Can you get fit after 40?

I'm not quite 40 yet, but that milestone is rapidly approach, and I've let my fitness go in recent years.

I did some googling and it is pretty grim, and I don't want to accept the doom and gloom articles from so called experts, so my question to our real people is, can I get properly fit again? I don't mean just a bit fit. When my boss took us all paintball fighting, I wore my heavy steel toe capped DM boots, jeans, jumper, overalls, full face mask, carrying a surprisingly heavy paintball gun, running through deep sloppy mud, and I was still able to run full sprint, dive behind stuff, pop up and take shots, break cover and run full sprint etc BUT, whereas in my 20s this would have been nowt for me physically, this time it was nowt in my mind, but my body says otherwise. I joked about my collapse at the time, and played it down, but it genuinely crossed my mind as I lay on the floor unable to breath, dizzy, nauseas, listening to the deafening sound of my racing heart, that I might actually be having a heart attack. In hindsight, given the speed of my recovery following about a pint of water, I put it down to dehydration, but that never used to happen.

So, what do we reckon? Come the new year when 'silly season' is all over, can I get myself fit again? Maybe not as fit as I was when I was 20 (because I was exceptionally fit, way fitter than average), but maybe to the level of the average mid twenties of today? Is that possible?

 

Did the collapse happen recently or did this happen when you were in your twenties as me being blonde can't work out when this happened from what you have written.

If you managed to do everything ok without collapsing when you went paint balling recently,then you have answered your own question,you are fit enough to take on being forty.If on the other hand you was flat on your back and needed the water to recover,then you do need to start getting fit.

If it is any consulation in my forties,I was climbing mountains (Ben Nevis,Scarfell Pike,Snowden,The Old Man Of Coniston,Ben Moore,The Merrick,and this September climbed to the top of Morven(Morrone) so I think you need to stop worrying and just enjoy life and your family.It will be when you are in your fifties that it starts to go down hill.

 

Of course it becomes more difficult as we become older but the answer to that is to start getting fitter now, before another decade slips by.
I have just become fitter than I have been in years and it has taken hard work, good diet (but yummy!!!) and exercise (not gym) to do it. So it can be done. Seriously, if I can do it, anyone can!
As to the interwebz doom and gloom, it is the people that haven't done it that write about it and all the rest of us are too busy and active!

 

It was recently when paintballing. During the first battle of the day, adrenaline kicked in causing me to ignore/not notice the signals from my body, and I acted like a 20 year old, running and diving and generally playing commandos After we won, I calmed down, but instead of my heart rate and breathing slowing down, it actually started getting faster. I was able (with a struggle) to put my gun on the rack, walk out of the fighting area back to the reception area, take my mask off, and then my legs just started to fold up under my own weight.

I've had some good sleep since I started this thread, and my moment of doubt has passed and I've given myself a clip round the lughole for even thinking it. Of course you can get fit at 40. Especially if you've been fit before (I believe if you've been fit before, all the necessary plumbing is still there, its just that the muscles weaken when you don't use them enough, meaning they can't store as much glycogen, which means all your organs have to work harder to keep them fuelled -that's my theory anyway).

 

Yes, corse you can, , now i'm to do the same, little bit at a time. When i had problems with a nasty neighbour i had to do things when he wasn't around, so some things didn't get done and others i had to race out and do things as quick as posible i was always out of breath etc, now he's gone we can get out and do things at our own pace and i'm now getting fitter slowly

 

I would recommend getting a check up with your doctor before doing anything.
l would do low impact to begin with swimming is a good one.
When I was a training servant on the first day of there training I would say if you didn't get fit before now you will.
We used to push them hard, most of these recruits were on average 21.
Just start slowly and listen to your body.

 

Wise words Ian

Spruce

 

"Getting Fit" subjective, are you talking GQ male fit? Or normal for a man of your hight and age? When I was in my 30's I had a dam good body but, I biked 14 miles everyday, swam when the weather was bad, and went to the gym often. Had a job that I would work afternoon shift so my mornings were free to do that stuff, and I was not married. Then I changed jobs, got a regular day job and got married. All I could do was walk as much as possible and try to get to the gym. But after a long day at the office, its like forget the gym. My salvation was having a GSD who kepted me moving --walking him a lot. One day my husband was looking at a Victoria Secret mag. and said is your body going to look like that one day, I told him," it did you missed it. " So that was husband in the dog house for a long time, since he is not a GQ male. My only advise is to walk and walk and walk. It is the best weight bearing excerise, and its good for stress levels, and blood pressure etc.

 

I reckon a lot of it is down to PMA....ofcourse be sensible,eat well and keep moving....i for one need to take a leaf out of some of our ...(with massive respect) more mature members....they've got it cracked

 

When I turned 40 I could easily cycle 100+ miles/day (like cycle to London, then to Brighton, and then back home by lunchtime the following day) , walk 10 - 15 miles/day over the fells with tent and full camping gear in my pack and sometimes we'd go to the pub rest up for a while and then set off again overnight during summer heatwaves. Nobody thought of having to go through a full medical check up before doing such stuff in those days.

 

Since dog loss this summer, for the first time in about 13 years we've not been out dog walking up to four times a day and for several miles on each walk, whatever the weather. Time for us to get a new dog in spring.

I knew then, and I know now, that I was capable of it.

 

Of course you can ... I am 65 and have lost 10 kilos since last Christmas (down to 64kgs and need to go lower) and it wasn't because I gave up drinking (not a necessarily 'done' thing here) but I gave up carbos and went onto a lighter diet of salads, fruits, yogurts, mueslies, tuna, chicken and the like. I do seriously miss my bread and potatoes but have bought a Phillips Dryfryer which is excellent for having that bit of food in my life I miss. Most restaurants we visit here know my eating habits and do me sandwiches without bread (that is lettuce, tomato slice, tuna mayo, onion and another lettuce leaf). Today at the hotel I had a mixed salad with mayo with the most beautifully sweet melon cubes whilst t'other half had steak, rice and salad.

As we live 'no campo' ie, in the country, I have a static bicycle also.

 

I've progressed to a folding bike that goes in the back of the car so can use at more targeted places where it's fun to ride around and cut out some of the in between bits.