I might be done with car repairs

I'm 50. I'm new at being 50. So I decided to install a trailer hitch and trailer light conversion kit on my wife's car. The day started out okay. Remove some body trim pieces, lower the exhaust, wrestle the tow hitch in place, holding it up with one hand while struggling to get the bolts in with the other. Actually, the install went fairly well with few surprises.

But laying under the car, basically doing abdominal crunches for 3 hours really beat me up. My back, stomach muscles, hands, arms, and legs are keeping me awake. A hot shower didn't make much difference. Not looking forward to the next 20 years.

LOL Just did struts on my 2002 Tundra and I am soon to be 69.

when your not working on cars you need the wood work out.

oh man do I find muscles every time I start cutting trees or wrestling rounds on to the splitter for a few hours

I am a few years behind you , but I am starting to understand why my dad was slowing way down by the end of the day in his 40s while we were doing projects

dad is 23 years older than I am so I can remember doing projects with him 23 years ago and thinking gosh he is slowing down I had no idea how much 23 years was going to hurt , now he is like the bionic man in cost but not performance , new hip , new shoulder , fused neck , titainiam cage in his back

I am becoming more convinced the only answer is to never stop moving , that is how you tighten up and then it hurts more just keep moving till you take 4 ibuprofen and crash into bed , get up and do it again.

Welcome to the golden years...

I know what the problem is. I was a maintenance mechanic for almost 20 years and then became the maintenance supervisor - but I still turned wrenches at least part of my day on most days.

Then, a few years ago I got "the big promotion" and I now sit at a desk, in front of a computer, while my secretary screens my phone calls. I get out in the field as much as I can but I'm not doing the hands-on work anymore. A couple of years ago, my wife was rubbing my hand and said "you have girl hands".

I think the problem is my girl hands.

The only thing worse than getting old is getting old sitting down.

promotions kill.

For better muscle recovery, skip the hot shower. Heat does nothing to help the swelling. Cold is the better option. As unpleasant as it is, cold helps with recovery. Lay down in the snow, take a dip in a pond or turn the shower way down. It sucks at the time, but it really helps.

I'm 10 years behind you and in a similar situation. Was a car mechanic for a while, than an equipment technician, now I run training programs. I started lifting weights and doing a lot more landscaping work at home to try to stay active.

Welcome to 50 plus. You hit 50, everything starts to hurt.

56 here...

Ibuprofen

LOL

Just a sign you/we need to do more physical stuff

I do a lot of my own mechanic work, just because I don't like paying $100/hr for something I can do myself

Cutting firewood is no joke, works your muscles that normally don't do much

Yes I am 50 and have some aches and pains when I do a lot of work, just look at it a little different I guess

If you really want to ache and hurt, redo your flooring. (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) on the knees, back and most of the rest of your body

You get older a lot faster just sitting down.

I'll turn 50 this year and yes, takes several days to recover which use to take several hours.

a body in motion stays in motion!

Lmao yall think 50's is bad just hang on for the 60's

that is how you make it to retirement in mostly one piece.

but yes girl hands and muscles get found anytime you do anything again.

I also drive a desk , my back got to be an issue sitting , now I stand , been standing 9 years back has been better standing than it had been for a bunch of years sitting.

I worked with a guy, now retired, who had two desks. He had one computer but set it up with two monitors, two keyboards, and two mice. He would sit for a while at his regular desk and then turn around and stand at his standing desk for a while. He probably shifted from one position to the other two dozen times during the day. At the time I thought it was silly. I'm starting to see the wisdom.

Happens to a lot of folks you heal up and move on, with the shop labor rates I’ll do my own work. LOL

Just wait till you get to be 80+ . I was trapping 200+ beaver in 2 months when I was 70 and I built my daughter and her husband a house while I was 70. Now I'm 82 and just about everything Is a chore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukzIG0bLU_Q

I have a rubber mat I stand on the desk is about even with my sternum for height.
I have a padded stool to sit on when I want to sit
I lean on my desk a fair amount during the day

the warning is it's gonna make you really tired for about 2 weeks getting used to it

the latest car project is running new brake lines on my sons 88 s-10 I tell him what needs to be done and get parts , then when he gets good and frustrated I do what ever he had been fighting with in a few minutes then stand back again.

the learning works better that way.

he is 17 and in 2 days he has gone from never making a double flair brake line to getting rather good at the flair, not as good about remembering to put the fitting on before he makes the flare , but he is getting better at that also after having to cut his flairs off and start over a few times.