back, it almost seems like it never happened.
The little picture on my avatar shows me cycling in the mountains of Majorca in April this year, so I guess it's been a pretty good recovery, considering the potential outcome.

 

[Licramite]

Well I'm officially an ex-lepper, new value (and I don't mean on the tyres) and I'm raring to go - this years been a wash out but next year I hope to break the hundred (miles, done the kms)
all I got to do is convince the missis if I can do it with a dodgy value and can do it with a nice new shiny one.
I would like to say I have never felt fitter - but I certainly have- so I will have to be content with what I got.
- all I say is , it don't matter how slow you go - as long as you keep going

 

[slowmotion]

I very nearly fell apart quite a few years after my fortieth birthday. The NHS came to my aid, God bless them. I feel better than I have in decades and worry less. Maybe that's the beta-blockers.

 

[nickyboy]

I think we have obsolescence built into our design unfortunately. Back to the caveman days, once we've produced the next generation we're not designed to keep going. Eyesight goes so we can't hunt, get slow so we can't run away from Sabre-toothed tigers, muscles get weak so we can't throw rocks at wooly mammoths. That sort of thing.

Science has let us extend our lives to 80 years old or so. But we're designed to be good up to 40 years old and that's about it. Then it all starts to fall apart

 

[Dirk]

................we're designed to be good up to 40 years old and that's about it. Then it all starts to fall apart

Speak for yourself matey!

 

[Massimo]

Falling apart is the game of the life. Sooner or later we'll all get there.
Just take care of yourself the best you can but don't worry too much. Worries don't help either.

 

[winjim]

I feel well but cuts and bruises are taking a long time to mend. I gashed my calf on the chainring back in April and it still hasn't fully healed. I'm a fortnight shy of 37.

 

[screenman]

I fell apart in my forties and rebuilt myself in my fifties.

 

[djb1971]

I've hated every year of my 40s. I have one problem, sort it, only to have another. I know I'm wishing my life away but I can't wait for 50, hope it gets better. I've got aches, pains, things dropping off and other things drooping

If I could go back in time, I'd meet everyone that told me life begins at 40, then I'd give them a punch in the face

I don't know how I manage to cock a leg over my bikes!