I’m 26, it suddenly hit me that I’m getting older. I’m worried I won’t be able to play the same.

45 comments

  1. I’m wayyy stronger but fuck I can’t jump anymore. I could dunk at 20 now my legs hurt grabbing the rim.

  3. lifted in my 20’s, stopped and tried again in my 30’s. For me the biggest difference was the recovery time. Things just didn’t heal as fast

  4. My knees fucking suck, and my stamina definitely isn’t what it use to be.

    And I know I’m on the better spectrum of men my age.

    Many other men suffer lower back pains, hip pains, shoulder pains….. and the list goes on.

    But above all, I don’t find myself recovering as fast as I use to.

  5. I am pretty sure that all the playing when I was younger has given me the orthopedic issues I have today. I just made an appointment to get a cortisone shot in my shoulder.

  6. In my 40s, I don’t recover quickly anymore. I was running 5 miles a few times a week and then all of a sudden I could only do it once a week and I was sore for about 3 days after

  7. Cardio has come way easier to me in my 30’s than it did in my 20’s

  8. i’m 40, i don’t play sports, just weight training almost daily. Personally i don’t have any age-related problems with my body. Although I notice, and most people will agree, that recovery takes longer.

  9. Last year on Easter I took the older kids across the street to the little league field for a pickup baseball game. I have never felt older in my life.

  10. I’m 37 now. I took up rock climbing at 33, with a break from 2020 until mid 2021. I’m still getting better, pushing harder and harder grades, but my recovery time grows longer with every passing year. A hard session at 33 would leave me a little sore the day after. A hard session at 37 and my entire body is stiff and in pain for the next two days.

    I need to be better about not pushing too hard and better managing how hard and long I work out for.

  11. Lots.

    I could run 30K a week no concerns… now if I run more than 15K a week my legs hurt way too much.

  12. In Jiu-Jitsu, I can mostly keep up with the younger guys but I injure alot easier and I need some recovery time in between sessions, so no consecutive days. About the same for weight lifting, no consecutive days.

  13. Can’t lift every day now, as need more time to recover and need more sleep too.

  14. Lifting – I stopped when I was 19 and started again when I was 29 (31 now). I’m much stronger and advancing a lot better now than ever before, BUT I think most of that’s tied to a wiser approach and having more money to help with certain things (diet, nutrition, sleep, etc.)

    Sports – I stopped playing rec softball when I was 26. I played at a company picnic this past Saturday and the next two days I felt like I had been hit like an absolute bus.

    Overall – I’m a lot stronger lifting-wise (maybe some dad strength), but sprinting/jumping ability has decreased tremendously. Also knees and lower back are stiff.

    I think a majority of it comes down to taking care of yourself. You’ll decline in performance naturally, but it’ll be a lot less abrupt if you’re caring for your body.

  15. You wont be able to play the same. Things that just used to “hurt” are much more likely to be injuries. I still lift pretty frequently, but not heavy like I used to and keeping up with people in racquetball or volleyball is way harder.

  16. I would never let kids play contact sports. No way. I’ve seen too many injuries from myself and others.

  17. Depends on the sport but generally injuries will take longer to heal. That includes standard muscle fatigue. But there is something about perfecting the basics that comes with age.

  18. I’m in my early 30s. I did a lot of sports in my 20s and I’m still very active but it definitely feels different. A few lingering injuries have started to add up that I have to manage and I feel like I need more recovery time after an intense workout. My joints all feel much stiffer before I get fully warmed up. But, if anything my flexibility and endurance have gotten better. I was an endurance athlete in high school and college but now the events I do are measured in hours rather than just minutes. I’ve put some significant effort into stretching regularly so once I’m warmed up my range of motion is actually better than it was in my teens and 20s. I’m also stronger now in my legs (one of those lingering injuries prevents me from really pushing bench press).

    Overall, there’s some things that I can’t do like I used to. But, there’s other things that I’m still setting PRs on. In the past year, I’ve set a PR in the 1km, 1 mile, 5km, 10km, half-marathon (first completion), marathon (first completion), 40km bike, 100km bike, and deadlift. I haven’t touched any of my swimming PRs, but that’s in part because that was my main focus when I was younger and I don’t have access to the kinds of facilities, personnel support, and timing equipment that I used to, so I’m cross-training other sports more.

    Edit: I forgot a big PR, I also got a PR in the sprint triathlon, though the one-year mark on that is in a couple weeks.

  19. 30, generally I feel about the same. I had back pains but I was told that I’m just lazy and need to do more on back day.

    I’ll say tho I took good care of my joints, and generally speaking my family ages really slowly, I’m partially convinced we’re vampires

  20. In your late 20s, you pick up injuries that don’t go away. In your 30s, you realise that all the younger guys are quicker than you somehow.

  21. I was pretty inactive and horribly out of shape in my 20s and didn’t get into sports until 30ish. Even out of shape, I bounced back from physical exertion and soreness way faster as a younger person. That being said, I got sore far easier back then, so it’s pretty much a push. I imagine I will continue to downslide as I get older.

  22. Whatever you play, dont stop. I played soccer well into my 30’s. I took a break because my kids were taking up so much time. Tried to go back at 44. I dont know what it was, but it was just gone. Guys I know that didnt stop, were still doing it. I just cant.

  23. I feel the same personally, but I take better care of myself than most people I know at least.

  24. I’ve been a hockey goalie since 1993,and I’m currently 32. I’ve noticed that by the start of the third period, I’m usually a lot more exhausted than I used to be. It could be the fact that I play 5 or 6 times a week and work a physical day job, but I’ve noticed a little decline in my recovery.

    The above is also in addition to the aches and pains of playing that position for so long. Such as knees, hips, ankles, shoulders, and lower back pain. Basically, I hurt so much so often it doesn’t hurt anymore.

  25. Sometimes I feel stiff, but I sleep on a stiff-ish couch (by choice, not woman/married related). I get up, drink some water, and/or V8 and everything is fine. Go to the DR. every year. All good. You are what you eat.

  26. Way slower as you age. I was fast as fuck in my early 20s, it goes quicker than you think.

  27. Just stay active.

    # It’s a lot harder getting back into shape than it is staying in shape.

    Edit: Made the cogent point a bit bigger so even old coots without their glasses (like me) can read it.

  28. I have a lot less reaction time and I’m not as quick , but I still do well . There is a reason they have age brackets

  30. I played proper club football (soccer) in my 20’s and Sunday league in my 30’s. Now… I’m recovering after a bi weekly game with other 40+ year olds. The body just doesn’t cooperate like it used to.

  31. I’m in my early 30s and started lifting weights at 15. I don’t see much of a difference. I think I’m a smarter lifter now. If I hurt I just stop. No ego, no shame. When I was younger I’d keep pushing and inevitably get an injury. I haven’t quite got back to my strength levels since I’m on and off over the years but I’m strong enough to do functional every day lifting and that’s enough for me.

  32. Yeah, I’m fatter & slower – smarter & stronger.
    Also my cardio is dogshit (even though I smoked in my 20s)

  33. Mid 30s.

    1. “Bounce”. What I noticed since my late 20s is that I don’t have that “bounce” anymore (for basketball). I use to be quick, used to have springs as legs, I’m not as agile anymore. I feel like I still have good sprint speed. But only for straightaway. Not necessarily when I’m making cuts or crosses. I feel slightly heavier and not as light. I think it is also due to the lack of consistency. I just don’t have the time to put in the work as I used to.

    2. Recovery. It takes me longer to recover from lifting weights. It also takes me slightly longer to heal any injuries, even if it’s minor.

    3. Energy/Burnout. I don’t have the same energy that I use to have. Another of my hobbies is mma training. I just started going back to training and I was doing 3x/week boxing, 2x/week kick boxing, and 2x/week jiu-jitsu. For a total of 8 total hours a week of training (it’s not a lot if you add up the time) and I just got completely burned out after 4 weeks of training. (I also work full time as a site manager at a construction site). I was out of training for 2 weeks.

    4. Lay – Offs. If I take time off from lifting weights or running, it’s really hard for me to get “back into it”. Before, it didn’t matter how much time off I had in between, I’d just jump right back into it like nothing, but now I think to myself “fuck, why did I take so much time off. I lost all of my gains strength/endurance”.

    The difference between now to when I was younger is that I ACTUALLY have to watch what I eat. I have to go to the gym/train CONSISTENTLY, but in MODERATION to avoid burning myself out. Minimize stress to not raise cortisol. And also SLEEP! I must be strict with my sleep schedule. 6.5 to 7 hours is perfect for me. Less than that has me feeling groggy and exhausted. More than that, I just want to continue sleeping more.

    Everything has to be done with moderation and consistency now. Discipline is key. Something I lack heavily on.

    I’m thinking of seeing a doctor to go for TRT.

  35. In grad school I could not sleep for three days then spar three rounds. Now, i would die.

  36. Your bursts of energy is comparable but much shorter but you sure feel it the next day

  37. Yes. I played soccer for over 20 years. My knees and back are trash. In my 40’s now and I play some bball with the old guys at LA Fitness and that’s it. I don’t lift heavy anymore either. No weights heavier than me are allowed.

  38. You won’t. It never gets easier. There is no real reversing the age process, I’m even an inch shorter at 50 then I was at 20

  39. I’ve been powerlifting on/off for 20 years. I’m now 37 and stronger than I’ve ever been. However, my recovery time from workouts has become longer.

  40. The explosive movements arent there anymore, its more a steady state effort. I can plod along on a mountain bike for ages, that effort to climb a sudden pile of rocks is harder though. Chasing around a football field with all the zigging and zagging, that’s harder
    Recovery time is more important, so I do 2 fully body sessions at the gym a week rather than go more often, but spend more time in each session. Im stronger now than ever

  41. recovery and reaction time. your skills usually dont actually diminish, you ability to actually execute them does

  42. I am trying to find my old journals because either the tennis balls are much worse or i am much stronger. I rip a tennis ball on a hard court in about 5 hours now and i swear i have done 20 hours of pounding in my twenties

  43. *”Older Guys who play sports. Do you feel any physical difference in your 30s or 40s than when you were in your 20s?”*

    Yes.

  44. Recovery time is longer, and it’s easier to get a muscle randomly. Definitely more time spent on stretching and preparation for physical activity. When I was 20 I would roll out of bed and go play a game of rugby. If I tried that now (39) I’d end up in the ICU.

  45. What a fucking punch in the gut to be in my 30s and be grouped with “older guys”.

    And yes. I’m 32 and I feel like 20 was a hundred years ago. I tire more easily, recover more slowly, get more random cramps and my knees aren’t the same.

    You *are* getting older, dude. Age comes for all. While you’ll have the benefit of experience, you’ll have to train much harder to overcome your opponents’ age advantage.

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