flabby

[Phillip Allen]

I used to lay 12" blocks... they were always heavy (60 pounds or more for the concrete version) but I could keep up with the younger ones, mostly. lots of masons will double up on those heavy ones but I prefered to do them by myself rather than try to coordinate my efforts with another man.

last night I bought a bucket of sheetrock mud... lugging that thing caused me to think it must be 80 or more pounds... so I looked... 62 pounds! I couldn't do that any more... it wore me out

[Bobby of Tulsa]

Use it or lose it. Over the last year or so I have lost over 50% of my muscle and probably more of my brain. Working now to rebuild. I crawled under my house yesterday, thinking that I could do this little job easily. I just had to go about 50 feet and then back, Thought I was not going to make it out with out help. Good luck Phillip.

[Paul Pless]

Use it or lose it. Over the last year or so I have lost over 50% of my muscle and probably more of my brain. Working now to rebuild. I crawled under my house yesterday, thinking that I could do this little job easily. I just had to go about 50 feet and then back, Thought I was not going to make it out with out help. Good luck Phillip.

I bet had you encountered a snake, you'd have had little trouble scooting out from that crawlspace!

[Bobby of Tulsa]

I probably would have hurt my self bad, those floor joist are really hard.

[JimD]

Use it or lose it is what young people say. Those of us who have reached the point where our bodies are failing despite our attempts to keep them strong know better.

[Bobby of Tulsa]

Use it or lose it is what young people say. Those of us who have reached the point where our bodies are failing despite our attempts to keep them strong know better.

I am not so young, and if you don't use it you will lose it. Try sitting down and moving very little, then get back to me.

[JimD]

I am not so young, and if you don't use it you will lose it. Try sitting down and moving very little, then get back to me.

I can confidently guarantee that one day you will begin to lose it despite all attempts to use it. Of course, you can keep up this troll if you like but you know I'm right.

[Dave Wright]

I can confidently guarantee that one day you will begin to lose it despite all attempts to use it. Of course, you can keep up this troll if you like but you know I'm right.

+1

Also a point is reached where the effort of "use" required to forestall loss actualy results in breakdown and injury that is more detrimental than the loss due to inactivity. Getting old is tough, but there's a bit of satisfaction in knowing that it happens to everyone.

[Bobby of Tulsa]

I can confidently guarantee that one day you will begin to lose it despite all attempts to use it. Of course, you can keep up this troll if you like but you know I'm right.

I don't do trolls thank very much. I know people in their 80s That are still strong and active. They may not be 20 somethings but they are much stronger than me. Phillip knows me and knows this is not a troll. It is to encourage him to move more and be healthier.

[TomF]

It's all a matter of degree. 80 year olds do build some muscle again if they do strength training - and doing squats in particular has measurable positive impacts on their ability to stay autonomous. So say the studies.

But no massively active/strong 80 year old will be what they could have been at 25. It's humbling for me to work out with my sons - not so much at how the difference is in what we can do in any 1 workout, as the disparity in improvement and recovery between one workout and the next.

[Bobby of Tulsa]

My point is, you can sit down and die or you can try to maintain what you got. Muscle loss comes with inactivity and loss of strength also.

[Dave Wright]

Maybe if everyone posted their age next to their comments it would help. I'm 65 and very active, but pain limits me. Some don't have this problem but the vast majority do.

[hokiefan]

It's all a matter of degree. 80 year olds do build some muscle again if they do strength training - and doing squats in particular has measurable positive impacts on their ability to stay autonomous. So say the studies.

But no massively active/strong 80 year old will be what they could have been at 25. It's humbling for me to work out with my sons - not so much at how the difference is in what we can do in any 1 workout, as the disparity in improvement and recovery between one workout and the next.

In that light, several years ago I met an ex Va Tech football player who was then playing in the NFL. He was 2/3 through his tenth season, quite a long run for a professional athlete. During our conversation I asked him if he felt like he was starting to lose a step to the young guys. He considered that a minute and said he didn't really think so on game day. But he did notice that he, along with the other "more experienced" players spent most of Monday in the whirlpool, while the young bucks were able to workout with ease.

It really was fascinating to watch a college football game with someone who really knew the game.

Cheers,

Bobby

[Bobby of Tulsa]

I am 62 spent the last year trying to stay alive, some will say different. I have worked with men that labored all their lives, They could still shovel asphalt all day long, while your young men did their best to keep up.

[gilberj]

Exercise or physical activity can slow the breakdown, but not stop it. Research shows we men reach our peak somewhere around 30. A healthy fit man may not diminish much by 40-ish but from there on there is a slow, or perhaps not so slow degrading of our strength and stamina.
Recently a 100 year old man ran a marathon. There was some who doubted he was 100 , but even if he was 99 or 90, it is still a testament to working to maintain strength and stamina.

[Dave Wright]

I am 62 spent the last year trying to stay alive, some will say different. I have worked with men that labored all their lives, They could still shovel asphalt all day long, while your young men did their best to keep up.

True enough, but in each and every one of them their sciatic nerves may be just a few microns away from their spinal canals or other potential interferences. That's a few microns away from disability. And that's not to mention a score of other close or impending possibilities. Everyone's mileage varies, but you are correct that activty is good for you if it doesn't harm you.

In general I agree with you more than I disagree, and I mean no disrespect.

[Bobby of Tulsa]

True enough, but in each and every one of them their sciatic nerves may be just a few microns away from their spinal canals or other potential interferences. That's a few microns away from disability. And that's not to mention a score of other close or impending possibilities. Everyone's mileage varies, but you are correct that activty is good for you if it doesn't harm you.

In general I agree with you more than I disagree, and I mean no disrespect.

No offense taken here.

[JimD]

...I know people in their 80s That are still strong and active...

Why is it someone always feels obliged to talk about how they know people in their 80s for whom time has not yet dealt them the [cruel] hand it one day certainly will? I know people like that, too. My grandfather was like that and as a child watching him I assumed that that was what being 80 would be like. But it has nothing to do with the fact that one day time will catch up to us all. Some sooner and some later. And it is not necessarily the fault of those for whom it happens sooner. Its just the way the ball bounces. So how is it helpful to glibly say things like 'use it or lose' it to whose candles have burned down faster than others? So many questions, so little time.

[Bobby of Tulsa]

Why is it someone always feels obliged to talk about how they know people in their 80s for whom time has not yet dealt them the [cruel] hand it one day certainly will? I know people like that, too. My grandfather was like that and as a child watching him I assumed that that was what being 80 would be like. But it has nothing to do with the fact that one day time will catch up to us all. Some sooner and some later. And it is not necessarily the fault of those for whom it happens sooner. Its just the way the ball bounces. So how is it helpful to glibly say things like 'use it or lose' it to whose candles have burned down faster than others? So many questions, so little time.

I would say my candle is a lot shorter than yours. My reply was to Phillip. Not you or anyone else. Phillip stated he could not do what he once did. Like myself he has been very inactive, thus my reply if you don't use them muscles they will go away. thats about as plain as I can put it.

[Shang]

(Oops...double post.)

[Dave Wright]

....time has not yet dealt them the [cruel] hand it one day certainly will? .....

I think you can reach an age when the hand isn't "cruel." Hell, I'm 65 and have had a good life. There's very little I can't do and virtually nothing I can't buy. If it all ends tomorrow no big deal. And if it promises to be a year of unbearable pain, well there're solutions to that too. Nope, nothing at all cruel about it when you get a lot of good years in. Now a tragedy with a young child, that's cruel.

[bobbys]

Im 58 and still roof and Frame but I notice i do not have the stamina anymore for long hours and I know Im tearing things down now. I see a loss of strength but when some roofing is 100lbs and there is a 30 foot ladder who knows if im just getting lazy

It would be very easy to get a bit depressed but i know of few my age doing what i do, I see my friends my age with canes so im happy for what I have left..

Of course i have the techniques down more but its very surprising to see young guys in their 20s unable to pack a bundle of shingles up a roof.

No way when i was in my 20s i would let a older man show me up, However there were always a old guy with a crewcut with a non filtered lucky strike in his mouth that was pretty tough..

I think i would be happy to just work out with light weights and walk a bit and not be doing this.

[bobbys]

Use it or lose it. Over the last year or so I have lost over 50% of my muscle and probably more of my brain. Working now to rebuild. I crawled under my house yesterday, thinking that I could do this little job easily. I just had to go about 50 feet and then back, Thought I was not going to make it out with out help. Good luck Phillip.

.

Last year i went under a house with no room and i had to dig a bit to get under the joists, I got a bit claustrophobic!.

A few years ago A 300lb plumber went under a house and could not get out and his helper called the Fire Dept.

[Phillip Allen]

back from a visit with a friend who is enduring chemo... I think she is about 8 jor 10 years younger than I am... I"m 63

I got this thing hooked up to my back to help it stop hurting with electric shocks... it sems to work

[bobbys]

All the Masons i know and worked with except 2 are done with it and those 2 have bad backs and are about finished.

[Shang]

It's true that none of us are getting off this rock alive, and we're all just one kitten on the stairs from crippled, but still, you owe it to yourself to keep trying. I was born the year that the Nazis invaded Poland. I don't pump as much iron as I once did, but I still keep lifting. The guy in the white coat urges me to take it easy, however I do expect to outlive him.

[bobbys]

Im getting day ja view Did you say that before?

[Paul Pless]

All the Masons i know and worked with except 2 are done with it and those 2 have bad backs and are about finished.

Twelve years ago I had a 4,000 sq ft cinder block building put up at my kennel. Three old black masons (the youngest was 55) outworked their 5 young hoddies by an amazing amount. I was astounded. On the last day of the project the youngest had a heart attack after going home that evening. He spent a few days in the hospital and then home and then went back to work in a couple of weeks. I saw him not long ago at a service station and chatted briefly. He was on his way to a job with his mixer behind his truck. . .

[Shang]

Im getting day ja view Did you say that before?

Oh my gawd, bobbys...that's the first symptom...we're so sorry for you...

(Naugh, I double-posted. I've corrected it now.)

[Shang]

Here's my play room. Most of the iron (six or seven hundred pounds or so) came from flea markets and driveway sales. Since I usually work alone I bought the rack in case I ever drop the bar and become a candidate for history's first rib-cage transplant.

[Shang]

After twenty minutes the heavy bag begins to hit back.

[htom]

65. I can't do what I did as a 21 year old Marine. Or as a 25 year old. The days of my being paced (by some drill instructors and corpsmen) to a 14:29 three mile run are gone. Forty foot slick rope in thirty seconds ... I am not even going to try to climb a slick rope. Ahtomic Tank has left the building. Thanks, MGS Hart, you had confidence in me when I didn't.

I can, however, do more and better today than I could five years ago. I think I can keep on getting even better than I am today for quite a while, and then keep most of what I'm gaining back for much, if not all, of my life.

Eat right, move right, live right. Or "Eat better, move better, live better." if the word "right" distresses you.

Getting Back In Shape, 3rd. if you want a text with good illustrations and information.

[Phillip Allen]

65. I can't do what I did as a 21 year old Marine. Or as a 25 year old. The days of my being paced (by some drill instructors and corpsmen) to a 14:29 three mile run are gone. Forty foot slick rope in thirty seconds ... I am not even going to try to climb a slick rope. Ahtomic Tank has left the building. Thanks, MGS Hart, you had confidence in me when I didn't.

I can, however, do more and better today than I could five years ago. I think I can keep on getting even better than I am today for quite a while, and then keep most of what I'm gaining back for much, if not all, of my life.

Eat right, move right, live right. Or "Eat better, move better, live better." if the word "right" distresses you.

Getting Back In Shape, 3rd. if you want a text with good illustrations and information.

a few years ago, Jamie let me stay on his boat for the boat show... I had to crawl on and off his dink... I got better and expect to get better still...it's been a long road

[PeterSibley]

62 . 5'7" and 150 pound .I've always been moderately.... working fit but now I'm a carer I'm not doing as much, but my weight is still about 5 pound more than it was at 35 .Strength and endurance ? So much less it's a joke but I'm still fitter than the majority of my age group .Rest pulse 70 BP 70/110. I've worked physically all my life and don't eat all that much .

I have considerable sympathy for Phillip, I work with a mate who is an ex bricky and 30 years of bent over in one position does horrible things to a bloke's spine . That said improving then maintaining strength and flexibility is more important now than it ever was. Ending up in a nursing home because you can't perform basic tasks is not something to look forward to.

As someone said, it can all end in a flash, a car accident or a fall. There's not much we can do about those things bar care but those aspects we do have control over deserve our attention .

and this bloke looks GOOD! Enough to talk me into the gym, something I've been resisting for years .

[bobbys]

Twelve years ago I had a 4,000 sq ft cinder block building put up at my kennel. Three old black masons (the youngest was 55) outworked their 5 young hoddies by an amazing amount. I was astounded. On the last day of the project the youngest had a heart attack after going home that evening. He spent a few days in the hospital and then home and then went back to work in a couple of weeks. I saw him not long ago at a service station and chatted briefly. He was on his way to a job with his mixer behind his truck. . .

.

Im trying to make him feel better and your not helping....

[Phillip Allen]

.
Im trying to make him feel better and your not helping....

I'm immune to that stuff...

when the young ones get out of hand I just wait until I have them right where I want them then quietly cover their furry little butts up and never let em up to breathe

when I couldn't keep up, I learned to be quietly dangerous

[Phillip Allen]

62 . 5'7" and 150 pound .I've always been moderately.... working fit but now I'm a carer I'm not doing as much, but my weight is still about 5 pound more than it was at 35 .Strength and endurance ? So much less it's a joke but I'm still fitter than the majority of my age group .Rest pulse 70 BP 70/110. I've worked physically all my life and don't eat all that much .

I have considerable sympathy for Phillip, I work with a mate who is an ex bricky and 30 years of bent over in one position does horrible things to a bloke's spine . That said improving then maintaining strength and flexibility is more important now than it ever was. Ending up in a nursing home because you can't perform basic tasks is not something to look forward to.

As someone said, it can all end in a flash, a car accident or a fall. There's not much we can do about those things bar care but those aspects we do have control over deserve our attention .

and this bloke looks GOOD! Enough to talk me into the gym, something I've been resisting for years .

I think I can see the outline of his pacemaker

[JimD]

We bought a decorative rock for the garden today. I picked it up, thought it weighed about 50# and it turned out to be 80#. But wouldn't have wanted to lift very many of them.

[JimD]

I think you can reach an age when the hand isn't "cruel." Hell, I'm 65 and have had a good life. There's very little I can't do and virtually nothing I can't buy. If it all ends tomorrow no big deal. And if it promises to be a year of unbearable pain, well there're solutions to that too. Nope, nothing at all cruel about it when you get a lot of good years in. Now a tragedy with a young child, that's cruel.

That's why I put cruel in brackets.

[Shang]

...when I couldn't keep up, I learned to be quietly dangerous

Once again youth and enthusiasm are trumped by experience and treachery

.

[PeterSibley]

I think I can see the outline of his pacemaker

But I'm sure he has no trouble getting out of his chair .

[JimD]

I would say my candle is a lot shorter than yours. My reply was to Phillip. Not you or anyone else. Phillip stated he could not do what he once did. Like myself he has been very inactive, thus my reply if you don't use them muscles they will go away. thats about as plain as I can put it.

Fair enough.

[Shang]

62 . 5'7" and 150 pound .I've always been moderately.... working fit but now I'm a carer I'm not doing as much, but my weight is still about 5 pound more than it was at 35 .Strength and endurance ? So much less it's a joke but I'm still fitter than the majority of my age group .Rest pulse 70 BP 70/110. I've worked physically all my life and don't eat all that much .

I have considerable sympathy for Phillip, I work with a mate who is an ex bricky and 30 years of bent over in one position does horrible things to a bloke's spine . That said improving then maintaining strength and flexibility is more important now than it ever was. Ending up in a nursing home because you can't perform basic tasks is not something to look forward to.

As someone said, it can all end in a flash, a car accident or a fall. There's not much we can do about those things bar care but those aspects we do have control over deserve our attention .

and this bloke looks GOOD! Enough to talk me into the gym, something I've been resisting for years .

Well said, Peter!
Remember: They can't bury you while you're still moving.

[JimD]

Here's my play room.

I miss the heavy bag. My all time favourite excersize.

[Phillip Allen]

Once again youth and enthusiasm are trumped by experience and treachery

.

Once when I was workin in Tupelo, Mississippi... I was the only one on the crew who wasn't Texican/Mexican (the crew from Del Rio, Texas). It was basically a bunch of 40 year old apprentices and some of them didn't like me (though I said nothing). I started finding gravel in my mortar (a hair tearing hassle) or the board scraped clean before I was out and when the Mexicans got up a course on me, they would twig up and bury me two courses... I yelled and got pretty scary but that didn't work and the foreman called me a crying bricklayer so I shut up and watched to find out who was sabotaging me... It was one of the 40 year olds...

I didn’t say anything else and waited a couple of days until he and I were by ourselves on a short section of wall...I then proceeded to 'bury' that sob till he couldn't ever straiten his back and was in a muck sweat... he refused to work with me again but the rest of the crew accepted me then (at least one thought it was pretty funny, incidentally, he was a real mason)... sometimes ya just got to ‘duke’ it out and/or go out in a cloud of dust… anyway, I was looking for a job when I found that one.

I still remember that with a smile

[Phillip Allen]

Hey, Joe Dupere, I re wrote it fer ya... does that help?

[Shang]

Phillip, have you considered writing a book?
You have a story to tell.

[purri]

FWIW try "boat yoga", long walks at 5 mph and reps with free weights abt 15-20 lbs. Works for me.

[The Bigfella]

Keeping the weight off makes a hell of a difference. I got fit last year with plenty of walking and watching sunrises from the tops of various fairly moderate mountains. I put 10 or 11 kilos on while home for Christmas.... and boy, didn't I notice it. I'm getting that weight down again now and it feels good.

[skuthorp]

I'm the same weight that I was at 24 odd, and putting on muscle as I notice a difference in my strength. I can toss the mack up on to the truck again. Several acres of bush, lots of digging, lifting and chopping and regular rowing and paddling seem to be just the ticket for me. I expect diet helps, not much beer, not much red meat either as it happens. But I still only need 5-6 hours sleep. Buying the acreage was the best thing I could have done. Even my dodgy hip (sciatica) is better.