Approaching 50...What to expect?

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simple man
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Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by simple man »

I am seeking to tap into a little of the collective wisdom out there. I am approaching 50 years of age and wondering what the next 10 years will bring. So, a couple of questions. What should I expect physically and mentally over the next 10 years? What about financially? Anything you would have done differently from age 50 to 60? (financially, physically, travel, work change, etc...) Thanks - and I appreciate the help.
dolphinsaremammals
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

Sooner or later your health will start going. Do the things you need good health for now.
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LowER
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by LowER »

Get some reading glasses, one pair for every room in the house.

You can now increase your pre-tax retirement contributions in the year that you turn 50!
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by hicabob »

The increase in the work required to maintain ones body surprised me, many men (from your monicker I assume you are male :happy ) tend to learn about their prostate around that time of life and remember to get that age-appropriate colonoscopy.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Ron »

You'll soon get your invitation to join AARP :twisted: ...

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windaar
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by windaar »

I'm halfway from 50 to 60. Funny, the first things I was going to mention were "have lots of reading glasses" and "get a colonoscopy," and I was beaten to those!

Watch as many sunrises and sunsets as you can, no matter where you live. We only get a limited number of those. Have one glass of wine with dinner every night. Put down your smartphone and notice the world around you.
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GerryL
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by GerryL »

Expect to get birthday cards with pictures of vultures flying overhead and "old fart" jokes. :happy

Work to stay healthy by maintaining/starting good habits -- if you're not doing that already. A fat bank account means nothing without your health.

Accept that some body parts (e.g., knees, shoulders, etc.) are not going to work as once as they once did -- and adapt to that reality.

Keep up the savings habit even though the money you invest closer to retirement will not grow like those early dollars did. The more solidly you can establish a happy "well within your means" lifestyle, the fewer adjustments you will need to make when you eventually retire. But balance the drive to save with some occasional splurges. (Emphasis on occasional.)

Make sure you stay engaged and have interests outside work.
Sometimes old friendships start to fall off and if you don't want your circle of relationships to keep shrinking, you will need to put some effort into forging new relationships. Those interests outside work can help.
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Aptenodytes
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Aptenodytes »

Your barber will start to offer to trim more and more parts of your body -- eyebrows, ears, etc. Your memory may fail you a bit more often than before, but if you are average you won't notice it too much. Don't expect people to offer you their seat on a bus or subway yet. But if you are lucky you'll find you get a bit more deference on matters that require judgment and wisdom. You will need reading glasses and become unembarrassed about wearing them -- a fortuitous combination. You will skip the mid-life crisis because you are smart enough to avoid cliches and because you have a level of self-awareness that led you to this forum. You'll spend more time at the dentist. Your hair will probably thin and gray but you won't care.

Financially, who knows -- if you read the papers you know that people in their 50s find themselves in all kinds of circumstances. So what this decade brings for you depends on what you've done so far and how well you handle the temptations and trials that await you. But you would be in the majority of people here if you made your last mortgage payment, started thinking as much about protecting your wealth as you used to think about growing it, put more thought into your post-retirement AA and withdrawal strategy, let your term life insurance lapse, worked out the details of when to stop working your current job, whether to work part time or not, and when and how to start social security, made at least one major overhaul to your will, and at least thought about lining up end-of-life matters such as funeral arrangements, powers of attorney, and so on.

You'll look at the AARP mailings, wonder how the organization survives, and toss them.
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ResearchMed
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by ResearchMed »

dolphinsaremammals wrote:Sooner or later your health will start going. Do the things you need good health for now.
Take this seriously.

We seem to have waited just a bit too long, and can't take the exact vacations we are now catching up with, after postponing them over and over.
We are trying to front-load the few that we can still take (we hope) while we can (we hope).

We are older, and at your age had just about no limitations, other than what would be that of "average, active" people.
That started changing rather suddenly, and for both of us within about 2 years of each other.

RM
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Toons »

dolphinsaremammals wrote:Sooner or later your health will start going. Do the things you need good health for now.

+1.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by tennisplyr »

Guarantee: time will fly. Enjoy it, don't worry about the small stuff. Be with your family, start to think about later years (which will fly). --65, retired. BTW , I still feel young although my body isn't as quick to heal. Stay active, it will help physically and mentally.
“Those who move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out.” -Retired 13 years 😀
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by frugalecon »

I am turning 50 in about a month, and these same thoughts have been occurring to me. It is strange to feel like the work life is much closer to the end than the beginning. It would be great to have a nice run of ten percent stock returns in this decade, but my plan is tested against low to mid single digit returns. Fortunately my spouse and I each have defined benefit pension plans that would cover the necessities with room to spare, so we can take some risks with the portfolio.
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Dutch
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Dutch »

Well, you have a choice. It's either the red sports car, or the younger blond girlfriend. :P

I'm not far behind you. I'm interested in the replies.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Austintatious »

If you are not already engaged in a serious physical fitness program, get one and stick with it. I'm not suggesting that you need to achieve Iron Man levels of fitness, but adopt a program of regular and meaningful physical activity, adjusted as desired and required for your own capacities and whatever physical limitations may come your way, and maintained right on into old age. It will almost certainly pay off for you in spades.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by curmudgeon »

simple man wrote:I am seeking to tap into a little of the collective wisdom out there. I am approaching 50 years of age and wondering what the next 10 years will bring. So, a couple of questions. What should I expect physically and mentally over the next 10 years? What about financially? Anything you would have done differently from age 50 to 60? (financially, physically, travel, work change, etc...) Thanks - and I appreciate the help.
Lots of variability to this, of course.

Even if your own health holds up, you will likely start seeing higher incidence of serious health issues in your peers. I started taking my fitness more seriously, so I suppose I'm in better health (at least by surface standards) than I was ten years ago, but there are still a few more aches to go around. Lots of folks in my age group are not so lucky.

Some negative personality tendancies seem to become more pronounced in this age range, such as impatience. You may have to make a bit more effort to keep a positive, forward-looking attitude in your work. It may well get harder to switch jobs, or find one again if laid off. If you've moved up the salary ranks, think about what value you would bring to another company or job that would make you worthwhile to hire over someone with less experience but more recent training.

For ourselves, this was a time when we were through many of the major family expenses, and so we both saved more and spent more. There is often a fair bit of family motion/changes going on during this time.

I've probably started paying too much attention to retirement topics and planning. It's good to make sure the basics are in place, but you don't want to get overly focused on the future at the expense of the present.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by peppers »

If you have have done well financially, expect to receive a stream of communications from various financial institutions that only have your best interests at heart. (Feel free to insert tongue in cheek here).
"..the cavalry ain't comin' kid, you're on your own..."
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by malabargold »

get your blood pressure, PSA and bloodwork check.
Welcome to colonoscopy
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

tennisplyr wrote: I still feel young although my body isn't as quick to heal.
It actually is quite weird. Mentally I don't feel that different from when I was twenty. Smarter, hopefully. Yet the body has started falling apart. It's like being in a boat with a slow leak :D
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by FreeAtLast »

If you haven't started already....get your eyes checked every year by a board certified opthamologist (an M.D.)....he will be checking for cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.....the earlier you find and treat the latter two conditions, the better.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Duckie »

simple man wrote:I am approaching 50 years of age and wondering what the next 10 years will bring. So, a couple of questions. What should I expect physically and mentally over the next 10 years?
50 is when the body starts to go. Exercise. Walk, climb hills, climb stairs. Maybe use some moderate weights. Not to bulk up but to keep strong. Do some flexibility exercises to keep your range of motion so you can look behind you in the car or scratch the middle of your back. It's a lot easier to keep what you have than to get back what you've lost.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Watty »

Billy Crystal has a monolog on aging in the movie City Slickers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PgbhbkSnbc

In addition to our health issue there have been several people there that we consider to be about "our age" that have died of health problems in their 50's so that has helped us focus on the "now" side of the "now vs later" choices.

For us there were a lot of milestones with getting our son through college and out on his one and being near getting the house paid off is making a big difference in our monthly financial numbers.
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Phineas J. Whoopee
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Phineas J. Whoopee »

To be precisely one day older than you were the day before, just like all the other days.

It's meaningless.

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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by LadyGeek »

According to the IRS, approaching age 50 does have a meaning. Catch-Up Contributions
IRS wrote:Individuals who are age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can make annual catch-up contributions.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by effillus »

My 50s were my best decade. Well, as good as my 20s, at least. Achieved financial independence, happy at work, traveled, great relationships with those who matter. Sure, the hair gets gray and you end up needing reading glasses, but if you take care of your health and you have no genetic time bombs ticking inside (none of us knows if we do) you should enjoy yourself immensely. A day before I turned 60, I took a 10-mile run. You can do it. Be positive, exercise, eat well and be happy.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by MP173 »

I am 59.5 and starting the downhill slide to 60. It doesnt really bother me, but probably will in a few months.

The thing I noticed about turning 50 was about 2 weeks after the surprise party little aches and pains started showing up. Seriously...and these seldom went away. I am very healthy, but the minor pains were there. Listen to your body and take care of these along with the above mentioned preventive stuff. I waited until this year for my colonoscopy which wasnt smart. I see my doctor yearly for the checkup.

If you are not in reasonably good shape, start moving in that direction. No...make that "ease into it". Perhaps consult your physician at the next yearly checkup what you are capable of. Watch the caloric intake...I use an online calorie counter and exercise monitor.

For me the biggest issue has been moving from full time parent to ATM and "consultant", but that is where I am as a parent. I see things my 20 year old does and it makes no sense to me, but he really doesnt wish to listen to my advice, so I have learned to listen to him and basically keep the advice to myself unless asked. I recall this was true of me and my parents 40 years ago.

As my parenting "hands on" time has dropped, I have developed interests to fill that time. Gardening is one such interest as is guitar. I have weekly guitar group lessons with 3 others and we are all the same age and place in our lives. I really look forward to both gardening and guitar....I would suggest you find such interests.

Mental capacity is dropping slowly. My memory is not what it used to be. I attempt to keep sharp with work and other stimulus such as reading, etc. It is not really an issue yet, but something I am aware of...just like the "aches and pains".

I do not sleep as well, but certainly love when I do get a solid 7 hours in. An afternoon 15 minute nap often supplements, or perhaps a 30 minute nap in the evening if TV is boring.

While I do not have the energy level for work that I did 10 - 20 years ago, my work radar is pretty sensitive. Some might call it "working smarter". My career has been very important to me and there are no definate plans for retirement. I can keep doing this on a part time basis for another 10 years, perhaps more. I find the enjoyment level of my work is expanding. I truly enjoy the relationships with my customers and co-workers. Both are very important socially for me.

Financially I am constantly planning...just my nature perhaps. It is also critical to have your life in order with wills, insurance, disability, etc. The decade of the 50s makes you realize the importance of this (if not already addressed).

Off to the Y to workout....good luck and enjoy a healthy productive decade.

Ed
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by travellight »

I started using skin care products.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

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When the physician told me to bend over for my first prostate check, what going to happen did not sink in till I felt it sink in. I was blindsided and so startled that I almost stood upright in the middle of it. I might have bent the physicians finger so far back that I injured it! :wink:
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Rodc »

As someone most of the way through that decade I have enjoyed this thread and relate to almost all of it.

It gets ever more true that if there is something important to you that you want to do, do it before it is too late (unfortunately that has to be balanced somewhat against the cost as you might live another 40 years).

I find I can still get a lot of exercise, but I need to be ever more careful of overuse injuries. I need to rotate between hard anaerobic and more gentle long aerobic exercise, strength, stretching and balance. Everything now requires work to maintain; nothing comes along for free.

Laughing at reading glasses all over the house, and not being self-conscious about wearing them. Fortunately wife and I have the same need and can use dime store glasses. Indeed learning not to be very self-conscious about much of anything.

Ever more conscious of how many this age find themselves out of work and how hard it can be to find another professional job.

The closer I get to being financially independent the easier it is to enjoy money without worry that you really might consider saving more and foregoing X (see point above).

Making peace with where I am career-wise. I might still move up a little, but I am not going to be a superstar. And that also reduces some stress.

Watching the occasional friend my age fall seriously ill or die is not comforting. In part I still feel a bit like the invincible teenager but the reminders small and large that this is not so are growing. To make this more palatable, I tell people I am growing old and decrepit, though that is an overstatement.
We live a world with knowledge of the future markets has less than one significant figure. And people will still and always demand answers to three significant digits.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by invst65 »

I've always said that when you turn 40 you start joking about getting old. When you turn 50 you joke a little more, but it's when you turn 60 that you finally start to realize it ain't no joke.

So enjoy the decade.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Rodc »

invst65 wrote:I've always said that when you turn 40 you start joking about getting old. When you turn 50 you joke a little more, but it's when you turn 60 that you finally start to realize it ain't no joke.

So enjoy the decade.
Lots of truth in that I think. :)
We live a world with knowledge of the future markets has less than one significant figure. And people will still and always demand answers to three significant digits.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by GerryL »

Lots of chatter about the need for reading glasses, but as someone who has relied on glasses since the age of 9, I can report some good news to those who are in similar circumstances: Your vision may stabilize or even slightly improve as you age. I get my eyes checked yearly but have not required a new prescription in years. And in order to read tiny print I now have to remove my glasses, even though I have progressive lenses.

I've long contended that the real sign of aging is not gray hair or wrinkles but "playing the trombone" as you attempt to position text at the optimal distance from your eyeballs. Watch for this phenomenon in the pharmacy aisle.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

"Playing the trombone." :D

I'm 63 yo, and I've never heard that phrase. So true.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by cheese_breath »

Ron wrote:You'll soon get your invitation to join AARP :twisted: ...

- Ron
And unfortunately there's no way to opt out. They'll keep sending them for the rest of your life if you don't join.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by cheese_breath »

The cost of you life insurance will increase substantially the day you turn 50.
The surest way to know the future is when it becomes the past.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by ResearchMed »

GerryL wrote:Lots of chatter about the need for reading glasses, but as someone who has relied on glasses since the age of 9, I can report some good news to those who are in similar circumstances: Your vision may stabilize or even slightly improve as you age. I get my eyes checked yearly but have not required a new prescription in years. And in order to read tiny print I now have to remove my glasses, even though I have progressive lenses.

I've long contended that the real sign of aging is not gray hair or wrinkles but "playing the trombone" as you attempt to position text at the optimal distance from your eyeballs. Watch for this phenomenon in the pharmacy aisle.
I haven't heard that phrase either, but it's a good one :D

However, where I've usually seen it, for decades, is at restaurants.
Those menus seem to have a life of their own, jumping in and out...

RM
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by an_asker »

TomatoTomahto wrote:"Playing the trombone." :D

I'm 63 yo, and I've never heard that phrase. So true.
Wow! For some reason, I had put you down as someone in his (I hope I am correct on this one) 40s ;-)
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Crimsontide »

For me it has been quite shocking to see the amount of muscle mass lost from say 47 to 52. I still exercise regularly, I used to play football, lift weights competitively, was a boxer in the Military, all the manly things. But looking in the mirror now I see a shell of the guy I used to be and the errors of my misspent youth are really catching up with me now... Sorry to be such a downer :oops:
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by GerryL »

TomatoTomahto wrote:"Playing the trombone." :D

I'm 63 yo, and I've never heard that phrase. So true.

I think I made it up. I've said it often enough over the years, but apparently it never got traction. Feel free to use it!
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by cheese_breath »

Boy Scouts and little old ladies offer to help you cross the street. :P
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Rodc »

cheese_breath wrote:Boy Scouts and little old ladies offer to help you cross the street. :P
That has not happened, but even young middle age people use "Sir" more and more often when talking to me.
We live a world with knowledge of the future markets has less than one significant figure. And people will still and always demand answers to three significant digits.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Rodc »

Crimsontide wrote:For me it has been quite shocking to see the amount of muscle mass lost from say 47 to 52. I still exercise regularly, I used to play football, lift weights competitively, was a boxer in the Military, all the manly things. But looking in the mirror now I see a shell of the guy I used to be and the errors of my misspent youth are really catching up with me now... Sorry to be such a downer :oops:

Interesting. Having never been all that manly, I look about the same as I always have, and I'm not much weaker. I was about 145 lbs in my 20s moving furniture in the summers, 143 lbs when I ran a marathon at age 40, and 145 lbs at age 56 when I did this climb: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=123621&p=1811086

That said, I do have to do specific strength training now that I never had to do to maintain what little strength I do have. And I have started yoga for flexibility and balance.
We live a world with knowledge of the future markets has less than one significant figure. And people will still and always demand answers to three significant digits.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by hicabob »

Rodc wrote:
cheese_breath wrote:Boy Scouts and little old ladies offer to help you cross the street. :P
That has not happened, but even young middle age people use "Sir" more and more often when talking to me.

Yup - Sir starts happening a lot, but worse too. When I was about 54 and taking an overnight flight to Australia (14 hours in economy so quite brutal) when we got there and were waiting to deplane, the toddler in front of me started having a conniption. I suppose I gave him a dirty look because he started screaming that "that old man is looking at me" pointing at you know who. Ouch kid, ouch!
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by reggiesimpson »

Your testosterone levels are dropping (aka andropause). This is perfectly normal so don't be alarmed and do something radical about it. It can actually be liberating in many ways...............you will see for yourself!
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by peppers »

Crimsontide wrote:For me it has been quite shocking to see the amount of muscle mass lost from say 47 to 52. I still exercise regularly, I used to play football, lift weights competitively, was a boxer in the Military, all the manly things. But looking in the mirror now I see a shell of the guy I used to be and the errors of my misspent youth are really catching up with me now... Sorry to be such a downer :oops:
Remember, it's not the years but the mileage.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by skepticalobserver »

If you're on an exercise program, keep it up! I'm way past 50 and found that execise pays the best dividends ever. Get (or keep) that resting pulse to 40 bpm.

The money means zip without good health.
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by nisiprius »

GerryL wrote:
TomatoTomahto wrote:"Playing the trombone." :D

I'm 63 yo, and I've never heard that phrase. So true.

I think I made it up. I've said it often enough over the years, but apparently it never got traction. Feel free to use it!
No, regrettably, my optometrist uses it. He says I'm "tromboning" when I try to find the optimum distance for text when I'm trying out the close correction. Unless of course you, GerryL, are in fact my optometrist (whose first name isn't Gerry).
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by hicabob »

nisiprius wrote:
GerryL wrote:
TomatoTomahto wrote:"Playing the trombone." :D

I'm 63 yo, and I've never heard that phrase. So true.

I think I made it up. I've said it often enough over the years, but apparently it never got traction. Feel free to use it!
No, regrettably, my optometrist uses it. He says I'm "tromboning" when I try to find the optimum distance for text when I'm trying out the close correction. Unless of course you, GerryL, are in fact my optometrist (whose first name isn't Gerry).
Urban dictionary has a different meaning for the phrase. :shock:
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by AAA »

Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age.

Victor Hugo
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Crimsontide
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Crimsontide »

Rodc wrote:
Crimsontide wrote:For me it has been quite shocking to see the amount of muscle mass lost from say 47 to 52. I still exercise regularly, I used to play football, lift weights competitively, was a boxer in the Military, all the manly things. But looking in the mirror now I see a shell of the guy I used to be and the errors of my misspent youth are really catching up with me now... Sorry to be such a downer :oops:

Interesting. Having never been all that manly, I look about the same as I always have, and I'm not much weaker. I was about 145 lbs in my 20s moving furniture in the summers, 143 lbs when I ran a marathon at age 40, and 145 lbs at age 56 when I did this climb: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=123621&p=1811086

That said, I do have to do specific strength training now that I never had to do to maintain what little strength I do have. And I have started yoga for flexibility and balance.

Your link brings back some memories. I've actually done Longs, Grey's and Torrey's, LaPlata and Elbert. Summited Wheeler Peak in NM 3 times as well and am planning to do it for the fourth time this summer with my daughter and SIL. Not carrying the extra weight does help with climbing for sure.
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Hayden
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Re: Approaching 50...What to expect?

Post by Hayden »

My memory is shot. As a teenager and in my 20s, I could remember anything I read. Not anymore.

I'm surprised others haven't mentioned this. Is it just me?
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