Do you ever feel like you can’t quite move the way you did “back in the day”? Do you ever watch someone perform a certain movement or activity and think “how cool! It’s a bummer I’m too old to try that sort of thing.”
If you sometimes feel like you can’t move the way you used to, this is probably true…but not for the reasons you might think!
In reality, it’s not that you are incapable of performing like you once did (or better). I’d argue that under the right circumstances, it’s possible to reach your athletic peak well into your 40s and 50s. If the things you did in your youth feel painful, scary, or impossible now, it’s time to take a good hard look at the way your body moves when you aren’t thinking about it.
To do this, take a moment to reflect on how you learned new movements and tricks early on in your athletic journey. Did you move with intent and awareness, or did you just “go for it” and see what happened? Many of us (including me!) measured progress and success based on outcome alone (e.g., did I land the jump or not?). No matter if the process caused pain or injury: young people are often quick to rebound and hardy enough to endure a bit of thrashing.
In this way, we teach ourselves patterns of movement that simply get the job done. Before long, our body calls upon these movement strategies without conscious effort.
As we age, our bodies continue to use the same patterns of movement we cultivated in our youth. But if the movement strategies you developed when you were younger are causing you problems now, it’s quite likely that these strategies are not the best way for your body to move! Like many other habits of youth, you may have inadvertently ingrained movement habits that don’t promote longevity.
Luckily, the patience and wisdom that come with age grant us an opportunity to reflect on the way we have chosen to move our entire lives. No longer can we throw ourselves at something and see what happens. We must cultivate new movement strategies – ones that are best for our body type and personal style.
So when you hear yourself saying, I’m getting too old for this, take a moment to reconsider what this is. Yes, you may be too old to get away with movement strategies that your body does not love. You may be too old to force your body this way or that. But are you really too old to do the things that your heart knows is essential to you?
P.s. Movement training and cultivation of personal style are training topics that are near and dear to me. If you are looking to refresh your movement methods, let’s connect! Book a free consultation with me where we can talk about what you love to do and how you’d love to move.
