Worst thing about getting old?

[Daneel]

I'm just hoping I don't take after my dad and grandma when it comes to certain aspects of their physicality: both of them have bad knees, which really makes stairs a pain for them. My grandmother, in particular, hardly even gets around anywhere these days; usually she just stays in her apartment (well, yeah, I stay in my apartment a lot too, but I can get out when I want to ). However, neither of them really took great care of themselves over the years, so I'm hopeful that if I do my best to stay in shape, I won't meet the same problem.

Also, I don't really like the idea of going gray -- while I don't think I'll mind so much when I reach my 40s/50s, I'm currently 26, and I've already got a few noticeable gray hairs. I don't even want to think about how many I'll have ten years from now.

 

[Holdfast]

As for the stretching, I seriously (and I never thought I'd say this ~ it must be my age ) would go for pilates (if you really want to piss the people off pronounce it "pie-lates") But it's great at keeping flexability and muscle tone, and you don't have to jump up and down like a maniac.

I've rather thought about taking up yoga to help with suppleness and core strength. I'm a bit cheap to fork out for ongoing lessons though, so I've half a mind to just get a Wii Fit Plus with the balance board thing and try that instead. Should be enough for my needs since I'm just after some basic routines rather than getting into the high-end poses.

 

[pookha]

you might want to at least take a basic class.
then use a video or book to supplement.

growing old is so complex and contradictory.
on one hand you appreciate all the knowledge you have accumulated but then you have trouble accessing it

 

[Holdfast]

you might want to at least take a basic class.
then use a video or book to supplement.

Thanks for the advice. I figure I need something vaguely interactive or I'll lose interest (I have the attention span of a gnat) so for me it's either the classes or something like the Wii.

growing old is so complex and contradictory.
on one hand you appreciate all the knowledge you have accumulated but then you have trouble accessing it

Sounds like you have spyware installed of your system. Must have visited too many dodgy sites in your youth.

 

[pookha]

takes out minnow whacks holdfast.

as for yoga..
even if you go through a basic class once it will give you a lot of insight of how do the postures properly.

while iam curious about the wii there are also a lot of good dvd's out there.
there are even ones for people as they age and are less flexible.
some instructors have even adapted to teaching for people who are unable to lie down in the floor.
instead adapting to people doing yoga while being seated.

 

[JonathonWally]

Here's a good exercise video for you Holdfast, I'm sure it won't have a problem holding your attention.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-722K7aj5TI&NR=1[/yt]

 

[Kestra]

As for the stretching, I seriously (and I never thought I'd say this ~ it must be my age ) would go for pilates (if you really want to piss the people off pronounce it "pie-lates") But it's great at keeping flexability and muscle tone, and you don't have to jump up and down like a maniac.

I've rather thought about taking up yoga to help with suppleness and core strength. I'm a bit cheap to fork out for ongoing lessons though, so I've half a mind to just get a Wii Fit Plus with the balance board thing and try that instead. Should be enough for my needs since I'm just after some basic routines rather than getting into the high-end poses.

I don't know if there's a difference from the wii fit to the wii fit plus, but I wasn't a huge fan of the yoga on there. It's okay for balance practice, but it's more stressful than helpful for me.

I picked up some yoga dvds on the cheap a few years back and halfheartedly tried them, then gave up. I've rediscovered them recently and find that I actually like them quite a bit. I ordered two more this past week.

My main reason for taking a class would be in making sure that I'm doing the positions correctly, but I don't have supreme faith in the instructors around here so I figure I'm just as well doing it at home. It's quite a workout though, you'd be surprised! Some workouts also give you pose modifications if you're just beginning. And some are more focused, some are a bit more general, but they all have this sort of meditative component to them that I enjoy immensely. It's the most calming workout ever.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

As for the stretching, I seriously (and I never thought I'd say this ~ it must be my age ) would go for pilates (if you really want to piss the people off pronounce it "pie-lates") But it's great at keeping flexability and muscle tone, and you don't have to jump up and down like a maniac.

I've rather thought about taking up yoga to help with suppleness and core strength. I'm a bit cheap to fork out for ongoing lessons though, so I've half a mind to just get a Wii Fit Plus with the balance board thing and try that instead. Should be enough for my needs since I'm just after some basic routines rather than getting into the high-end poses.

I don't know if there's a difference from the wii fit to the wii fit plus, but I wasn't a huge fan of the yoga on there. It's okay for balance practice, but it's more stressful than helpful for me.

I picked up some yoga dvds on the cheap a few years back and halfheartedly tried them, then gave up. I've rediscovered them recently and find that I actually like them quite a bit. I ordered two more this past week.

My main reason for taking a class would be in making sure that I'm doing the positions correctly, but I don't have supreme faith in the instructors around here so I figure I'm just as well doing it at home. It's quite a workout though, you'd be surprised! Some workouts also give you pose modifications if you're just beginning. And some are more focused, some are a bit more general, but they all have this sort of meditative component to them that I enjoy immensely. It's the most calming workout ever.

Pilates and Yoga are very similar. I work from a dvd but as Kestra points out it may be worth going to a least one class to make sure you're putting everything in the right place

Holdfast ~ I thought it would be the high-end poses that would appeal to you And do you have very posh workout gear?

And TD, due to this thread Michael Parkinson has now appeared to sell insurance for the over 50's? They're watching us

 

[Holdfast]

Here's a good exercise video for you Holdfast, I'm sure it won't have a problem holding your attention.

I remember that video.

As for the stretching, I seriously (and I never thought I'd say this ~ it must be my age ) would go for pilates (if you really want to piss the people off pronounce it "pie-lates") But it's great at keeping flexability and muscle tone, and you don't have to jump up and down like a maniac.

I've rather thought about taking up yoga to help with suppleness and core strength. I'm a bit cheap to fork out for ongoing lessons though, so I've half a mind to just get a Wii Fit Plus with the balance board thing and try that instead. Should be enough for my needs since I'm just after some basic routines rather than getting into the high-end poses.

I don't know if there's a difference from the wii fit to the wii fit plus, but I wasn't a huge fan of the yoga on there. It's okay for balance practice, but it's more stressful than helpful for me.

I picked up some yoga dvds on the cheap a few years back and halfheartedly tried them, then gave up. I've rediscovered them recently and find that I actually like them quite a bit. I ordered two more this past week.

My main reason for taking a class would be in making sure that I'm doing the positions correctly, but I don't have supreme faith in the instructors around here so I figure I'm just as well doing it at home. It's quite a workout though, you'd be surprised! Some workouts also give you pose modifications if you're just beginning. And some are more focused, some are a bit more general, but they all have this sort of meditative component to them that I enjoy immensely. It's the most calming workout ever.

Cool advice, thanks!

...it may be worth going to a least one class to make sure you're putting everything in the right place

I remember we had those sort of lessons in school. I grasped the theory pretty quickly but getting the practical technique right took some time...

Holdfast ~ I thought it would be the high-end poses that would appeal to you And do you have very posh workout gear?

God, no. Exercise has always struck me as a mildly daft thing to do. I figure something like yoga might be the closest I ever dare get to it.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Two words: ENTROPY SUCKS!

Entropy is the ultimate enemy of self-awareness. Everything we do, every time we wake up, every embrace, every smile, every act of creation, every invention and discovery, is a shake of the fist at entropy.

on one hand you appreciate all the knowledge you have accumulated but then you have trouble accessing it

Youth is wasted on the young. Only old people say that, right?

Here's a good exercise video for you Holdfast, I'm sure it won't have a problem holding your attention.

What the hell is that? Some guy taking credit for a Steve Winwood 45 that skips?

 

[Emher]

Well I'm not really old at 25, but I feel it seeing as I've always felt about ten years older mentally then I really am. Then again I have a friend who's 35 and acts likes his still in his early 20s so maybe we cancel each other out.

For me it's mainly been stuff like I'm 25 and don't have anything near a proper paying job and still being forced to mooch of my parents, and still being a virgin. Related to the latter matter I actually realized last night that the condoms I bought for my US trip in 2006, half of them have now gone past the expiration date and the remaining half will pass it in July. I remember thinking back then by now, surely I would've gotten laid.

I can relate to gray hair though, I've started getting that a bit back. I don't mind it. I'd just like to keep my hair, something I should start seeing if I will in about five years or so seeing as that was when my dad and his brother starting losing their hair.

 

[freak]

I'm getting older myself..while I don't consider myself quite so old yet, things bug me now that didn't bug me when I was a teenager. Like for instance, these stubborn gray hairs I'm getting on the top of my head. I started getting them @ 19 for cripes sake! And of course, achy muscles and joint pain and feeling like a complete and total blimp. Also weight fluctuating..going up and down, up and down every single day! It's downright annoying! But I'm the miss fix-it here at the house..if mom and dad have a problem with their TVs or cellphones, I'm the one to call to fix the damn thing.

 

[freak]

Here's a good exercise video for you Holdfast, I'm sure it won't have a problem holding your attention.

WOW! Like the song..that video was like sex on a stick! I wished I had a body like those girls do! I could if I stopped eating the crap that I've been eating!

 

[pigletsgiblets]

I'm only 31 and I'm going grey.I've been noticing a few grey hairs.It's not bad and I can pull the strands of grey I see.

I hate loud music.5 or 6 years ago it would not bother me.

 

[StarryEyed]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the loss of innocence. I miss those times when I didn't even know what the word, "cynical" meant, when I imagined the life ahead of me as a grand adventure. It really sucks when you lose that. The good news for you younger folks is that you can actually prevent that. I've met people older than me who still have it.

 

[Brian]

They're on the best meds.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Worst thing about getting old? Being a hypochondriac, probably.

 

[ThankQ]

I caught myself at the store the other day telling the cashier how much a certain item used to cost compaired to what it costs today.

Once I realized it, I had a good laugh at myself for turning into grandpa.

 

[Franklin]

This is a bit ancillary to the topic, but being an older parent is the worst thing for me about getting old.
I'll turn 50 this year, and I have 6 and 10 year-old daughters. I'm usually very good at taking things as they come, but it can make me a bit blue sometimes to think I'm not ten years younger for them. It also blows my mind to know my best friend will also turn 50, and he has a 25 year-old daughter, while here I am at a Girl Scout event with my 6 year-old and I'm surrounded by some fathers who are barely 30.

Gives me incentive to take care of myself, though. But someday it will occur to my daughters that they have a comparatively older father, and that may play on their minds. That prospect bothers me, too.

 

[ThankQ]

This is a bit ancillary to the topic, but being an older parent is the worst thing for me about getting old.
I'll turn 50 this year, and I have 6 and 10 year-old daughters. I'm usually very good at taking things as they come, but it can make me a bit blue sometimes to think I'm not ten years younger for them. It also blows my mind to know my best friend will also turn 50, and he has a 25 year-old daughter, while here I am at a Girl Scout event with my 6 year-old and I'm surrounded by some fathers who are barely 30.

Gives me incentive to take care of myself, though. But someday it will occur to my daughters that they have a comparatively older father, and that may play on their minds. That prospect bothers me, too.

But think of the strenght, wisdom and calm you can offer them that a 30 year old cannot.

I'm betting you're gonna more than make up for being a tad over the traditional age.