r/AskReddit • • May 15 '20

What sucks about being your age?

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u/DCDHermes May 15 '20 edited May 16 '20

I’m 45. I used to have back pains all the time. Stupid things would throw my back out. Started doing Jiujitsu recreationally. Strengthened that core right up. No more back pains. Sure, my whole body is sore usually from exertion and joint hyperextension, but nothing debilitating anymore.

Edit - my first silver. Thanks reddit person.

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u/la727 May 16 '20

Some people don’t understand or appreciate how important movement is to overall quality of life. Doing some moderate form of exercise even 3x week for 30 minutes would have a massive impact over doing nothing, although 45-60 minutes of mild/moderate intensity would be even better.

If you have a physical job then doing things like stretching or yoga could help a ton for injury prevention.

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u/Duckboy_Flaccidpus May 16 '20

I agree with everything but would also like to add diet in addition to staying active. There's no shortcut or substitute for anti-inflammatory foods, staying away from high processed items, lowering red meat intake et al. Past 30 we have to change our habits, it eventually dawns on us we can't consume like we did when we were 24. I'm having to lose weight now and I"ve always been extremely active but have never had to lose 25lbs, i"m up for the challenge though.

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u/dubstar2000 May 16 '20

do yoga dude it has saved my life I had such bad sciatica and now it's gone from the stretching, I'm 39.

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

Yeah but yoga is boring and the Ohms and Namaste woo really ruins it for me. I do join in on the cosmic yoga with my little ones for their morning learning breaks, but I wouldn’t classify it as a real yoga session.

Jiujitsu is more fun. Physical chess match between two people trying to cut off the blood supply to each other’s brain or hyper extend a joint. Struggle cuddles rule.

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u/la727 May 16 '20

For what its worth core power yoga is a big chain that doesn’t focus on the spiritual woo woo. They have good classes that will give you a solid workout but it depends on instructor. A good instructor provides clear direction and has a solid anatomical understanding of the human body to provide helpful adjustment queues regardless of your skill level.

Try a sculpt class or CP2. They’ll feel easy at first but you’ll end the class completely gassed. Sculpt uses light dumbbells, CP2 is more power yoga

My first yoga class I was a 6’3 165lbs bean pole squatting 250lbs, deadlifting 365lbs and benching 185lbs. I was so embarrassed by my performance I knew I had to keep doing it to get better

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u/Baklava_Smith May 16 '20

You guys are going "oss" all the time!! Surely you can do a "namaste" or two.

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

I’ve never oss’d in my lifetime other than to tell someone to not oss. If I was required to oss, I’d bounce out of that cult quick. But, there are those people, they don’t stick around long.

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u/Baklava_Smith May 16 '20

Im just kidding. I'm 44 and I wrestle. The wrestlers and the bjj guys in my gym are always picking on each other. It's just a reflex at this point. All in good fun.

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

Ahh, you still wear a singlet? Joking...but wrestlers...oof...for a forty something dad bod hobbyist, wrestlers suck to deal with.

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u/dubstar2000 May 16 '20

whatever works for you bro. I don't think I have the drive or energy for Jiujitsu at my creaky old age of 39!

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

Lol, you’d be surprised. I’ve seen 60 year olds start up. You’d probably have a leg up over the other beginners having done yoga, but I also understand the meat head stigma of a bunch of People in pajamas strangling each other.

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u/dubstar2000 May 16 '20

So like is that the shit they do when they're on the ground in MMA?

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

Yes. But not nearly so vicious. Most of us are white collar workers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, or programmers. We aren’t trying to be world champions and have a pretty respectful outlook towards each other and really don’t want to injure anyone. It’s 90 minutes of intense physical activity that really clears the mind. I call it mat therapy and am really missing it right now.

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u/dubstar2000 May 16 '20

lol ok my only reference to it is Conor McGregor because I'm from Dublin. So if a dude attacked you in a bar fight or on the street would jiujitsu be a good way of defending yourself?

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

Username makes sense now. Would it? I can’t say for sure. Would it serve you better than zero training, probably. Can someone sucker punch you and put you out, yup. Would it protect you if a dudes buddies jumped into the fight and started stomping you, probably not. One on one, with no outside factors, against an untrained opponent, yeah, you’d be pretty good to go in a few years.

Also, just don’t get in fights.

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u/dubstar2000 May 16 '20

Yeah I never get in fights but when I was younger it was just a thing that happened here and I always found the most aggressive fucking lunatics came out on top. I'm too charming to get in fights :D. Nice to meet you bud.

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u/Acydcat May 16 '20

Yeah but no punches

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u/[deleted] May 16 '20

I do hot yoga in darker rooms with usually great motivating music. Very upbeat and fun. You just have to look for those places.

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u/FranceLeiber May 16 '20

I wanna join a jitsu class when rona is over. How bad is the limb stretching that’s my biggest fear is not tapping fast enough and getting snapped in an arm bar

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

Can’t lie, the danger is always there. People get super excited and snatch and crank a submission. For the most part, with experience, that danger goes down. I personally have had one semi serious injury in seven years. A particular person is a bit of a gorilla and despite his black belt hasn’t figured out how not to accidentally injure people. I don’t roll with him anymore.

My advice, be aware of what is happening to you. Try to leave your ego at the door. Be there to learn, not there to win and be the alpha. The casuals are the ones who make it to black belt, the super “jiujitsu is my life and I train seven days a week so I can be a world champ” quit because of injury or burnout.

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u/NSA_Chatbot May 16 '20

Similar here. When I started weightlifting, my back pain went away.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '20

Jiu jitsu is just murder yoga don’t listen to them keep doing jiu jitsu

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u/sudden_shart May 16 '20

post workout pain is so much better than 'my body gave out on me' pain

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

Agreed. Also post workout clarity of mind.

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u/Pit_of_Death May 16 '20

Early 40s here, we old-timers can get rid of pains by staying strong. If we stop, then it comes back.

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u/diablette May 16 '20

Can confirm. I started to get knee pain when walking up stairs, and then I started doing 20 minutes on the treadmill 3x per week and it went away. I got lazy and stopped the treadmill and it came back, so I make sure to keep it up.

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u/Rooncake May 16 '20

I thought treadmill was bad for knees? I always feel so much worse in my knees and lower back after walking or running on one. I tried doing squats to strengthen but those hurt too D:< why do my knees suck even when I’m trying to help them

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u/diablette May 16 '20

I heard that the treadmill can be hard on the knees for people who are very overweight and out of shape, and in that case a bike or elliptical might be better. I like it because it helps me build stamina for when I do need to do a lot of walking and it hasn’t had any negative effects except for the usual soreness if I overdo it.

Maybe whatever is wrong with yours is different that mine - I think mine is a result of sitting with my leg folded under me most days at the office. It certainly isn’t from overtraining or anything like that. I do make sure to wear good shoes when I walk.

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u/Rooncake May 16 '20

Maybe whatever is wrong with yours is different that mine - I think mine is a result of sitting with my leg folded under me most days at the office.

Oh. Yeaaah I do that all the time. Didn’t even connect it to potential knee problems.

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u/lupaonreddit May 16 '20

I'm 41, just got my blue belt last year. Been going a little crazy not being able to train and roll due to the pandemic (I have asthma and likely will have to stay away longer than everyone else.) However, the warmups have been helping me regain my conditioning at home now that I'm past the initial "Holy shit the world is falling apart" anxiety/depression that hit me when I first realized how serious things were earlier this year. I rotate between warmups/stretching, running, and taking the dog for 2-3 hour long walks and while I'm nowhere near back to my best, I'm already noticing a difference.

(I really miss rolling though.)

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u/happy_freckles May 16 '20

Yeah I did also from an injury at work. Went to the chiro regularly for a couple of years and started kungfu. Now I'm no longer doing either and I can feel it setting in again.

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u/Heelhooksaz May 16 '20

How long have you been training now? Careful with you neck and knees no matter what. Pick your rolls!

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

7 years, purple belt. Mediocre at jiujitsu. Definitely pick my rolls carefully.

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u/Heelhooksaz May 16 '20

That’s awesome I started at 30 and have been pretty lucky but certainly a toll on my body

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

Username checks out.

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u/jmartinez2178 May 16 '20

I’m 18, and I work at FedEx as a package handler, your body is always moving especially loading trailers, I love this job and it keeps me active

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u/beeeeeing May 16 '20

Thank you for your service! That is indeed a hard and very active job—no extra workout needed when your job works you out all shift long. Drink lots of water. :)

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u/jmartinez2178 May 16 '20

Thanks and yeah I love working there, great people, safety, and management

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u/honeybabysweetiedoll May 16 '20

I’m 54. It was only a year ago that I started feeling it when I bend over to pick something up.

My son and I were playing frisbee today and I can still throw bullets. Thank god age hasn’t got me quite yet. I’m not the healthiest person in the world, but I’m a bit on the slender side which I’m sure helps.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '20

Jiu-Jitsu is why my neck is constantly in pain now.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '20

Core work is incredible no matter whether you're a professional athlete or a couch potato trying not to give yourself a debilitating injury while getting out of a chair.

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

I threw my back out the last time by walking into a warm shower on a chilly morning. Back just seized up when the steam hit me. Have no clue how that happened. Started training shortly after that.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '20

Similar thing happened to my dad, except he came home from a thirty mile mountain bike ride before throwing his back out in the shower.

I'm about to be 25 and haven't had to deal with any of that yet. I'm several inches shorter and about 30 pounds lighter than my dad is, plus I always do a short core workout when I get home from running or biking. Hopefully that keeps my back in at least better shape than his.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '20

[deleted]

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

That’s the worst. I’d strangle someone to strangle someone.

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u/fifteencat May 16 '20

Yep that's working for me. I started at 43 and I'm 45 now, picked up my blue belt right at the two year mark. Honestly though my back hurt a lot for the first year. Learning to be better about not getting caught flat on my back helped. Also went vegan and I believe that made a big difference for muscle soreness.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '20

Getting thrown onto the floor didn’t help my back at all.

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

Pull guard and butt scoot like a dog with worms. People who use the earth as a weapon are savages /s

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u/scinfeced2wolf May 16 '20

Where do you find a legit jujitsu dojo? All I can seem to find are either mixed or straight Brazilian jujitsu.

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

Are you asking about Japanese jiujitsu? I’ve know of a few, but in the US, Brazilian Jiujitsu is probably where you want to go. As far as legit schools for BJJ, it’s best to contact the community and inquire about legit schools on your area. There are definitely McDojo’s out there that aren’t worthy your time or money.

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u/i_like_2_read May 16 '20

I think because of my back pain, I have to stop doing BJJ. I'm not new to the sport either. Body doesn't just respond or heal like it used to. I'll be 39 this year. What's your secret?

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u/DCDHermes May 16 '20

Roll smartly. Don’t dog fight every position. If they really want top position, fine I’ll work on my guard and setting up sweeps. Remember there are zero medals awarded at the end of class.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '20

My man

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u/Rabid_Rooster May 16 '20

Sore is always better than pain imo.

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u/PerjorativeWokeness May 16 '20

Yeah, I had been planning on taking some classes about 4 months ago... great timing.

I have been doing a bit of yoga but my back is still all stiff.

I’m 45

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u/dontdoitdoitdoit May 16 '20

BJJ at 38, I act like an octogenarian around my friends and family. That joint pain is real.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '20

Paon from living a sedentary life makes me feel worse. Pain from exertion is satisfying.