Yeah, I see the problem-- you're gettin' old.

[stargazer08]

Vitamin D3 has been my savior when it comes to post exercise recovery. I take 5000IU per day and will double it if I start having issues.

I am gluten intolerant and have a liver enzyme deficiency and assume that affects how my body metabolizes and utilizes vitamin and minerals in food and supplements.

[deserat]

I'm late to this...as usual... but I'd have to say, Nords, that you answered your own question in the title. It sounds like you've actually done very well considering your age to even be there and compete....and yes, 50 bodyweight squats, then 50 more on one leg each, then the actual fighting? uhhhhh, most people would have died about the 20 bodyweight squat point.

I play badminton and there is a great deal of performance difference due to the age of the players - my husband and I are the youngest ones there and we play very well, however, a lot of the players are decades older than us and don't move as well as they used to...nevertheless they are out there and doing well enough to enjoy themselves and make it fairly competitive if we go for more of a finesse game. I was just helping a lady in her lesson and she's 82!!!! She was complaining about not moving well - hell, I hope I'm moving as well as she when I'm 82.

So, I say embrace the suck of old age and prioritize your activities. If you like long recovery than go all out - if you don't then moderate - didn't you do that with your equipment on the sub - the older stuff got a little more TLC while the newer stuff got to 'show its stuff' - and every now and then the old whippersnapper showed the youngster a thing or two - one more analogy - the old bull and young bull in the pasture - the young bull says, "let's run down there and have some fun with one of those cows" - the older one says, "let's walk and fun with all of them."

[devans0]

I had to give myself new perspectives on how to practice TKD. I won't have the speed, endurance, strength or short recovery that I once had. I can't judge myself with what I once could do, I'm nearly forty years older now than when I started. My opponents are no longer the other MAs, it's creeping age.
What can I do? I can keep skills sharp, stay flexible, and judge myself from how well I performed against my own standards for myself, and feel good about that.
The new standard is whether I am happy with my performance, and am I feeling a 'healthy' sore afterward. As for instructors, I demand the latitude in class to do what I must to keep myself healthy. Geezer reps? nah, just keeping myself healthy. The young bull doesn't have the feedback of strain that my body gives me, he just won't understand. I won't make excuses but I may have to draw lines. From a business standpoint, you represent what could be a large market for your school. It may be in your instuctor's best interest to learn from you on how to train older students.

[HFWR]

Toby Keith - As Good As I Once Was - YouTube

[LOL!]

You asked what you are missing. I think you are missing that ibuprofen is dangerous for your liver and your health.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! You asked what you are missing. I think you are missing that ibuprofen is dangerous for your liver and your health.

I'm no doctor, but I believe acetaminophen aka Tylenol is dangerous for your liver. Ibuprofen aka Advil or Motrin not so much...

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR I'm no doctor, but I believe acetaminophen aka Tylenol is dangerous for your liver. Ibuprofen aka Advil or Motrin not so much...

+1

Ibuprofein is bad for the stomach.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan +1 Ibuprofein is bad for the stomach.

I cover all bases by not taking any of them.

[Bestwifeever]

I cited a source in post #11 on this thread about "vitamin I" and some of the cautions about its overuse by athletes.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I cover all bases by not taking any of them.

+2

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I cover all bases by not taking any of them.

I have days like that

[ls99]

Say, Nords, at the risk of stating the obvious, perhaps a discussion with a 80 year old active practitioner of your favorite martial art could be very informative.

Personally, I do not know any Tae Kwon Do practitioners in their seventies or eighties.
My Ju Jutsu teacher was fairly active until age 80, though he stopped taking falls around age 68. He was still pretty fast at 75 though what he lacked in speed, was more than made up for by skill, cunning, and pure understaning (wakarimasu) of what was about to be launched against him. Before it was launched.

Just as an aside. We used to have visitors of all kinds, often they would watch and then say, what if I do XYZ? Our inside joke was: "what if" always hurts. Maximally, if the one posing the "what if" did not know how to take a fall.

Personally at my current age of a hair short of official card carrying geezerhood (65), still take falls and enjoy the game. Recovery is a bit longer than at 50 but not annoyingly.

Cheers.

[RunningBum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever I cited a source in post #11 on this thread about "vitamin I" and some of the cautions about its overuse by athletes.

Yeah, ibuprofen can shut down the kidneys, causing you to stop processing food and drink and creating a salt/electrolyte shortage. It (hyponatremia) can actually be fatal, but really only for an endurance event like a marathon, or more likely a longer event like an Ironman tri or ultramarathon. I wouldn't take them regularly, but if you're not sweating for 4+ hours, it'll probably be ok, and the OP did get his doc's take on it.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum ... I wouldn't take them regularly, but if you're not sweating for 4+ hours, it'll probably be ok, and the OP did get his doc's take on it.

Completely agree--just pointing out a source that listed some of the possible problems from even the "safe" nsaids.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by devans0 What can I do? I can keep skills sharp, stay flexible, and judge myself from how well I performed against my own standards for myself, and feel good about that. The new standard is whether I am happy with my performance, and am I feeling a 'healthy' sore afterward. As for instructors, I demand the latitude in class to do what I must to keep myself healthy. Geezer reps? nah, just keeping myself healthy. The young bull doesn't have the feedback of strain that my body gives me, he just won't understand. I won't make excuses but I may have to draw lines. From a business standpoint, you represent what could be a large market for your school. It may be in your instuctor's best interest to learn from you on how to train older students.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 Say, Nords, at the risk of stating the obvious, perhaps a discussion with a 80 year old active practitioner of your favorite martial art could be very informative.

Oh, I pay my dues annually and in advance. I'm a valued member of the dojang.

I'm going to use some of your words when I talk with the instructors. But frankly most of the older students quit taekwondo in their early 40s, and that's when I was just getting started. I've only met one older than me (and he's from Maui) and read about one other on Oahu. Frankly, the older guys from USA Taekwondo (coming from the Mainland) have moved up to judging & refereeing and no longer train or spar. Many have just let themselves go to pot bellies. Of course some of that could be injuries, but I'd think they could still eventually wrestle their weight back under control.

The good news is that I'm one of the most flexible martial artists in the dojang. And because I no longer have speed or raw power on my side, I'm very sneaky.

Part of my conversation will be figuring out what the other geezer martial artists are moving to. I hope it's better than tai chi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu For me, the REAL worry about getting old lies more in the mental aspects. Have begun a journal of sorts dealing with the gradual onset of dementia. One strange thing that I notice... Whenever I voice concerns about this to persons of my age group, the invariable answer is "You're fine... We all forget"... Conclusion There are an awful lot of folks out there who see a new "normal".

Ah, I've done quite a bit of reading on that.

I don't know if you've already read "Where Did I Leave My Glasses?", but it really helps sort out the difference between a cluttered memory and early dementia symptoms. Cognition may be declining, but many times the issue is not paying attention (after doing something about 10,000 times over the last decade) or just not using a skill frequently enough.

Two other popular early indicators (not necessarily confirmation but certainly great party tricks) are drawing an analog clock (with the hands pointing to a specified time) and spelling words backward.

I highly recommend subscribing to Bob DeMarco's Alzheimer's Reading Room blog and reading it for a few months. Bob has a very distinctive personality that's not for everyone, and he's not a medical professional, but he cared for his mother for over eight years. His observations (confirmed with thousands of other caregivers) are fundamentally changing the way that the medical community views the condition. He's very familiar with symptoms that seem like dementia but are really vitamin B deficiencies, or urinary tract infections, or clinical depression. If nothing else, reading his thoughts will make you much more comfortable and relaxed around Alzheimer's patients because you'll be able to view the world through their eyes.

After reading Bob's material for a couple months, you may find yourself deciding that euthanasia is not necessarily the best approach. When I see my father enjoying a good jazz pianist performance or a Reuben sandwich or just the sunset and the weather, it makes me realize that his life may still be worth living.

If you really want to amuse yourself, practice the Mini-mental State Exam (MMSE) until you think you can fake it. Someday your rehearsal will really throw your doc off the diagnosis...

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! You asked what you are missing. I think you are missing that ibuprofen is dangerous for your liver and your health.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Ibuprofein is bad for the stomach.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever I cited a source in post #11 on this thread about "vitamin I" and some of the cautions about its overuse by athletes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum Yeah, ibuprofen can shut down the kidneys, causing you to stop processing food and drink and creating a salt/electrolyte shortage. It (hyponatremia) can actually be fatal, but really only for an endurance event like a marathon, or more likely a longer event like an Ironman tri or ultramarathon. I wouldn't take them regularly, but if you're not sweating for 4+ hours, it'll probably be ok, and the OP did get his doc's take on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Completely agree--just pointing out a source that listed some of the possible problems from even the "safe" nsaids.

All of your observations are applicable for some users, but not for all users. Not even for the majority. The tone of a blanket admonition is a little annoying because for years I suffered in pain (e.g., waking up at night, or afraid to move quickly) just because I was scared of a little brown pill. Living with pain is far worse than a proper regimen of ibuprofen.

My orthopedic surgeon says that he always starts with ibuprofen because it's the least likely to cause problems. He also had a list of over 20 more powerful medications (I never got further than naprosen) to use when ibuprofen stopped working.

Taken with food & hydration, ibuprofen can be safely used by the majority. It's limited by body weight (mine is 800mg for 180 pounds, up to 3x/day). As RB points out you don't take it before exertion, only after the fact. I don't smoke, I no longer drink alcohol, I hydrate extremely well, and my only other med is a daily antihistamine. I don't have any other liver or kidney risk factors (as far as I know) so gastric bleeding is the worst situation I'm likely to encounter.

Now if they made chocolate-flavored ibuprofen, then I'd quickly develop a psychological addiction problem.

Ibuprofen may be dangerous for some of you, but I bet your orthopedic surgeon has a really long list of alternatives too. Let me know what works especially well for you...

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords O My orthopedic surgeon says that he always starts with ibuprofen because it's the least likely to cause problems. He also had a list of over 20 more powerful medications (I never got further than naprosen) to use when ibuprofen stopped working. Taken with food & hydration, ibuprofen can be safely used by the majority. It's limited by body weight (mine is 800mg for 180 pounds, up to 3x/day). As RB points out you don't take it before exertion, only after the fact. I don't smoke, I no longer drink alcohol, I hydrate extremely well, and my only other med is a daily antihistamine. I don't have any other liver or kidney risk factors (as far as I know) so gastric bleeding is the worst situation I'm likely to encounter. Now if they made chocolate-flavored ibuprofen, then I'd quickly develop a psychological addiction problem. Ibuprofen may be dangerous for some of you, but I bet your orthopedic surgeon has a really long list of alternatives too. Let me know what works especially well for you...

Same observations here.

Under direction of my foot doc I ended up taking 440mg of naproxen morning and evening for a full 3 months during our hiking vacation this year to finally control the flames of my plantar faciitis.

Now I use it intermittently should a flare up start, like this week

But a week of use usually works great. I use ibuprofein occasionally for other joint pain, mostly my back, but not if I'm on naproxen.

[Tyro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR I'm no doctor, but I believe acetaminophen aka Tylenol is dangerous for your liver. Ibuprofen aka Advil or Motrin not so much...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan +1 Ibuprofein is bad for the stomach.

For some folks (e.g those with IBS) NSAIDs are not an option.

The risks of liver damage from acetaminophen/paracetamol can be reduced/minimized by:

1. Following the newer dosage recommendations:

No more than 1000 mg in any 26 hr. period
No more than 3000 mg in any 24 hr. period
No more than 2600 mg in any 24 hr. period if taken long term (more than 10 days)

2. Taking N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) a powerful antioxidant that, among other uses, can protect the liver and kidneys.

And FWIW...

Quote:

A new study from American Cancer Society researchers finds use of 30 tablets a month or more of acetaminophen for five or more years was associated with an estimated 38% lower risk of prostate cancer. Long-term, regular acetaminophen use may be associated with lower prostate cancer risk

I am not a doctor.... Yadda, yadda, yadda....

Tyro

[HFWR]

Acetaminophen does not work for me at all. Didn't get much if any benefit from naproxen either. Sticking with the occasional generic ibuprofen.

[oldtrig]

Turning 65 this year has not been good to me. I retired in March and it has been one thing right after another with my health. Getting old is not for whips. If anyone can get out of the workforce in the early 50's I highly suggest you do while you are able to do things you want. I overworked my body for almost 30 years doing hard manual work. It paid good but now I am not sure it was all worth it. I just cannot stand it that I cannot do what I once was able to but that I have to accept. I once thought I had found the fountain of youth with Celebrex until it almost killed me. I cannot take any of that type medicine again. One word, Ulcer. I think I will start some sort of exercises trend to build my body back if thats possible. Who knows. oldtrig

[W2R]

Oldtrig, good idea to try to exercise and build your body back. I am 64 and working out has been hard to do, but very helpful, too. I will never be as strong as I was in my 20's, but I am stronger than I was in 2009, when I retired.

We go to the gym 3 afternoons a week, and there are a lot of retired people there our age and older when we are there, all trying to get stronger and healthier I think. Some in their 80's are amazing and inspire me to work harder at it.