My partner and I are both well into our 50s. When on land, our bed is on the floor, and we snap out of bed. We usually live on our sailboat; getting in and out of our berth is more akin to spelunking than getting out of bed.

I (think I) understand the point you’re trying to make: this shit gets harder with some age. Do I have that correctly?

I can’t emphasize this enough: take care of the hardware. Yoga, Pilates, weight training, cardio, core strength, stretching, attention to posture, etc. I have coworkers and friends 10 to 20 years younger than I with half the mobility, strength, and speed. And I have all kinds of issues from abusing my body in my youth. But some basic care keeps things usable.

If anyone’s curious, here are some good starting points for keeping your mobility or restoring physical capacity lost to age:

• “Ten Golden Exercises” by Daniel Philpot
• Mackenzie Method physical therapy — Robin Mackenzie was a serious innovator in PT; “Bob & Brad,” the YouTube channel, are Mackenzie Method therapists
• Yoga with Adrienne YT channel — she has some great starter videos for all kinds of mobility levels
• any floor method Pilates that doesn’t require machines, for example YT channel “Move with Nicole”

All that is a lot of words to say: the dreaded middle aged decline doesn’t have to be inevitable. But you do have to put in the preventative maintenance.

The really fun bit: in order to smell anything, you necessarily have to snort in molecules of that substance. It’s a happy little thought whenever passing a sewage treatment plant.

Religion now throws a null pointer exception?

A lot of people in the comments are lamenting their physical pains. I feel ya, y’all.

TL;DR: yoga, Pilates, McKenzie Method physical therapy.

Some background first, then a low- to zero-price solutions. My partner and I are both 52 years old. She had Stage-IVb cancer two years ago, the treatment for which left her with ongoing issues. I abused the hell out of my body starting in my early teens:

• dirt biking (crashes)
• mountain biking (crashes)
• road bicycling (been hit by cars seven times, MCL tears, cervical disc herniation)
• software engineering (sedentary, ergonomically shit offices, postural issues, cervical radiculopathy, sciatica, RSIs)
• open ocean sailor (yeah, all of it is just brutal)

Despite all of that, we are both regularly clocking PBs. She’s a competitive rower, triathlete, and mountain biker, and I’m a long distance cyclist. AND we are 90 to 99% pain-free, depending if we did our maintenance work.

Doing yoga, Pilates, and McKenzie Method physical therapy (MMPT) keeps you going at full tilt. You can start for free with yoga and Pilates, just find a zero-equipment YT channel that appeals to you. We’re partial to “Yoga with Adrienne” and “Move with Nicole.” Start slow and easy.

For the MMPT, “Bob and Brad” on YT are MMPTs. Robin McKenzie’s books are worth owning, or just check them out from the library. Memorize the exercises, and don’t stop doing them just because the pain dropped below threshold(!!!). I…uh… might have direct experience there. :D

Use or lose it, take care of the hardware and software, and all that. With a little care and maintenance, you can rock the hell out of your body for a very long time. I didn’t believe it until the first time I met a 70 year old downhill mountain biking champion. His age class starts at 55, so he was beating professional racers 15 years younger than he. He was the one who taught me about yoga, Pilates, and MMPT being the key.

If any of this blather helps even one of you just a little, it was worth the insomnia, typing-on-phone hell. :D

Can confirm: $1000USD is an ISO standard boat unit. “How much will that cost?” “Only about 20 boat units.”

Source: own and live on a sailboat.