r/fitness50plus

I’m 52 and trying to get back into a consistent routine after being on and off for a long time.

Mentally I feel good, but my legs are taking it personally. Walks are fine, lifting feels fine while I’m doing it, then later that night or the next morning I’m stiff like I did way more than I actually did.

I’ve been doing the basic stuff, stretching a bit, walking after workouts, putting my legs up, compression socks sometimes. It helps, but not always. The heavy leg feeling after longer walks or runs is what gets annoying. I was looking at recovery boots the other day and saw icebound essentials come up because they have wireless ones, which seems less annoying than dealing with cords and tubes. Still not sure if that is overkill for where I’m at.

For anyone who got back into fitness in their 50s, what helped your legs adapt without feeling beat up all week?

I was a committed CrossFitter for years — loved the community, the intensity, the feeling of being genuinely fit. But somewhere around 47, the snatches started wrecking my shoulders, the box jumps were a dice roll every time, and I was spending more time recovering than training.

I didn't want to "go gentle." I still wanted to be pushed hard. I just needed to train smarter.

Has anyone else hit this crossroads? What did you change? Did you find something that kept the intensity without the injury roulette?