...........that you don’t know what you’ve got till its gone. So wrote Joni Mitchell and as I have turned 40 I have discovered in the body terms it can be very true!
Now I say can this because at 40 I am the fittest I have ever been. I now cycle between 8000 – 10000km a year including endurance events like the Dirty Reiver (200km off road) and last year managed 4 century rides on the bike. Indeed on the day of my 40th Birthday I chose to run all the stairs at Ibrox for charity.......and boy did my calves thank me for it.
But while I am staying fit I have discovered that the older you get the more you need to treat your body like a car or indeed in my case a bicycle and take part in proper maintenance so you can keep getting fitter.
In my case the best thing I did over the last 5 years was start doing Pilates. It was suggested by my physios Kelly and Kate at Physioflexx as a way of strengthening my core in a low impact way which would greatly increase my comfort on the bike and keep injury at bay.
It worked. My back, which was suffering on the bike improved and I found myself pain free for longer and in turn could push out longer faster miles.
I am also still playing football. Mostly 5 a sides but some 11s too, and had found it getting more painful after every match. Eventually the Pilates kicked in there too meaning after match I didn’t wake up the next morning feeling like a cripple.
But I made a mistake. I stopped doing Pilates. Thinking I was “cured” I gave it a break for 6-8 months and over that time everything crept back. The tight hip, the sore back, elbow and knee pain and post 5 a side crippledness. It wasn’t broke and I tried to fix it. In that time I’d also lost weight changing my training adding a lot of dynamic HIITs and cross training. Thinking this would fill the Pilates gap was a mistake. If anything these types of workouts need the back up of a proper core to support and I had let my deep core disappear.
I am now back on Pilates for the last 8 months and starting to feel the benefit of it. I am not back where I was but I have to remind myself I worked hard at Pilates for 4 years previously.
Now in your late 30’s and into your 40’s I can testify as an active sports person you don’t recover the same way you did when you were 18-25. Get yourself checked over regularly. In the last 6 years I have used my physio the way I service my bikes or cars by checking in once a month and getting niggles sorted while they are still that and working on techniques to stop them becoming niggles. This is especially important if like me you’ve had previous health issues (see previous posts on my spinal surgery). Also a great physio will help you if you are changing up your exercise and/or sport to keep you fit and healthy and in turn change and adapt how they treat you.
My other advice to anyone is even if like me you have a 4 – 5 week check up don’t wait if something is wrong. The sooner you can get something looked at the better. I learned the hard way if you let, say a stiff neck, go unchecked then everything round the neck, posture, back shoulder all start to degenerate and by the time you see a physio there's a whole basket of issues to sort. You wouldn’t keep driving with a flat tyre so why would you treat your body differently.
Physioflexx also has a great system. If I have needed an ASAP appointment and couldn’t get my regular physio they keep detailed notes and records so by the time my “normal” appointment comes around Kate already knows what has happened since my last visit and can adapt quickly and appropriately to my care needs.
My last bit of advice. I had had a regular physio for 3 years, Kelly, who knew her way round my niggles and joints better than some people know their way round their homes. It was ideal. I walked in, said what was bothering me, and Kelly could get straight to work on the various triggers for that injury and the point of pain itself and I was in great shape.
Kelly left the practice and I saw several physios in the practice over the next 9 months who were all excellent, but it just wasn’t working for me. I believe like anything in medicine, good practitioner/patient relationships are key to success so don’t be afraid to do what I did next.
I wrote an email to Kate the lead physio at Physioflexx and explained the return of my aches and pains and frustration at my ability to get them fixed. Like any good company or physio, Kate wanted to sort this and took on my care herself. We got back to the root of the niggles, got consistency across my care and of course she got me back doing Pilates. A happy customer is their goal. What can be better advertisement than keeping us aging athletes from decrepitude.
Within 4 months I can feel a lot of niggles disappearing and the importance of my physio hit home while we are in lockdown this week. I was meant to have an appointment, and my back is giving me grief, and while I am doing my best with a foam roller and a vicious spikey ball, I am missing my regular MOT and service!
So while it is important to stay active and healthy as you age (and I plan to get fitter) it is equally as important to do it right. Eat right, exercise right, maintain right and get the best team around you to help you. If you can do this, you’ll enjoy sport and fitness for years to come....... I can’t guarantee any medals though but it’s the taking part that counts isn’t it?
