The Damn I'm Old Thread - Putting Up With Being a Geezer

[NogbadTheBad]

It's no secret that like a lot of our favorite musicians, the membership of PE is getting older. While we've got some whippersnappers here, I think the majority of us are boomers. Lino is even looking older. The junk mail from AARP keeps coming. And someone keeps moving my reading glasses.

This month I turned 59 and I've decided to buckle down combating this. I broke my ankle two years ago and I've just gotten to the point where working out it is really feasible again. I'm diving back into gaming and writing in an effort to keep my mind sharp. And I continue to flail away at teaching myself how to play guitar.

So what are you doing to stave off the inevitable?

Drinking heavily

[Duncan Glenday]

T
...
Diagnosed with bladder cancer this time last year.
...

Damn, I didn't know that!

I hope it's cleared, and you're okay now!

[Duncan Glenday]

BTW, Casey, do you have any thoughts on the "fasted cardio" argument?

I think it works, and it makes sense to me...

[Casey]

Thanks, Duncan.

Still receiving chemo. We shall see... Word of advice: DON'T SMOKE! (And me, a physician, sheesh!)

I've not heard of "fasted cardio." Will look it up.

[Plasmatopia]

Recommendations from an expert LOL

I did a heavy gym schedule for several years, and am now cycling (just did 51 miles this morning - slow pace, but still a good ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/720101846 ) Sure'n hell doesn't make me any kind of expert, but here are a few thoughts that helped me:

Strength training:

- Don't exercise any body part (arms, chest, legs, back, whatever) more than once a week. Do strength training on a cyclic basis, for a given number of days / week. An example of a 3-day split could be arms and chest on day 1, core and shoulders on day 2, and legs on day 3. Doesn't matter what days of the week day 1 / 2 / 3 are - just as long as you only do each of them once a week. This gives each body part time to recover from the exercise, and build the strength. Hitting any body part more frequently is generally considered to be over-training (at least, for the man-in-the-street.) Remember - you don't get strong from lifting. You get strong when your body recovers from lifting.

- Free weights are better than machines, because they recruit the stabilizer muscles.

- Form is everything. Not only will you benefit more from good form - you'll also avoid training injuries.

- Build the weights slowly - but according to a plan. It's common to increase weights by about 5% every 2 weeks. The progress is painfully slow at first, but it works well...

- Create a rhythm - but then change it up. About every 2 to 3 months, do completely different exercises for each body part. It's called "muscle confusion".

- The deadlift is the king of all exercises. There are many theories about why this is, but there's no questioning the validity of that statement.

Cardio training:

- Alternate endurance sessions and intervals (Google HIIT)

- 5 times a week is generally considered the max you should do, and it helps a lot to have your 2 off days together, to allow the body a more consolidated recovery time.

- It's been argued vigorously - but I believe the best way to lose weight is "fasted cardio". Do about half an hour's cardio in the morning, before you eat anything. Not too intense. You want to break a sweat, but not be panting.

- As with weight training - increase your intensity by about 5% every 2 weeks.

General:

- Once you get into the habit, it's surprisingly easy (well, easy-ish) to keep going to the gym. But break that routine for a week or 2, and it's amazing how hard it is to get back into that routine. So be careful...

- Greg Lemond was once asked "When you get to be a world class athlete, I suppose your training gets easier?" His reply has become a mantra in training circles: "It never gets easier - you just get faster". (Read stronger / etc., depending on your discipline.)

Anyway - you probably know all this, and can add to it!

Thanks very much for that, Duncan. There are some things in there that I knew and some I did not. I am definitely going to rethink how I do my strength training as I was not really giving myself enough time it seems. I'm not sure how much I will pursue using free weights right now. With my lower back issues I'm finding that the nice thing about the machines is that ability to isolate some muscles, build strength, and not mess with the lower back. So deadlifts may never be something I'd do, but eventually I can probably do some free weights.

Initially our thought was that we would try to go to the gym every day that we could, since surely life would just naturally present obstacles that would force us to miss a few days a week. Somehow that has not happened yet. We eventually just got tired and decided to take a break. My wife is nuts and works out 3-4 times a week at work (they have TRX, boot camp classes, etc.) and she still gets on the treadmill at the gym with me on the way home. I'm trying to mix things up a lot and if I feel I need more time to recover from the weights I spend some time swimming which really seems to be great for my back.

Two days seems like a good break and it just so happened that we took Wednesday and Thursday off each week so far. We'll probably try to maintain that schedule.

----------

Some of the stories told in the previous posts here reminded me: We just found out a 65-year-old former coworker who retired less than a year ago passed away suddenly about a week ago. He wasn't feeling well one day and near the end of the day was having a hard time forming coherent sentences (maybe I should get myself checked out!), the next day his wife was going to take him to the hospital but he couldn't walk to the car. She called an ambulance and he was dead before they reached the hospital. They're not quite sure if it was a stroke, aneurysm, or what, but there had been no indication of any health problems before that. They had made only one major trip out to visit a brother in Minnesota since his retirement began.

Don't wait too long to enjoy life, folks!

[Sunlight Caller]

Good luck Casey, I hope everything works out for you, and for all other Prog Ears Geezers who are currently going through it.

[tom unbound]

The worse thing about getting old, for me, is lactose intolerance. One of my brothers has had it all his life, the other not at all. In my case, it's been creeping up on me for at least the last 5 years. Took me forever to figure it out. (denial?) Chocolate milk has always been my fav drink, for at least 50 years. Can't touch the stuff now. Klondike bars are now severely limited. I'm just now recovering from an episode cause by (too much) spinach dip. (episode: 2 days of severe pain exuding pencil-eraser size 'waste'.) I love cheese, but now fear it.
There's no cure as far as I know, all I can do is un-friend Elsie The Cow.

[musicislife]

The worse thing about getting old, for me, is lactose intolerance. One of my brothers has had it all his life, the other not at all. In my case, it's been creeping up on me for at least the last 5 years. Took me forever to figure it out. (denial?) Chocolate milk has always been my fav drink, for at least 50 years. Can't touch the stuff now. Klondike bars are now severely limited. I'm just now recovering from an episode cause by (too much) spinach dip. (episode: 2 days of severe pain exuding pencil-eraser size 'waste'.) I love cheese, but now fear it.
There's no cure as far as I know, all I can do is un-friend Elsie The Cow.

There are meds you can take before eating anything that might cause you problems that can work wonders. One of my brother-in-laws takes them and he can now eat cheese without incident.

[spellbound]

The worse thing about getting old, for me, is lactose intolerance. One of my brothers has had it all his life, the other not at all. In my case, it's been creeping up on me for at least the last 5 years. Took me forever to figure it out. (denial?)

I have pretty severe lactose intolerance. I didn't always have it. As a teen, I drank tons of milk, ate lots of cheese and ice cream. It hit me in my late 20s. It's not easy to diagnose, as you have to test yourself with foods. When doctors test you for allergies, they only test for airborne substances. A dairy allergy and lactose intolerance are different things. The allergy has symptoms like hay fever, or so I'm told, but like allergies to peanuts or other foods, it can kill you in some cases. Intolerance is an illness that I assume is caused by your body's inability to digest a food. It can be severe, in which case a small amount will make you quite sick, but unlike an allergy, you probably won't die. You may feel like you wish you could die. In a severe case, you will want to avoid dairy products, as the illness isn't worth the pleasure of the flavor of the food. I don't miss milk; there are non dairy substitutes (soy, almond, cashew, coconut, and rice 'milk') if you need milk for a recipe or on a bowl of cereal. I never have a desire to just drink a glass of milk. Cheese and ice cream are a different thing, because they taste so good you miss them, and the non dairy substitutes are still not very good. Those 'Lactaid' pills, made to make lactose digestible, don't work for me. YMMV. Some lactose-free cheeses and yogurts contain casein, a milk protein. Just my luck; I can't tolerate that, either. I have to have vegan non-dairy products. And now that I have to watch my blood sugar, I have to skip the fake ice cream.

Note that I am not a doctor, so my advice may not be right for everyone. The above is based on my understanding through reading, testing myself for food sensitivities, trial and error, and painful experience. Good luck.

[Plasmatopia]

I've heard that in a significant number of cases people who think they are lactose intolerant actually just can't tolerate pasteurized milk, but are okay with raw milk. I've noticed in recent years that pasteurized milk tends to cause a mild disruption (nausea, bloating) in my digestive system, but raw is no problem. But in general I don't drink milk often at all these days.

[Gizmotron]

Recommendations from an expert LOL

I did a heavy gym schedule for several years, and am now cycling (just did 51 miles this morning - slow pace, but still a good ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/720101846 ) Sure'n hell doesn't make me any kind of expert, but here are a few thoughts that helped me:

Strength training:

- Don't exercise any body part (arms, chest, legs, back, whatever) more than once a week. Do strength training on a cyclic basis, for a given number of days / week. An example of a 3-day split could be arms and chest on day 1, core and shoulders on day 2, and legs on day 3. Doesn't matter what days of the week day 1 / 2 / 3 are - just as long as you only do each of them once a week. This gives each body part time to recover from the exercise, and build the strength. Hitting any body part more frequently is generally considered to be over-training (at least, for the man-in-the-street.) Remember - you don't get strong from lifting. You get strong when your body recovers from lifting.

- Free weights are better than machines, because they recruit the stabilizer muscles.

- Form is everything. Not only will you benefit more from good form - you'll also avoid training injuries.

- Build the weights slowly - but according to a plan. It's common to increase weights by about 5% every 2 weeks. The progress is painfully slow at first, but it works well...

- Create a rhythm - but then change it up. About every 2 to 3 months, do completely different exercises for each body part. It's called "muscle confusion".

- The deadlift is the king of all exercises. There are many theories about why this is, but there's no questioning the validity of that statement.

Cardio training:

- Alternate endurance sessions and intervals (Google HIIT)

- 5 times a week is generally considered the max you should do, and it helps a lot to have your 2 off days together, to allow the body a more consolidated recovery time.

- It's been argued vigorously - but I believe the best way to lose weight is "fasted cardio". Do about half an hour's cardio in the morning, before you eat anything. Not too intense. You want to break a sweat, but not be panting.

- As with weight training - increase your intensity by about 5% every 2 weeks.

General:

- Once you get into the habit, it's surprisingly easy (well, easy-ish) to keep going to the gym. But break that routine for a week or 2, and it's amazing how hard it is to get back into that routine. So be careful...

- Greg Lemond was once asked "When you get to be a world class athlete, I suppose your training gets easier?" His reply has become a mantra in training circles: "It never gets easier - you just get faster". (Read stronger / etc., depending on your discipline.)

Anyway - you probably know all this, and can add to it!

Excellent summary. Thank you!

[Firth]

No there isn't....

I could never "just smoke" because I would get nervous and paranoid. Always needed the alcohol to take the edge off. That is why I no longer smoke because the combination was fucking me up and just smoking was never an option. Besides, I never got the pleasure out of sparking up as I do drinking some fantastic craft brew! I drink for the taste first and the effect second. I never could say that about weed.

You have never had a choice. Who said smoke? Where it's legal there are different versions with documented effects.

[Calabasas_Trafalgar]

65. Have Diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, venous insufficiency, and(recently diagnosed)sciatica. About 80 lbs overweight. Still working. Don't drink or smoke. Still listen to mostly 70's prog, along with a lot of the new-retro stuff, primarily from Italy, Sweden, and Norway. Lost interest in the "Big 6" about 40 years ago, but still very enthusiastic about lots of 2nd, 3rd, 4th tier groups from the old days, and read as much as I can in mags like Flashback and Shindig.

[Duncan Glenday]

65
...
Still listen to mostly 70's prog
...

See, that's the problem. If you listen to thoroughly modern prog, your body will think you're young and will rejuvenate itself automatically. This is a scientifically proven fact - everyone knows it. Don't question the science!





(Just taking a dig )

[Yodelgoat]

I dont see weed as an alternative for older people. It could put you in jail (in most states) and that alone isnt worth the risk. I used to suggest Kratom for the bene's of Alcohol, but is really harmless. But its only legal for another 8 days. DEA is going to shut it down. Its been a nice ride though (2 years). Once again, not worth jail time.

Getting older sucks, no doubt, but I have to say, I have a much bigger prog collection than I had in my younger days. Nice to have a collection I can listen to just about anytime, and never get tired of any music. Technology has been an overall blessing. Prog doesnt make me old, Dissipation does, so I avoid harmful chems and drugs. particularly the kind that can land you a stay in Azkaban. That will ruin your health more than anything else.

[Jerjo]

I listen to old prog, I listen to new prog. I can put on Revolver and an hour later I'll be playing Courtney Barnett. Then I'll wander back in time for some really early jazz and then switch to Soundgarden. The music of the late 60s/early 70s still resonates the most for me but I am absolutely OBSESSED with finding something new.

I had slacked off my treadmill and other exercising for the summer, figuring that all the work I did outside would make up for it. NOPE. My first trip back on the treadmill was excruciating, my bursitis in my hip is paining me, and the acid reflex has gotten worse. The bursitis and acid weren't nearly this bad at the start of spring. I guess I won't be making this mistake again.

I'm also in a caretaker situation that wears me down. My wife has a number of issues including failing eyesight and doing everything around here gets me down. That's another thing that's inspiring me to get back to working out. I can't let this get to me anymore.

[Firth]

I listen to old prog, I listen to new prog. I can put on Revolver and an hour later I'll be playing Courtney Barnett. Then I'll wander back in time for some really early jazz and then switch to Soundgarden. The music of the late 60s/early 70s still resonates the most for me but I am absolutely OBSESSED with finding something new.

I had slacked off my treadmill and other exercising for the summer, figuring that all the work I did outside would make up for it. NOPE. My first trip back on the treadmill was excruciating, my bursitis in my hip is paining me, and the acid reflex has gotten worse. The bursitis and acid weren't nearly this bad at the start of spring. I guess I won't be making this mistake again.

I'm also in a caretaker situation that wears me down. My wife has a number of issues including failing eyesight and doing everything around here gets me down. That's another thing that's inspiring me to get back to working out. I can't let this get to me anymore.

Do you have cataracts? I had to tell the doctor to check, and they admitted that it was the problem. Cataracts when corrected by lens implants produce great vision from a contrast standpoint.

[BobM]

How many people here DON'T consider themselves overweight? I would say I could lose 10-15 lbs and be just fine, but my lifestyle (and beer and food intake) keep those pounds on. I'm not fat, by any means, but I'm not at the weight that I would feel is ideal.

Now, 10-15 lbs is not 80 lbs. If you are that far off where you think you should be, and are suffering cholesterol and backache and other problems, then damn it - LOSE SOME WEIGHT! You are doing it to yourself.

Frankly, I'm surprised at how many people here are in their late 50's and consider themselves old. Old starts at 70 as far as I'm concerned. If you are old at 58 then damn it, get in shape before you kill yourself. there's so much life you might be missing out on.

[progeezer]

How many people here DON'T consider themselves overweight? I would say I could lose 10-15 lbs and be just fine, but my lifestyle (and beer and food intake) keep those pounds on. I'm not fat, by any means, but I'm not at the weight that I would feel is ideal.

Now, 10-15 lbs is not 80 lbs. If you are that far off where you think you should be, and are suffering cholesterol and backache and other problems, then damn it - LOSE SOME WEIGHT! You are doing it to yourself.

Frankly, I'm surprised at how many people here are in their late 50's and consider themselves old. Old starts at 70 as far as I'm concerned. If you are old at 58 then damn it, get in shape before you kill yourself. there's so much life you might be missing out on.

Glad I get a pass, but tell me, does pontificating get you off?

[Duncan Glenday]

...
Frankly, I'm surprised at how many people here are in their late 50's and consider themselves old...

Old starts at 15 years older than I am.

Always has, always will.

[Shadow]

does pontificating get you off?

Only when watching porn.

[walt]

Getting up in years hit home last year when i hit 62.I opted to start getting my social security money direct deposited to my checking account(i like that).

I also qualified for a senior citizens discount card at my local Fairway mega-ginormous supermarket.( i like that, too.)

Inside my own head, looking out at the world, i still feel young.For someone who has not taken good care of himself, i'm in better shape than i deserve to be.Losing eighty pounds over the last couple of years helps.Over the last month or so i put a few pounds back on.This worried me enough to compel my joining a gym and rededicating myself (hopefully) to smarter eating.

I keep pictures of my former fat self around to remind me of what i looked like as recently as a couple of years ago.I don't want to be that person again.

[Yodelgoat]

I got old at 40, I noticed that things I could do as well or better than most people in their 20's. Now? Post 40, its like a switch got flipped and no matter how much I worked, it just got me injured, and was no longer fun, it was just required. I didnt comply and my 40's were the worst decade for me healthwise. at 50 I took exercise far more seriously, but it could not keep me from tendonitis and old folks body shape. I could stand to lose 20 pounds, but no more than that. I will never swim a 100 fly again. My shoulders hurt all the time - even without swimming. I think I'll be in awful shape come 70. I sincerely hope I dont get that far, because I will be a total mess. I'm OK with facing my own mortality. It will be nice to see if the Quantum world really is the true reality. (obviously, my ontology allows for this probablility)

[Duncan Glenday]

...Losing eighty pounds over the last couple of years...

[philsunset]

Some good reading here. Me - 62. Never really had any health issues til 60. One night, walking in the house, I felt like I'd been smacked in the forehead with a baseball bat (or what I'd imagine it would feel like). Had extreme head pain for months. Had an MRA, MRI, with dye, without dye. Nothing found. The neurologist had no answers. After three tries my primary doc got me a pain medication that works. I can, two years later, still press on certain areas on my head and have some pain but with the meds things are tolerable. Last year, prostate cancer. I was kinda expecting this. A grandfather died from it. My older brother was diagnosed early, had surgery and is doing fine. Mine was caught early also. Had surgery right after ProgDay last year. After 9 months of pissing in a catheter, incontinence is gone and the numbers so far are good. Because of a lot of inactivity during recovery (on the couch watching many movies) and my love of craft beer, I put on the pounds. A few months ago it was time to combat the higher weight, blood pressure and cholesterol numbers so went on a self-learned lower carb diet. So far have dropped 20 pounds and feel better. I still have craft beer but in more moderation. (This ProgDay was a momentary stumble in the upward direction tho.) These medical experiences in the last two years have made me more aware of time or the lesser amount left. And I don't sweat the small stuff so much.