How long will you live?

[TromboneAl]

I think it was "Doc" Ball.

http://www.surfingforlife.com/

 

[Nords]

I think it was "Doc" Ball.

http://www.surfingforlife.com/

Thanks, I'm going to have to go dig that one up.

Check out the group portrait on the link-- I think that collection of longboards is worth five figures... Sure hope I look as good as John Kelly or Fred Van Dyke at their ages.

 

[laurence]

92 plus...

....of course if it paints a rosy picture of a long life, then you need to save more for retirement, consult with our financial advisors to learn more!

 

[Mr._johngalt]

TBAl:  You are correct.

I have been playing tournament golf since retiring at 49, (19 years ago). 
My optimistic outlook is that I can remain competitive for maybe 3 more years.  At that point, I plan on hanging the clubs up for good.
Like the surfer at age 85, there are a number of golfers that are playing on my home course at that age.
However, they aren't "playing golf" anymore.  They are out for a stroll, and rolling the ball along with them.
I am slowly reaching the point where I am better qualified for my old job, than playing tournament golf. (Although, that doesn't appeal to me so very much ).
So, like many of the young posters that are looking for an "exit strategy" for retirement, I am going to have to plan one for the considerable void that will be there, when I "hang it up".
Time marches on. (Dammit).

Jarhead

Hi Jarhead! You retired at 49 also? That makes 3 of us oldsters that I know of
(the brain trust?)

I feel your pain man. The main activities I expected to occupy me are
pretty much done now. Duck hunting and motorcycles. The seasons
did not overlap so that was a plus also. Anyway, I had no trouble filling the
extra
time. Hope you have the same experience.

JG

 

[Dawg52]

TBAl:  You are correct.

I have been playing tournament golf since retiring at 49, (19 years ago). 
My optimistic outlook is that I can remain competitive for maybe 3 more years.  At that point, I plan on hanging the clubs up for good.
Like the surfer at age 85, there are a number of golfers that are playing on my home course at that age.
However, they aren't "playing golf" anymore.  They are out for a stroll, and rolling the ball along with them.
I am slowly reaching the point where I am better qualified for my old job, than playing tournament golf. (Although, that doesn't appeal to me so very much ).
So, like many of the young posters that are looking for an "exit strategy" for retirement, I am going to have to plan one for the considerable void that will be there, when I "hang it up".
Time marches on. (Dammit).

Jarhead

Now don't do that. I know a lot of older guys that still play because they enjoy the fellowship with the boys. They can't hit it very far.....but so what? Enjoy being outdoors!
8)

 

[polloloco]

Sofaras golf goes, I know quite a few oldsters that enjoy playing from the gold tees and score 80 to 90. As long as i can do that, (can't get onto the gold tees until at least ten more years now) I will enjoy the game and all the bullshit that goes with it.

 

[Nords]

Results 
If you continue maintaining healthy habits, you'll want to plan for a maximum life expectancy of 93 years or more.

Your "ideal" weight for maximum longevity is: 167 lbs.

The three biggest positive factors that you have going for you are:
    1. Diet
    2. Age of parents
    3. Doctor exam frequency

The three biggest negative factors that you have going for you are:
    1. Family health
    2. Gender
    3. Weight history.

Jay's right-- just this side of financial pornography.  I don't think I'm at a significant risk for my family's history of breast cancer.

Just for fun I plugged in my spouse's data:
Results
If you continue maintaining healthy habits, you'll want to plan for a maximum life expectancy of 102 years or more.

Your "ideal" weight for maximum longevity is: [deleted in the interests of marital harmony & spouse survivability] lbs.

The three biggest positive factors that you have going for you are:
1. Age
2. Age of parents
3. Gender

Once again these guys have missed a key point. When I kick off at 93 and she doesn't have me around to nag engage in scintillating conversation anymore, then she won't last a week...

 

[unclemick]

I seem to be going to croak a 100 on this one - which I don't believe - they overweight family genes I suspect.

84.3 - the old number(1993) when I was researching 72t - gotta love that 0.3 - boy o boy the IRS is really smart and they didn't need no stinking questionaire.

I took one at work in the late eighties that predicted my demise at 77 - quit smoking, eat nuts and twigs, DE - STRESS and oh yeah exercise more.

I fixed the stress part with ER.

 

[Nords]

However, the fact that I can't pull off shots, that I could consistently, even 6 years ago is starting to take the joy out of the game for me.

Reason I posted was the post about an 85 year old still surfing.  Doesn't matter what kind of shape or how well you've taken care of yourself, if you are depending on hand-eye co-ordination, and being flexible enough to stay competitive in any sport, there is a definate shelf life.

Jarhead, that begs a question. How do you know these issues are age-related?

Oh, sure, that's a plausible explanation and it might possibly be the cause, but if these issues arose in your 30s, 40s, or even 50s then you wouldn't be so resigned to age-related degeneration. You'd take some ibuprofen, you'd see a doctor or a physical therapist to check if it was a disease or some other problem, and then you'd try some sort of strength-building or speed or flexibility exercises. You'd also be concerned about any doctor who stopped looking for a medical cause (like cancer or diabetes) just because he thought you were too old for the situation. If a medical professional tried to tell you that you were "just getting old", you'd call hogwash and find someone who knew how to do address the problem.

I think that people stop looking for solutions when the explanation is age-related. ("After all you can't change your age!") Doctors & physiotherapists haven't been much help, either, because they haven't questioned conventional wisdom or developed the tools to counteract it. But boomers (and the potential profits from exploiting that age group) are starting to make people question the status quo and implement the knowledge & technology to push back.

I can understand wearing out joints & muscles by abrasion or by repeated shocks-- like downhill skiing or football. No amount of physical therapy is going to fix structural problems or a lack of material. Jack Nicklas' prosthetic hip won't win him any tournaments.

But what I can't understand is not pursuing ways to replace declining "natural talent" with developed skills. Is golf (or surfing or tae kwon do or whatever) less desirable when it becomes more challenging? If you never in your life drove a golf ball 300 yards, wouldn't you have developed a bunch of compensating tactics by now? Why shouldn't that continue with age? Or is enjoyment directly related to the degree of facility and the lack of adversity? (Imagine if marriages were like that!) I can understand that muscles are less snappy & flexible with age, but those capabilities can largely be restored with targeted exercise. Look at how Tiger Woods has driven a lot of very talented but otherwise less-than-healthy golfers out of the bars and into the weightrooms with his own muscle-building.

You've spent decades developing the maturity, mental toughness, emotional discipline, & judgment that are more critical than 300-yard drives. You've acquired more than enough cunning & deceit to make up for any strength or speed that you weren't born with. Now imagine if there was a golfer's workout to restore declining physical skills... would you not try it because you were too old for it?

I have to admit that my perspective may be the blissful ignorance of youth further deluded by boomeritis. But these days I'm much more interested in speed, reflexes, & flexibility than I am in bench-pressing 300 pounds. I could probably figure out how to do the latter, too, but all the former ones have a much bigger payoff in my daily life. And I'd rather spend a couple weekly surfing sessions in the gym in exchange for one really good set during the rest of the week than to spend all my time on the waves getting progressively crappier & demoralized.

Any Bangkok park in the early morning has literally thousands of people doing various organized exercise activities-- tai chi, calisthenics, even swordplay & ballroom dancing. Some of these people are in their 80s & 90s and their youthfulness (and agility & reflexes) fills me with hope.

I have to give my FIL credit. As much as we had to listen to him bitch about the impossibility of the back exercises my spouse showed him two months ago, he persevered. Now he can bend his spine in ways that he hasn't tried since he was a teenager in the backseat (his quote). He's 71.

 

[HFWR]

My so-called skills have certainly diminished witth age, but I'm quite content to bike, golf, workout, etc. for the fun-of-it, and for the exercise/activity. Besides, competition it too much like WORK!!!

 

[Eagle43]

Jarhead,
You're scaring me. I'm 7 years younger than you. I like to play softball, basketball, and tennis. Eyes are not what they used to be. My coordination isn't that bad, yet, but it's a little slower. Knees are killing me, because of 20 years of jogging.

Oh well, I guess I can always swim. Easy on the arthritic joints, and little coordination required.

Recommendation: Since you love golf so much, NEVER QUIT. Maybe you can become the world's oldest golfer.

 

[Nords]

Nords:  You are absolutely correct in stating that we can do a helluva lot towards delaying or eliminating chronic pain, etc. by proper excercise.

While it's a fact, with better training and general better habits, the upper limits have been expanded by a few years, but the inevetible result is there is a "shelf Life" in being competitive.

While it's an inspirational thought to pretend that you can defy mother nature, and continue to be competitive in any sport, the fact of the matter is at a certain point, reality rears its ugly head.

I know for a fact that I am pushing the envelope, because the last 3 tournaments I played in I was the oldest one in the tournaments by an average of about 15 years.

Well, I've always been told that the Navy's deadliest weapon is its over-30 basketball league.

Here I thought you were just hanging on at the front of the pack and now you tell me you're way out ahead on the bleeding edge by a decade and a half...

Thanks.  It's good advice and your mentoring isn't wasted on me, but I'm gonna spend a few more decades in denial before I come around to your point of view.  Heck, I'm barely past fear & anger yet.  

Guess I'll start spending as much time on morning stretching as I do on morning coffee.  And our dojang's black belt test requires 100 pushups in two minutes with 100 situps in another two minutes.  I KNOW I'll have trouble with that in my 50s, let alone now...

 

[Jarhead*]

Thanks.  It's good advice and your mentoring isn't wasted on me, but I'm gonna spend a few more decades in denial before I come around to your point of view.  Heck, I'm barely past fear & anger yet.  

Nords: I would expect nothing less from a retired Naval Officer.