Coming back to tennis in 50’s is WAY harder than I thought. It’s no joke

[_Jaq]

Quit basketball at 42. Sat on my butt and got very out of shape so I decided to try tennis at 45 and fell in love. I don’t remember a significant problem getting fit again other than the expected muscle soreness. Played a TON of singles the next 4 yrs. Joined a club so switched to doubles because almost no one there wanted to play singles, but still practiced with a hitting partner a lot. Had a severe shoulder injury at 50. Opted against surgery so took me ~1.5 yrs before I felt comfortable playing again, and was getting ready to do so and then had a random injury where I tore the labrum (basically cartilage) in my hip, so had to have surgery because I couldn’t even do normal activities like squatting down in the kitchen to cook etc. I was cleared for tennis almost 2 years ago but had fallen into a lazy habit pattern and preferred my iPad to any true exercise. I finally have the itch to play again, and I tend to go all in in a compulsive way, which was great when I was younger but at 54, holy crap! I’ve been hitting easy fed balls on my machine for 2 months and not having to move much at all. Just doing that gave me monster level tendonitis on the top of my feet of all places, but I just kept pushing through. Serve practice gave me Achilles tendonitis so I backed of that but kept easy hitting most days on the ball machine. Tendons finally quit hurting so started hitting cooperative balls (like crosscourt only and some just playing points using the doubles side) with partners 2 weeks ago and OMG. After 15 minutes most of the muscles in my body feel fatigued and I’m breathing so hard it’s actually embarrassing. I have to keep asking to sit and rest for 5-10 minutes and can then go again and push myself to get 15 minutes before HAVING to sit and rest again, and the cycle repeats until the session is over. I played my first doubles match (no freaking way I’d even consider singles for now) a few days ago and tried to serve and volley every point and come in the first real opportunity when returning. This went great…..for 1 service game and 1 return game, before it became very clear that I had to move as little as possible and digging out low first volleys/ half volleys and coming in was just too physically demanding for me to do with any regularity. My first service game in the second set was a 20 minute marathon and I lost track of how many dueces. This was due to a combination of my serve currently being total crap, so no easy points leading to longer points, and my unhealthy competitiveness not allowing me to tank points or not at least try to move back for an overhead or try to at least get a racket on a lob etc. I was breathing so hard that my partner had to keep pretending to talk strategy with me to buy time but was really just saying breathe in through your nose out through the mouth and try to slow your heart rate……and this is DOUBLES. I actually started seeing spots in my vision at one point but somehow stupidly won that one service game, but was completely spent and got steamrolled afterwards. The next day I felt like my battery was at 5% and literally think I know what true depression feels like for a day, and everyone at worked called me mopey and helped me out, brought me food etc. I took 3 days off and hit again today with a partner. It went much better, but I still needed more breaks (shorter and less often this time) for rest than what we were doing likely warranted, but at least I didn’t feel nearly as bad as before. I GROSSLY underestimated how hard it would be to get into shape in my mid 50’s compared to my mid 40’s…like by a lot. Anyone else take this much time away from any real exercise and then try to get fit again in their mid 50’s or later? It’s going to take a lot longer than I expected.

 

[Injured Again]

Yeah, getting fit as you age takes more effort, time, and knowledge. I’m 62 1/2 and I consider fitness to be my full time job. I’m very lucky to be able to devote that much time to it and I know not everyone is in the same fortunate position.

I estimate it probably takes 50% more training to achieve the same physical fitness levels, relative to my maximal capability, as when I was in my 20’s. Only now, I have to rest 50% more, be a lot smarter about how I train, and be diligent about what I eat.

The flip side is that fitness seems to degrade slower. I can take a few weeks off and come back fairly close to where I left off. Some of that is that my physical capability ceiling is lower every year so it becomes a lesser amount over doing nothing with each passing year, but I also believe that a body used to years or decades of relatively constant fitness retains that fitness for longer.

I’ve talked to a bunch of guys, one as old as his early 90’s who competes on a national level and can still run and jump around on the court, that you’ve got to continue to use it or you lose it, so they get fit and do their best to stay fit. According to them, yoyo’ing doesn’t work.

Best of luck on your fitness journey!

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Not a joke?

 

[_Jaq]

Yeah, getting fit as you age takes more effort, time, and knowledge. I’m 62 1/2 and I consider fitness to be my full time job. I’m very lucky to be able to devote that much time to it and I know not everyone is in the same fortunate position.

I estimate it probably takes 50% more training to achieve the same physical fitness levels, relative to my maximal capability, as when I was in my 20’s. Only now, I have to rest 50% more, be a lot smarter about how I train, and be diligent about what I eat.

The flip side is that fitness seems to degrade slower. I can take a few weeks off and come back fairly close to where I left off. Some of that is that my physical capability ceiling is lower every year so it becomes a lesser amount over doing nothing with each passing year, but I also believe that a body used to years or decades of relatively constant fitness retains that fitness for longer.

I’ve talked to a bunch of guys, one as old as his early 90’s who competes on a national level and can still run and jump around on the court, that you’ve got to continue to use it or you lose it, so they get fit and do their best to stay fit. According to them, yoyo’ing doesn’t work.

Best of luck on your fitness journey!

Yeah, I hear you loud and clear. I had full intentions of never getting out of shape again like I did from 42-45 yo, but 2 severe injuries not only made it physically impossible but also psychologically. I started telling myself things like “you put too much wear and tear on your body when you were younger” (I worked so hard to be the best basketball player I could be and was crazy fit so could basically jump into any sport and be competitive, like I did a summer of competitive beach volleyball when I lived at the beach just for fun etc.), “your getting too old for sports”, “you’ve got to face reality” etc. I was cleared almost 2 years ago for tennis but was afraid of another injury to be honest. I try to cross train starting with daily 30 min walks, then jogging/biking etc but I just hate that stuff and the ONLY way I can stay motivated is if it is with the intention to get fit for a sport. I hate every second of endurance type activities and am envious of people that actually enjoy it, but I’m like a golden retriever. If you throw a ball I love to sprint after it and bring it back lol. Sports give me a purpose, and then I like the endurance activities because it improves my game. I think a lot of it is the competition and relationships you form from sports as well. I did get into bodybuilding again 2 yrs ago, which I typically get interested in about every 5 years, look great, but then become very bored by it after ~9 months and let it all go and my body fat and definition reverted right back over time. I think my main struggle with aging is my OCD tendencies where when I’m back into it, it’s all I think about and all I want to do, to be the best I can be. I’ve never been good with moderation or balance, taking proper rest days etc. I know I’ve got to change this or I’ll just get another injury and have to quit again, but it’s not natural for me. Maybe I’ll mature and practice what I preach because I literally tell people this all the time, basically daily because I’m a physician and know better, but knowledge alone doesn’t change behavior. It’s an obvious reality that planned rest days and listening to your body becomes paramount with aging, but it’s so hard to change your mentality/ thought process when it brought you so much success over so many years. Ok, I know I’m whining at this point and realize the basic issue is that I don’t want to admit I’m 54 and must train like I’m 54, so I’ll shut up and work towards acceptance and changing my thought process/ behavior lol. It’s funny because guys my age that I reconnected with at the club all have nagging overuse injuries and I get the impression that none of us want to admit that we need more rest/recovery than we really do, sort of like it’s obvious that this is a simple fact with age but somehow it doesn’t personally apply to yourself and that you’re somehow immune and can just keep pushing. Dumb I know, but it’s also a hard thing to admit. I think this is just another stage of life issue that I’ll have to mature through, and if I want to stay somewhat fit and healthy then I better actually do this sooner rather than later or I’ll be back on the couch with another injury, and I can see how large the uphill battle is already and hate to think of having to do it again when I’m even older. Thanks for your advice and input! Stay well!

 

[Injured Again]

I’ve always been a very goal oriented person so I understand your viewpoint. I’d often sign up for some event knowing that if I didn’t train well, I’d cross that line between competing and surviving, and that has always been an ugly line for me. That was kind of my way of seeing that I was less fit than I wanted to be, and the event was a way to force myself to train.

I went through a lot of emotions in my 50’s. It was when I started getting injured a lot, and really noticed the physical decline starting. Some days it made me just want to stay in bed all day and eat chocolate. Other days I’d work out like a madman and be out of commission for a week due to soreness. I wouldn’t say that I’ve made peace with aging, but at least Father Time and I have an understanding.

Part of that understanding has been that if I want to be physically active and do the things I want to do for the next 30-40 years, I had to make fitness my job. That means showing up to do the work consistently, and learning about advances in exercise science and nutrition.

I used to have significant and traumatic injuries just out of nowhere, but with this recent emphasis on making fitness my job, I’ve only been downed by a knee replacement, which was inevitable at some point. My recovery from that knee replacement has been incredibly quick and thorough, which has given me a lot of confidence I can continue to overcome physical challenges as I get older.

In talking with some older guys at my club who are doing well, it seems my story shares a lot of common themes with their stories, just that we all found our own different routes to fitness. I guess if I could wish well for an aging athlete, it would be that you get to that place as well.

Best of luck!

 

[socallefty]

Are you overweight?

 

[_Jaq]

I’ve always been a very goal oriented person so I understand your viewpoint. I’d often sign up for some event knowing that if I didn’t train well, I’d cross that line between competing and surviving, and that has always been an ugly line for me. That was kind of my way of seeing that I was less fit than I wanted to be, and the event was a way to force myself to train.

I went through a lot of emotions in my 50’s. It was when I started getting injured a lot, and really noticed the physical decline starting. Some days it made me just want to stay in bed all day and eat chocolate. Other days I’d work out like a madman and be out of commission for a week due to soreness. I wouldn’t say that I’ve made peace with aging, but at least Father Time and I have an understanding.

Part of that understanding has been that if I want to be physically active and do the things I want to do for the next 30-40 years, I had to make fitness my job. That means showing up to do the work consistently, and learning about advances in exercise science and nutrition.

I used to have significant and traumatic injuries just out of nowhere, but with this recent emphasis on making fitness my job, I’ve only been downed by a knee replacement, which was inevitable at some point. My recovery from that knee replacement has been incredibly quick and thorough, which has given me a lot of confidence I can continue to overcome physical challenges as I get older.

In talking with some older guys at my club who are doing well, it seems my story shares a lot of common themes with their stories, just that we all found our own different routes to fitness. I guess if I could wish well for an aging athlete, it would be that you get to that place as well.

Best of luck!

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement. Injuries and aging bodies are hard on everybody, regardless if you were super active, but I suspect if part of your identity was being athletic it can be a different psychological hit. After the two major injuries seemingly back to back (I wasn’t even playing a sport in the second injury, just squatted down very deep while holding a heavy grocery store basket and reached into the very rear of the lowest shelf in the frozen foods) I think I felt like I’m too old to get back into physical sports, and now that I’m playing again I think I was a little depressed in retrospect. I’ve got to learn the the line between “I can push through anything” and “I’m too old to even try”, as the former will certainly lead to injury and the later is a bad way for me personally to live. I’m going to try to be very patient, rest, and listen to my body. I have a good update btw if you look at the post below this one. Thanks again!

 

[_Jaq]

Are you overweight?

Depends on who you ask lol. I’m about 20 lbs heavier than I was at my 30 yo prime, so yes I could be leaner. Most people think I’m being vain when I mention I need to lose weight, and I usually respond “yeah, you haven’t seen me in my bathing suit.” I definitely have way too much fat for my liking on my belly and lower back, but you can’t really see it that much in clothes. Basically I’m definitely leaner than the average 54 yo, but definitely not skinny. I still should lose weight for sure because I know it’s an exponential effect on your joints. ~5 years ago before my shoulder injury I got back into bodybuilding, radically strict diet, and had to lose 20lbs from where I am currently to get to 12% body fat monitored on a pretty high tech impedance machine at the gym (but also added muscle then so maybe ~25 lbs of fat loss). The issue is that it’s so hard for me to maintain it at my age and body type, like a full time job of meal prep, calorie counting etc. So I do plan on losing some weight but maybe try to maintain 10 lbs from here. I’ve definitely made better food choices in the past couple of months, but I just don’t want to get so compulsive about food again. How lean do you have to be to avoid injuries with age? It seems like all of the 65+ singles players at nationals are tiny as well. Even when I don’t lift I’m naturally pretty muscular which still adds weight/stress to the joints, and it’s probably no coincidence Djokovic looks so non muscular in his upper body. I imagine age will take care of the muscle weight but make the fat loss even harder. Is there a body fat % you recommend for longevity?

 

[_Jaq]

Good update. Played 3 sets of doubles this morning and it went MUCH better. Thank god because I honestly was starting to wonder if something was wrong with my heart or I had some other medical issue because the first few hitting sessions I couldn’t breath after 15 minutes of just rallying cross court. I’m not exaggerating, I was breathing so hard, my heart was pounding, and full body fatigue and I wasn’t chasing anything down, just cooperative rallies trying to only move enough to set up for shot. My first doubles match I felt like I could have easily passed out. That was almost a week ago but I’ve hit twice since then and was slowly improving. Today I’m so happy that any shortness of breath was pretty proportionate to my effort at the time, and didn’t hit a wall like last time. I’m now pretty sure it will be possible to get in shape again, just super slow. So basically I’m 2.5 months into coming back. I can now stand in place on a ball machine without getting horrendous tendonitis on the top of my feet, can practice serves without a flare of Achilles tendonitis, can rally with a hitting partner without causing alarm that medical attention is needed, and can actually play 3 sets of doubles and not by far an away be the most out of shape person on the court. I’m not delusional that I’ll get into elite shape, just happy that I can play doubles again and if I’m smart about it will be able to push myself again over time.

 

[socallefty]

Is there a body fat % you recommend for longevity?

Not really. I am about 15-20 lbs heavier than I would like to be for the last couple of years, but I still play tennis every day on hard courts and have done so for 14 years except when traveling. I’m almost 56 now and play 2 or sometimes 3 singles, 3 doubles, 1 lesson and 1 practice drill every week - common for me to play 20-30 days in a row before my streak gets broken by rain or travel. I know others at my club around my age who play 10-15 days in a row also although they play mostly doubles. A couple of times during the pandemic when there was less travel, I played more than 100 days in a row.

I feel like playing tennis regularly is really good to keep the right muscles in good shape to keep joints supported well and to keep good movement up. I feel more sore when I don’t play for 2-3 days due to travel and then try to play again. I take 1-2 Advils every day though before I play and some people recommend against that. Otherwise, I stretch before playing, take hot baths after I play to help with recovery, change strings and shoes often to prevent over-use injuries. I’ve been playing all my life since I was coached a lot as a kid and so, my technique doesn’t get me into any overuse injury trouble. I play with the Pure Strike Tour strung with gut/poly in the mid-forties that I replace every 15-20 hours and ASICS Gel Resolution 9 shoes that I replace every 50-65 hours. When I get injured, it is more often due to acute cases like running into the fence, trying to stop running into the fence/net or slipping. Apart from some glasses of wine with dinner, my regular diet is pretty good with not too many inflammatory foods. At my tennis club, there are a lot of seniors who play at least 3-4 times a week and some of them also work out in the gym while others are like me and just play tennis.

So, everyone’s body is different and how often you can play is not necessarily dependent only on being at normal weight. The strength of leg, thigh, lower back, shoulder, arm muscles and the condition of joints matters a lot including the history of previous accidents and surgeries. Your tendency to get injured or fatigued seems extreme and that’s why I asked about your weight. I wonder if you hold your breath during points which is a common problem for uncoached rec players and can cause fatigue faster.

 

[_Jaq]

Not really. I am about 15-20 lbs heavier than I would like to be for the last couple of years, but I still play tennis every day on hard courts and have done so for 14 years except when traveling. I’m almost 56 now and play 2 or sometimes 3 singles, 3 doubles, 1 lesson and 1 practice drill every week - common for me to play 20-30 days in a row before my streak gets broken by rain or travel. I know others at my club around my age who play 10-15 days in a row also although they play mostly doubles. A couple of times during the pandemic when there was less travel, I played more than 100 days in a row.

I feel like playing tennis regularly is really good to keep the right muscles in good shape to keep joints supported well and to keep good movement up. I feel more sore when I don’t play for 2-3 days due to travel and then try to play again. I take 1-2 Advils every day though before I play and some people recommend against that. Otherwise, I stretch before playing, take hot baths after I play to help with recovery, change strings and shoes often to prevent over-use injuries. I’ve been playing all my life since I was coached a lot as a kid and so, my technique doesn’t get me into any overuse injury trouble. I play with the Pure Strike Tour strung with gut/poly in the mid-forties that I replace every 15-20 hours and ASICS Gel Resolution 9 shoes that I replace every 50-65 hours. When I get injured, it is more often due to acute cases like running into the fence, trying to stop running into the fence/net or slipping. Apart from some glasses with wine with dinner, my regular diet is pretty good with not too many inflammatory foods.

So, everyone’s body is different and how often you can play is not necessarily dependent only on being at normal weight. The strength of leg, thigh, lower back, shoulder, arm muscles and the condition of joints matters a lot including the history of previous accidents and surgeries.

Wow. That’s inspiring! I can’t believe you play that much singles on hard courts at 56. Pretty amazing. Since you’ve been playing since childhood I suspect you play very loose, which is key, and not my natural instinct lol. You likely move more like Federer, and I move more like a fast twitch moron who doesn’t red the ball a well as you so sprints rather than float. Trying to get better at it because being light on your feet probably takes a ton of stress off your joints. I’m not sure how to change it but suspect it only comes with a lot of experience and is easier as you improve at the game. I CAN identify with that extra 20 lbs you’re carrying though. I honestly never thought it would be an issue for me because I had extremely low body fat until mid thirties. Now it seems like my body actually wants to be at my current weight and it takes huge effort to lose it, a lot more than don’t eat junk, and I don’t drink. The struggle is real lol. My plan is to hit with a partner 3 times a week so I can make sure I pace myself while getting my rhythm back, 1 lesson a week, and 1 doubles match which is 5 days a week. I’ll start replacing hitting sessions with doubles matches over time. The 2 major injuries and 4 years off really DESTROYED my fitness so I need to make sure I don’t overdue it for now. I’ve got those same shoes you have for clay and some high end mizunos (these are so comfortable) for hard, both are new. You actually monitor hours on shoes? If you play 6-7 days a week that’s around 12-14 hrs I assume, so you get new shoes every month? That’s about 2 grand a year in shoes. I’m willing to do it if it keeps you healthy for sure. Is it common to replace shoes that often? I usually use hard court shoes until the tread is gone, and I can see now that’s probably a terrible idea.

 

[socallefty]

Wow. That’s inspiring! I can’t believe you play that much singles on hard courts at 56. Pretty amazing. Since you’ve been playing since childhood I suspect you play very loose, which is key, and not my natural instinct lol. You likely move more like Federer, and I move more like a fast twitch moron who doesn’t red the ball a well as you so sprints rather than float. Trying to get better at it because being light on your feet probably takes a ton of stress off your joints. I’m not sure how to change it but suspect it only comes with a lot of experience and is easier as you improve at the game. I CAN identify with that extra 20 lbs you’re carrying though. I honestly never thought it would be an issue for me because I had extremely low body fat until mid thirties. Now it seems like my body actually wants to be at my current weight and it takes huge effort to lose it, a lot more than don’t eat junk, and I don’t drink. The struggle is real lol. My plan is to hit with a partner 3 times a week so I can make sure I pace myself while getting my rhythm back, 1 lesson a week, and 1 doubles match which is 5 days a week. I’ll start replacing hitting sessions with doubles matches over time. The 2 major injuries and 4 years off really DESTROYED my fitness so I need to make sure I don’t overdue it for now. I’ve got those same shoes you have for clay and some high end mizunos (these are so comfortable) for hard, both are new. You actually monitor hours on shoes? If you play 6-7 days a week that’s around 12-14 hrs I assume, so you get new shoes every month? That’s about 2 grand a year in shoes. I’m willing to do it if it keeps you healthy for sure. Is it common to replace shoes that often? I usually use hard court shoes until the tread is gone, and I can see now that’s probably a terrible idea.

You can get a coach to teach you proper footwork if you think you don’t move correctly.

Yes, I go through shoes every 4-5 weeks. Read my PSA thread on replacing strings and shoes. When your lower body hurts with old shoes, it is time to change them especially on hard courts. These days the sole lasts much longer than the support.

 

[_Jaq]

You can get a coach to teach you proper footwork if you think you don’t move correctly.

Yes, I go through shoes every 4-5 weeks. Read my PSA thread on replacing strings and shoes. When your lower body hurts with old shoes, it is time to change them especially on hard courts. These days the sole lasts much longer than the support.

Ok I’ll look for the PSA. I don’t mean footwork so much as playing style and reading the ball as early as advanced players. My 16 yo son started at 8 yo and he is so relaxed when he moves and hits. Just accelerates the racket and lets it do the work. To me it’s like golfers that started as a kid vs later in life. They have the most effortless swing while hitting so much further, whereas people who started after 30 or 40 tend to be too tense when swinging. Even though they try not to “muscle” the ball, it’s one thing to know it and another to do it. Not sure singles is in the cards for me because when I started tennis at 45 I actually used my athleticism and fitness as a major advanatge, and that’s clearly no longer my strength lol. Even after getting much better after 5 years, I would say I was a counterpuncher trying to become an all court player, so my points and matches tended to be very long if the other guy didn’t tend to try to hit winners. I can’t play that style now, unless my fitness gets all the way back over time, and if I try to make the points quick I’ll make many more errors than winners and give the match away. I imagine you have the skills to be more offensive minded than me and your matches aren’t grinds. How often should I replace clay shoes?

 

[socallefty]

imagine you have the skills to be more offensive minded than me and your matches aren’t grinds. How often should I replace clay shoes?

I keep telling people that if you want to be offensive minded, you do that with your serves and returns. Once you get the point pattern in your favor after the serve or return, the +1 shot will set up the rally in your favor or finish the point. So, older players should work on being more aggressive with serves and returns if they can’t play long points anymore. An aggressive serve can be a serve consistently hit closer to the lines and it doesn’t need to be much faster than the typical serve for a level.

I don’t play on clay anymore. Shoes seem to last a long time on clay. You replace shoes when your calf/knees hurt or your Achilles feels tight.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Quit basketball at 42. Sat on my butt and got very out of shape so I decided to try tennis at 45 and fell in love. I don’t remember a significant problem getting fit again other than the expected muscle soreness. Played a TON of singles the next 4 yrs. Joined a club so switched to doubles because almost no one there wanted to play singles, but still practiced with a hitting partner a lot. Had a severe shoulder injury at 50. Opted against surgery so took me ~1.5 yrs before I felt comfortable playing again, and was getting ready to do so and then had a random injury where I tore the labrum (basically cartilage) in my hip, so had to have surgery because I couldn’t even do normal activities like squatting down in the kitchen to cook etc. I was cleared for tennis almost 2 years ago but had fallen into a lazy habit pattern and preferred my iPad to any true exercise. I finally have the itch to play again, and I tend to go all in in a compulsive way, which was great when I was younger but at 54, holy crap! I’ve been hitting easy fed balls on my machine for 2 months and not having to move much at all. Just doing that gave me monster level tendonitis on the top of my feet of all places, but I just kept pushing through. Serve practice gave me Achilles tendonitis so I backed of that but kept easy hitting most days on the ball machine. Tendons finally quit hurting so started hitting cooperative balls (like crosscourt only and some just playing points using the doubles side) with partners 2 weeks ago and OMG. After 15 minutes most of the muscles in my body feel fatigued and I’m breathing so hard it’s actually embarrassing. I have to keep asking to sit and rest for 5-10 minutes and can then go again and push myself to get 15 minutes before HAVING to sit and rest again, and the cycle repeats until the session is over. I played my first doubles match (no freaking way I’d even consider singles for now) a few days ago and tried to serve and volley every point and come in the first real opportunity when returning. This went great…..for 1 service game and 1 return game, before it became very clear that I had to move as little as possible and digging out low first volleys/ half volleys and coming in was just too physically demanding for me to do with any regularity. My first service game in the second set was a 20 minute marathon and I lost track of how many dueces. This was due to a combination of my serve currently being total crap, so no easy points leading to longer points, and my unhealthy competitiveness not allowing me to tank points or not at least try to move back for an overhead or try to at least get a racket on a lob etc. I was breathing so hard that my partner had to keep pretending to talk strategy with me to buy time but was really just saying breathe in through your nose out through the mouth and try to slow your heart rate……and this is DOUBLES. I actually started seeing spots in my vision at one point but somehow stupidly won that one service game, but was completely spent and got steamrolled afterwards. The next day I felt like my battery was at 5% and literally think I know what true depression feels like for a day, and everyone at worked called me mopey and helped me out, brought me food etc. I took 3 days off and hit again today with a partner. It went much better, but I still needed more breaks (shorter and less often this time) for rest than what we were doing likely warranted, but at least I didn’t feel nearly as bad as before. I GROSSLY underestimated how hard it would be to get into shape in my mid 50’s compared to my mid 40’s…like by a lot. Anyone else take this much time away from any real exercise and then try to get fit again in their mid 50’s or later? It’s going to take a lot longer than I expected. , I hear you loud and clear. I had full intentions of never getting out of shape again like I did from 42-45 yo, but 2 severe injuries not only made it physically impossible but also psychologically. I started telling myself things like “you put too much wear and tear on your body when you were younger” (I worked so hard to be the best basketball player I could be and was crazy fit so could basically jump into any sport and be competitive, like I did a summer of competitive beach volleyball when I lived at the beach just for fun etc.), “your getting too old for sports”, “you’ve got to face reality” etc. I was cleared almost 2 years ago for tennis but was afraid of another injury to be honest. I try to cross train starting with daily 30 min walks, then jogging/biking etc but I just hate that stuff and the ONLY way I can stay motivated is if it is with the intention to get fit for a sport. I hate every second of endurance type activities and am envious of people that actually enjoy it, but I’m like a golden retriever. If you throw a ball I love to sprint after it and bring it back lol. Sports give me a purpose, and then I like the endurance activities because it improves my game. I think a lot of it is the competition and relationships you form from sports as well. I did get into bodybuilding again 2 yrs ago, which I typically get interested in about every 5 years, look great, but then become very bored by it after ~9 months and let it all go and my body fat and definition reverted right back over time. I think my main struggle with aging is my OCD tendencies where when I’m back into it, it’s all I think about and all I want to do, to be the best I can be. I’ve never been good with moderation or balance, taking proper rest days etc. I know I’ve got to change this or I’ll just get another injury and have to quit again, but it’s not natural for me. Maybe I’ll mature and practice what I preach because I literally tell people this all the time, basically daily because I’m a physician and know better, but knowledge alone doesn’t change behavior. It’s an obvious reality that planned rest days and listening to your body becomes paramount with aging, but it’s so hard to change your mentality/ thought process when it brought you so much success over so many years. Ok, I know I’m whining at this point and realize the basic issue is that I don’t want to admit I’m 54 and must train like I’m 54, so I’ll shut up and work towards acceptance and changing my thought process/ behavior lol. It’s funny because guys my age that I reconnected with at the club all have nagging overuse injuries and I get the impression that none of us want to admit that we need more rest/recovery than we really do, sort of like it’s obvious that this is a simple fact with age but somehow it doesn’t personally apply to yourself and that you’re somehow immune and can just keep pushing. Dumb I know, but it’s also a hard thing to admit. I think this is just another stage of life issue that I’ll have to mature through, and if I want to stay somewhat fit and healthy then I better actually do this sooner rather than later or I’ll be back on the couch with another injury, and I can see how large the uphill battle is already and hate to think of having to do it again when I’m even older....

Walloftext alert !!! Some of us no longer possess young eyes or extraordinary vision. I'm afraid I can't make it all the way thru your walloftext posts without experiencing eye strain / vision fatigue. More white space (shorter paragraphs) would be greatly appreciated. Muito obrigado.

 

[onehandbh]

@_Jaq

Try this exercise to work on being more loose/relaxed on your groundstrokes.

As soon as you know which side the ball will be coming to, turn/coil your body to that side. As you swing, keep a loose grip and are and imagine you are swinging with your hitting shoulder and your arms have no muscle are are just along for the ride like a whip.

 

[Fintft]

Do you ride a bike?

Hear recovery rate is a good indicator of your fitness and easy to measure:

If it goes down by 30 beats( mine usually goes down by 50), from the max heart rate in a minute, then you are in good shape.

Heart Rate Recovery takes longer

Eight years ago I took a cardio-tennis course. The instructor would briefly work us to exhaustion so that we would get our heart rate up to 200 minus our age. Then we would check it after two minutes of rest to see the recovery rate. I did fine. However, now at age 63 I have noticed that...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Managing heart rate and recovery during (recreational) matches

I observed that my heart rate can go up to 165-170 during intensive runs/gets and cross-court sprints (baseline to the net), and it usually does not go down quickly enough between the points. When my rate stays high (~160 and above), I observe a drop in performance and concentration. Serve...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Also what is your resting heart beat? Mine is around 50, right after effort (say in minutes).

 

[_Jaq]

I keep telling people that if you want to be offensive minded, you do that with your serves and returns. Once you get the point pattern in your favor after the serve or return, the +1 shot will set up the rally in your favor or finish the point. So, older players should work on being more aggressive with serves and returns if they can’t play long points anymore. An aggressive serve can be a serve consistently hit closer to the lines and it doesn’t need to be much faster than the typical serve for a level.

I don’t play on clay anymore. Shoes seem to last a long time on clay. You replace shoes when your calf/knees hurt or your Achilles feels tight.

Hmmm. Never thought of it that way but it makes perfect sense. Get aggressive right of the bat, risk the error then rather than during a long rally. The serve + 1 is kind of obvious but I've always hit the return deep middle in singles to reduce errors and just get the point started but this would definitely be something I would try if I play singles at some point again, especially of the opponent is more fit. Thanks for the tips.

 

[_Jaq]

Walloftext alert !!! Some of us no longer possess young eyes or extraordinary vision. I'm afraid I can't make it all the way thru your walloftext posts without experiencing eye strain / vision fatigue. More white space (shorter paragraphs) would be greatly appreciated. Muito obrigado.

Sorry. I had a lot of frustration to unpack lol.

 

[_Jaq]

@_Jaq

Try this exercise to work on being more loose/relaxed on your groundstrokes.

As soon as you know which side the ball will be coming to, turn/coil your body to that side. As you swing, keep a loose grip and are and imagine you are swinging with your hitting shoulder and your arms have no muscle are are just along for the ride like a whip.

Yeah, that's always my goal and I can do it pretty well when hitting for practice, but I definitely don't have as free of a swing when I actually play. Since I'm just coming back, in doubles where it's hard to get a lot of strokes in a row to get in a rhythm, I found I wasn't releasing my forehand when I played, was tense and trying to guide the ball at times which slows the speed and paradoxically the control. Gonna take a lot more reps to get that feeling back during matches.

 

[_Jaq]

No, but I'm definitely thinking about biking on off days. Last time I tried to use my mountain bike I had bad neck pain from looking up while being bent over, so I'll need to get a new more upright bike.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Sorry. I had a lot of frustration to unpack lol.

NP. My post was more about the lack of paragraphs (easier on the eyes) than the overall length of your posts.

 

[Injured Again]

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement. Injuries and aging bodies are hard on everybody, regardless if you were super active, but I suspect if part of your identity was being athletic it can be a different psychological hit. After the two major injuries seemingly back to back (I wasn’t even playing a sport in the second injury, just squatted down very deep while holding a heavy grocery store basket and reached into the very rear of the lowest shelf in the frozen foods) I think I felt like I’m too old to get back into physical sports, and now that I’m playing again I think I was a little depressed in retrospect. I’ve got to learn the the line between “I can push through anything” and “I’m too old to even try”, as the former will certainly lead to injury and the later is a bad way for me personally to live. I’m going to try to be very patient, rest, and listen to my body. I have a good update btw if you look at the post below this one. Thanks again!

I just want to add that prior to my knee replacement (five months ago), I had gradually reduced the number of resistance training sessions and intensity over time, and also reduced the amount of aerobic training outside of playing tennis. I did that because I thought that I'm 60 years old and it made sense to do that.

Rehabbing a knee replacement has been tougher than getting ready for any event I've done. I probably actively did five hours of training a day during the first three months, and by the end of that three month period I was training with as much or more intensity than I had in the prior few years. I came to realize that I really enjoyed the process of training, and that my body could handle that amount of physical activity if I rested more and ate better. I've continued training, not quite as long but still probably three to four hours a day, and my body is handling it as well as 20 years ago. But I also now sleep 8-10 hours a night and eat probably six to ten pounds of 93% fat free turkey a week (blech!). As a physician, you probably understand the level of muscle atrophy that occurs. I lost all muscle tone and my operative leg had at least a 20% decrease in muscle mass at a month after the operation. Here's a picture I snapped at the end of March, so that would have been three months after my operation.

They say that it takes a couple of months for some behavior to become a habit, and my knee replacement forced that duration of training on me. I think that if you can continue to add onto the progress you're making, and with the summer months now coming up, that it too will become a habit by the fall, and that you'll be fitter and happier on court. Good luck!

 

[ey039524]

W/ just a couple weeks of cardio, you'll get your wind back. You'll probably also lose some of the extra weight by playing regularly.

My son and I play a ~4.5 doubles clinic w an ER physician, who is game to chase down any lob. He hustles like a kid for candy. My point is that if you play w this type of intensity, you're going to get winded. Not everyone plays like this, especially in doubles.

I have a watch w a HR widget, and I usually don't get past 130 bpm, w chasing down lobs/droppers. Watching my son play matches for his team, gets my HR past 130 bpm, though.

 

[mauricem]

My post was more about the lack of paragraphs (easier on the eyes)

This,

there's no way I'm going to read huge walls of text.

embrace

the

enter

key

 

[mad dog1]

This,

there's no way I'm going to read huge walls of text.

embrace

the

enter

key

You would think that someone who is highly educated and who is in their 50s (OP is a doctor) would know how to structure their writing in paragraphs? *shrug*

 

[onehandbh]

This,

there's no way I'm going to read huge walls of text.

embrace

the

enter

key

Cut and paste into chatgpt and ask to summarize.

 

[_Jaq]

I just want to add that prior to my knee replacement (five months ago), I had gradually reduced the number of resistance training sessions and intensity over time, and also reduced the amount of aerobic training outside of playing tennis. I did that because I thought that I'm 60 years old and it made sense to do that.

Rehabbing a knee replacement has been tougher than getting ready for any event I've done. I probably actively did five hours of training a day during the first three months, and by the end of that three month period I was training with as much or more intensity than I had in the prior few years. I came to realize that I really enjoyed the process of training, and that my body could handle that amount of physical activity if I rested more and ate better. I've continued training, not quite as long but still probably three to four hours a day, and my body is handling it as well as 20 years ago. But I also now sleep 8-10 hours a night and eat probably six to ten pounds of 93% fat free turkey a week (blech!). As a physician, you probably understand the level of muscle atrophy that occurs. I lost all muscle tone and my operative leg had at least a 20% decrease in muscle mass at a month after the operation. Here's a picture I snapped at the end of March, so that would have been three months after my operation.

They say that it takes a couple of months for some behavior to become a habit, and my knee replacement forced that duration of training on me. I think that if you can continue to add onto the progress you're making, and with the summer months now coming up, that it too will become a habit by the fall, and that you'll be fitter and happier on court. Good luck!

Thanks. Your pic shows that you are in great shape at 60, so keep it up! Yeah, it’s already becoming a good habit. I’ve been hitting/playing doubles about 5 times a week for the past month and my mind is already dreaming about a fun singles tournament in our area again, lol.

 

[_Jaq]

W/ just a couple weeks of cardio, you'll get your wind back. You'll probably also lose some of the extra weight by playing regularly.

My son and I play a ~4.5 doubles clinic w an ER physician, who is game to chase down any lob. He hustles like a kid for candy. My point is that if you play w this type of intensity, you're going to get winded. Not everyone plays like this, especially in doubles.

I have a watch w a HR widget, and I usually don't get past 130 bpm, w chasing down lobs/droppers. Watching my son play matches for his team, gets my HR past 130 bpm, though.

Ha, I get what you mean about watching your son. Nothing gets me worked up more than worrying about my kids. Yeah, I usually still sprint to chase down a good lob once during a doubles match, and then quickly remind myself that the effort/reward ratio is out of balance lol. My wind is already much better but I haven’t lost much weight yet….but that’s done in the kitchen as we all know.

 

[_Jaq]

This,

there's no way I'm going to read huge walls of text.

embrace

the

enter

key

G
O
T

I
T

 

[_Jaq]

You would think that someone who is highly educated and who is in their 50s (OP is a doctor) would know how to structure their writing in paragraphs? *shrug*

Dear mad dog1,

I’m very sorry. It is a personal character flaw of mine. I typically don’t put enough effort into internet posts. I will do better for you mad dog, as the thought of letting down not only a dog, but in fact a mad dog, is unbearable and I repent.

I do have a question. Are bullet points acceptable? I really like that format in threads.

I will also point out that I did use paragraphs here. I certainly hope you find this helpful.

Sincerely,
Jaq

 

[_Jaq]

Do you ride a bike?

Hear recovery rate is a good indicator of your fitness and easy to measure:

If it goes down by 30 beats( mine usually goes down by 50), from the max heart rate in a minute, then you are in good shape.

Heart Rate Recovery takes longer

Eight years ago I took a cardio-tennis course. The instructor would briefly work us to exhaustion so that we would get our heart rate up to 200 minus our age. Then we would check it after two minutes of rest to see the recovery rate. I did fine. However, now at age 63 I have noticed that...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Managing heart rate and recovery during (recreational) matches

I observed that my heart rate can go up to 165-170 during intensive runs/gets and cross-court sprints (baseline to the net), and it usually does not go down quickly enough between the points. When my rate stays high (~160 and above), I observe a drop in performance and concentration. Serve...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

Also what is your resting heart beat? Mine is around 50, right after effort (say in minutes).

I’m happy to report that my fitness is progressing rather nicely now. It was a huge struggle initially but my 54 yo body is still able to adapt and progress. Btw, did I mention that I LOVE your avatar?

 

[mad dog1]

Dear mad dog1,

I’m very sorry. It is a personal character flaw of mine. I typically don’t put enough effort into internet posts. I will do better for you mad dog, as the thought of letting down not only a dog, but in fact a mad dog, is unbearable and I repent.

I do have a question. Are bullet points acceptable? I really like that format in threads.

I will also point out that I did use paragraphs here. I certainly hope you find this helpful.

Sincerely,
Jaq

Thank you! Much appreciated!

 

[_Jaq]

Thank you! Much appreciated!

Absolutely! Let the big dog eat

 

[glenda]

I've been active practically since the first moment of my life.

I remember swinging a rubber bat and throwing a rubber baseball at two years old with a boy cousin four years older than me. [My cousin, in his 20s, played on the Kansas City Athletics major-league baseball team. His older brother played on the Bud Wilkinson Oklahoma Sooners football team during an unsurpassed record 47-game winning streak. Athletic genes ran in the family.]

Later, in kindergarten, I walked a half mile to school with my grandmother. Then, after school, I with a friend walked back home. And my grandmother, fairly slender, and I also walked to the grocery store, about a two-mile roundtrip with each of us carrying a couple paper bags full of groceries on the way back home. Sometimes we stopped off at a watermelon stand.

As a grade schooler, I rode my bike everywhere. I rode to play baseball, football, basketball, whatever sport was in season. By nightfall I was dead tired and fell asleep not long after nightfall. Then at 6 a.m. I woke up wide awake and was ready to take on another day. Throughout my school days, including college days, I walked here and there with a friend, while we talked about this and that.

But my diet was boring: oatmeal for breakfast with a glass of orange juice, a turkey sandwich for lunch, and baked chicken or fish with lots of green and yellow vegetables for dinner. I snacked on bananas, oranges, apples, grapes, peaches. I never developed much of an appetite for ice cream, pie, cake, or sugar-sweet soda.

In my mid-teens, I got into tennis, got really good, and have continuously played the sport. I'm now 74 years old playing high-level tennis at least five days a week against fit, fine players 40 and 50 years younger than me.

So I've evolved to: I share practically nothing in common with people in their 60s, 70s, and older. And I share nothing in common with sedentary people regardless their age.

I remain young in body, practically immune to disease and injury, and remain with an absorbing, active brain. I credit exercise [particularly in playing tennis], regular deep sleep, and nutrition - fast-food restaurants don't tempt me.

I enjoy practicing tennis for hours at a time so I can beat the snot out of fit 20 year olds. That sure keeps my brain neurons firing. Tennis isn't just about keeping the body fit.

I play tennis for the joy it gives me, and the health takes care of itself: 112-over-58 blood pressure, a resting 55-per-minute heartbeat, and no cholesterol problems with blood tests showing all is normal.

And no fat belly and no fat ass, either. They remain firm, just as they were 50 and 65 years ago, when I was growing imposingly taller and taller in height.

Yeah, I'm also vain.

 

[glenda]

Walloftext alert !!! Some of us no longer possess young eyes or extraordinary vision. I'm afraid I can't make it all the way thru your walloftext posts without experiencing eye strain / vision fatigue. More white space (shorter paragraphs) would be greatly appreciated. Muito obrigado.

Formatting paragraphs is highly important in holding the readers' attention.

An example, a paragraph here on Talk Tennis extending longer than three lines looks confusing or complex, unappealing, and would discourage the readers from reading.

Furthermore, a paragraph here extending to a fourth line, a fifth line, or longer would take up nearly or all of an entire page in a normal size book.

 

[glenda]

I just want to add that prior to my knee replacement (five months ago), I had gradually reduced the number of resistance training sessions and intensity over time, and also reduced the amount of aerobic training outside of playing tennis. I did that because I thought that I'm 60 years old and it made sense to do that.

Rehabbing a knee replacement has been tougher than getting ready for any event I've done. I probably actively did five hours of training a day during the first three months, and by the end of that three month period I was training with as much or more intensity than I had in the prior few years. I came to realize that I really enjoyed the process of training, and that my body could handle that amount of physical activity if I rested more and ate better. I've continued training, not quite as long but still probably three to four hours a day, and my body is handling it as well as 20 years ago. But I also now sleep 8-10 hours a night and eat probably six to ten pounds of 93% fat free turkey a week (blech!). As a physician, you probably understand the level of muscle atrophy that occurs. I lost all muscle tone and my operative leg had at least a 20% decrease in muscle mass at a month after the operation. Here's a picture I snapped at the end of March, so that would have been three months after my operation.

They say that it takes a couple of months for some behavior to become a habit, and my knee replacement forced that duration of training on me. I think that if you can continue to add onto the progress you're making, and with the summer months now coming up, that it too will become a habit by the fall, and that you'll be fitter and happier on court. Good luck!

You say you work out in conditioning exercise four-to-five hours a day. Really?

You say you probably eat six-to-10 pounds of turkey a week. Really?

You write: "As a physician, you probably know...." means you're writing exclusively to physicians.

I, of course, know your meaning refers to you as a physician, which means you're highly educated and ought to know how to write grammatically correct and don't want to come across sloppy, or uneducated, in the writing, moving some to wonder whether you're a physician.

In messaging on a forum, I know about getting in a hurry on writing a message. I've made mistakes in spelling and leaving a necessary word out in a forum message. But I, highly educated, am highly aware of speaking in clarity.

To be certain, I'm not speaking as a strict grammarian. "Winston taste good like a cigarette should" pops, unlike the sluggish "Winston taste good as a cigarette should."

In those days, "like" was acceptable only as a preposition by the strict grammarians in the "Winston" usage. The grammarians howled at the misuse, ignoring the far-more appealing commercial use on the lips of every cigarette consumer.

Today, "like" is grammatically acceptable as either a preposition or a conjunction.

(Of course I know about "like" as a verb in a manner of: "The physician really likes turkey.")

 

[Injured Again]

I did do rehab work for four to five hours a day. That included time increasing range of motion in the joint, doing all of the balancing exercises necessary due to nerve damage from the procedure, and strength building through resistance training. It also included time riding an exercise bicycle and just walking, none of which I would have done unless I needed to rehab. It all added up to many hours. Fortunately I’m retired so I was able to make my rehab my full time job.

I found that my body responds more positively to resistance training when I eat a calorie surplus, and the 93% fat free turkey was a great way to do that. I’d have it with tofu, with mushrooms, and with string beans and onions. It’s also make it into a taco turkey mix on top of nachos, or just with some teriyaki sauce so that I could have it on top of brown rice.

And not a physician. I wanted to be an educated patient, and I’ve spent the better part of three decades being the primary medical caretaker for my mom and then my mother-in-law, so I’m well versed in a lot of medical terminology.

 

[glenda]

O.K. I get it. And how did your knee crumble to pieces requiring a knee overhaul?

Back in 1963, when I was 13 years old, I was playing neighborhood football with the boys. I ran faster and threw the ball better and farther than any of the boys. I played quarterback and cornerback on defense., where I planted my right foot into the grass turf and attempted to switch direction. But my foot, in a baseball shoe with rubber cleats, was caught in a slight hole on the turf and a terrible, God awful painful knee injury occurred, of severed ligaments and other knee destructions. The boys carried me home.

The doctor came over and ordered an ambulance to take me to the hospital. Then surgery was required, antiquated surgery.

I was told I could never play sports again. And I would probably walk with a limp for the rest of my life. I responded, "No I won't."

After the surgery, I worked out in conducted, formal rehab for about six weeks. "No good," I said. "I'll fix my knee on my own. Leave me alone."

Wearing an elastic knee wrap, I started with leg squats, a little painful but nothing I couldn't work through. I used ice packs, but swelling wasn't evident, though a little next-day stiffness. Three days later, practically no pain, no stiffness. I increased the activity and in a week I started riding my bicycle, despite my parents' howling objections. "I know my body," I shot back.

A couple weeks later, I started running light 20-yard wind sprints, no pain.

I stayed with the daily leg squats, the bike rides, and put on ankle weights for running sprints and longer distances.

And four months after the surgery and without a knee wrap, I was running four miles five days a week, finishing with a 200-yard full sprint in plus-100-degree weather. My legs felt light, bouncy, lively, just like before. I also incorporated rope jumping and up-and-down stadium-stairs running. I was dead serious about a full healing, and dead serious about proving the doctor wrong about me.

About five months after the surgery, I called the boys and said, "Let's go to the football field and run a hundred-yard dash and see who wins."

The winner was the same one who won five months ago - and by a somewhat greater margin.

"Let's play football again," I yelled. "Though," I added, "I might be a little rusty in throwing the football, but I'll get it back."

I've always had plenty of faith in myself. My legs had built to the strongest condition ever.

And I smile today at the remaining eight-inch lined scar along the formerly injured knee area. Good memories.

 

[Rosstour]

Quit basketball at 42. Sat on my butt and got very out of shape so I decided to try tennis at 45 and fell in love. I don’t remember a significant problem getting fit again other than the expected muscle soreness. Played a TON of singles the next 4 yrs. Joined a club so switched to doubles because almost no one there wanted to play singles, but still practiced with a hitting partner a lot. Had a severe shoulder injury at 50. Opted against surgery so took me ~1.5 yrs before I felt comfortable playing again, and was getting ready to do so and then had a random injury where I tore the labrum (basically cartilage) in my hip, so had to have surgery because I couldn’t even do normal activities like squatting down in the kitchen to cook etc. I was cleared for tennis almost 2 years ago but had fallen into a lazy habit pattern and preferred my iPad to any true exercise. I finally have the itch to play again, and I tend to go all in in a compulsive way, which was great when I was younger but at 54, holy crap! I’ve been hitting easy fed balls on my machine for 2 months and not having to move much at all. Just doing that gave me monster level tendonitis on the top of my feet of all places, but I just kept pushing through. Serve practice gave me Achilles tendonitis so I backed of that but kept easy hitting most days on the ball machine. Tendons finally quit hurting so started hitting cooperative balls (like crosscourt only and some just playing points using the doubles side) with partners 2 weeks ago and OMG. After 15 minutes most of the muscles in my body feel fatigued and I’m breathing so hard it’s actually embarrassing. I have to keep asking to sit and rest for 5-10 minutes and can then go again and push myself to get 15 minutes before HAVING to sit and rest again, and the cycle repeats until the session is over. I played my first doubles match (no freaking way I’d even consider singles for now) a few days ago and tried to serve and volley every point and come in the first real opportunity when returning. This went great…..for 1 service game and 1 return game, before it became very clear that I had to move as little as possible and digging out low first volleys/ half volleys and coming in was just too physically demanding for me to do with any regularity. My first service game in the second set was a 20 minute marathon and I lost track of how many dueces. This was due to a combination of my serve currently being total crap, so no easy points leading to longer points, and my unhealthy competitiveness not allowing me to tank points or not at least try to move back for an overhead or try to at least get a racket on a lob etc. I was breathing so hard that my partner had to keep pretending to talk strategy with me to buy time but was really just saying breathe in through your nose out through the mouth and try to slow your heart rate……and this is DOUBLES. I actually started seeing spots in my vision at one point but somehow stupidly won that one service game, but was completely spent and got steamrolled afterwards. The next day I felt like my battery was at 5% and literally think I know what true depression feels like for a day, and everyone at worked called me mopey and helped me out, brought me food etc. I took 3 days off and hit again today with a partner. It went much better, but I still needed more breaks (shorter and less often this time) for rest than what we were doing likely warranted, but at least I didn’t feel nearly as bad as before. I GROSSLY underestimated how hard it would be to get into shape in my mid 50’s compared to my mid 40’s…like by a lot. Anyone else take this much time away from any real exercise and then try to get fit again in their mid 50’s or later? It’s going to take a lot longer than I expected.

I read recently that a huge aging cliff happens at 44, that's tracking with my experience. I'm 43y6mo and haven't been able to stay healthy this year. Broken rib from rock climbing, followed immediately by a calf tear about two weeks after I came back to tennis. Best of luck sir. Eat lots of high quality protein

 

[jayvee]

Hopefully OP can also learn about paragraphs in his 50s.

 

[Injured Again]

O.K. I get it. And how did your knee crumble to pieces requiring a knee overhaul?

Just wear and tear from a lifetime of physical activity. At my tennis club, there seem to be a rash of knee replacements recently, or maybe I just notice now because I've had one as well. There are now five or six people who have had a knee replacement from the same orthopedic surgeon. In my case, I had a severe meniscus tear in 2022. During the rehab from that, I started experiencing other knee pain that was diagnosed via MRI as a total loss of cartilage in several spots in my knee. So even without the meniscus tear, my knee was on its last miles and I would have ended up in the same place at the same time. Fortunately, my right knee seems to have a greater amount of remaining cartilage so I'm hoping it will last another decade or so.

 

[glenda]

As I said, I know my body. I hardly ever get sick, and since the time I was 13 years old, I rarely got injured.

But one time while playing in a tour tournament, I slipped on the court and used my left hand to break my fall. Too bad. I fractured my left wrist. The pain was tremendous. Still I tried to play on but the pain too much and I retired from the match to a caste for four weeks.

One week later I practiced on court again. The next week I was back in tournament play.

A couple years ago, pain entered my left calf after a few minutes of play. My doctor diagnosed the problem as compressed leg arteries not allowing enough blood flow into my lower left leg. A minor one-hour stint procedure immediately eliminated the pain, and back on the court I went in full flight.

I wasn't surprised by the collapsed arteries. On serve, I jump some 10 inches above the service line and forward to the net.

I've figured that in practice and play I've served in the same motion about three-million times. (That's not an exaggeration. Three or four times a week, I practice serving four hundred times. So that conservatively equates to 1,200 practice serves a week to more than 62,000 a year to 50 years times 62,000 equaling some three-million practice serves so far in my life time, without including match-play serves.)

 

[ey039524]

I've been active practically since the first moment of my life.

I remember swinging a rubber bat and throwing a rubber baseball at two years old with a boy cousin four years older than me. [My cousin, in his 20s, played on the Kansas City Athletics major-league baseball team. His older brother played on the Bud Wilkinson Oklahoma Sooners football team during an unsurpassed record 47-game winning streak. Athletic genes ran in the family.]

Later, in kindergarten, I walked a half mile to school with my grandmother. Then, after school, I with a friend walked back home. And my grandmother, fairly slender, and I also walked to the grocery store, about a two-mile roundtrip with each of us carrying a couple paper bags full of groceries on the way back home. Sometimes we stopped off at a watermelon stand.

As a grade schooler, I rode my bike everywhere. I rode to play baseball, football, basketball, whatever sport was in season. By nightfall I was dead tired and fell asleep not long after nightfall. Then at 6 a.m. I woke up wide awake and was ready to take on another day. Throughout my school days, including college days, I walked here and there with a friend, while we talked about this and that.

But my diet was boring: oatmeal for breakfast with a glass of orange juice, a turkey sandwich for lunch, and baked chicken or fish with lots of green and yellow vegetables for dinner. I snacked on bananas, oranges, apples, grapes, peaches. I never developed much of an appetite for ice cream, pie, cake, or sugar-sweet soda.

In my mid-teens, I got into tennis, got really good, and have continuously played the sport. I'm now 74 years old playing high-level tennis at least five days a week against fit, fine players 40 and 50 years younger than me.

So I've evolved to: I share practically nothing in common with people in their 60s, 70s, and older. And I share nothing in common with sedentary people regardless their age.

I remain young in body, practically immune to disease and injury, and remain with an absorbing, active brain. I credit exercise [particularly in playing tennis], regular deep sleep, and nutrition - fast-food restaurants don't tempt me.

I enjoy practicing tennis for hours at a time so I can beat the snot out of fit 20 year olds. That sure keeps my brain neurons firing. Tennis isn't just about keeping the body fit.

I play tennis for the joy it gives me, and the health takes care of itself: 112-over-58 blood pressure, a resting 55-per-minute heartbeat, and no cholesterol problems with blood tests showing all is normal.

And no fat belly and no fat ass, either. They remain firm, just as they were 50 and 65 years ago, when I was growing imposingly taller and taller in height.

Yeah, I'm also vain.

MEP, where are you? Glenda needs a challenge.

 

[Move]

.

 

[onehandbh]

BlueB, I'm a national sportswriter for several major newspapers, including a few top newspapers along the Eastern Seaboard. I know about Petkovik's upbringing, and I've interviewed her a couple times. Most every tennis fan knows that Petkovik chose German as her nationality. As a reminder, I'm a writer, not a photographer. So no pics from me. I'm also a pretty damn good tennis player but dropping to a 4.5 rating at 53 years old. I still play in tournaments against 5.0 college tennis player kids. What does that tell you? Never mind. My husband likes the results of my staying in playing (or playful) condition.

Petkovic great commentator...

Andrea Petkovik, a new broacasting member, presents a mighty sexy appearance on the Tennis Channel set, wearing good-looking, appealing fashion apparel. And a former top 10 women's player (now retired), Petkovic also presents straightforward sharp appraisals, analysis, insight, and observations...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

If you were a 53 year-old woman about a year ago...

Back in 1963, when I was 13 years old, I was playing neighborhood football with the boys. I ran faster and threw the ball better and farther than any of the boys. I played quarterback and cornerback on defense., where I planted my right foot into the grass turf and attempted to switch direction. But my foot, in a baseball shoe with rubber cleats, was caught in a slight hole on the turf and a terrible, God awful painful knee injury occurred, of severed ligaments and other knee destructions. The boys carried me home.

How did you become a mid 70s male a year later?

 

[glenda]

At the earli

Petkovic great commentator...

Andrea Petkovik, a new broacasting member, presents a mighty sexy appearance on the Tennis Channel set, wearing good-looking, appealing fashion apparel. And a former top 10 women's player (now retired), Petkovic also presents straightforward sharp appraisals, analysis, insight, and observations...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

If you were a 53 year-old woman about a year ago...

Petkovic great commentator...

Andrea Petkovik, a new broacasting member, presents a mighty sexy appearance on the Tennis Channel set, wearing good-looking, appealing fashion apparel. And a former top 10 women's player (now retired), Petkovic also presents straightforward sharp appraisals, analysis, insight, and observations...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

If you were a 53 year-old woman about a year ago...

How did you become a mid 70s male a year later?

At the time of my first comment, I didn't want to admit how old I really was. I hate old age and fighting hard against it. My husband died a couple years ago, but I recovered, still active, still fighting. It's tough but I'll move on.

 

[Bambooman]

I stay in shape so tennis is an easy activity. I am amazed how gassed people can get while just hitting a lot of balls in a row with even minimal movement.

 

[Devilito]

I find older people that still play tennis at a higher level tend to have maintained their physical fitness throughout adulthood. Not start / stop like many do. Even if they stopped playing tennis they'd be biking, working out, swimming, jogging, etc. Staying in shape makes things much easier than someone who sat on the couch from 40-50 and did nothing. The body breaks down and it's almost impossible to get it going again without injuries at that age when it comes to something as physically demanding as tennis.

 

[glenda]

I stay in shape so tennis is an easy activity. I am amazed how gassed people can get while just hitting a lot of balls in a row with even minimal movement.

At 74 years old, I was recently rated a 5.5 by a USTA training camp in South Florida.

I thought the rating was somewhat too high. I grade myself a 5.0 , still moving well, still accurate, still volleying well, still solidly hitting serves and baseline shots but not at the pace of a couple years ago.

On fitness, a couple weeks ago, I played a 20-year-old gal placed No. 2 on the S.M.U. Mustangs tennis team, lots of quick points off my regular serve-and-volley play, and quite a few longer rallies off the gal's serve-and-baseline play.

In the third set, tied 3-3, after each of us won a set in the previous sets, a baseline rally commenced, and kept going and kept going by cross-court exchanges and several down-the-line shots but none a winning shot, meaning a lot of running from corner to corner. In the rally, I kept thinking that I wished I could add an extra three-or-four miles an hour on my baseline shots as I had in the past.

Then in the rally, I received a ball to drop shot. So I feathered a drop shot, not a bad one. The young gal raced in and lunged, returning the dropper in a lofted manner and deep but bouncing up about waist high, giving me a luscious shot on my backhand side.

Instead, I ran around the backhand and slammed my usual flat down-the-line forehand. The ball couldn't have cleared the net by more than three inches with the opponent at the net. She didn't have a chance to get a racket on it. The shot screamed past her. I thought I had won the point.

But the line driver remained in the air until it skidded three inches beyond the baseline. I was pleased anyway. With both of us laughing after the everlasting rally, I told the gal, "I didn't think I could hit the ball that hard."

Didn't matter though whether the shot went in or not. I was worn out by the corner-to-corner running. I didn't win another game and lost 6-3 in the third set of a nearly three-hour match.