Lets make this a two part poll with a bonus question.

First, decline in physical ability.
Second, decline in memory.
Bonus, I'm ___ yrs old and haven't noticed yet.

Question:
Decline in Physical Ability?

Choices:
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Don't know, haven't noticed it yet.

Question:
Decline in Memory?

Choices:
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
I couldn't ever remember shit.

Question:
Bonus, I'm ___ yrs old and haven't noticed yet.

Choices:
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
How in the hell would I know?

 

For me, my fifties have been eye opening.

Tasks that used to take a few hours not take the whole day.

The mental side has hit me hard. Hand eye coordination and dropping small parts...ugh. Remembering steps...I used to be able to think several steps out, have parts ready for the next day or two, etc.

My recent COVID project was building a powder coat oven from scratch. My estimate was a month...reality was three!

32 when we had our first kid and continued with each subsequent.
Sleep became nonexistent, work out routine dropped from 5-6 days a week to 1-2 if I am lucky, diet became crap.
The oldest 2 are now becoming somewhat self sufficient so hopefully things will improve.

Shoot, I'll be 74 in May and I can't get nearly as much done in a day as I could when in my fifties. We have a small farm so I am outside just about every day keep things working but after three or four hours I am in the house taking a break.

It's called getting old and it's perfectly normal.

I noticed a marked change in my memory/attention after the stress of my divorce several years ago. I attributed it to the personal stuff as well as work, which was insane at the time. I’m busy now a days...but back then I was even worse, plus the stress of the type of investigations I was doing. I really believe I fried my brain a little.

Honestly I haven’t thought back on that time frame for a while. It makes my craziest day in my current life seem like a walk in the park. 80 hour weeks were the norm, no exaggeration, with a thousand miles of driving.

I really needed that reminder of perspective

Due to no appropriate choices, I couldn't answer all the questions, but...

Decline in physical abilities really started kicking in somewhere between 55 and 60. By my late 60's I was pretty much done with anything that required serious lifting (a bundle of roofing shingles), any prolonged bending or kneeling, or a lot of getting up and down (working under vehicles).

I'll still go up a ladder to do things but I don't climb on things without a ladder like I used to. I'll still run a chainsaw, but I take more breaks. Raking/shoveling/running tools with wooden handles is extremely limited due to bursitis. I can do it, but I pay for it dearly.

Memory is still good at 70. I search for just the right word sometimes, but that's pretty normal for me anyway. I make a mental note to do something and then a day later realize I forgot to do it which again is not really a new thing. I do make more written notes if it's really important that I get it done.

I'm 84 and haven't yet noticed . . . wait, what was the question?

I voted 50 but the curve sure began to steepen at 60.

It started at 40 and it’s been a slow decline since. My knees do NOT approve of going up and down ladders at work all day. My hips don’t like the walking on concrete all day either. I can still outwork all the young punks at work but when I get home the wheels fall off. My memory has always been shit unless it’s useless trivia and movie quotes.

My 30's is when I noticed a physical decline. I used to power lift quite a bit. In my 20's, I could work through it generally or a quick recovery. In my 30's, I hit my peak bench, squat, and deadlift, but also had a torn pec and rotator injury that took over a year each to heal. That ended my heavy lifting. Now at 37, I can sleep wrong and hurt. 2 kids definitely puts a damper on your health in general due to the increased stress and lack of sleep. I haven't really noticed anything on the memory side.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:

The oldest 2 are now becoming somewhat self sufficient so hopefully things will improve.

yes but you must make a conscious effort to re-capture that time available

--------------------------

My knees were shot in my 40s due to beating around in boats for Uncle Sam. My stroke affected my comprehension and speech at 46. Now I’m tired more than I ever was.
Recently I have been working on a small project and find myself wandering like an ant looking for the tool I know I just had....frustrating to no end. Or driving all the way there to have forgotten a required tool at home.

Could be worse, I’m still here breathing and get to see my kid and wife, so there’s that

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MikeinNC,

Getting old is a real bitch, barely beats the alternative!

Physical decline started for me in my mid-60's, I'm now in my 70's, and it seems like I can't do squat any more. My interest in doing physical activities has waned in concert with my abilities. Fortunately (?), aging hasn't seemed to affect my mental processes nearly so much, still sharp as a rubber hammer.

My body became problematic in my 40s. Constant muscle an joint injuries so I seriously reduced the quantity of exercise I was doing. Healing was taking for ever too.
I have recently started adding more body weight training and low impact aerobic workouts and it is working well. I am keeping things slow and under control as I really can’t afford the time off if I injure myself.
I am now in my late 50s and the memory is going fast. I had a very good memory when younger but now I am watching TV and see a familiar face but it can take me hours to put a name to it.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
I'm 84 and haven't yet noticed . . . wait, what was the question?

Couldn't vote as each had to have an answer.

Physically it was 40 when aches and pains started creeping up. Couldn't run as fast, as far or jump as high as I once could.

Mentally I think I'm still pretty sharp.

I am 58, and for the past three or four years, I have noticed my strength diminishing.

As to memory, I sometimes take a second to find a name, but it is hard to say if that is new or getting worse. I always did that to some degree.

I set PR in the marathons in my early 40s, after 10 years of running marathons. I'll turn 50 this year and fill OK and my recovery is OK, but come Sunday, I feel all the miles and yardwork from the week.

At only 73 I am really struggling with most every physical thing. Hard to bend over, harder to get back up, hard to walk very far, harder to climb at all, hard to hear clearly, hard to give a hoot. Huh?

Bob

I'm 55 and noticed a big difference in physical ability when I turned 50, but mentally, I seem to be the same as ever, if not slightly improved. I don't know if the improvement is due to more freedom to think for myself (I work for myself now) or because I have more life experience to relate to problems, but the thinker is going in fine style.

Or to quote DrDan; "Often wrong, never in doubt."

I'd say my biggest issue after not having the physical ability I had 10 years ago, is that my "fuckit" and "screw you" is much closer to the surface than it used to be. I am more conflict averse than ever as I carry a gun all the time now and I didn't 15 years ago. But I have noticed that my patience and temper have evaporated with age, and I have to walk away, or just let things go for the sake of my mental health.