Myths are based on past experience, not contemporary experience.

Do you think your life up to 35 was physically easier or more difficult than it was for the generations that these myths were based on?

I'm going to go out in a limb and say if we'd been working in the fields or mines for 20 years by the time we were 35, we'd have more joint pain.

but I have just much energy as I did when I was a kid.

Are you sure? Have you actually stress tested that? Because my experience is that while I'm still striving to maintain an active lifestyle(or at least taking the same measures to offset my sedentary profession and hobbies), my endurance has started to trend downward as the years roll on. I can no longer knock out as many reps as I used to during my martial arts class, yet I never stopped going aside from that two or three month period during Covid when they literally wouldn't let us. Father Time is undefeated.

Where does this shit come from?

Smoking.

I don't think you understand. Before 1980... everyone, and I do mean everyone, smoked like a goddamn incinerator. And when you do that, you go straight from looking 20 to 45 in the span of about 5 years.

My 30s absolutely was when I felt the beginning of "aging" and my abilities getting weaker. Like, I could still mostly go about my tasks without issue, and could push through on adrenaline like anyone else, but at the end of it all the recovery was much more needed and prominent (compared to my 20s where only pulling muscles even needed recovery).

I'm still wearing the same clothes as when I was a teen, its not a weight issue. Its just pure wear and tear catching up. I won't pretend I took good care of myself, but that's likely the case with most people.

I also worked mostly heavy labor jobs throughout my life, which is also something that was historically the majority of people but is now not really as common thanks to illegal Mexicans taking all those jobs.

the way they drink

The reason older men drink like they do is because it allows them to ignore most of the minor strains of aging. My dad was literally given full disability in his early 50s because of all his issues, but thanks to his drinking he was basically only a bit slower around the house.

Most Americans treat their bodies VERY BADLY from 20-45. This is especially true with women. Food, alcohol, drug, stress, lack of water, etc. takes a toll.

Yes, there are people like you, me, & your friends who age well due to genes or our choices. But for the most part, people trash their bodies while young and it catches up with them.

I think you're largely spot on, but at the same time...give it a few more years.

I got in really good shape in my early 30s. I took up lifting (for the first time), upped my running, and I lost weight.

Then, in my late 30s, I got a knee injury, and I'm still trying to get my distances back up. I don't squat too heavy anymore either as I get persistently sores knees with more weight. I still lift regularly, walk a lot, bike sometimes, run occasionally. I honestly need to be in better aerobic shape.

The first time I ever had a (passing) moment of feeling "old" was probably at age ~41-42.

I don't drink as much as I did in my 20s. Hangovers feel more like--why would I put myself through this yet again? I inadvertently got blitzed a few weeks ago going to a fancy wine tasting dinner with the wife. Oops. I did regret that the next morning.

I do think I'm getting more set in my ways. I used to be a real foodie, always wanting to try new restaurants, new cuisines, etc. Now, between kids, price of restaurants, and 10+ years of me cooking at home--I just don't want to eat out that much anymore.

I don't take any medicines. I have a few grays in my beard. Dick's still working fine. Sleeping is fine (though wife has the "pain from sleeping wrong" thing).

If you're not doing it now, take up stretching. I think stretching and weight work are about the two best things people can do as they age.

My dad is still active in his 80s. He has friends in their 90s who still play tennis multiple times a week. It's very possible.

Doubt it. Clearly not as much esthetic aging do to jobs that no longer demand physical labor and less sun exposure but the rest is very much there.

If you play any shooter you'll notice your reflexes are not as good, if you spend the night out clubbing the next day you're useless, you don't build muscles as fast, it is harder to lose weight, I would also argue that is harder to be happy.

If you hit 30s and you work out regularly and maintain good muscle mass and low fat percentage it helps a lot in the mid to late 30s since is easier to maintain then build.

I'm in my late 30s and I'd feel great if it wasn't for a pesky intestinal inflammation. I have a healthy low stress lifestyle though, some party people and overworked fathers I know are looking rough. Cyclists and lifters only reach their peak in their 30s and 40s, it's the explosive speed that goes first.

More than health issues, I'm noticing a distinct drop in the eagerness to socialize in my cohort, whether they have children or not. I remember thinking back in 2016: "My friend group hasn't met up for three weeks, what's going on?" Oh sweet summer child, I'm lucky to see those people once a year now. Covid likely played a part in that though.

Professional sports give a pretty clear example of IRL physiological aging curves.

In baseball, American teams can sign Dominican teens when they turn 16. A lot of them have already been groomed & trained by shady agents called "buscones" who plucked pre-teens showing potential from their homes and have housed them in dormitory-style academies for years hoping to cash in on them once they sign at 16.

American teams tend to leave their Dominican signees on the island until they turn 18-20 to play in domestic leagues because they are considered too raw to compete against even the slightly older American-born players on the mainland in the lower levels of the minor leagues with some HS & college experience.

The American minor leagues were revamped after COVID, as the entire system was bought out under a hostile takeover by Major League Baseball to reduce costs & gain more control. They subsequently slashed the number of minor league advancement levels from around 7-8 to about 4. Players used to proceed at one minor league level a year while the phenoms could sometimes do 2-3.

So an American HS senior or a Dominican fresh off the island would start at the lowest rung at age 18. They would usually take 4-7 years to climb their way through the minors and the attrition system that it entails.

College seniors drafted after they finish NCAA ball arrive in the minors at 22 or 23. They are already considered geriatric. They are expected to tear through the minors immediately because their development window is so small. A base prospect is considered a bust if they aren't playing in the big leagues by 25. Players 26 and above are considered non-prospects if they haven't established themselves because their developmental age window is considered closed and they lose almost all of their market value.

Once in a generation phenoms can sometimes make the big leagues at 20. Some other very good players debut between 21-24. Most of the average players debut at 25 & after because it takes them so long to proceed to the top of the minor league gauntlet against their competition.

Baseball analytics suggest that athletic skills like speed & defense are essentially at their peak the very second that a player debuts. A lot of players lose speed or defensive skill even by their late 20s, no longer stealing bases at will or losing a step in the field on defense.

Power sometimes develops later as players mature and put on muscle. It's not unusual for skinny, fast, raw players to suddenly start hitting the ball harder and hitting more homeruns between 25 & 30.

Pitching works much the same way. Sometimes teams draft a high schooler or sign a Dominican a lean, lanky teen throwing 91-92 mph "projecting" that he may add a few ticks of velo as he matures and fills out with age and better training. But the 22 & 23 year old College seniors they draft are essentially already considered finished products & over-the-hill with what-you-see-is-what-you-get.

There are older guys in their 30s still throwing hard (sometimes pushing 40) with advances in training and technology. But in general, pitching velocity in baseball is a young man's game where the young 20 something Nuke Laloosh types enter the league throwing thunder from their rocket launcher God gifted them while most of the 30+ veteran types are surviving off guile because injuries & the ravages of time have stolen several ticks of velo from them.

Baseball players, particularly position players, generally start to decline and fall off a cliff by age 30. Players tend to debut in their mid 20s. Teams own their rights for about 6-7 full seasons if they play FT. Thus most players finally reach free agency in their early 30s to get paid.

Almost unanimously, all these players reaching free agency are already past their prime when they start asking for big money on the free market. Most free agent signings tend to be awful deals for the ball clubs because they are paid for their prime production but often start declining in the early years of the deal.

Many of the more mediocre & average players never reach free agency because they are out of the league by year 6-7 when they start to decline.

Bat speed for hitters tends to fall off around age 30. Hitters start having trouble keeping up with high 90s heat from the young guys. They start having to resort to either cheating on high heat by starting their swings early (guessing and committing earlier, making them more susceptible to slower pitches, breaking pitches and discriminating pitches outside the zone), to laying off heat and trying to hit the slower and breaking pitches exclusively or waiting and trying to hit mistake pitches only.

Defense and running speed fall off quickly by age 30. 30+ players rarely steal bases. Defensive metrics usually show as well that they lose a step in the field and almost universally become liabilities to their team. At the very athletic positions like Center Field & Shortstop, players at this age often get moved down the defensive spectrum to less demanding positions.

Catchers often lose arm strength so they start becoming incapable of throwing out baserunners. Catchers also lose all running speed by age 30 or so, so no matter how athletic they were in their 20s, years of crouching for their position all grinds them down to being the slowest runners in the league.

Batting power seems to fair better than other attributes. Power often develops later after age 25. Players in their early 30s often sellout for power over contact or hitting for a high batting average because they've lost bat speed to hit velocity or make quick adjustments. So some players bulk up and try to simply hunt pitcher mistake pitches to pounce on & hit far occasionally.

What's interesting is that eyesight is considered an "old man skill" in baseball and seems relatively well preserved. Older players sometimes begin taking more walks as they become more selective with what they swing at as they lose bat speed and ability to be aggressive. Batting eye/pitch discrimination is a skill that tends to last entire careers well into the late 30s. Sometimes washed up vets have lost bat speed and power, so their only positive contributions offensively to their teams by the end is being selective and getting on base when the pitcher is wild.

your late 30s to early 40s is when your bad habits compound enough for you to notice.

People who didnt wear sun block, or take care of themselves physically, were sedentary most of the time start to feel it at that age.

I see these image posts online with a caption "childhood starter pack", and its all media, TV, movies, video games, etc. and i wonder what these kids did in their youth other than sit in front of a screen.

I'm around the same age. I think I've still got a bunch left in me, but I'm also certainly starting to feel it. My job is physical, and some of my joints are getting a bit wonky. I'm still much more fit and strong than average (not that that's saying much), but things are starting to give me some trouble.

You can't keep going forever; that part's not a myth. But the idea that it's all over before you're even forty is also a myth. Stay active, stay healthy, and you'll still be fine for decades, as far as I can tell. But not as good as you were in your twenties. That's called your peak for a reason, and that's also not a myth.

Sounds like the people around you growing up had poor genetics or bad luck, while your luck and health regimen have been doing you good so far. Appreciate it and enjoy this time.

i'm the same age and i don't feel much different.

just a temporary bad knee not from age, but from myself doing something stupid.

other than that i have the same energy if not sometimes more than when i was younger. might be the attitude as well -- i.e. knowing the scams of the world, the lies, knowing the value of actual personal growth, etc. -- a positive mind makes the body feel good too

when i was in my early-mid 20's i was chronically tired and didn't have much energy to remain present mentally-speaking* at work or in social settings.

although it could also be bias since my lifestyle has changed a bit since then

Women age like shit, both due to biology and culture. They are constantly complimented no matter what and never face consequences but that doesn't work with nature and they fall apart drastically and quickly.

Since we live in a feminine society, it is believed it's the same for men as it is for women and that's a bunch of bullshit. Men age, especially the feminine ones, but exercise, no or moderate drinking and you'll be fine. Exercise is the key.

I'm up there and women my age look like my parents age. It's crazy how rapidly they go.

My question is… Why is this an American myth? Feminists being resentful of men aging gracefully? The r select being angry at the k select? Endomorphs raging at ectomoporhs and mesomorphs walking through less affected by time? Everyone throughout my life has told me when you hit your thirties you will be in pain after waking up sleeping on the wrong side of the bed. You can't drink as much. Your dick won't be hard. Where does this shit come from?

Because it's 'when you hit your forties' not 'when you hit your thirties'.

Get your myths straight. ;)

Mostly roastie seethe. They hit the wall in their mid-20s when men are in their prime and realize they have no future.

It's mostly used as an excuse for obese people to justify eating themselves into size 50 pants

Try jumping down a full flight of stairs like you could do when you were a kid and get back to us.

Go watch gameshows from like the 70s. People looked old af by 30 back then. That's where it comes from. Part of it was due to smoking, part of it was probably due to the fact we had lead in everything.

Give it 5 more years.

People's vices is probably doing a horrible number on them when they had the ability to get around it in their 20's.

I have aches because I need to replace my bed. People who didn't sleep well will find that shit catching up to them. Too much alcohol, too much smoking, too much drugs? All of that catches up to you. Injuries when you were younger? Same.

Remember, people used to die in their late 30's pretty regularly before civilization because that's about all a body can take when you have to fight that hard for that long.

Your buddies are actually doing something very stupid. They shouldn't be out bar hopping and getting plastered in their 50's. I assure you, everyone thinks they're fucking clowns and losers. I probably watched them on some police body-cam footage fighting some cops.

Now, I would suggest that you should change your pants. You probably should have design changes as you go through life.

I'm roughly the same age. I've noticed some minor inconveniences pop up, mostly very minor chronic pains in a few areas. I can feel my knees are not what they used to be, but I'm still fully capable of being athletic. I feel mostly the same as a decade prior as well.

most people tell me the warranty runs out at 40 though, so check back in 5 years and see if you feel the same.