Ageing grate-iciously!!
Am I still an athlete at 45, debateable if bad golf and an occasional gym work out still qualify? I remember when I was in my teens and 20’s, my dad, his buddies and the older guys on my baseball team telling me; enjoy it while you’re young. You will not be able to do that forever. I never doubted them and my common response was, “So you’re telling me I got a lot to look forward to….”
Well I’m there, that point in life my dad and all his buddies warned us about, where you do feel some aches, pains and just can’t do what you used to. A few years back, a popular catchphrase was 30 is the new 20, and so forth for each passing decade on how youth can spring eternal. I, like so many others, felt like I could fend off this father time. While I found this to be mostly true in my 30’s, hitting the mid 40’s brought a different saying to my experiences. For me, the mid 40’s has become the new 60’s!
My old injuries are returning with vengeance and my body has basically said forget it buddy this just isn’t happening. More specifically the last 2-3 years, at 42 I was basically able to still keep up with my fitness and power through any given work out. My injuries and set backs would heal in an acceptable period of time. 2 years ago a back injury, along with other ailments, set me back and I haven’t been the same since. I am surprised by how quickly my body changed on me. How could I once throw my body around so recklessly on a football field and now one wrong step can set off back spasms? I have felt both ends of the spectrum. I’m feeling young at heart, while at the same time feeling much older than I actually am.
The big 4-0, our 40’s, it's a milestone for sure, signaling a time of transition from younger adulthood to officially middle-aged. A big change, I am finding, this is becoming an important decade for change. A change in my fitness habits and routines. A change away from being "buff" or the best to preventing bigger, lifestyle health problems. More than anything comes an important understanding that life and health are very perishable. I am having to change my stinkin’ thinkin’ as to what I can, have to and should do.
TO MY CURRENT SELF: Here are some health concerns that you may very well find yourself faced with in your 40s
PHYSICALLY
It's not that you can't, but should you: For many of us sports were ingrained into our lives in our teens, 20's and 30's. It was easy to be active every day and I enjoyed lifting heavy weights. As I crossed the 40 threshold my shoulders and back started hurting for days. A game of some sort meant 4-5 days of recovery. What was going on? If your joints constantly ache, your muscles are tight and the occasional injury becomes constant it’s time to re-evaluate those activities. I’m finding my fitness is changing more from how heavy and intense to how often and efficient.
Chronic pain: Chances are you will start to experience some consistent aches and pains. The effects of arthritis, back pain and other painful conditions like tendonitis increase with age. While you can't do anything about the number of birthdays you've celebrated, you can take steps to reduce your risk for health problems caused by wear, tear and overuse.
Beware the Health Indicators Ladder: Blood pressure, body fat%, body weight, cholesterol, resting heart rate, blood glucose and the list goes on. These indicators of health can tend to slowly creep upward as you get older, increasing your risk for several serious medical conditions. It's now important to follow your doctor’s recommendations for monitoring these factors and keeping them within healthy levels through lifestyle measures, or medications if need be.
Begin to focus on Preventive Health: Healthy habits like eating right, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, not smoking, eliminating or drinking alcohol only in moderation, can help reduce your risk for a number of chronic medical conditions. It's mundane and boring to state the obvious but once you get here, they become obvious! The chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer creep into your thoughts, with the hopes of permanently delaying such things to much later in life (we all will succumb at some point). So, if you've been making healthy lifestyle choices, keep it up in your 40s, and if you haven't, now's the time to start!
MENTALLY
Stress/Anxiety/Depression: Give yourself a break, you can’t prevent yourself from these situations and you will likely experience all of these. It’s normal! There's no escaping many of the responsibilities that come with life in your 40s; career, finances, family obligations, caring for children, ageing parents, death of older friends and family. They all start hitting their peak in the 40’s. The key is not being overwhelmed for an extended period. It's important to take care of your mental health in your 40s. Changes in mood are a normal part of life. Keep in mind it’s okay to get help and vent your problems if things persist over a month or so. It’s 2016 and mental health professionals are abundant, accepted and help you through things.
Beware of the youth trap: The ageing body can be deprived of societal status. The images of bronzed photo shopped bodies which valorize youth, beauty, slimness, perfect body shapes and physical competence in culture is problematic for older people whose bodies, not conforming to these images, consequently become devalued. There can be a negative impact of body ageing on our sense of self-esteem and our ability to locate ourselves in the social sphere. In sum, bodily ageing operates a break with our youthful past, and this is presented as detrimental to our sense of future self. In short, we’re kind of encouraged to be put out to pasture and wallow around, don’t fall into that trap.
Overcoming the ego: This is extremely hard, coming to terms with your ego and competitive nature can be the hardest thing to be done. You were a competitive, lean, athletic person at one point and now your back hurts, tying your shoes and walking a flight of stairs gets your heart pumping and short of breath.
As we age our self-worth should not and, for sanity's sake, cannot be aligned with physical performance or athletic outcomes. Be proud of your past and display your accomplishments on a dusty trophy shelf, but ageing can be extremely difficult for any person who values self-worth only for where they place in a race. If you're a racer or still compete for motivation by all means continue. However, with age, we have to come to accept our limitations and focus more on what we need to do for health and wellness.
TO MY PAST SELF: Tips for the 20-30 year olds!
Watch your back and other extreme risk behavior: You’re so strong and healthy that it can be hard to look forward. Any injury is usually quickly healed and it’s almost a feeling of immortality. But, the big injuries will boomerang back. In my case, a slightly separated shoulder is now an aching shoulder. A bulging disc in the back has turned into degenerative disc disease. I see all these extreme athletes do so much damage to their body, I hurt for them as I think of what comes down the road. A shattered bone or blown back disc will have lifelong consequences. Live, have fun and experience adventure, but remember you have one body.
Get fit and stay fit: Your body is surging with everything it needs to help you reach your physical best and get into amazing shape. Enjoy your reduced need for ice packs while you can. Take advantage of your bodies limits, it can be pushed and built. You’ll lay the foundation for good health for years to come.
Educate, educate, educate!: Education is opportunity, understanding and leads to good decision making. Find a career that will allow you to be successful with your mind and not your body as sole means for your career. I absolutely respect labor workers; problem is we have a perishable, non-renewable item, our bodies. When the body wears out or gets hurt they may not be able to work. You will need the mind eventually, so plan for it. Also remember education is not always about brains, it’s about persistence, and you can do it. A saying I once heard was; We all have an expiration date and when it comes, you'll be judged from the neck up.
Travel and adventure: Go for it! Get to the exciting places that take some extreme physical and time demands. Some people say: Do it why you have your health. It’s seems like such a given in your 20’s to early 30’s and it probably is. The demands of some of these activities may get quite taxing as the ageing needle pushes forward. Also the responsibility of children is likely much easier to navigate. Not saying to ever give up on your bucket list, you can still visit and experience these places and activities. However, if you want to conquer Kilamanjaro or do an extreme triathlon youth does provide a definite advantage.
Careful with the partying: Yes you should have a little fun and the 20's offer a great social life as responsibilities are not as big a worry. At one point in time I thought happiness, fun and social status were found at the bottom of a beer or whiskey bottle, problem was there was always another bottle. Be careful that your identity doesn't become affiliated with that very same bottle and your true self gets lost. After some very painful soul searching experiences, and dreadful mistakes, I was able to curb the frequencies and quantities of said behavior, getting back to my truer sense of self. Thankfully I stayed away from street drugs. A Minnesota Viking (Bob Lurtsema) came and spoke at our confirmation and said something like “What if you try the drug and like it”? That statement actually scared or resonated with me enough that I didn’t give myself the chance. Some of my friends weren’t as fortunate in these departments and I miss them dearly.
TO FUTURE SELF: Move forward with dignity and perseverance
The 40’s and beyond are phases in life, a required journey in the spectrum of life. The intention is not to be one of doom, but change. Ageing and health is one of those things that each and every one of us has to come to grips with. There is no way to stop the wheels of time. Of course, the process itself is both a good and a bad thing. With age, hopefully comes wisdom and perspective. However, getting older also brings aches and pains both literally and figuratively. Our bodies and minds learn and grow from setbacks, but we also tire and suffer pain as a result.
It’s up to us to do what we can with what we’ve got. A body in motion wants to stay in motion! A body at rest wants to stay at rest. I’ll address these issues in upcoming blogs.
