Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire At what age did you lose your athleticism?

20 years, 2-1/2 months.
A bullet to the spine took the athleticism right out of me!

Damn dude, hate to hear that.

If you're not dead you're not done.

I can steal pick-up full elephant tusk and run it right thru the saw @ 41

Maybe tomorrow.

Tom

That was going on 45 years ago. I've adapted.

I could tell my first step quickness in basketball was going by my mid 20s, and my jumping ability by early 30s. Overall strength kept increasing until mid 30s and has not waned noticeably now in my mid 40s. My days of playing pickup games are over though.

I think I peaked at about 25, as most of us do. I still run very well for an old fart of 50, but I sure as schit can't do what I did 25 years ago.

At least my hair is hanging in there.

I've been active athletically my whole life, running until about four years ago when I tore the gastrocnemius muscle in my right calf (my right calf is now 1.5" greater in circumference than my left) but have been on an elliptical or bike riding since. So, for sixty-four, I'm in relatively good shape. I think.

Back in HS I ran the 440 yd dash (now the 400 meters) and did 50.7 sec once. To put that in perspective, under 50 seconds would get you a D1 track scholarship then. I was pretty fast. In the 80's one summer I thought I'd run a 440 (once around the track) after jogging and loosening up. I was in the 40's probably and just curious as to what it would feel like. Though I was in pretty good condition, I couldn't get one under 90 seconds and that hurt me.

Of course, the process is gradual and insidious and I'm sure outside of running where older folks can still be competitive, I lost my quickness and strength by mid-thirties at the latest.

I think the biggest thing I've noticed in the late fifty's and beyond is loss of muscle mass and even earlier a loss of proprioception regarding balance and security in footing; for example in skiing, etc. it's that momentary and instantaneous insecurity as you're negotiating uneven terrain.

Ha! We're all crumbling. "Three score and ten and if by strength more".

It's interesting how some define athleticism. This is along the lines of what I was thinking. Some of the best athletes in the world are in the NFL, NHL, and NBA, and they are pretty much declining in their early 30's and done before 40, and this is with access to the best training an nutritional programs money can buy.

But many campfire members show no decline into their 40's and 50's. Maybe beer is the breakfast of champions, who knew?

I don't consider being able to hump a pack in the mountains to be athleticism. Lots of older guys can do those things if their joints hold up. I think it has more to do with stamina, mental toughness, and just plain orneriness.

Right up to the time[about ten years ago], that those damn mountains, that I've hunted for over 30 years, all of a sudden got steeper! And those same canyons got longer and steeper! Whata up with that? Being 63 I guess. Still give it hell tho.

I never was considered athletic and to make it worse I was a heavy smoker in my teens and twenties. I ran a rather slow 6 Min. 20 second mile when I was in Army boot camp. Stopped smoking at age 28 which seemed to almost immediately cause a tendency to gain weight.

I would get in shape by jogging and running wind sprints in preparation for my annual western states mule deer hunt. So using the hill climbing and hunting in the west as a reference, I did OK through my 30's & 40's, severely slowing down in my 50's. My last trip was to the foothills west of Cody when I was 59 and it was just too painful to find much pleasure in it.
Been whitetail hunting from stands since then.

In hindsight at age 69 if I made a loss chart of my endurance and strength levels, it would look like a long range bullet drop chart, a parabola that drops off suddenly at the end. the last 10 years dropped more than the combined 30 years before.

In my late thirties I used to impress my nephews, who were then in their early to middle twenties, by keeping pace with them in an all-out sprint. Maintained that ability till I was about forty. I doubt I could do much sprinting at all now that I'm in my early 50s. At any rate, I haven't tried in about ten years.

haven't lost it yet at 50

Well you're a freak of nature, so what do you expect?

I'm not sure. It seems like only yesterday when I was joggin' at warp 7 that I ran into myself. We got drunk together and it's sort of been Groundhog Day since then. What year is it?

What if a pickup was chasing you?

I'm 73 and can kick stx's ass.

Ya but how fast can you run after you kick him in the ass?

2525 why? Your memory going too?