How does your look change as you get older?

[AD1985]

With the general population I see a huge decline in aesthetics, since bodyfat levels begin to run away, and muscle mass was never built to begin with.

Thankfully we don't have nearly as much of an issue with those major aesthetic factors. But age affects everyone. I imagine BBers will still see skin start to wrinkle and maybe more hair growth.

What else happens before say 65, where I assume strength would start to fall sharply?

Does a guy who's been lifting for 30 years really look that much different in terms of his body? Or is there a noticeable decline, and if so, where?

[ElrondHubbard]

No matter how well you take care of your body, your face is the first thing to go. Eyebrows that look like Gandalf, hair poking out your earlobes, looser skin on the neck and jowels. It's far worse if you're a smoker, though. And really, assuming you do take good care of yourself, it's not so bad. Misery, stress and abuse age and scar you far more deeply than mere time.

[bodyhard]

I am no where near 65, but thank god (I dread getting old) I have not seen any decline in terms of my build, in fact I see improvements every 10 years or so.

As for loose skin, hair growing out your ears/nose I have not experience any of that, however I have become grey (beard and head) and have a deep receding hairline, so I just went bald.

[ElrondHubbard]

I am no where near 65, but thank god (I dread getting old) I have not seen any decline in terms of my build, in fact I see improvements every 10 years or so.

As for loose skin, hair growing out your ears/nose I have not experience any of that, however I have become grey (beard and head) and have a deep receding hairline, so I just went bald.

In some ways I would have preferred to have gone bald. My hair grows too fast to shave my head, and once it went gray it just got totally unruly. No amount of combing or brushing helps, I just have to keep cutting it short. It wasn't all that controllable when I was younger, either.

When I started chemo last winter I hoped that would make it fall out and I wouldn't have to worry about it for a while, but it didn't do a dang thing.

[bodyhard]

In some ways I would have preferred to have gone bald. My hair grows too fast to shave my head, and once it went gray it just got totally unruly. No amount of combing or brushing helps, I just have to keep cutting it short. It wasn't all that controllable when I was younger, either.

When I started chemo last winter I hoped that would make it fall out and I wouldn't have to worry about it for a while, but it didn't do a dang thing.

God bless you brotha sincerely. I had a scare today with extreme chest pains that woke me up. My wife called 911 and I went to the ER, everything came back OK, not sure why I am having chest pains, but I was pretty scared as the pain was so bad and it lasted about 45 minutes before I agreed to call 911.

What you went through/going through I would not have the mental toughness to go through, you are by far a stronger man than me. Again God bless..

[sy2502]

No matter how well you take care of your body, your face is the first thing to go.

^^ This ^^

I describe it as my face slowly sliding off my skull.

[Gloryhound]

I would have to say my metabolism. In my 20's and even well into my 30's I could pound a pizza, 6 pack of beer, and bag of chips without gaining a pound. Now I have a glass of whiskey on the rocks while looking at a pack of almonds and I swear I gain 5 lbs.

Guess that really isn't a look thing, but it happens.

[misterponytail]

I had a scare today with extreme chest pains that woke me up. My wife called 911 and I went to the ER, everything came back OK, not sure why I am having chest pains, but I was pretty scared as the pain was so bad and it lasted about 45 minutes before I agreed to call 911.

Yipes! Hope that doesn't happen again. Glad you're OK.

Am I allowed to say "God bless you" if I'm not a Christian?

[misterponytail]

No matter how well you take care of your body, your face is the first thing to go.

That's what always gets me about going to yoga class. Amazing bodies, but...

[DuracellBunny]

Your ears and nose continue to grow throughout your life, so your face will slowly and continuously change.

[ElrondHubbard]

God bless you brotha sincerely. I had a scare today with extreme chest pains that woke me up. My wife called 911 and I went to the ER, everything came back OK, not sure why I am having chest pains, but I was pretty scared as the pain was so bad and it lasted about 45 minutes before I agreed to call 911.

What you went through/going through I would not have the mental toughness to go through, you are by far a stronger man than me. Again God bless..

That does sound scary. Don't sell your mental toughness short, you've had to display it a number of times just in the couple of years I've been on this forum. Just be careful of hidden stress. That could easily be part of what you're going through.

[Cantplankwell]

God bless you brotha sincerely. I had a scare today with extreme chest pains that woke me up. My wife called 911 and I went to the ER, everything came back OK, not sure why I am having chest pains, but I was pretty scared as the pain was so bad and it lasted about 45 minutes before I agreed to call 911.

What you went through/going through I would not have the mental toughness to go through, you are by far a stronger man than me. Again God bless..

Seriously BH, that ever happens again don't delay getting down to emerg.

[Garage Rat]

Metabolism slows for most people.
Natural T levels drop it's a fact of life.
Just with these two factors you loose muscle size and become a smooth dad type body if you don't adjust.
The key is to eat clean,drop calories to maintenance level and keep training intensity going as much as you can.
These things some time effect people mentally as they don't accept what they look like now even if it's in great condition.
I did my last BB show when i was 40.
I am now 60 and in that time while i didn't go crazy i still gained fat mostly filling in areas that were once low or fat free.
Waist/low back,outer pecs,serrates area and arm pits actually were pretty soft.
In the past tear i have dropped 28 pounds dropping from 240 and have regained a lot of the lost definition but there still is a ways to go for me to be satisfied.
Of course some strength has dropped but i fight it all the way to maintain it and what muscle i can.

[Squiddy70]

I feel more tired. What I found as I aged was I could suddenly lift bigger weights and get big in my 20s, get stronger and bigger in my 30s but metabolism slowed way down. Now in my 40s, tiredness is a new factor on top of weird joint pains. Can't eat livers, brats, and hot dogs like I used to. I get gout so painful I'm tempted to sever that big toe with the machete under my bed. Unrelenting torturous pain for hours.

I had an aortic dissection 9 years ago that I was lucky to survive so my doc wanted me to quit lifting because of the resulting aneurysm. I did, not only that, I got inactive and depressed. As someone with bad ADD that could never stick to a hobby, the gym was that one thing I had a passion before so that whole mess devastated me. I just got back in a couple of months ago and cleaned up my eating because I look horrible, get gout easily now, and my 1ac was 6.9 a year ago. Since medically it makes sense not to push myself in the gym with this aneurysm, Im taking the common sense approach. Doing research online I've found that with an abdominal aneurysm, one can do 6-7 reps per set of their 12 rep max and do OK as long as you breath through and no valsalva. Not sure I'll ever get big results in the mirror, but my results so far is the depression is gone so much so that I got off the lexapro and I've dropped 14 pounds over the last 8 weeks and years long chronic back pain already gone.

But back to topic, yeah, I'm having to use one of those nose roto rooters to keep the nose hair tame. My beard would be gray if not for Just For Men. I started shaving my head, but I was getting gray on the sides and those gray hairs absolutely do not like to lay down naturally. Fortunately, my face has kept wrinkles to a minimum and I pass off as 35 to a lot of people (as long as I keep the beard dark) LOL I was blessed with good genetics there on both sides of my family.

[misterponytail]

Metabolism slows for most people.

I've really enjoyed Joe Friel's book "Fast After 50." https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937715264

The basic idea is to make sure you lift weights to keep your lean body mass up, which will keep your metabolism going.

Natural T levels drop it's a fact of life.

A good anti-aging doctor can help you with that.

[Cass40]

^^ This ^^

I describe it as my face slowly sliding off my skull.

We can always be in denial about that.

[tnthudson]

My wife is 47 and very good looking- great genetics facially but she also says 'it takes alot of work to look this good,' haha. And she's right...so I've joined alot of what she's doing, really just basics like teeth whitening, got a nose hair clipper, pluck eyebrows and those wild hairs that grow out of the top of my ears (what is THAT about?).
And some other stuff like tanning some, coloring my hair, some things that some people just won't do or can't do for whatever reason. I think that stuff helps tremendously if you look at someone the same age who doesn't maintain themselves quite as much.
Then you throw on lifting and diet and you can really excel overall for your age, not just in facial or 'skin' looks.

[TrinnieBuu]

I'm 25 so probably irrelevant. Look better now than when I was 18 though. Just more put together and self assured.

My mom is 47 and she pretty much looks the same now as 10 years ago. Maybe a little bit more smile lines, and gained 5 pounds, having to color her hair every couple months to hide some grey hair. Over all, not bad though, she takes good care of herself and her kids. Always eats healthy food, cardio almost everyday, takes care of her skin, etc.

[WorldClassDBag]

^ Asian don't raisin

[marinevet63031]

Ok - I am not really your typical aging athlete. I am so freaking broken from war disabilities. But I recently won a natural wheelchair division earning my IPE Pro Elite card.
I have found that my skin is really the worst. But honestly, don't expect that nice 25 yr. old hair to last long either.

[Squiddy70]

Ok - I am not really your typical aging athlete. I am so freaking broken from war disabilities. But I recently won a natural wheelchair division earning my IPE Pro Elite card.
I have found that my skin is really the worst. But honestly, don't expect that nice 25 yr. old hair to last long either.

Dude, you rock! Congratulations on all you've done.

[misterponytail]

I am so freaking broken from war disabilities.

Thank you for your sacrifices. I hope we as a country are properly taking care of you!

But I recently won a natural wheelchair division earning my IPE Pro Elite card.

Very cool. Very inspirational.

[sy2502]

ok - i am not really your typical aging athlete. I am so freaking broken from war disabilities. But i recently won a natural wheelchair division earning my ipe pro elite card.
I have found that my skin is really the worst. But honestly, don't expect that nice 25 yr. Old hair to last long either.

respect!

[OldFartTom]

Wow, what a thread..
I just wanted to make the comment that it's hard to tell what is age and what is life. For example comparing me at 20 with me at 40 I went from unmarried easy life to married with a mortgage and 3 kids (and not many hours of sleep a night) so what physical decline is age and what is changed lifestyle is hard to know.

But this sounds so dull and lame. After reading comments above, I mean marinevet - complete respect to you. And respect to those who've had a really tough time and still fighting on and positive, like chemo, chest pain, aortic dissection. My goodness you guys makes my trivial weaknesses look... well.. trivial !

[ljimd]

Ok - I am not really your typical aging athlete. I am so freaking broken from war disabilities. But I recently won a natural wheelchair division earning my IPE Pro Elite card.
I have found that my skin is really the worst. But honestly, don't expect that nice 25 yr. old hair to last long either.

I'm humbled.

I've no complaints.

[cory2731]

i think the worst thing is the loosening of the skin. theres just no way to defeat Father Time

[pryme]

I will be 39 in a week, so not old but enough to notice some changes. I do notice some fine lines in my face. Nothing real noticeable from a fee feet but I can in the mirror lol.
A few stray greys above my ears and in the back. I told my dad I had a few greys and he said not to worry until they show up below the belt. Yikes lol.
Recovery is a little less than 10 years ago etc.
Little aches in my joints from over 2 decades of heavy lifting has caused me to make the permanent change to a different style of training and keeping my weight lower.

[AD1985]

Little aches in my joints from over 2 decades of heavy lifting has caused me to make the permanent change to a different style of training and keeping my weight lower.

Would you blame bad form when going heavy, or is that just how it is?

What is your new style?

[bodyhard]

i think the worst thing is the loosening of the skin. theres just no way to defeat Father Time

Not trying to be a dick here, but you really have loose skin at 51? Or are you just saying that is something we will go through in general when we get older? Just for the record I am 53 and I don't have any loose skin that is why I am asking.

[billzkey]

For me, it has been the loss of midsection fat. I swear it was much easier to lose fat in my 20s than in my 40s. Granted, in my 20s, I was diagnosed borderline hyperthyroid whereas recently, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. After getting those health-related issues sorted out, I'm hoping that I may continue on my fat loss journey.

I did go from a size 44 waist to a size 38 waist in my slacks since starting the diet and exercise routine in November 2015, so I must be doing something right.