It's been a long, long time......

[Sludge]

Hi all,

 

I am 36 years old.

 

I studied Kyokushin Karate from the age of 21-26 or so and since then Ive done NO TRAINING of ANY KIND....actually relatively no exercise. I feel disgusting, how are you lol.

 

GOD I FEEL OLD!

 

Fortunately, I'm not fat, and I eat good foods. I was actually studying Human Movement at university back then, so I have a fair idea about exercise physiology and proper diet. But I'm quite terrified. How will my 36 year old body fair?

 

What I want to know is, has anybody else come back after 10+ years of doing basically NO EXERCISE and how did they fair?

 

Will I still be able to do it?

 

Ive had a degenerative neck injury (c5-c6 disc prolapse). Will that be a problem? At the moment it aches and transfers pain to my shoulders...

[RaidenTB]

Well, some people start to train at 36 so I wouldn't worry about age. If there's will, there's a way.

 

But talk to your doctor first and see, what he has to say about your neck injury.

 

Good luck!

[GhostlySykanRyu]

Looks like you'll need to be VERY careful with anything involving falls/throws. Good luck!

[Sludge]

I remember getting a lot of pleasure from karate- nothing compares to the cardio-power-flexibility of this type of exercise.

 

Thanks guys.

[AnonymousOne]

Hi all,

 

I am 36 years old.

 

I studied Kyokushin Karate from the age of 21-26 or so and since then Ive done NO TRAINING of ANY KIND....actually relatively no exercise. I feel disgusting, how are you lol.

 

GOD I FEEL OLD!

 

Fortunately, I'm not fat, and I eat good foods. I was actually studying Human Movement at university back then, so I have a fair idea about exercise physiology and proper diet. But I'm quite terrified. How will my 36 year old body fair?

 

What I want to know is, has anybody else come back after 10+ years of doing basically NO EXERCISE and how did they fair?

 

Will I still be able to do it?

 

Ive had a degenerative neck injury (c5-c6 disc prolapse). Will that be a problem? At the moment it aches and transfers pain to my shoulders...

 

36? Sheesh a baby!! Haha

 

Of course you can!

 

There are people who run marathons at age 70 and 80.

 

Zig Ziglar the noted motivational speaker weighted 220 lbs at age 46 and he took up running.

 

10 years later on a tread mill at a famous Texas Physiologists, he was performing at the same speed and times as the Dallas Cowboys top athlete.

 

I am 48 and pretty fit, mind you I havent stopped training for the last 41 years.

 

Some recent research shows that a man at age 65 will only be down by 15% of his strength compared to a 22 ys old who is at peak strength.

 

Theres a lot of research on this and I encourage you to study it, its very motivating, so just go at it!!

[swdw]

36? Heck I have 2 new students that have NEVER taken a MA. One is 47 and the other is 51.

 

I don't thik you need a rocking chair yet

 

On the neck injury- make sure you avoid break falling for a while, and start doing neck exercises.

[TangSooGuy]

I know plenty of older martial artists, and even taught a guy once who didn't START training until he was over 70.

 

You are still ahead of the game. most of my adult students are starting in their forties. You'll be fine.

 

I'll never understand where this "martial arts is only for the young" mentality came from...

[PrideampPoise]

I'm 36 myself and got back to the arts about a year and a half ago. I never went 10 years with NO excercise, but I did go years with no regular, consistent excercise.

 

As others have said, you'll be fine. Though, make sure you talk to your doctor regarding your neck, and what types of things you should avoid, if any. Beyond that, probably the only difference you'll notice is that it'll take you a bit longer to recover from tough workouts. You'll get sore a little more often, and it will take a little longer to go away, but its nothing that can't be managed.

 

My suggestion would be to start slowly, much more slowly than you would have 10-15 years ago. Start working out at levels you can easily sustain right now, and add intensity slowly, but STEADILY. This will reduce any initial soreness, and also reduce the possibility you will suffer an injury that could set you back.

 

Also, you'll probably find that warming up before stretching or straining is more of a necessity than it was when you were younger.

 

As with most things, consistency will be the key, not how quickly you start pushing yourself.