Dear Switchback.

[Group9]

But you're also reaching the age where the body doesn't recover from injury nearly as quickly, no matter how much you work out.

It was an 18 yr old weightlifter that convinced me to take the detective test. I was about 36, working graveyard when I got a call on this kid tearing up a convenience store. He was as tall as I was, 30 lbs heavier and as I said, a weight lifter. He and I went all over the damn store before I finally got him in some sort of WWF Flying Indian Death hold. I was able to hold him there until my backup got there. (Yes, Kiddies, this was pre five non-lethal things on your belt to disable some guy with a flick of your finger. We actually had to fight people back then).

I knew I would be sore the next day and I was. But I was also sore for two more days. That was the first time I had to come to grips with my mortality!:eek: I realized I didn't want to be doing this stuff when I was 50!

There was a good story by an agent who later wrote a lot of books about learning the same thing as he neared fifty. They hit a house on a raid and one of the young dopers jumped out of the window. In hot pursuit, he followed, not realizing that because of the slope, he was jumping out of a second story window. As he watched the doper jump up and take off running, apparently unhurt, he slammed into the ground, wrenching his knee out of joint, and unable to even walk.

He said he sat there for a moment, figuring the subject was all doped up, and probably unaware he was injured, when two agents in their twenties, also came out the second story window, hit the ground, rolled and got up, and took off chasing the subject, with no apparent injuries. :D

At that moment, it sunk in. He was too old.

[KnightRider3702]

ouch...

[retdetsgt]

I recently read that we start losing muscle mass at 30, I thought it was a little older. You can slow it down by working out, but you can't stop it. I have a couple of friends that are body builders and recall them complaining they simply couldn't lift as much after they approached 50 years old. Now they lift to keep fat off because their metabolism is slower too.

The first thing I noticed was like I stated, taking a lot longer for the muscles to recover from injury. As I got older though, like the agent Group9 described, I found it was easier and easier to hurt joints, mostly knees and hips. At 63, I'm starting to notice I don't have the balance I used to have either. Where I used to be accused of being part monkey when it came to climbing buildings, etc., now I'm hesitant to stand on top of a step stool.

I still bet I could go over a 6 ft fence without any trouble, but I'm not sure what would happen when I landed on the otherside now....:(