Exercise and Age

Maggie wrote:
:: One thing I have found as I age....I certainly can't participate in
:: some of the things I did when I was young. Now that I have taken an
:: interest in riding a bike I realize that people older than me are
:: doing it. It's a wonderful sport and its age friendly. I remember my
:: father in law riding a bike well into his 70's. So, ok, we have to
:: leave some of the sports we loved behind us....but its nice to know
:: there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried playing
:: volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters friends. )All in
:: their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was soaking in ben gay.
:: And I was a damn good volley ball player in my twenties. Damn good.
:: It's a little depressing to admit you can't do the same things you
:: could do when you were younger......In some sports you are considered
:: TOO OLD when you hit thirty five.
:: Whoever said age is a state of mind did not try to play volleyball
:: for hours on the beach at age 50 with team members in their
:: twenties. I look forward to enjoying my bike.

I'm sorry, but your thinking is very, very flawwed. You are giving in to
this notion that you can't do this or that because of age. It's not true.
Sure, you shouldn't, after sitting on your butt for years, expect you get up
one day and compete in strong fashion in volleyball against 20 yos. It's
silly to even think that. But you can train yourself, re-gain/increase
fitness in that sport. Get your weight under control, start weight lifting,
and start playing volleyball on a regular basis (don't do marathon sessions
as you are getting back into it). You can increase your ability in that
sport enough to enjoy it. You may never be on an olympic team, but then
again you likely would not have been in your prime, either.

In what sport are you too old to particiate in at 35? Are you referring to
professionally, against others at any age? Have you ever heard of big
George Foreman?

"Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One thing I have found as I age....I certainly can't participate in
some of the things I did when I was young. Now that I have taken an
interest in riding a bike I realize that people older than me are
doing it. It's a wonderful sport and its age friendly. I remember my
father in law riding a bike well into his 70's. So, ok, we have to
leave some of the sports we loved behind us....but its nice to know
there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried playing
volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters friends. )All in
their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was soaking in ben gay.
And I was a damn good volley ball player in my twenties. Damn good.
It's a little depressing to admit you can't do the same things you
could do when you were younger......In some sports you are considered
TOO OLD when you hit thirty five.
Whoever said age is a state of mind did not try to play volleyball for
hours on the beach at age 50 with team members in their twenties. I
look forward to enjoying my bike.
http://hometown.aol.com/lbuset/

Whenever I start thinking like this, I try to remember how I actually felt
the "day after" when I was in my 20's. I was often *very* sore. You can't
expect to lay off strenuous activity for decades and have no consequences,
It's more a matter of being out of shape than being old. Cycling is great
as a long-term activity because it doesn't extract the same toll on joints
that high impact activities do. Many young runners, for instance, are
plagued with chronic injuries. I often see young athletes around the local
universities here (Boston) coming back from the gym with bags of ice
ace-bandaged to their knees.

While it's true that age takes a toll relative to *peak* performance, that
gap is smaller than most people seem to think. It's usually not possible
for a 50-something athlete to compete at elite levels with 20-somethings,
but endurance sports are something else. I have participated in many
"ultra-cycling" events, and find that the age-gap is often non-existent. I
remember watching a local college cycling team make a fast start on a
measly 200K (125 mi) ride, only to overtake them one-by-one in the early
afternoon. Their 20-ish legs were no match for my over-50 ones, and I'm
very much middle-of-the-pack in performance.

A useful lesson in actual capacities can be had by looking at the times and
ages for a single event, like the Mt. Washington climb. While this isn't a
true endurance event, since it's only an hour or so long, the age-relative
performances are less spread out than one might think.

I'd get into shape first before whining about how old you are.

Maggie said:

there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried playing
volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters friends. )All in
their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was soaking in ben gay.

Muscles you don't use often take far longer to recover - I've been
almost paralyzed the day after things I only try occasionally, like
water-skiing.

OTOH, I rode 120km on Sunday in under 4 hours, felt rather sore
when I got up on Monday and went for a gentle recovery ride, then
absolutely fine on Tuesday, when I went on a normal training ride.
I wouldn't have believed this possible when I took up cycling seriously
only 6 months ago, since I'm pushing 40.

Trust me, you'll become a superwoman :-)

--
bpo gallery at http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/mvw1/bpo

:
: I'm sorry, but your thinking is very, very flawwed. You are giving in to
: this notion that you can't do this or that because of age. It's not true.
: Sure, you shouldn't, after sitting on your butt for years, expect you get
up
: one day and compete in strong fashion in volleyball against 20 yos. It's
: silly to even think that. But you can train yourself, re-gain/increase
: fitness in that sport. Get your weight under control, start weight
lifting,
: and start playing volleyball on a regular basis (don't do marathon
sessions
: as you are getting back into it). You can increase your ability in that
: sport enough to enjoy it. You may never be on an olympic team, but then
: again you likely would not have been in your prime, either.

I have noticed that in practically every post, Maggie mentions her age. I
wonder why? We have many 70+ year olds in our riding club and one 82 year
old. Nobody goes around saying, "I'm 50 and...." I think Maggie is buying
in to age-related stereotypes.

Pat in TX

"Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One thing I have found as I age....I certainly can't participate in
some of the things I did when I was young. Now that I have taken an
interest in riding a bike I realize that people older than me are
doing it. It's a wonderful sport and its age friendly. I remember my
father in law riding a bike well into his 70's. So, ok, we have to
leave some of the sports we loved behind us....but its nice to know
there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried playing
volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters friends. )All in
their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was soaking in ben gay.
And I was a damn good volley ball player in my twenties. Damn good.
It's a little depressing to admit you can't do the same things you
could do when you were younger......In some sports you are considered
TOO OLD when you hit thirty five.

Age is just a number. There is no reason we can't continue to participate
in activities we enjoy as long as we follow a sensible diet and exercise.
Unfortunately my family gene pool is full of heart disease, diabetes and
cancer. It's been a driving force for me to stay in good condition. At age
61 (soon to be 62) I've lived longer than most members of my mother's family
and have no signs of any health problems.

Biking is my main form of exercise but I also do weight training, walking,
yoga, etc. Work on getting in good physical condition and I see no reason
why you can play vollyball with those 20 year olds<g> I know quite a few
younger people who can't keep up with me on my bike. I'm not fast but I do
40-50 mile rides frequently and I'm planning on doing my first century next
summer. Over the winter I'm kicking up the weight training and looking into
some spinning classes.

Beverly

Quoted message said:

Whoever said age is a state of mind did not try to play volleyball for
hours on the beach at age 50 with team members in their twenties. I
look forward to enjoying my bike.
http://hometown.aol.com/lbuset/

"Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One thing I have found as I age....I certainly can't participate in
some of the things I did when I was young. Now that I have taken an
interest in riding a bike I realize that people older than me are
doing it. It's a wonderful sport and its age friendly. I remember my
father in law riding a bike well into his 70's. So, ok, we have to
leave some of the sports we loved behind us....but its nice to know
there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried playing
volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters friends. )All in
their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was soaking in ben gay.
And I was a damn good volley ball player in my twenties. Damn good.
It's a little depressing to admit you can't do the same things you
could do when you were younger......In some sports you are considered
TOO OLD when you hit thirty five.
Whoever said age is a state of mind did not try to play volleyball for
hours on the beach at age 50 with team members in their twenties. I
look forward to enjoying my bike.
http://hometown.aol.com/lbuset/

The human body is a remarkable design with amazing recuperative
capabilities. After a lifetime of alcoholism, workaholism and smoking 2 1/2
packs per day, I got interested in cycling about 12 years ago. It gave me
incentive to quite smoking and drinking and gave me an interest outside of
my work. Within a couple of years I was doing sub-5 hour centuries. Today
I'm 48 and I'm still doing sub-5 hour centuries and doing training rides
with the guys on the local race teams. A dozen years ago I went to bed
wheezing each night and wondering if I'd die in my sleep 'cuz I had abused
myself so badly. A couple of weeks ago I had a very thorough cardiac test
and was told my heart is in better shape than most 20 year olds.

My observations on aging are that a) you do lose a step, as they say in
basketball. That's assuming you were at a very high level at some point.
My high level was about 3 years ago. Maggie, if you're just getting
started, you'll be improving for a good many years regardless of your age.
b) it gets a little tougher to shed pounds when you need to. And c) it gets
harder to get motivated to go out and ride in the cold of winter.

I've read that it takes ten years for a cyclist to build all the capillaries
and the whole cardiovascular system they can look forward to having if they
stick with the sport. Over that ten years, there will likely be improvement
on a year-to-year basis. After that, you're flying all the time!

Bob C.

"psycholist" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One thing I have found as I age....I certainly can't participate in
some of the things I did when I was young. Now that I have taken an
interest in riding a bike I realize that people older than me are
doing it. It's a wonderful sport and its age friendly. I remember my
father in law riding a bike well into his 70's. So, ok, we have to
leave some of the sports we loved behind us....but its nice to know
there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried playing
volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters friends. )All in
their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was soaking in ben gay.
And I was a damn good volley ball player in my twenties. Damn good.
It's a little depressing to admit you can't do the same things you
could do when you were younger......In some sports you are considered
TOO OLD when you hit thirty five.
Whoever said age is a state of mind did not try to play volleyball for
hours on the beach at age 50 with team members in their twenties. I
look forward to enjoying my bike.
http://hometown.aol.com/lbuset/

The human body is a remarkable design with amazing recuperative
capabilities. After a lifetime of alcoholism, workaholism and smoking 2

1/2

Quoted message said:

packs per day, I got interested in cycling about 12 years ago. It gave me
incentive to quite smoking and drinking and gave me an interest outside of
my work. Within a couple of years I was doing sub-5 hour centuries.

Today

Quoted message said:

I'm 48 and I'm still doing sub-5 hour centuries and doing training rides
with the guys on the local race teams. A dozen years ago I went to bed
wheezing each night and wondering if I'd die in my sleep 'cuz I had abused
myself so badly. A couple of weeks ago I had a very thorough cardiac test
and was told my heart is in better shape than most 20 year olds.

My observations on aging are that a) you do lose a step, as they say in
basketball. That's assuming you were at a very high level at some point.
My high level was about 3 years ago. Maggie, if you're just getting
started, you'll be improving for a good many years regardless of your age.
b) it gets a little tougher to shed pounds when you need to. And c) it

gets

Quoted message said:

harder to get motivated to go out and ride in the cold of winter.

I've read that it takes ten years for a cyclist to build all the

capillaries

Quoted message said:

and the whole cardiovascular system they can look forward to having if

they

Quoted message said:

stick with the sport. Over that ten years, there will likely be

improvement

Quoted message said:

on a year-to-year basis. After that, you're flying all the time!

Bob C.

Now that's good to hear. I've rode a bike all my life but just started
doing it seriously a couple years ago at age 59. Bought my first road bike
just this year. I'm looking forward to flying all the time at age 69!!!

Beverly

Peter Cole said:

A useful lesson in actual capacities can be had by looking at the times and
ages for a single event, like the Mt. Washington climb. While this isn't a
true endurance event, since it's only an hour or so long, the age-relative
performances are less spread out than one might think.

I'd get into shape first before whining about how old you are.

Although I went at it from a different angle ("I'm xx yrs old and look at
how much I can do!"😉, I now have a better appreciation for your objection
to the constant references to 'age'. Thanks for the illumination back then,
PC.

-B

On Thu, 11 Nov 2004 00:18:45 +1030, Michael Warner <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Maggie said:

there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried playing
volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters friends. )All in
their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was soaking in ben gay.

Muscles you don't use often take far longer to recover - I've been
almost paralyzed the day after things I only try occasionally, like
water-skiing.

OTOH, I rode 120km on Sunday in under 4 hours, felt rather sore
when I got up on Monday and went for a gentle recovery ride, then
absolutely fine on Tuesday, when I went on a normal training ride.
I wouldn't have believed this possible when I took up cycling seriously
only 6 months ago, since I'm pushing 40.

Trust me, you'll become a superwoman :-)

Fifteen months ago I struggled to ride 3-4 miles on the flats.

Now I'm riding 15-20 hilly miles in the am, and 10-12 on flats in the pm,
seven days a week.

This is far beyond what I expected when I started.

Consider also that I do this with a hip injury so those are sometimes
painful miles. <g> Climbing seems to improve the hip pain.(*)

-B
(I say 'hip injury', but I'm probably having a problem with L-3, 4, or 5
root pain, causing a type of sciatica/piriformis syndrome)

"Badger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 11 Nov 2004 00:18:45 +1030, Michael Warner <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Maggie said:

there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried playing
volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters friends. )All in
their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was soaking in ben gay.

Muscles you don't use often take far longer to recover - I've been
almost paralyzed the day after things I only try occasionally, like
water-skiing.

OTOH, I rode 120km on Sunday in under 4 hours, felt rather sore
when I got up on Monday and went for a gentle recovery ride, then
absolutely fine on Tuesday, when I went on a normal training ride.
I wouldn't have believed this possible when I took up cycling seriously
only 6 months ago, since I'm pushing 40.

Trust me, you'll become a superwoman :-)

Fifteen months ago I struggled to ride 3-4 miles on the flats.

Now I'm riding 15-20 hilly miles in the am, and 10-12 on flats in the pm,
seven days a week.

This is far beyond what I expected when I started.

Consider also that I do this with a hip injury so those are sometimes
painful miles. <g> Climbing seems to improve the hip pain.(*)

-B
(I say 'hip injury', but I'm probably having a problem with L-3, 4, or 5
root pain, causing a type of sciatica/piriformis syndrome)

We seem to suffer from similar problems. I've had sciatica problems for
several years. In fact, I'm currently recovering from a bout of it caused
by trying to grab my bike when the wind blew it over. Next time I'll let
the d*mn thing fall<g> It's not a constant pain for me and it usually
rears it's ugly head when I've done something stupid such as I did a couple
weeks ago when I grabbed for the bike, drive long distances, walk too far,
etc. I was wondering if you do any type of physical therapy for your
condition?

Beverly

The other thing that I have noticed is that two consecutive days with
no exercise now seems equal to a 20 year old's year without exercise.
Doing at least someting every day - with a down day thrown in when I
feel more sore than other days - is really the best for me. If I skip
the gym or miss a ride both Saturday and Sunday, then Monday I am
barely able to do a sit up. But exercising daily (or almost daily)
keeps my knees and other joints quiet, and my posture better, I don't
get winded at the top of the stairs, etc, etc.

I have seen some training web sites call this the "48-Hour Rule". I
am convinced now that regular exercise is as important to aging
gracefully as brushing your teeth.

Myo

[email hidden] (Maggie) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

One thing I have found as I age....I certainly can't participate in
some of the things I did when I was young. Now that I have taken an
interest in riding a bike I realize that people older than me are
doing it. It's a wonderful sport and its age friendly. I remember my
father in law riding a bike well into his 70's. So, ok, we have to
leave some of the sports we loved behind us....but its nice to know
there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried playing
volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters friends. )All in
their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was soaking in ben gay.
And I was a damn good volley ball player in my twenties. Damn good.
It's a little depressing to admit you can't do the same things you
could do when you were younger......In some sports you are considered
TOO OLD when you hit thirty five.
Whoever said age is a state of mind did not try to play volleyball for
hours on the beach at age 50 with team members in their twenties. I
look forward to enjoying my bike.
http://hometown.aol.com/lbuset/

"Myo Jorn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The other thing that I have noticed is that two consecutive days with
no exercise now seems equal to a 20 year old's year without exercise.
Doing at least someting every day - with a down day thrown in when I
feel more sore than other days - is really the best for me. If I skip
the gym or miss a ride both Saturday and Sunday, then Monday I am
barely able to do a sit up. But exercising daily (or almost daily)
keeps my knees and other joints quiet, and my posture better, I don't
get winded at the top of the stairs, etc, etc.

I have seen some training web sites call this the "48-Hour Rule". I
am convinced now that regular exercise is as important to aging
gracefully as brushing your teeth.

Myo

[email hidden] (Maggie) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

One thing I have found as I age....I certainly can't participate in
some of the things I did when I was young. Now that I have taken an
interest in riding a bike I realize that people older than me are
doing it. It's a wonderful sport and its age friendly. I remember my
father in law riding a bike well into his 70's. So, ok, we have to
leave some of the sports we loved behind us....but its nice to know
there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried playing
volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters friends. )All in
their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was soaking in ben gay.
And I was a damn good volley ball player in my twenties. Damn good.
It's a little depressing to admit you can't do the same things you
could do when you were younger......In some sports you are considered
TOO OLD when you hit thirty five.
Whoever said age is a state of mind did not try to play volleyball for
hours on the beach at age 50 with team members in their twenties. I
look forward to enjoying my bike.
http://hometown.aol.com/lbuset/

Don't you mean dentures?

Indeed ... I think you're spot on. The 20 year olds can take a nice, long
winter break and come back strong in the Spring. If I take a nice long
winter break, it takes me to next Fall to return to where I was the previous
Fall. The older you are, the more important to stay in shape year-round. I
enjoy kicking young riders' butts in February and March when I'm fit as a
fiddle and they're flabby. Come May and June, it's payback time and I get
humbled.

Bob C.

Roger Zoul said:

I'm sorry, but your thinking is very, very flawwed. You are giving in to
this notion that you can't do this or that because of age. It's not true.
Sure, you shouldn't, after sitting on your butt for years, expect you get up
one day and compete in strong fashion in volleyball against 20 yos. It's
silly to even think that. But you can train yourself, re-gain/increase
fitness in that sport. Get your weight under control, start weight lifting,
and start playing volleyball on a regular basis (don't do marathon sessions
as you are getting back into it). You can increase your ability in that
sport enough to enjoy it. You may never be on an olympic team, but then
again you likely would not have been in your prime, either.

In what sport are you too old to particiate in at 35? Are you referring to
professionally, against others at any age? Have you ever heard of big
George Foreman?

Roger,

I note you conveniently leave out your age in this discussion. I am a
bit older than Maggie and au contraire it is your thinking that is
flawed. For a variety of reasons one cannot do some of the things
when older that they could do when younger. It is not about sitting
on one's derriere or putting on a few pounds, it is about the
degeneration of connective tissue, the ravages of age and injury, the
onset of diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), etc. A couple of
decades back I worked in a group doing research on RA and one of the
physicians, an older German woman, would say whenever she saw a runner
"zey vill be in to see me some day." I used to be a decent runner,
fast enough to be a good defensive back in football and even get a
scholarship offer or two, and I was even faster in the 440 yd and 880
yd distances than the 40's and 100's we ran for football practice.
Surgical reconstruction on an ankle, multiple injuries and repairs to
the knees, and RA makes it so that running is near to impossible and
very high risk for me. But I can kick the butts of most 20 and 30
year olds climbing steep hills on a bicycle. One adapts, adjusts,
modifies their physical regimen to work around the ravages of age and
experience, they do not risk injuring themselves further to grasp at
straws of the past. Live within your limitations, enjoy what you can
do, breathe.

- rick

[email hidden] (Maggie) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

One thing I have found as I age....I certainly can't participate in
some of the things I did when I was young. Now that I have taken an
interest in riding a bike I realize that people older than me are
......
Whoever said age is a state of mind did not try to play volleyball for
hours on the beach at age 50 with team members in their twenties. I
look forward to enjoying my bike.

Bicycling is an age friendly sport. The first time I did an endurance
event, a double century, I was amazed at all the graybeards in the
registration room. Another time, after finishing a 1200K I talked to
a 74 year old man who finished about an hour behind me.

Tom

Pat wrote:
::: I'm sorry, but your thinking is very, very flawwed. You are giving
::: in to this notion that you can't do this or that because of age.
::: It's not true. Sure, you shouldn't, after sitting on your butt for
::: years, expect you get up one day and compete in strong fashion in
::: volleyball against 20 yos. It's silly to even think that. But you
::: can train yourself, re-gain/increase fitness in that sport. Get
::: your weight under control, start weight lifting, and start playing
::: volleyball on a regular basis (don't do marathon sessions as you
::: are getting back into it). You can increase your ability in that
::: sport enough to enjoy it. You may never be on an olympic team, but
::: then again you likely would not have been in your prime, either.
::
:: I have noticed that in practically every post, Maggie mentions her
:: age. I wonder why? We have many 70+ year olds in our riding club
:: and one 82 year old. Nobody goes around saying, "I'm 50 and...." I
:: think Maggie is buying in to age-related stereotypes.
::
:: Pat in TX

Yes, I noticed it too. But I think she'll get passed it 🙂

psycholist wrote:
:: "Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
:: news:[email hidden]...
::: One thing I have found as I age....I certainly can't participate in
::: some of the things I did when I was young. Now that I have taken an
::: interest in riding a bike I realize that people older than me are
::: doing it. It's a wonderful sport and its age friendly. I remember
::: my father in law riding a bike well into his 70's. So, ok, we have
::: to leave some of the sports we loved behind us....but its nice to
::: know there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried
::: playing volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters
::: friends. )All in their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was
::: soaking in ben gay. And I was a damn good volley ball player in my
::: twenties. Damn good. It's a little depressing to admit you can't do
::: the same things you could do when you were younger......In some
::: sports you are considered TOO OLD when you hit thirty five.
::: Whoever said age is a state of mind did not try to play volleyball
::: for hours on the beach at age 50 with team members in their
::: twenties. I look forward to enjoying my bike.
::: http://hometown.aol.com/lbuset/
::
:: The human body is a remarkable design with amazing recuperative
:: capabilities. After a lifetime of alcoholism, workaholism and
:: smoking 2 1/2 packs per day, I got interested in cycling about 12
:: years ago. It gave me incentive to quite smoking and drinking and
:: gave me an interest outside of my work. Within a couple of years I
:: was doing sub-5 hour centuries. Today I'm 48 and I'm still doing
:: sub-5 hour centuries and doing training rides with the guys on the
:: local race teams. A dozen years ago I went to bed wheezing each
:: night and wondering if I'd die in my sleep 'cuz I had abused myself
:: so badly. A couple of weeks ago I had a very thorough cardiac test
:: and was told my heart is in better shape than most 20 year olds.
::
:: My observations on aging are that a) you do lose a step, as they say
:: in basketball. That's assuming you were at a very high level at
:: some point. My high level was about 3 years ago. Maggie, if you're
:: just getting started, you'll be improving for a good many years
:: regardless of your age. b) it gets a little tougher to shed pounds
:: when you need to. And c) it gets harder to get motivated to go out
:: and ride in the cold of winter.
::
:: I've read that it takes ten years for a cyclist to build all the
:: capillaries and the whole cardiovascular system they can look
:: forward to having if they stick with the sport. Over that ten
:: years, there will likely be improvement on a year-to-year basis.
:: After that, you're flying all the time!

That's very encouraging, Bob.

Rick Warner wrote:
:: On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 08:16:21 -0500, "Roger Zoul"
:: <[email hidden]> wrote:
::
::
:::
::: I'm sorry, but your thinking is very, very flawwed. You are giving
::: in to this notion that you can't do this or that because of age.
::: It's not true. Sure, you shouldn't, after sitting on your butt for
::: years, expect you get up one day and compete in strong fashion in
::: volleyball against 20 yos. It's silly to even think that. But you
::: can train yourself, re-gain/increase fitness in that sport. Get
::: your weight under control, start weight lifting, and start playing
::: volleyball on a regular basis (don't do marathon sessions as you
::: are getting back into it). You can increase your ability in that
::: sport enough to enjoy it. You may never be on an olympic team, but
::: then again you likely would not have been in your prime, either.
:::
::: In what sport are you too old to particiate in at 35? Are you
::: referring to professionally, against others at any age? Have you
::: ever heard of big George Foreman?
:::
::
:: Roger,
::
:: I note you conveniently leave out your age in this discussion. I am
:: a bit older than Maggie and au contraire it is your thinking that is
:: flawed.

I'm 46. I didn't leave my age out on purpose - I didn't really think it was
that important because it would only be a data point of one. However, as a
matter of fact, I am now in better shape than I've ever been in in my adult
life. I'm a type 2 diabetic, too, no meds and in good control.

:: For a variety of reasons one cannot do some of the things
:: when older that they could do when younger. It is not about sitting
:: on one's derriere or putting on a few pounds, it is about the
:: degeneration of connective tissue, the ravages of age and injury, the
:: onset of diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), etc.

One may not be able to perform at the same level as when younger, but
barring such aliments as you describe, one can particapate in many
activities taht one could previously do. One cannot expect, as the OP
seemed to indicate, to just pick up one day after years of inactivity and
resume as if not a day as gone by. One has to work up to it.

A couple
:: of decades back I worked in a group doing research on RA and one of
:: the physicians, an older German woman, would say whenever she saw a
:: runner "zey vill be in to see me some day." I used to be a decent
:: runner, fast enough to be a good defensive back in football and even
:: get a scholarship offer or two, and I was even faster in the 440 yd
:: and 880 yd distances than the 40's and 100's we ran for football
:: practice. Surgical reconstruction on an ankle, multiple injuries and
:: repairs to the knees, and RA makes it so that running is near to
:: impossible and very high risk for me.

I can understand this and I don't disagree with it. However, I saw no
indications of physical limitations of this nature in the OPs post.
However, I did see indications of not being active and then suddenly trying
to resume a favorite activity from the days of youth.

[snip]

:: One
:: adapts, adjusts, modifies their physical regimen to work around the
:: ravages of age and experience, they do not risk injuring themselves
:: further to grasp at straws of the past. Live within your
:: limitations, enjoy what you can do, breathe.

That is good advice for the OP. And I fully agree with you.

[email hidden] (Maggie) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

One thing I have found as I age....I certainly can't participate in
some of the things I did when I was young. Now that I have taken an
interest in riding a bike I realize that people older than me are
doing it. It's a wonderful sport and its age friendly. I remember my
father in law riding a bike well into his 70's. So, ok, we have to
leave some of the sports we loved behind us....but its nice to know
there are age friendly sports still available to us. I tried playing
volleyball last summer with a bunch of my daughters friends. )All in
their 20's.) They were fine the next day. I was soaking in ben gay.
And I was a damn good volley ball player in my twenties. Damn good.
It's a little depressing to admit you can't do the same things you
could do when you were younger......In some sports you are considered
TOO OLD when you hit thirty five.
Whoever said age is a state of mind did not try to play volleyball for
hours on the beach at age 50 with team members in their twenties. I
look forward to enjoying my bike.
http://hometown.aol.com/lbuset/

That's just nice perfect day. I assume that everything is just fine
for
you Maggie. I don't know your american mentality but I do your kinds
of
believe if life is so perfect from head to toe. You got perfect
house. you got perfect car. you got perfect hair. you got perfect
chest. you got perfect butt.
you got perfect jean. you got perfect shoes. Everything is gergeous
and everything is perfect. Life is perfect! Oh I miss one...your
bicycling is perfect. YOu seem to not having a bad day huh when the
Uncle Sam debt is over 7 $trillion. Pathetic!!!!!

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Red Cloud) said:

That's just nice perfect day. I assume that everything is just fine
for
you Maggie. I don't know your american mentality but I do your kinds
of
believe if life is so perfect from head to toe. You got perfect
house. you got perfect car. you got perfect hair. you got perfect
chest. you got perfect butt.
you got perfect jean. you got perfect shoes. Everything is gergeous
and everything is perfect. Life is perfect! Oh I miss one...your
bicycling is perfect. YOu seem to not having a bad day huh when the
Uncle Sam debt is over 7 $trillion. Pathetic!!!!!

Green monster, eh?
Anyhow, whaddaya expect? Perfection ain't cheap.
But it was nice of you to compliment Maggie.
I hope you keep working on being nice.
Number One beauty tip: smile.

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca