When Are You 'Too Old'?

[Fnaar]

I'm quite looking forward to being able to stand in the middle of the High Street, telling the traffic to f*ck off, while waving my walking stick, then going for a tea and toasted teacake before going home to tend my marrows.

 

[Blue]

I'm 58 and did a 25mTT in 57:43 two weeks ago. I can still train very hard but just need longer to recover from each effort than I would have needed 30 years ago. However, due to careful planning of my races I'm beating people half my age in every race. No such thing as 'too old' - you just have to shift the boundaries a little.

 

[TVC]

In the last couple of years I've learned to fly a glider, learned to ski and taken up Scuba diving. I'm going to have a crack at paragliding, and if I can lose a stone I'm going to have a go at wing walking. At 45 this is not a mid life crisis - or at least that's what I keep telling myself.

 

[SquareDaff]

It varies from person to person. I'm 43, still exercise 2-3 times per day and (as I remember) am in a great deal better shape than my dad was at this age. I look around the office at people around my age and just think "Oh Dear". Mine was a concious decision to stay as fit as possible for as long as possible 20+ years ago. While I'm not going to beat any 20 year olds at any event I can do still them well enough!

 

[bof]

Falling over hurts more as you get older. I ski, but I tried learning snowboarding a few years back and as as beginner you fall on your backside painfully a lot - I decided it was not for me, probably the only age related choice like that I have made.

At 58, cycling means I'm fitter than most 30 year olds but I don't play soccer any more and I won't be shagging 7 times a night any time soon. These are limitations which have just crept up on me over the years - I have never though "Ooh, I'm just too old to do that".

 

[alans]

I reckon I've slowed down in the last 2 or 3 years & take a little longer to recover than previously but I don't subscribe to the propsal that age is a reason for any sort of exclusion.
If my body is able & my mind is upforit then it's a go-er.
I'll be sixty in a few weeks.
Hellsbells,where did all that time go?

 

[Dayvo]

I gave up playing rugby at the age of 35 as I felt I was over the hill. Nine years later I started playing Australian Rules Football and played for two seasons.

As long as you're in reasonable shape and play to your limitations (and not expect to be as agile and injury-proof as you were as a 20-something) then you should be fine.

We don't train/play to stay young: we do those activities to become old.

 

[swee'pea99]

"Falling over hurts more as you get older" - does it? I don't find it hurts more. The really big difference I've noticed is how much longer it takes for any injury to heal. Things I would once have shrugged off overnight can hang around for a fortnight; things that would have taken a fortnight now hang around for months.

 

[bof]

"Falling over hurts more as you get older" - does it? I don't find it hurts more. The really big difference I've noticed is how much longer it takes for any injury to heal. Things I would once have shrugged off overnight can hang around for a fortnight; things that would have taken a fortnight now hang around for months.

Both - longer recovery too. But I reckon the hurt more is being less flexible and less quick-witted so the impact is worse.

 

[colly]

Falling over hurts more as you get older.

I find it doesn't actually hurt more.

It just takes longer to register that I am no longer upright.

 

[Peteaud]

Seeing as i am now too old to leave a good looking corpse, i shall go having the best damn time possible, not sitting on my backside doing nothing.

Plenty of time to rest when i am worm bait.

And remember, shrouds dont have pockets so enjoy it while you can.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

You are only to old to do something when you're no longer physically capable of doing it.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

My Dad has given up, he thinks that just because he's in his '60s that he can't try anything new. He will sit there and watch telly until he dies, quite literally.
They will probably bury him with the TV remote clamped in his hand.

He's scared everyone will laugh at him and hates failure you see, and it doesn't matter how much anyone tells him otherwise, he's utterly convinced that he'll appear at something, everything will go wrong and it will all be solely his fault.
How he ever had the courage to marry my Mum I'll never know.

You couldn't make it up, really, you couldn't.

 

[The Jogger]

30 years ago I was sitting in pubs drinking and smoking, since 47 (now 54 ) I took up jogging and cycling I haven't looked back. So no, you're not too old to start something active and see an improvement in both ability and fitness.

 

[Nihal]

When you listen to your breath for the last time(and you should'nt have headphones stuck to your ears and you should'nt be deaf and a whole lot of other should'nts)or just feel your breath for the last time(and you should'nt be drugged or just knocked out and a lot of other should'nts).So basically,you're "too old" when you are dead.