Things that make me NOT feel old..
Working out - If you're over 40 and not lifting, you're setting yourself up for failure. Heck, if your under 40, you'd be doing your older self a huge favor by getting into lifting. I'm now working out 5 times a week. 1 of those days is strictly for cardio and another is a bootcamp style of running and lifting. The other three days are simply for lifting. One day of upper body, one leg day, and one combination of the two with core. All of my workouts are at least 30 minutes. My next goal is to increase that to 45 and eventually 60 minutes. Basically I'm aiming to be a walking gun show.. :melike:
Compression Socks - Where have these been all my life?!?! So, a few months back I got a set of compression socks on my wife's advice to improve circulation during long business flights. I've mentioned before that my knees are my weak spot but I found that when wearing compression socks, I don't need a knee brace. I'm now running up to 2 miles without a knee brace. When I was in Japan, I was regularly walking 10 miles a day and had zero leg/knee pain. Now I wear compression socks all the time.
Creatine - Holy moley, if you're not on creatine monohydrate, you need to try it now. It's probably the most studied supplement in the world. Back in the 80's there was some concerns about it impacting kidney health but follow on studies showed that to not be an issue. There is a laundry list of positive impacts Creatine has on building muscle and on brain function. I started taking Creatine last June. After a few weeks I noticed the mental impact as I've found it easier to study. From a muscle impact, hell yea! Keep in mind that, on average, a person can lose up to 1% of muscle mass per year if you don't do something about it. Lifting weights and taking creatine (with a proper amount of protein) can help you build muscle.
I'm 53 and I feel that I am in better shape than I was when I was in the Army, with the exception of running. I can do more pushups and setups than I could when I was in the Army. In the Army, I could get a max score the PT test but I really didn't have that much muscle. I simply had a high amount of endurance. Now I have most of that endurance with the added muscle.