40 Plus Members: Be Advised

Mleake has given the best point in the whole thread, IMO. Difference is what it takes to heal as you're growing older.

At 37, I'm already realizing that when I get any kind of injury, it already takes longer to heal. I need to stretch and warm-up more when I workout. Before, it was just a matter of stretching a bit, warming up joints, etc... No longer like that.

But, keeping to the thread's thing. I don't think, in any way, that after 40 you're already an "old fart". It's just about in what shape you keep yourself. I have fellas at work who are well over forty. Go and try to wrestle them, and you'll find out.

I myself find that, at my age, I'm wiser to avoid trouble than I used to, but whenever confrontations are unavoidable, it would be fair to say that I'm more effective at applying force than I used to be. Experience is the difference. And this comes from a street cop who is no big guy (5 ft 9", athletic built, 190 lbs) but has seen some different situations involving differently built people. My experience is, NEVER think an adversary as an "easy" one. You can always be taken by surprise by that one you thought you could handle easily. I've found myself rolling on the floor with guys heavier than me whom I've eventually managed to handle and handcuff (though taking bruises) and had a hard time with others who were lighter, but moved quickly and viciously, and have taken bruises too. Never give anything for granted.
 
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Do any guzzlin' at home. There, the worst altercation you'll have is tripping over the dog when you're pie-eyed.
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To add to this, its much cheaper to guzzle at home and the best reason is, NOT getting a D.U.I. A bump on the head after tripping over the dog is better than a night in the poky.
 
I'm 43.

I promise you I am far stronger and without doubt more deadly at 43 than I was at 23 or 33.

Sprint speed, flexibility and recovery are deteriorating, no doubt, I can feel that.

But for ten seconds or ten minutes or however long it takes, I absolutely can bring it better now than ten or twenty years ago.

That said, I train harder, by a lot, now than I did when I was younger. When I was younger, I got by on sheer athleticism. Now, I work at it. And it works.

I see a lot of guys who have "let themselves go." For a couple of years, I was that guy. Then vanity kicked me in the ass because I refused to buy the next pant size up after wearing 36" waist pants for all of my twenty years in the practice of law. I hit the gym, the dojo, and the road and dropped 25 pounds, got stronger, fitter, and felt better.

Good thing, too. Because out of the blue I had a heart attack last summer. It almost certainly would have killed me had I not been in the gym for the six months before that. My fitness, and some good luck, gave me a second chance at life. Now, I train hard not only to be able to defend myself and my people, but to live long enough to see my grandchildren's wedding.

Get off the couch. Do something for your fitness. Do it today. You are not guaranteed tomorrow.
 
redstategunnut, funny you brought up that last point.

As mentioned earlier, I'm 43. No kids, but my lady and I are thinking about it, maybe 2 years out.... So a major reason that I work out as hard as I do, is that if we have that kid, I want to be able to play while he/she is young, and be around (and healthy) for their college and early adult years.

It would be hard enough to hit 60, with a teenager, without being out of shape.
 
Doesn't matter how many crunches you can do. After 40, you're not a tough guy.

You're an old fart. ;)
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Guys, ... thought the above might have indicated a little leg-pullin' was in progress. :p

Still, the gist of the responses have been spot on: 1) avoid trouble and 2) keep working out and eating right, ... because "tomorrow's not guaranteed."

:cool:
 
I'm 48, 5'8" @ 185. I have worked in a maximum security prison for 26 years, so I've had some physical confrontations. I have found that the way you present yourself, along with the connection between your brain housing group and your mouth, can de-escalate situations much more than the connection between your fist and a$$. I used to spend time on the weight bench, now more on the reloading one.
I have physically or verbally stopped more fights and altercations between 3rd parties on the street than I have been in myself. The way you present yourself is your biggest ally. I ride and frequent some tough establishments, with no problems.
Getting older means you fall faster and don't get up as quick. Your hurts take longer to heal. You're not as fast as you once were, but life's experiences can more than compensate for most of this. If not, pressure points or quality training, firearms included if you have to, will suffice.
 
Self Defense Quandry

I'd be much more confident about defending myself by using deadly force if I could be reasonably assured that the local prosecutor would recognize that using a gun against an unarmed assailant outside of ones home is not a prosecutable offense. Before anyone bothers to recite the letter of the law to me, they should be aware that, in my jurisdiction (Northern Virginia), the citizenry, cops and prosecutors are generally hostile to gun rights. Recently, there have incidents around here in which unarmed assailants have been stopped at gunpoint by citizens with carry permits. Fortunately, no one got hurt. However, the impression I got from law enforcement's response to those incidents is that the potential victims would have charged with manslaughter if they had shot their assailants. So, before pulling a gun on anyone, make sure you live in an area where you're not the one who ends up getting punished. Personally, besides my .44 Charter, I carry an aluminum bat in my car. Since I'm a power hitter, I'm counting on that to keep me safe.
 
I'm 48, 5'8" @ 185. I have worked in a maximum security prison for 26 years, so I've had some physical confrontations. I have found that the way you present yourself, along with the connection between your brain housing group and your mouth, can de-escalate situations much more than the connection between your fist and a$$. I used to spend time on the weight bench, now more on the reloading one.
I have physically or verbally stopped more fights and altercations between 3rd parties on the street than I have been in myself. The way you present yourself is your biggest ally. I ride and frequent some tough establishments, with no problems.
Getting older means you fall faster and don't get up as quick. Your hurts take longer to heal. You're not as fast as you once were, but life's experiences can more than compensate for most of this. If not, pressure points or quality training, firearms included if you have to, will suffice.
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I agree that will get you out of alot more trouble than just fist (and keep you out.)

But at the same time I've been in martial arts since college. Plus Krav Maga and boxing. I work out thee days a week. Still do spinning heal kicks, back kicks, and other fun stuff along with elbows and knees. And I shoot to, with either hand.

And yep, I'm 50-something.

Deaf
 
Yoga.

It increases flexibility, builds core strength, centers one's mind and spirit, and all the girls wear tight outfits and are incredibly limber.

You people think about guns way too much.:)

Monty
 
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Moose season is just about to begin... and my hunting buddy and I have noticed that each year the mountains in Alaska get both taller and steeper while at the same time the moose get heavier to pack out. Observable fact and noted.

OK, just maybe the mountains and moose aren't changing, then it must be that gravity in slowly increasing... yah, that's it... and that's why all of that hair is appearing lower down than on the top of my head - gravity!

The problem with packing on the years is, as noted previously, the healing time. And repeated injuries/weakened areas can seriously impact one's basic lifestyle.

I have hiked daily in the mountains of Alaska and Montana for decades, with little exception, and still those darn mountains are getting taller and steeper... oh right... gravity!

Also have spent many years as a long distance runner, martial arts practitioner, avid backcountry skier, etc... and have always done my best to avoid physical confrontation whenever possible; if you don't know your opponent, you don't know what your opponent is capable of... And I plan on continuing to get out hiking daily for many more years to come.

Some of the best "fighters" that I have personally seen and/or sparred with have always been older than me.

Stretching, as previously noted, is very highly underrated by all age groups.
 
keep working out and eating right, ... because "tomorrow's not guaranteed."
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Gave up on the above because the day of leaving a young good looking corpse are long gone. Why spend time working out when tomorrow isn't guaranteed rather be doing things I want to do.
 
This thread cracks me up because its so true! I'm 39 and after a life of riding MotoX, mountain biking and playing Ice hockey, I pretty much hurt all over. I'm a big heavy metal fan and earlier this year I got a chance to see my favorite band, Sepultura. Well like an idiot I got in the mosh pit with a bunch of kids. I ended up cracking a vertabra and had severe back pain for months. Needless to say those days are over. I still get to the gym a couple times a week but thats just to keep the rust off. Getting old sux. :)
 
Nice post, over 40 and the musts are back exercises, stretching, and cardio, cardio, cardio (got to keep that heart happy!). And the exercise helps lower the stress and the lower stress helps the shooting. My heart guy also says every man over 40 should be taking an aspirin a day but check with your doc on that one of course.
I've been doing back exercises since hurting my back pretty bad about 2 years ago. Took 18 months (with 4 months of PT) to get 'better'. I'd say I'm at about 90% of where I used to be with it. Started walking every day over lunch for the heart, hoping I can start running again. Just regular moderate exercise and movement is 80% of the staying healthy game. Once in a while my wife does the aerobics stuff ... I always join in ... good for the muscles, stretching, and heart. and again, translates into good outings at the range and being better fit for self defense.

Kraigwy ... loved the posts!
hulley ... thanks for the warning, going to see Def Leppard in 2 days, I'll try to remember my age! :D
 
Never thought of myself as old...

until a couple years ago, when i noticed (must have had my reading glasses on at the time) wrinkles around my eyes, and gray hair where (i swear) just the day before it had been black. Then i turned 50 and the colonoscopy proved once and for all that, indeed, time was catching up with me.

I took for granted that a youth of competitive running and extreme sports like MLeake mentioned had positioned me to never get old. Probably thought an avalanche would take me before i turned 30. Anyhow, here i am at 50. A few pounds too heavy, sore knees that are not going away, and a perennial lower back pain. The real surprise is how fast it happened.

I have no illusions that i'm physically as tough as i once was, even though i'd like to think i still look formidable. The world has also changed around me. The danger of a middle aged man like me is, in a word, experience. Think i'm going toe-to-toe with a young thug and playing by some set of rules? Nope.

Clint Eastwood had it right, when he said "Ever notice how sometimes you run into someone you just shouldn't have fu**ed with? That's me". Actually, from reading all these great and funny posts, that's us.

It's always a pleasure to roam these forums.
 
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