At 45, I got glasses, leaping right to trifocals! Every year since then, my eyes get a little worse.
I was still pretty active into my 50s - I was 58 or 59 when we built the deck for my clotheslines. And by “we built” I mean we bought the materials and hauled them home, we assembled the base and screwed down the deck boards. We built the seats and installed the rails. I applied the water seal to the entire structure, except for the deck boards, which I painted with a protective coating. We also laid pavers from the deck steps to the basement entry so I didn’t have to walk in dirt when going to hang the laundry. It was tiring work, but we did it all ourselves.
We just removed an old fridge from our kitchen and installed a new one. It was lots easier 11 years ago when we first bought the old one. We’ll probably need a water heater in the next couple of years, and I have to wonder if we’ll be able to change that out ourselves. Maybe we should do it now while we’re still able…
Most of all, things seem to take us longer. But we’ve got time, so there’s that.
I swear when I hit 30 it was like my whole body just fell apart. I tore my ACL and not being able to stay active for several months led to a great number of other problems that were nearly impossible to recover from at my age and the limited amount of time I have to do physical activity. Honestly, social and mental abilities seemed to be on a slight decline from that time, as well. A lot of that was related to kids and work responsibilities ramping up, though.
I’m 61, and (excepting stuff I stopped doing much of for decades, like swimming or tennis) I’ve really only noticed a gradual drop-off in abilities and stamina in the past few years. (I attribute it to fatherhood, which I came to rather late in life.) At 55, I was every bit the hiker and cyclist I was in my 20s, maybe even better. Now, probably not.
And I think I’m just as sharp mentally as I’ve ever been, probably sharper. At work, I had my best year so far at age 59, though I’ve had one hell of a year this year too.
I think I’m in better shape now than I was 10 years ago. I had a bout with breast cancer in 2008, and around that same time I hit the gym HARD.
Now I work out almost five hours a week and I can wear a bikini with pride. (And do so :D). Oh, I have some minor aches and pains here and there, can’t fall asleep without OTC or prescription sleep aids (I save the Lunesta for the weekends and take Unisom during the week. I’m OUT with Lunesta in less than half an hour), with the occasional asthma flare up, and I gave up an ovary as a precaution (Tamoxifen is good for the booby cancer but can be problematic with the lady parts) but overall I think I am doing well for someone skidding toward 50.
For me, between 45 and 50. Not a decline in ability - I could still run the same miles, lift the same weights - but I noticed recovery took longer, aches lingered more. What’s annoying is the qualifiers. I’ve always just been very fit, now I’m “fit for my age.”
I’m almost 55. I have roughly the same physical job I’ve had since time immemorial: I run around, lift objects up to 40 lbs., push and pull things bigger than me, etc. I would never enter a bench-pressing contest but I can pretty well hold my own upper-body-strength wise.
It’s the arthritis which is slowing me down, particularly in my knees and feet. I also have it in my hands and neck. It’s partly wear-and-tear because of what I do and partily family history (my mother and her brothers except for one eventually had knee replacements – one uncle IIRC had his before he turned 60). I’d say it probably started affecting me after I hit menopause, which I had in my late 40s.
Other than that, I’d say I’m pretty good shape for a woman my age. I could stand to lose a few pounds but almost every woman my age is told that: The older you are the slower your metabolism
I got diagnosed with arthritis in my early 30’s but I learned to live with it. I didn’t really feel like I was declining until I hit my 50’s. About a year and a half ago I had a stroke from which I have largely recovered, but it did strongly emphasize to me that I am no longer an indestructible young man.
I agree that it varies. I’m 39; I felt like I was declining significantly last year when my eyesight was failing, I was tired all the time and noticed I was getting sicker more easily. Then I started watching what I eat and working out frequently and the decline seemed to stop and my body feels way better now than it did last year.
I have to put way more effort into myself to prevent that decline, so that’s probably a decline in and of itself, but while you may not necessarily be able to reverse it, it feels as though - from anecdotal evidence only, of course - it’s possible to halt the decline at least temporarily.
You have a renaissance when you can politely say to them, “Oh, fuck off. You’re so full of shit.” However, I’m told there is a later stage when you can actually voice those words, and not give a shit yourself.
I was at my peak physically at 20. But I went south as much for lifestyle reasons (stopped working out, started using drugs and alcohol) as my increasing age. In my mid to later 20’s, when I cleaned up my lifestyle, I was able to get back in shape, but never to my 20 year old peak.
Now, at 37, I have occasionally debilitating back pain, and my joints hurt if I go to the gym, both remnants of old sports injuries. I still firmly believe that I can get in fantastic physical shape at my age, but other life priorities (a wife, career, and a kid), plus my risk of re-injury, means that I know I have to be much more devoted and careful than when I was younger.
