Topic: "Old" Age and Physical Training

[Sam H]

"Is it really too hard on older bodies to train?  The obvious answer is: NO!  Like anything, you must train within your ability.  There is no point in trying to run a marathon or lift 200kg if you haven’t trained for it. 

After the kids leave home, a lot of older people find that they are left with a life of routines that were adapted around their kids and almost none of their time went to maintaining exercise routines or developing physical fitness. 

The biggest hurdle to overcome is finding out what you are capable of, and accepting that it will be much lower because of years of inactivity.  It can be a real hit to the pride to have to start small and slow, and the longer you delay the lower you will have to start.  The good news is that as long as you can heal from wounds and put on weight, you are pretty much physically capable of developing your muscles and improving your joint health and flexibility.  Recovery time may be long, but as long as you can recover you are still in the game."

This is an excerpt from an article I wrote about old age and training.

[haplopelma]

I just turned 36 years old and I weigh 250 pounds. You would think
that I could never do Parkour, but I've been training for 2 months now
and already I can do things I never thought possible.

I've been able to do safety, thief and speed vaults, and I even
recently have gotten close to doing a kong vault in the gym.

Yes, my body hurts big time after a parkour session, and I can
only do it twice a week, but I'm doing it and loving it and I'm
going to continue.

[Kim Martin]

35 and thanks to parkour I've dropped 20 lbs, my weight-loss has slowed but that may be due to muscle gains. My original start weight 225 I'm down to 203lbs, I'm hoping to get down to 190 or better.

[Muhammad]

been training for four years now as of this month.. i am 37.

[Alex Patterson]

I'm 34. And I'm not sure why people call me old? I don't feel it at all. I feel better now then I did at 16. Well I think, can't remember that long ago.

I've been into Parkour since december. Haven't had any weight changes, still 180. But wasn't working towardsthat.

One thing I do not get is so many people I know my age, mostly co-workers act like they're 60 years old. Complaing bout back problems. Knee problems. They say I'm crazy when I tell them I'm into Parkour. But hey. I love it.

[Sam H]

One thing I do not get is so many people I know my age, mostly co-workers act like they're 60 years old. Complaing bout back problems. Knee problems. They say I'm crazy when I tell them I'm into Parkour. But hey. I love it.

I know what you mean    I wish I could ram a better perspective down some people's throats sometimes!  I had a 60+ year old give parkour a go with a bunch of 13 year olds once and it was great.  She stuck with very light intensity movement but pushed herself just as much as they did.