Question for 40 somethings..

[wjp]

Hi all,

I'm now turning 40 and over the last year I've had a few injuries that are/have taken a long time to heal (never really had this problem before this year). I've also noticed that I can't to an activity everyday otherwise I tend to pull or strain a tendon/muscle.

Just wondering whether its just me, or are you guys(/gals?) getting out every day in the water with no problems to shoulders (or anything else)?

thanks

[kookster]

Hey mate, same age and same issues - finding a good stretching routine is helping a bit.

Have to be very careful if you go to the gym... I find any sort of a decent weights routine will fatigue your major muscles, and a lot of the finer "twitch response" muscles used for surfing are then left without their main defence. I gave up the gym because without decent recovery (ie rest the day after, which is stupid when I'm only going to gym to stay fit for surfing) I'm bound to put my back out or tweak a shoulder or something.

On flat days I'm concentrating on bodyweight workouts with emphasis on range of movement and core stability (like spiderman pushups, one-leg squats with back leg on fitball), so you are constantly working on balance and your core moreso than punching out weights.

[kookster]

Also check out this thread - helps a lot.... http://forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewtop ... =7&t=12430

[pridmore]

yoga and accupuncture

[otway1949]

yoga and accupuncture

+ Pilates good stretches I've been over 40 for 22 years now pace yourself you can do long sessions but a day between as a recovery is good , Kookster is on clear about gyms hence Pilates yoga, have a massage occasionally, keep a program of gentle flexible things you do.
Failing that

Keep healthy to keep surfing.
You won't bounce like you used to!

[pridmore]

and shag often, it doesnt help ya surfing but it does feel pretty damn good....

[otway1949]

Go for daily double, Shag and surf, or run in reverse order surf then shag!

[pridmore]

won the trifecta yesterday myself

[wjp]

I was just thinking Pilates would be a good thing to start up. I spend my day at a desk unfortunately so defo need to work on that flexibility and core strength.

I was going to start hitting the weights as I'm a puny git and really need some muscle mass - but you think that's a bad idea?

[dUg]

I'm now a desk jockey like yourself wjp, having forsaken an "honest" career as a tradie in my twenties, plus two more less honest ones, to become one of Shearer's People at 34. 11 years on I have really noticed a decline in...well, pretty much everything over the last three years, but take heart - I reckon I surfed better than ever from age 40 - 42. My endurance is pretty much rooted now ( no thanks to 50 hours a week spent on my arse and medication mentioned in another thread here ) but prior to that, when I was much fitter from 2006 - 2009 it would be either shoulder that would blow up after a 4 day plus run of swell. That is what would finish me for a week or so, but after rest and Voltaren it would come good.

My new problem is gonna be my knees I suspect, and knowing at least half a dozen blokes 5 - 10 years younger who've done ACL's I'm worried. My right knee is really hating walking down steps this last coupe of weeks, and from time to time it just feels sorta... wrong. I suspect it could let me down suddenly and leave me screaming in agony on the ground... and out of the water for 6 months .

Even after a long, slow resumption of more regular vigorous activity though, I am certain I could not do it every day without something snapping. That being said, if you mix it up you probably can do something every day - just not the same thing.

[kookster]

The kind of mass you need for surfing is not found in a gym doing weights (for all the reasons outlined above) and honestly, if you're 40 your body is pretty comfortable in the shape it's in. It'd take some serious effort to gain good muscle.

Here's a good combo strength/balance routine... try doing this without seeing your brekkie for the second time....

[kookster]

dUg - as someone whose knees owe him about $15K in surgical bills, a great knee strength exercise is the popliteus muscle.... see here for explanation of what it does. http://sportinjuriesandwellnessottawa.b ... my_16.html

I find the easiest way to strengthen it is sitting down on floor, knees bent with top of your foot (near big toe) hooked into an occy strap which is looped around a tabe leg or something. Moving your big toe inwards and downwards at same time and concentrate on feeling it in the back of the knee as per the diagram. Then move it outwards and downwards. Trust me, you'll feel it get tired pretty quick.

The good news is this muscle responds really really quickly, it's a twice a week for 5 mins kinda thing, not 20 times like a normal physio rehab job.

Just remember this is a small muscle and treat it as such - start easy and work up.

[kookster]

Biggest single issue I have these days is lungs.... my lungs just seem to have lost their elasticity. I can hold my breath when resting for a fair while - last time I checked was over 2 mins..... but any sort of exertion and it just feels like they aren't expanding. They expand and stop... dead stop, hit the wall.

I also suspect I'm not concentrating on my breathing when surfing enough, topping up my lungs when caught inside, rather than expelling crap air then inhaling again.

Mostly age and just general sh!t fitness level I expect...?

Any tips or tricks or exercises would be appreciated.

[PeepeelaPew]

...

[PeepeelaPew]

...

[wjp]

The kind of mass you need for surfing is not found in a gym doing weights (for all the reasons outlined above) and honestly, if you're 40 your body is pretty comfortable in the shape it's in. It'd take some serious effort to gain good muscle.

Here's a good combo strength/balance routine... try doing this without seeing your brekkie for the second time....

Thanks for those kooster. I think you're right - they're the kind of exercises I had in mind. Need to build my strength up though as it was one of the reasons I had my shoulder injury in the first place. I'm not going to get bulked up - its not what I'm after - just want to have more strength and flexibility for surfing and avoiding injuries.

Interesting link for the lungs Legion

[swvic]

A bit late, I know. 48 and probs started about 40. Mainly shoulder from past injury. General stuff I do is stretching. All the time. When sitting, standing, lying down. Ride the pushy a bit and walk. Can't run - wrecks the knees. As mentioned here, pilates gotta be a good thing and not sure if yoga's come up yet. Have a mate swears by it.

[yanks r us]

^ How do you know you were deficient in Magnesium?