What do you guys do to stay healthy?

[Kaizer]

Personally ever since marrying my wife, my workout is now cleaning the house, working the yard, walking the dogs, and occasional swim (I used to swim daily).
Did you guys have a huge change due to a marriage or change of environment?

[kittyray]

I've talked about this before, but my exercise routine changed drastically a couple years ago. I had had a kind of weird schedule which allowed me to do strength training 3x week and cardio 5x a week, plus I did a lot of walking. Then I moved to a less walkable (and less runnable) city and had more of a a 9-5 schedule (but realistically more like 9-9). Then of course covid hit and made gym-going and similar things even harder, especially after moving back in with my parents for several months.

I am incredibly out of shape at this point and it sucks, I feel really bad because I spent my entire twenties rebuilding my fitness from zero due to a major illness, and while I'm not at zero, this drop is entirely on me. I moved again a couple months ago and started a new job, and as I'm settling into a new routine, I'm trying to get myself back into a healthier place, but it's not easy because I definitely have not had the energy to exercise as much or cook healthy meals or all that. Trying to take baby steps.

[Kaizer]

Yeah, I notice the environment and work/people really forces you into a certain habit or lifestyle.
I do miss swimming daily etc...

[Druid]

I need to figure something out - up until immediately before the pandemic I worked in restaurants, so I was on my feet 8 hours a day, and for the peak hours part of that I'd be basically speedwalking. I also biked to and from work in the non-winter, and since those two things were all I really did I wasn't like athlete-fit but I was never worried. Now it's looking like I'll stay in office jobs forever, which on the one hand thank god, but on the other I'm suddenly super stagnant.

Hopefully I'll be able to pick up horseback riding again in the relatively near future, but that's a ways off still 1) financially and 2) because I live in a big city and don't drive. The only other sport I ever got really into was rugby but I absolutely can't do that any more, my body would collapse like a house of cards lol. I miss it a lot though, and I miss being FIT fit. I stopped super abruptly with a bad injury - like couldn't even jog/stretch/cool down after that game - so I just had to observe my body fall from peak physical condition (well like, my best ever, I was no Olympian but I was on multiple teams and working out minimum 2h daily) to nothing, and without a team to train with / game to train for I've never worked back up to anywhere near that.

If anyone has ideas that work for late-twenties-early-thirties ex-athletes with terrible joints and no attention span for just the gym, please lmk haha. I've seen friends get into things like muay thai and tennis, both of which seem fun but I just don't trust my knees ;-;

[kittyray]

@(you need an account to see links) I feel your pain. I also went from being super fit to basically nothing really rapidly. For me it was an illness and not an injury so there was about a three month decline, but it was a total 180. Again, I was no Olympian, but I had been in a really intense training regimen and had spent a month in the wilderness, and to some extent, my experience did reflect some of the stories I've read of Olympians who are dealing with Long Covid.

At this point I know I'm never gonna be fit the same way I was when I was a nineteen-year-old athlete, but I'd like to be more than I am now, and maybe get back to where I was a few years ago. I'm also really curious about suggestions for old-people-athleticism, especially if there's a community aspect involved.

[Druid]

@(you need an account to see links) uuugh doesn't it suck! But yeah very same - I've made my peace with the fact that I'll never be like that again / I somehow ended up being one of those people with Glory Days, but I do miss like, using my body and playing. It can't involve full contact or sharp pivots anymore but I want to find something

[kittyray]

@(you need an account to see links)! It really does suck! Honestly, there's a sort of grieving process involved. I never thought about it being my Glory Days, but I guess they were! I've mostly made peace with it, especially things like thru-hiking the PCT or something is likely never gonna be in my future, but I have a harder time with littler big things, if that makes sense?

[Druid]

@(you need an account to see links)! It really does suck! Honestly, there's a sort of grieving process involved. I never thought about it being my Glory Days, but I guess they were! I've mostly made peace with it, especially things like thru-hiking the PCT or something is likely never gonna be in my future, but I have a harder time with littler big things, if that makes sense?

Yeah totally! Like ok fine I'm not going to play high level rugby ever again, but that isn't a stretch and that happens to a lot of people. But my joints are so bad now that I can't even do like, beer league soccer anymore, and that stings a lot more even though I liked it less.

But there's gotta be sooomething. Now that indoor stuff is opening back up I'm thinking maybe rock climbing? Low impact but interesting and "gamey", which is promising. My high school had a rock wall in the basement, and that's the last time I did it at all so it'd be starting from 0 for sure, but I did enjoy it back then.

[kittyray]

Yeah totally! Like ok fine I'm not going to play high level rugby ever again, but that isn't a stretch and that happens to a lot of people. But my joints are so bad now that I can't even do like, beer league soccer anymore, and that stings a lot more even though I liked it less.

But there's gotta be sooomething. Now that indoor stuff is opening back up I'm thinking maybe rock climbing? Low impact but interesting and "gamey", which is promising. My high school had a rock wall in the basement, and that's the last time I did it at all so it'd be starting from 0 for sure, but I did enjoy it back then.

I've been meaning to get back into bouldering. I've gone a few times since getting sick and I am more afraid of falling the wrong way than I used to be, but it's fun and challenging, but I do get a little self-conscious being so new/bad at it in front of other people? There are a lot of outdoorsy people in my new city, so I'm hoping to find some people who do low-key hikes and build myself back up. I just worry everybody is gonna be 3 intense 5 me.

[Houndoom]

Count me in for the Glory Days club ;-; I used to lift heavy and was strong (like was reasonably competitive at the state level) but got derailed by an injury that's probably never really fully going away. Luckily I have another sport that I love and can still fairly regularly play, if only covid would go away.

During covid I more or less just let fitness fall away ahaha. I ran a bit with my dog, tried some off and on yoga, and at this point am waiting for my usual gym to open back up and I'll get back to strength training then. I'm not... too worried about regaining fitness? It generally comes back easier/faster than the first time I got into lifting, but I do worry that from a mental strength standpoint I'll get discouraged and not be able to get into a routine.

@(you need an account to see links) I don't really have too much advice, but with my lingering issues it usually means - not skipping warmups/prehab, really listening to my body for flareups instead of pushing through it the way I used to, and generally trying to be ok with slower progress.