Thread: nearly old members

As an aside; I decided years before I turned 50 that I didn't want to be the judgemental, self-righteous old 50-ish year old that I hated when I was 18.... I don't mean the sort who gave good advice but the ones who did the "bloody music these days" etc type of bollocks. So have strived hard to not be a Pollyanna, but also not to be negative for the sake of being negative. Yup' it's bitten me on the arse a few times but has usually paid off handsomely. Not having a go at you MD; just my observation on my life

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

As an aside; I decided years before I turned 50 that I didn't want to be the judgemental, self-righteous old 50-ish year old that I hated when I was 18.... I don't mean the sort who gave good advice but the ones who did the "bloody music these days" etc type of bollocks. So have strived hard to not be a Pollyanna, but also not to be negative for the sake of being negative. Yup' it's bitten me on the arse a few times but has usually paid off handsomely. Not having a go at you MD; just my observation on my life

An excellent choice Bumblefoot

The world has far too many grumpy old farts as it is

54 in a couple of months and only had a FAL for about 18months. Body gets sore from building these days, had 9 years off the tools then moved to a town where basically its the only job that pays a real wage.

Have a ruptured long head of bicep in my right (dominant) arm, need glasses for reading and think will need them full time in next couple of years, hearing is not bad as always worn earmuffs at work.

Sport certainly has taken its toll. Spent my teens, 20's and 30's doing all of the following. Swimming, waterpolo, road cycle racing, competition dinghy sailing racing, windsurfing, rock climbing, caving, tramping and mountain biking, not sure how I ever had to time to hold down a full time contract building job as well.

Not getting out hunting as much as I would like between having friends come and stay and shit weekend weather lately. But did get out to the shed today and clean and de-prime some brass.

Oh and only 2KG heavier now than when I stopped all sport at about 37 (currently 62KG) and still eat anything I want, but don't drink much alcohol.

64 but not for much longer, in the queue for a new knee but am trying to make sure the old one is well and truely shagged by then. Slow but I still get there thanks to pharmaceuticals long may it last.

Greetings All,
Here are a few notes on things I have learned over 70 years of battling the bulge for the 45 to 60 year old's. I have always been a big boy. I found a family photo from when I was 12 or 13 and none of us look like we have missed any meals. At 14 I suddenly noticed I was 92kg. A small adjustment to diet and possibly a growth spurt dropped that to 81kg over a few months. By 35 the scales read 118kg. I joined a gym and a combination of aerobics, weight training and running and more careful eating reduced that to 94kg over the next 12 months. In my late thirties and forties I had a major problem with arthritis (Ankylosing Spondylitis). The gym dropped off and the kg's hunted me down. Around 50 I was 138kg. Bugger. Back to the gym. I could go on but you have the picture by now.
Keeping the weight under control requires a combination of careful eating and plenty of aerobic exercise. The second item makes the first easier. Both are easier if you set some achievable goals and write them down. Record your progress both good and bad. Being the anal sort of person that I am I have a graph that I record my weight on. This morning I was 112.2kg, the lightest I have been in 25 years. The target is 95 kg by March 2023 in time for the 60th anniversary of my first trip into the bush. I would like to repeat the trip. I probably weighed about the same at not quite 14.
So in summary goals, they need to be realistic, careful eating and plenty of aerobic exercise and don't beat yourself up to much for the odd problem. Just don't throw your hands in the air and give up.
Regards Grandpamac.

Fun thread this. I'm 52, and yes the legs and knees don't work as well as couple of decades ago, but hey, guys like Tahr and Brian prove that with a bit of willpower and modern medicine there is no reason to give up on an active lifestyle.

I've been very fortunate to have a mid-life career change, and spent the last decade doing some pretty physical work rather than sitting behind a desk. It has also massively reduced my stress levels. Between that and doing almost daily walks in the mountains with a slightly deranged Jack Rusell / Foxy mongrel has served me well.

I often do field/practical shooting comps with guys who could just as well be my kids, and they don't exactly run away from me or make it up the hills in much faster time, so there is hope

Turned 65 6 months ago and yes I do feel the pains at times. Try to keep at it, hunting, possuming bit of fishing. Knees hurt at times worse than other times as does the back and of late my right hip. Have spent my life from 15 hunting, be it culling, meat hunting and pest control so have abused the body in all weather along with 25 odd years night shooting off motor bikes in some pretty cold weather so no wonder the body aches now. Will keep at it till I have to crawl , love the outdoor

60 overweight and creeky.
Walk a little, look a lot.
Grandfather told me the story of the old bull & the young bull, gazing at a herd of cows at the bottom of the hill, young fellow said let run down there and fuck one of them. Old bull replied No son, lets walk down there and fuck all of them.

When I got back into hunting at age 47, the day after a hunt I was pretty stiff and sore in the legs and feet. Nowadays at 51 I’m fine the day after, and can comfortably hunt two full days in a row. The next day stiffness was only an issue for the first six months or so, I don’t know why it stopped, I didn’t change anything or start taking any supplements or anything like that. My knee that used to give me a bit of pain came right too.

Almost 62 and with similar blemishes as most have described: buggered joints, fused joints, eyesight needs glasses when typing this, and so on.
One of the best moves was buying a small farm when I got out of the forces. Has meant I have never needed to belong to a gym, as my surroundings have always provided sufficient exertion, whether I needed it or not. Farm doesn't pay, but its a blast anyway. And whenever I can manage it, I can go for a shot. Shouldn't be that way, but it actually takes quite a bit of discipline to put away time to go do the things you REALLY enjoy doing.

One of the few benefits of getting old is being able to do some shit better than young'uns, as we've had more time than they to practise

The one bit of advice hunters our generation can give to the younger is "if you do stupid shit, it will always catch up to you". That 60kg pack full of venison from the first deer I shot with my 222, carted all the way out of Lake Colenso was a dumb dumb thing to do! Learn from us, and at our age you may still bounce, instead of creak

As we get older the macho act disappears real fast. Nearly 70 and still getting up the hill to keep meat in the freezer. Had too many years of carrying out whole deer to sell to pay the bills in my younger days. About 35% hearing remaining but now only use suppressed rifles. Back buggared at 63kg not very strong anymore. Only carry meat out nowadays ( no bone). Began wildlife photography about 15 years ago and am happy to sit and watch and enjoy so many other things the outdoors have in store for us. Share your knowledge with others and always be ready to give praise when due.

I'm 85kg wet the only advice I can give to keeping the weight down is get used to feeling hungry you wont die...

Shit after reading this, I FEEL GOOD! 72 coming up. Don’t like old age, but still walk / run 4ks 3 mornings a week, eyes, with glasses awesome, constant 87 kgs, still got my hair! @Woody, mate we are doing ok, after our last adventure, mind you, you did all the hard stuff! Take my blood pressure and heart pill every morning and my inhaler! Have a stable blood disorder, and have just sold my business and retire next Wednesday at 4:30 pm.
Now retirement is daunting, scary, and gonna take some adjusting to mentally. But in the last week have had good offers for hunting and fishing.
So bring on 80 FFS 80 ug

Everything firearms and hunting im self taught. I guess being an old school mechanic where you have to actually nut things out it doesnt take me long the pick the firearms/ reloading etc side up...

My saying about life that ive bought my kids up with is
If you do nothing in life youll get nothing you will become nothing....