Climbing in your 40s?

Still climbing at age ..

  • 18-29

    Votes: 3 5.8%

  • 30-35

    Votes: 6 11.5%

  • 35-40

    Votes: 10 19.2%

  • 40-45

    Votes: 9 17.3%

  • 45+

    Votes: 24 46.2%
  • Total voters
    52
W

WannaClimb

Location
PA
40 is around the corner for me. I'm a new climber and still in great shape (knock on wood). Curious about those of you 40 and up? When did you start climbing ?
 
I started closer to 30. 47 now. Hard to make a really good judgement for me if climbing is taxing my old man body...

With kids I don't get to the gym anymore. Also doing stuff with the kids puts hurtin' on my body. For example, my shoulder is pretty sore...from hitting balls at baseball practice with one arm (practicing grounders and popups). Is that because I'm 47...or because I'm not at the gym, coming out of slow season, and swinging a bat with one arm how I probably shouldn't be swinging a bat...the same week I threw 150+ pitches (not hard, by any means) for their batting practice???

Looks like rain tomorrow and Tuesday, so I'm hoping it's ready to climb by Wed! It'll be sore, but I'll manage.
 
50 come July.

You're cutting your teeth with tons of ergonomic gear and techniques. Work smarter, not harder.

Better to think your way around laboring than labor your way around thinking.

Save your steps and your body.

Pace yourself.


Drink plenty of water and eat well. If you have food and water going home with you at the end of the day, you may have brought enough with you.
 
Started in my mid 20s, about to hit late 30s at this point. I'd love to still be climbing at 50, not every day, but on the jobs I choose to. Basically that means an increased focus on health, body mechanics and proper rest.
 
Muggs said:
42 now, started at 26. SRT makes it easier to imagine climbing for many more years than I ever thought I would when I started...
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There will come a day when you move from SRT back to DRT with foot and knee ascender. It will come when your legs weaken, and walking up a stationary rope becomes laborious. Sort of like shifting to a lower gear on your bicycle when going up a steep hill. Much slower, but much easier. You will lose the convivence of tossing your rope over a limb, or using a Quickie for a redirect, but it will allow you to keep going, and you will carry a couple of double sheave pulleys to accomplish the task.
I would have given up a few years ago had I been forced to use SRT. DRT (MRS, or whatever they are calling it this week) has allowed me to continue, and enjoy climbing.
 
My fulltime climbing career went from early '70s and retirement in about 2019

SRT made this possible. Pay the money now for proper climbing tools so that you're saving your body and medical issues later in life.

Keep your hands low...if your hands are used above your forehead consider moving up to your work. Elbows in. Good ergonomics now pays off later.
 
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Shadowscape said:
There will come a day when you move from SRT back to DRT with foot and knee ascender. It will come when your legs weaken, and walking up a stationary rope becomes laborious. Sort of like shifting to a lower gear on your bicycle when going up a steep hill. Much slower, but much easier. You will lose the convivence of tossing your rope over a limb, or using a Quickie for a redirect, but it will allow you to keep going, and you will carry a couple of double sheave pulleys to accomplish the task.
I would have given up a few years ago had I been forced to use SRT. DRT (MRS, or whatever they are calling it this week) has allowed me to continue, and enjoy climbing.
Click to expand...

I don't find any of that to be true. When done with good technique and the proper tools, ascending SRT is no more physically taxing than walking up a flight of stairs. Taking that and combining it with all the other energy and time saving benefits climbing SRT has, I certainly have no intentions of downgrading anytime soon.
 
southsoundtree said:
... Drink plenty of water and eat well. If you have food and water going home with you at the end of the day, you may have brought enough with you.
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www.sciencedirect.com

Dawn-to-dusk dry fasting induces anti-atherosclerotic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumorigenic proteome in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in subjects with metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome characterized by abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, elevated fasting glucose and triglyceride levels and low high-density lipo…
www.sciencedirect.com www.sciencedirect.com

Sean, I know you are well aware of the downsides associated with excessive use of support systems in the development of trees. Well, trees are not the only organisms that alter cellular development and pathways when presented with the need to do so.
 
DSMc said:
I don't find any of that to be true. When done with good technique and the proper tools, ascending SRT is no more physically taxing than walking up a flight of stairs. Taking that and combining it with all the other energy and time saving benefits climbing SRT has, I certainly have no intentions of downgrading anytime soon.
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For me, walking up a flight of stairs is taxing. You will get there one day. And to me it is not downgrading, just shifting to a lesser exhausting method. I've done my time on SRT with all the latest gear and proper methods. My legs just don't have the muscle tone and my body doesn't have the stamina anymore, but moving to DRT and still using those methods, as slow as it may be, has allowed me to keep going. I use all the methods you use with SRT in climbing DRT. I just won't get where I'm going as fast as you will. But speed is not important to me anymore. Being able to do it is.
 
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