I'm going to be the big 30 this year. I know I know, hardly ancient, but as I've gotten a bit older I've notice some things:

1) My body takes longer to recover from intense training

2) My body takes longer to get over injury

These are fairly small changes, but just some things I noticed. How has your training changed as you've gotten older? Did you have to alter what you do? Spar less?

Did you have to change martial arts altogether? I've known some Judoka for whom Aikido is some sort of "retirement" MA they go to when Judo training gets to much for them and they can't do Judo anymore!

I started later in life Prizewriter. I started weight lifting at 29 and have continued now for over 14 years. At 43 I have noticed I am not as strong and it takes longer to recover and it is harder to make gains; but not horrible by any means. I'm still lifting big weights and believe I can lift even more.

For martial arts I didn't start till 2002 and I was 32; I have nothing I can really base that on. I only went till 2009 though and I found that I was in much better shape at that time; bar some injuries which I will admit probably took longer to mend from. My cardio was at an all time high and recovered fairly quickly.

Genetics, staying healthy, healthy eating, proper mind and understanding your body; all of these things I believe play an important role.

My goals have always been Bigger, Stronger, Faster ... that hasn't changed one bit. I still feel very fit and am still very active in a lot of things. I probably don't recover as fast but I don't pay as much attention to that and feel good that I'm in better shape than most 20 and 30 years olds.

One thing that I will say I have noticed is I have had to adapt things due to injuries that I know are for life. I have changed things in my lifting and I most certainly changed things when I trained; I had to know my limitations. I think as we get older we are more susceptible to injuries especially those like me that put their all into everything. I don't do anything less than 100% which has its ups and downs.

I truly sympathize. I feel the same way after an active aikido session. I just happen to be older than the both of you.
Together, that is.

You are 30 (Prize) + 43 (Dereck) = 73+ years old? Kudos to you for still doing this stuff.

Your technique changes, you heal slower, you learn to fight and train smarter not harder-but still training hard. You lose the urge to try and muscle everything and start to go with the flow. Give your body a day off to recover instead of training every day.
The big thing is still pushing yourself and not letting the age thing become an excuse not to train while still maintaining a progressive training regimen. But take heart the 50+ body can take and do a whole lot more than most 20 year olds (or 50) think it can.
In your 40's you'll hurt yourself trying to do what you could do in your 20's. In your 50's you get a better sense of what you can and can't do-older and hopefully a little wiser.

Totally agree with this statement

I'm 41 (next Birthday) and I Feel it. I've been nursing a Knee injury for 6 months. I've had injuries in my 20's and 30's and they never took this long to heal.

I find I look more into technique as opposed to strength and my Karate is totally different no as I adapt it to my body as it is now.

I've even bought a book on Amazon

Martial Arts After 40 [Paperback] by Sang H. Kim

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1880336294

Mainly to get some much needed advice

OSU

Thank you.
The main difference is my Aikido instructor insists I "walk through" rather than roll. :-)

I've found that I enjoy martial arts alot now in middle age, but there are some aches and pains that I have to deal with on a regular basis. In my goju ryu class some of the arm bars and hip throws have lingering effects well after class is over. My elbows ache and I'm prone to pulled muscles around my sides and lower back.
It's funny, but having come out of TKD long ago has kept my legs in good shape. I can't remember the last time I was slowed by a leg injury.
I think that the main thing that I need to focus on is not to muscle the techniques. The spirit is willing, but the body isn't always up for the task.

Mark

I certainly feel that my raw athleticism is not what it was, but at the same time I'm not exactly a mere shadow of myself, either. Somethings have gotten better, including my timing and accuracy, which are far better now than they were 10 years ago.

Oddly enough, my training has gotten progessively harder as I have gotten older, upping the intensity and scope of the workouts.

The problem is that when those limits are reached, the injuries and recovery are much worse than they used to be. That seems to be the story at nearly 43 years old for me.

I'm in my 60s, and have found that outside activity helps a lot: light lifting, aerobics, pilates and yoga. Stay in shape, remember you're not 20 anymore, and you'll be fine.

I think for us males we don't want to ever admit to getting old or feeling that way. To be honest, with the abuse I have put my body through I thought I would be a lot sorer; KNOCK ON WOOD. For the most part I feel no different than when I was in my 20's and 30's. In fact I am in better shape so I would say my life has gotten better. In my 20's and 30's I couldn't Deadlift over 400 lbs and now in my 40's I can and I plan to increase this.

We may get older but staying in shape with activities is the key to a better life when we are older. Sure small aches and pains but nothing not manageable. And as I get older I'm sure those will increase and I may retract some of my statements but for now I am a 20 year who has lived more years than is reflected and nothing is slowing me down right now too much.

I'm Taking up Judo Properly in about 2 weeks and I hope my body will be able to cope with the new regime!!!

I will see if the "its never too late!!!" adage is true!!!

At a recent belt testing I saw 56 year old 4th & 5th Dan (they also brought some of there younger Dans) who believe in never stop competing beat down 25-35 year old men & women testing for there shodan. Now the experience level was in the older guys favor but speed and youth was in the younger guys bag. But they couldn't use there speed against the older Dans. I remember these older Dan when they were younger they were a lot faster and more mobile. Now what they have is strength in technique, smarts,timing and distance. Now the respector factor was not a point because the new testing Shodans didn't know who these guys were until after the test.

Now the old Dans had size and pwoer over the new yet to be Shodans so they could control how often and if they wanted to trade getting hit. It became a trail of just make it through don't worry about winning because you can't.

I guess you can grow old gracefully if you can train everyday and you are bigger and there a big gap in experience.

Dobbersky, make sure you focus on learning the break falls really well. Especially slapping your hand down hard on the ground when you fall makes a huge difference. I've only been thrown by someone at full power twice, the first time caught me unprepared and I didn't slap the ground and the second time I made sure to slap hard. It made a huge difference, I was barely sore the second time whereas I was winded the first time.

Also, see if you can ask to start out on a crash mat instead of the thin mats first, they're much softer.

You don't necessarily lose speed as you age. I'm faster than any shodan or nidan I train with, and I'm a turtle compared to my sensei, who's a few years older than me. Repitition will burn those neural pathways.

That said, recognition through experience, eliminating wasted movement and controlling the distance from your opponent can make you look faster.

<< Repitition will burn those neural pathways. >>
Motor Memory. Great stuff.