Falling Apart

[Fletch]

Believe it or not my shot shoulders are mostly from sleeping for years with my arms up above my head. I play 2s sand beach volleyball year around and some 4s. At times I play 2 or 3 nights a week. Except for the past few months because of a bad plantar fasciitis episode I walk then run every opposite day. I will be doing the Adirondack Ragnar 200 mile race this fall. I'm not in bad shape overall but shit sure hurts more than it used to. If your my age and don't hurt you didn't play hard enough!!

[Doc]

15 hours ago, Stay at home Nomad said:

It’s not for the weak ! 

Plus Doc is picking out the best of the best and comparing them to guys here.

Well Jack Nicklaus sunk a hole in one at age 75, and he a Palmer played better  in their later years then anyone here did in their prime . That’s one thing that sets the stars apart from Joe Sixpack .

Ok, let's forget about the modern day archery superstars, and just think about a time when archery wasn't just for exhibition, or for fun and recreation. There were whole civilizations built on regularly shooting a bow and where accuracy boiled down to whether you ate or not. They seemed to pull their bows back assumedly without too much groaning and wincing. And depending on which civilization we are talking about (native American or Roman archers, etc.) some of those guys were pulling a whole lot more weight than we ever thought about using. So there definitely is something involved in our modern lifestyle that seems to be making humans devolve into much less than humans used to be capable of when it comes to muscle usefulness. Yes, technology has figured out how to keep us alive way past what we even want, but it appears that something is being traded off for our modern lifestyle. It makes you wonder what our species will eventually look like and what other functions humans may lose over the coming centuries. One thing seems likely. The species will have well developed thumb and index finger muscles.....lol.

[left field]

[moog5050]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

Ok, let's forget about the modern day archery superstars, and just think about a time when archery wasn't just for exhibition, or for fun and recreation. There were whole civilizations built on regularly shooting a bow and where accuracy boiled down to whether you ate or not. They seemed to pull their bows back assumedly without too much groaning and wincing. And depending on which civilization we are talking about (native American or Roman archers, etc.) some of those guys were pulling a whole lot more weight than we ever thought about using. So there definitely is something involved in our modern lifestyle that seems to be making humans devolve into much less than humans used to be capable of when it comes to muscle usefulness. Yes, technology has figured out how to keep us alive way past what we even want, but it appears that something is being traded off for our modern lifestyle. It makes you wonder what our species will eventually look like and what other functions humans may lose over the coming centuries. One thing seems likely. The species will have well developed thumb and index finger muscles.....lol.

Uhhhh, most Romans didn’t live into their 60s.  So instead of complaining of shoulder pain, they just died.  Statistics are likely worse for the archers of the Roman Emprie.  

[helmut in the bush]

12 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

Uhhhh, most Romans didn’t live into their 60s.  So instead of complaining of shoulder pain, they just died.  Statistics are likely worse for the archers of the Roman Emprie.  

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

17 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

Uhhhh, most Romans didn’t live into their 60s.  So instead of complaining of shoulder pain, they just died.  Statistics are likely worse for the archers of the Roman Emprie.  

Yeah no kidding. Most of us would be considered ancient elders at our ages. The average lifespan back then was around 35 years.

[grampy]

49 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Yeah no kidding. Most of us would be considered ancient elders at our ages. The average lifespan back then was around 35 years.

Yup, and they died in better shape than we are................................smile.

[moog5050]

1 hour ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Yeah no kidding. Most of us would be considered ancient elders at our ages. The average lifespan back then was around 35 years.

From what I understand, the average was so low due to the high percentage of childhood death and soldiers, but 60 was way up there and it appears only the lucky or genetically gifted made it that far unlike today.

[Doc]

4 hours ago, moog5050 said:

Uhhhh, most Romans didn’t live into their 60s.  So instead of complaining of shoulder pain, they just died.  Statistics are likely worse for the archers of the Roman Emprie.  

Yeah I guess that's right. But I will guarantee that those guys likely stressed their archery joints and muscles a whole lot more than we ever will in our lifetime even with our extended lives. No compounds for them, and they didn't just use their bows during, or in preparation for, a deer season. It was the daily tool of their trade. Native Americans wanted to eat, they began shooting at a very early age and shot a hell of a lot of arrows in their limited lifetime, until they decided it was "good day to die". Did they stop hunting when they had a bit of bursitis set in? I have a feeling they were a whole lot tougher individuals than we can even imagine. The Turks, Romans and Huns and all of those critters back in their day had to have been a pretty rough bunch of guys too. I have seen pictures and specs on some of the bows they shot, and damned few of us would even be able to pull them back.

 

[Robhuntandfish]

We always hear that the US has the most obese out of shape people etc etc..... So that isn't good?  Not really kidding ... So we are able to have more than enough food and great doctors and long lifespans and able to come up with vaccines and healthcare.  

So having too much food is a negative.....yeah we all could work out more, but I am very thankful I know I am having dinner tonite in my home that has electric and heat and if I get sick I can go to the dr.    

The reason we don't dig ditches by hand for a living is cause that life isn't as good and our elders made sure to improve life. That's why technology was improved etc.  

Yes the leading cause of death is heart disease and cancer etc.   Cause most people are living long enough to contract these things.  Something is eventually gonna get ya.  

Us fat happy Americans with our bad shoulders and backs actually have it pretty good!   

[Dom]

After reading this I'm heading out to the GYm and then a cold beer.I haven't been to a gym since highschool and have no intent to,Why in the Heck would one spend the money to ride a bike/treadmill or lift weights in a gym?I myself have some issues with my leg being crushed with 10,000 lbs but am on the road to ajusting to a new way of walking and making good use of my time.

[The_Field_Ager]

23 minutes ago, Dom said:

Why in the Heck would one spend the money to ride a bike/treadmill or lift weights in a gym?I 

I dunno, maybe the physical transformation, improved circulation and stamina, better mood associated with exercise, turning the ladies head's with your big guns,  reduced rates of bone disorders,l lower stress, better sleep patterns etc...

 

You're right, can't think of anything that might motivate the average human taco

Edited July 26, 2018 by Papist

[steve863]

3 hours ago, Papist said:

I dunno, maybe the physical transformation, improved circulation and stamina, better mood associated with exercise, turning the ladies head's with your big guns,  reduced rates of bone disorders,l lower stress, better sleep patterns etc...

 

You're right, can't think of anything that might motivate the average human taco

I do believe being physically active can only be beneficial to us, but in no way do I believe one needs to go to a gym to be in great shape.  In fact some of the most physically fit and toughest people I've known have never set foot inside a gym.  They could out walk, out carry and generally make mince meat out of many of those gym going Adonis' who love looking at themselves in the mirror.

[wolc123]

On 7/25/2018 at 7:05 AM, Doc said:

What is happening these days that is making people not age well? On one of the other threads we were talking about summer practice with bows, and it is amazing how many people talked of being effected by failing muscles and joints. Many of them are not really all that old. I think back to old guys like Fred Bear and Howard Hill and Stacey Groscup and others who were famous for using things like 110 pound long bows on elephants and shooting well into their old age. I can't even imagine pulling a longbow (or even a compound) with 100# pull, but these guys were doing it. Hey, and look at how Fred Bear was built ......not exactly what you would call the Charles Atlas of his time. Howard Hill was even deformed a bit from so much shooting that his right shoulder was visibly bigger than his left. It seems like these guys abused their archery muscles far worse than any of us do today and yet were able to shoot way into old age.

So, I have to wonder what we are doing to ourselves that is breaking us down before our time. Even I have been forced to move from an 80# compound in preparation for a moose hunt, in my 40's, to one now set at 60# because of joints and muscles becoming a bit tweaky at times. How did some of those old-timers get away without body break-downs? Or are we doing things to ourselves today that is hastening a breakdown in body structure? I know that hunter ages are increasingly getting older, but it seems that a lot of these breakdowns are happening at younger and younger ages.

I am thankful that NY state has been letting us get out there with a crossbow for the best two weeks of southern-zone archery season for the last few years.  That weapon is a lot easier on the shoulders.   Hopefully, they will open up the whole season soon as that would make filling DMP tags much easier for me.   

[Doc]

Frankly, I prefer productive physical labor to keep in shape. I actually go out of my way to find physically demanding projects here at home that wind up producing something useful rather than going to the gym just to burn calories and exercise muscles. One of the reasons that I push myself into staying engaged in bowhunting and bow shooting, is to keep my arms from atrophying and I am heading for 75 now where I have to be concerned about such things. But I think I did do my physical longevity a favor when I dropped the 80 pounder and got a more reasonable draw weight....lol.

[Steve D]

4 hours ago, Doc said:

Frankly, I prefer productive physical labor to keep in shape. I actually go out of my way to find physically demanding projects here at home that wind up producing something useful rather than going to the gym just to burn calories and exercise muscles

Stop over...I"ve  got a ton of stuff that needs done

[Doc]

8 hours ago, Steve D said:

Stop over...I"ve  got a ton of stuff that needs done

Probably won't live long enough to exhaust my own list of projects, but thanks for the offer ..... lol.

[left field]

16 hours ago, Doc said:

Frankly, I prefer productive physical labor to keep in shape. I actually go out of my way to find physically demanding projects here at home that wind up producing something useful rather than going to the gym just to burn calories and exercise muscles. 

https://youtu.be/fULNUr0rvEc