Beating a dead horse

[stoneaxe]

To continue with the equestrian metaphors....my body feels like it's been ridden hard and put away wet. My head gave me a rough week in work last week and has been bugging me a lot more than usual lately. I've got a broken middle finger on my right hand, a cut that probably should've gotten a couple of stitches on a left finger, a left shoulder that thinks I'm an idiot, along with a weak left arm and pins and needles from my right elbow to my fingertips. I think all the arm/shoulder stuff stems from a neck problem that has nagged me for awhile now.
 
So I did about 5 hours on Saturday...3 on my 9 and I goofed off on my 14 (video to follow) for a couple. I was so sore on Sunday I could hardly get out of bed....which I had to do at 5 since I was helping my daughter setup the Making Strides breast cancer walk on the cape (so proud of that kid, but that's another story). Then we did the walk.....just 4 miles but I did the last two with a 40 lb granddaughter on my shoulders using my ears as reigns (maybe that's what made me think of a horse theme here... ) Then helped her pack it all up....

Today I just feel beat....all i wanted to do when I woke up was take some ibuprofen and go back to sleep...maybe with a few ice packs. Real bad Monday.

I need to get things looked at with my neck...scares the hell outta me though for some reason. Not sure if ortho or or chiro is better and know of horror stories both ways.
I also need to get serious about working out more...amazing how fast stuff deteriorates. This getting old shit really sucks!

OK...end of rant.

[madmax]

Man, I can't believe how quick I go to shit now.  And how long it takes to heal...if ever.  I guess the message is don't stop and don't get hurt.

[Chilly]

A weekend like that will kill a horse! You’re doing better than most horses your age.

[PonoBill]

Umm, granddaughter on the shoulders for two miles? And now your neck is sore. If I did that I'd be in traction. One of the things you learn as you get older is to be a bit more selfish about your body. Practice these responses:

"Could you put this 60 pound piece of junk on that upper shelf?"   NO.

 "Grampa, carry me."   "You are confusing me with some much kinder grandfather."

I'll still go bike riding with them, and flog their butts up the hills and then make fun of their panting. But I (and you) have to pick our exertions more carefully. Everything nasty you do to your body when you were young comes back to haunt you. Remember those times you did face plants on the beach bodysurfing? You need look no further to understand why your neck bothers you.

Sadly, there is a very helpful discipline, but it's one that makes moose like us look like, well, moose. Yoga. You can download a video to follow, but it's more fun in a roomful of lovely, highly flexible, yoga pant wearing women. They even smell wonderful. LuLu Lemon is a revelation.

And it's reins, unless your ears are royal.

[SlatchJim]

We ended up parking near the volleyball courts Sunday at San O.  Temptation was strong to get into a game, I could see it was the same for my wife.  Fighting the instinct to go all out versus the need to pull in the reins almost never goes in our favor, and I imagine that I'd be paying hell for the damage today if I'd had played yesterday.  Still, the folks playing were exceedingly nice and inviting and that didn't help my resistance one bit.

Those glory days of playing middle blocker in college tend to get a healthy dose of tarnish when your current hangtime is equal to a floor safe.

[Luc Benac]

Well like everything age calls for one thing - moderation.
I used to practice kickboxing and mix-martial arts for twenty years and a few at (modest) competitive level.
That was until I turn 42 years old.
At 49, long gone are these days of hard training, hard beating, six-pack and broad shoulders.
So it goes like this:
a good hour + walking/hiking with our dog
8 to 12 km paddling
1/2 yoga
repeat on Sunday...
Keep me lean and reasonably fit or in comparison like a wimp, but one that can walk around with minimum pain :-)

Cheers,

Luc

[eastbound]

yoga--strengthens, stretches, restores.

last year i did bikram yoga only for 20/22 days to prepare for a powder skiing trip. no running, no cardio, no wall sits, etc.
i felt stronger/better than i have in years, where previously i would spend 6 weeks minimum on the full spectrum of training approaches. and, with these trips, if i am undertrained, i cant climb a flight of stairs, let alone ski hard.

2 years ago, i couldnt bend my less-good knee past about 120 degrees. clearly i had meniscal cartilage issues. yoga 4 times a week for a month or two, gradually nending the knee back to normal, and the rest is history. the knee now bends completely with no pain--thkfully--i was on my knees paddiling in 25-30 knt winds yesterday!

the sports i enjoy impart fitness, but all risk acute injury, as well as overuse injury--for ex, had to quit squash--too detrimental to lower back shoulders hips knees--some i hope not to quit til i get my toe tag--of all i enjoying doing, yoga is the only restorative exercise--the others give me fitness, for sure--but yoga repairs a person

only downside is that it is seriously time-comsuming--the lulu lemon clad well-sculpted bodies certainly help the time pass!

[starman]

For what it's worth, I came across this article in Men's Journal back in 2011 that I found useful regarding strength and fitness as we age;

http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-lie-20120504?page=5

[HanaSurf]

I think PonoBill hit on the cause of the neck problems with carrying granddaughter on your shoulders...I do that too!  I'd say a GOOD Chiro and a hot tub. I grew up with 2 uncles and a cousin that are Chiro's,like every other profession there are good ones and bad ones. Get some recommendations for a really good,competent Chiro in your area. Once you find the right one for you,you will not regret the time looking.

[headmount]

Starman, Great article and sad that the guy died so young.  Loved the analogy of firing a canon from a canoe.  His thesis really confirms the quality of SUP in establishing those little connector muscles. 

They're the ones that I can feel today after a three hour SUS session yesterday.  Wind had been strong onshore during the night but dropped to zero when I went out for a B-day session.  Waves were great but surface still owned a good rock and roll so the balance challenge was in full swing.  Those connectors got a solid workout. 

As my good friend PBill says, you don't want to be push starting cars or lifting refrigerators at our age so this approach Brown had is really the path to remaining active without injury.

Unfortunately weather isn't always conducive for either a DW or surf session so I try to swim during those days.  To me it promotes joint health and a good stretch for what I do paddling.  Occasional dumbells but no heavy weights.  Nothing I do demands big strength and I sure don't need the mass.  When it comes to big power I'm content to be a fan... like for  my 11 yr old grandson who just broke a minute in the 100m free for the first time.  A time the Duke won the Olympics with in 1919, the year my Dad was born.

[PonoBill]

Kamehameha actually DID fire cannons from canoes.

I am trying to keep what muscle I have left by doing some exercise that pushes my limits, but I work up to the big sets by doing a lot of light warmups. There's no practical warmup to slinging a 40 pound kid on your neck, no matter how cute she is. 

[stoneaxe]

All good advice.......yoga has been on the "I should start doing that" list far too long.

I'm thinking chiro but its the finding a good one.

Rein.... ...except that we are supposed to be bastard sons of royalty way, way, back....

Speaking of cute.......I mentioned Uncle Bill the other day and she says..."I like Uncle Bill, I miss him...but I don't want him to call me Mike Wyszowski!....

[madmax]

Yoga is the only reason I can roll outa bed in the morning.  And stand in the cross chop in the line up.  I do still have a weiner too...Manly man!

[Zooport]

 "Grampa, carry me."   "You are confusing me with some much kinder grandfather."

LOL!

[PonoBill]

Yoga is a lot like taking Home Economics or doing figure skating. Your friends call you a sissy on their way to a locker room full of naked, sweaty guys. Hmmm.