What worked for you in 2025?

[Davinchia1981]

For me, 2025 was the year I started on a smart trainer. I am by no means an athlete but I have been seeing improvements in my pedaling and if my VO2 is any indication of fitness, it has gone up.
The smart trainer and zwift really helped with the days I could not go out to ride and helped me figure out bike position. (Still working on it)

 

[Santapez]

See the E-bike thread.

An E-Bike won't let me run up and down a mountain. Or lift heavy things safely.

 

[Kaleidopete]

Hmm.

I guess you can see who's the old guy here

 

[Norm]

I guess you can see who's the old guy here

Pretty sure our demographic here is Old and Older...

@2Julianas - I tried to read Outlive and I really didn't like it at all. It's been too long so I don't remember why. That said, your mission statement is sort of where I landed. I try to get 3 hours of "stuff" every day (which covers many different aspects). I don't over-focus on protein but we try to encourage it in every meal we have.

 

[Cassinonorth]

I saw Tim at Fitfirst, and spent almost 4 hours getting fit on my road and XC bike.

Pretty affordable price for 2 bike fits. You convinced me to take the plunge.

 

[2Julianas]

Pretty sure our demographic here is Old and Older...

@2Julianas - I tried to read Outlive and I really didn't like it at all. It's been too long so I don't remember why. That said, your mission statement is sort of where I landed. I try to get 3 hours of "stuff" every day (which covers many different aspects). I don't over-focus on protein but we try to encourage it in every meal we have.

He can be a bit preachy, but my takeaway was that there are things in our control that actually move the needle in terms of healthy aging and avoiding the 4 Horsemen of Death - cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, cancer and dementia. We need to MOVE - exercise, mobility, strength has had clinically proven positive impact on health. Its the #1 thing we can do. He's quite neutral on supplements, and on diets ... he just mentions protein and micronutrients, and fiber. And then the other big, overlooked thing is SLEEP. Especially when it comes to metabolic disease and dementia. I liked how accessible this was - he didn't say we have to all be paleo, or vegan, or cleanse, or buy his supplements, or do Ironman triathlons.

 

[Hair Face]

Pretty affordable price for 2 bike fits. You convinced me to take the plunge.

I've been thinking about getting a fit and searching for fitters recently and that post got my interest as well. It's a bit of a haul for me but might be worth it. I was pretty unimpressed by my last fit and am curious to see what a good fitter could do for me.


As for what worked for me in 2025, just moving consistently and taking recovery weeks seemed to move the needle. I broke my arm in September and that DIDN'T work well for me, but I got back into my routine as quickly as possible and it's almost like it never happened.

 

[mattybfat]

Definitely rode the least in a long time but never more then a couple weeks, so that is not in the pro column.

1/19/2025 at 255# I changed what I stuffed in my face again. Changes were to focus on zero processed food and no number goal. If it didn't walk or grow it was a hard no. Sugar eliminated until Xmas. Every reboot was started by a 72 hour water fast. Reboots were to move off a stall in weight loss which was huge compared to past history. Feeling and seeing results are exciting. Most importantly getting on a TRT/B12 regiment!!!

 

[ChrisG]

I did two notable things in 2025 that "worked" for me. One was a diet/lifestyle change, the other was bike setup.

I've never been all that much of a drinker, rarely having alcohol during the work week, but I certainly have enjoyed some whisky before dinner on the weekends, and a beer with that dinner. In recent years, though, it became more and more apparent that any alcohol intake was messing with my sleep, and sometimes leaving me feeling after effects the following day. 2024 saw me cutting down, and the first half of 2025 even more so. I haven't had a drink since mid-June 2025, and expect that will likely mark the end of my drinking days.

And I moved to 165mm cranks on the mountain bike in October 2025. I shouldn't have waited so long to do it.

One marked gain has been in bike handling. I moved from 175mm to 165mm, and moving my feet 2cm closer together, toward my center of gravity, is an eye-opener. The bike feels smaller and more reactive under me. Better in every aspect of bike handling.

I certainly feel the loss of leverage in low-speed, high-effort situations (climbing), but I've largely been able to just focus on increasing cadence (where I can also feel the advantage of the shorter levers). Many miles on the road and lots of fixed-gear time over the years definitely are a help in my case.

I didn't change my chainring to less teeth, which often gets mentioned in tandem with the move to shorter cranks. And I did raise my saddle 1cm.

 

[MMuller]

2025, for 1st time since 2018 back surgery, felt better, stronger in the woods, extremely content not with going fast, but with simply going. Post injury, speed and endurance are limited, but the fun and stoke seem limitless. Onward to turning 66 in 26! Not Dead yet, and at least I'm enjoying the ride....