Originally Posted by
Erwin8r
Well, I don't know about being held back so much as just getting to be less flexible and enjoying more pain as I get older and/or exercise less... I certainly don't recover as quickly as I did in my 20's or even 30's, but I find that if I stay away from the gym, EVERYTHING gets harder to do. I've been going to the gym steadily again for the past 6 months, and I feel immensely better (in terms of strength and flexibility) than I did back in May. I am nowhere near as flexible as I want to be (especially after learning that flexibility is important to longevity... lol), and so I am actually consider a Yoga-type class to supplement the jujitsu/kick boxing stuff. I just have to get over my shyness/chickenness of wading into a class full of women on mats.
This shyness is very prevalent. Luckily where I go there is a mix of about 50% men to women in most classes, I guess yoga would be more skewed but the issue is working on the crazy stiffness. My theory of increasing flexibility comes from noticing that as I get more flexible, I seem to have the use of more length in my arms and legs. I'm able to extend more which gives me additional muscle to perform better on a bike. I'm able to get lower on the handlebars and I'm able to stand briefly with the cranks horizontal and drop my heals periodically in order to flush out the fatigue. Little things like this, make riding longer more fun, less like a pain fest. This is the sweet spot of riding where you are able to stay quick and loose and ride varied terrain for hours. The other way I know this strategy is working is that I drain both my water bottles and eat all my snacks before as I loose track of time. I arrive at home tired and hungry and thirsty but still will find that I have lost weight the next day even if I eat a good meal.