Discovering athletics late in life.

April 7, 2009 7:31 AM

Discovering athletics late. Looking for a reliable source for health, diet, exercise advise and ENCOURAGEMENT. This is for a middle-aged male, me. Some ideas to get me up and moving. What athletics are available outside of a gym?
posted by ebesan to health & fitness (12 comments total)

Near where I used to live was a stadium with facilities for ball games, track running, pole-vaulting, discus, shot, javelin, high jump, and suchlike.

There were a few different amateur athletics clubs that met there; some were mostly running clubs, others covered a broader range of activities. These clubs weren't always high-tech and aggressively looking for new members, so things like internet research might not find them. My suggestion would be, if there's a facility near you to do the sports you're interested in doing, go there in person and check out any posters, or phone up and enquire about clubs which meet there.
posted by Mike1024 at 7:40 AM on April 7

Well, do you have specific goals, like loosing 20lbs, or do you just want to be more active?

Are there any sports clubs in your area? Lots of middle aged guys gravitate toward softball in some areas (though diving for a line drive so that it avoids your tall boy perched on third is probably of limited athletic value.)

Personally I'm a big cycling advocate. You're never to old to pick it up and it's the type of activity you can do alone or with groups. It's low impact and when the weather is bad you can still spin at the gym. Try a spin class and see if you like it.
posted by wfrgms at 7:41 AM on April 7

It sounds like you're looking for two things here:
1) An place - perhaps online site where you can get information, track your progress, and perhaps participate in forums and exchange encouragement, information, tips and tricks with other people.
2) Ideas for just what the heck you can do out there to get yourself in shape that won't be boring.

Have you tried MeetUp? (http://www.meetup.com)
NO matter what the heck you're interested in, be it specific or general, there's a group (or perhaps several groups) for you there. Some groups are specific - cycling, running, hiking, walking, yoga, skating, etc. and some are more general - fitness, adventure, outdoors activities etc.


I'm thinking that once you find out that which you love to do, you'll find a place online or perhaps friends locally who can help with the information and encouragement.
posted by willmize at 7:48 AM on April 7

I started my marathoning career as a member of Team In Training. TNT is the world's largest endurance athletics training program and it's also the largest fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. There are are TNT programs for half marathons and marathons (running and walking), 100 mile bike rides, triathlons, and hiking.

TNT takes people from the couch to finish line and we do it safely. We've trained more than 380,000 people to complete endurance events. Every season there are clinics on cross-training, nutrition, stretching and injury prevention. Plus, you have your team. Meeting your teammates for training sessions really increases your commitment to training. I've had teammates who were 20 year old speed demon runners and I've had teammates who were in their late 60s. They all got something out of the program and they all completed their event.

TNT has been such a good experience, that I've come back to mentor other participants. Mr 26.2, who I met through TNT, is also a mentor.

If you're inspired by other causes, there are plenty of other charity training programs. I can't personally vouch for them, but I've heard good things about the MS rides.

If you're interested, feel free to metamail me. I can give you the lowdown on TNT - both the training and the fundraising aspect.
posted by 26.2 at 8:05 AM on April 7

Seconding 26.2, charity bike rides like MS, and other mass bike-rides, are a great motivator for keeping up your conditioning. Here in NYC there are three or 4 major rides per year right in the city, easy to get to and from. I belong to the 5 Boro Bike Club which sponsors a tremendous number of weekend rides where you can simply show up, even if you're not a member.
posted by get off my lawn at 8:22 AM on April 7

I guess one aspect of this is discovering a real interest in sports. Surprise! Never paid much attention before. Thing is, I don't understand much of it; and am usually completely lost. Love soccer (football) and am looking for that elusive quality that really gets you over the edge...excited.
posted by ebesan at 8:35 AM on April 7

nth-ing cycling. It's brilliant for getting you out and about, whether you're in a city or not (if not, even better - long spins in the country with Spring afoot are amazing).

I restarted doing exercise after a while and have a bit of a warning (on the forewarned/forearmed side of things, and sorry if this is obvious): push through the handful of sessions soon after (re)starting exercise when you think you should be getting better but feel like you're doing worse. These sessions can be miserable and I found I was getting a bit discouraged at that stage: advice is just to grit your teeth and batter through them. I found getting through that first dip and into the point when you can feel you're improving perceptibly each time you go out is one of the best bits of picking up exercise again.
posted by YouRebelScum at 10:09 AM on April 7

I'm a soccer fan as well, and if you're looking for activities outside the gym, soccer is usually an easy one to find. Sources like meetup are good, there's also likely an indoor soccer facility near you that has people of all ages and skill levels playing. They can help you find a team to play on. I play every weekend and have played on teams with players playing for the first time ever, first time since they were little and guys that play 3 times a week - it's always fun.
posted by striker at 10:25 AM on April 7

I'm going to suggest triathlon (run/bike/swim) for a few reasons.
1) Variety of the run bike and swim = less boredom and less potential for injury due to the multiple disciplines. This has a side benefit of giving you a really well-rounded physique. There's also a lot of variety in the training methods, because you can participate in training groups for any or all of the sports, or you can do it all on your own. As mentioned above with running and cycling, it's nice to have a goal to train for. And if you want to do a winter sports league in the off-season, you will most likely find that you have an incredible amount of endurance built up from your training.
2) You can put as much or as little into it as you want. Events range from a super sprint that you can complete in 45-100 minutes, to an Ironman which will take anywhere from 9-17 hours. Some triathletes train for sprints in four hours a week and others will train 20+ hours a week for the longer events. Not everyone has ridiculously expensive equipment either, although you will definitely see the $$$ trend upward as the event distances get longer.
3) You will most likely cultivate an interest in Olympic track&field and swim events, as well as the TDF or other cycling events. Simply because you will get what athletes put into their training.
4) There is a definite achievement factor when you complete your first event of a new length or when you meet a time goal. This is true with almost any individual endurance event. But still. Triathlons are unique in that they have the additional factor of fatigue management between the three disciplines. I find this additional mental aspect to make a difference to me (I compete in road races and participate in the occasional century bike ride).
5) Good online communities are available (beginnertriathlete.com is one)
posted by smalls at 10:42 AM on April 7

I'm a fan of the Bodybuilding.com Over 35 forum. Much of the rest of the site is less good (think 4chan for jocks), but there's good info there. Despite the name, most folks there are not bodybuilders -- just people who want to work out and eat right. Very supportive of newbs.
posted by coolguymichael at 12:04 PM on April 7

For soccer, find a rec league in your area. I play in a coed rec league in San Francisco, and the average age of our team is about 35. I also recommend running--start slow, be consistent, and you'll be doing the miles in no time.
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:27 PM on April 7

You might want to check out sparkpeople.com, which is a great free resource for getting on top of diet and exercise. Lots of encouragement too!

I also support the suggestion of tapping into your local amateur sport resources. I started training for triathlons (Danskin's womens' tri) as a very out of shape lady in my mid-30s. I'm still very round and probably always will be, but I'm way WAY more physically strong and capable than I was then, and have a lot of fun with it too!

I second YouRebelScum that sometimes I have a hard time getting into exercising in a particular session, but I find that if I gut it out for just 10 minutes I'm warmed up and in the groove. Definitely worth it to find the psychological tricks to make it work for you, if you have the same problem.
posted by Sublimity at 5:03 PM on April 7