At 49 I am not anywhere near 60. However, I have been doing resistance training and other since I was 9 years old and fully expect to carry on till I croak.
Things I would have done differently:
- not train full impact MA to the extent I did when I was younger. Yes, I could hit very hard and fast, but the impact goes both ways. Even with perfect form you need to realize there is a price to pay for impacting hard objects or the floor with your skeleton, which is really not designed for that sort of activity. Some will make it to a ripe old age without issue, many more will develop any number of joint ailments.
- if training to a high level of momentary failure, vet your spotter. A good spotter can help make astounding gains, a bad spotter can get you into a lot of trouble. Any old person that can help you pry the weight off is not good enough.
Advice off the top of my head:
- try different exercise modes, and keep the ones you do more often challenging, eg don't just jump rope, jump rope with your eyes closed.
- listen to your body, not just when it tells you to lay off, but when it tells you to hit the afterburner. Get to know how YOUR body responds and tailor your workouts to YOU. This doesn't mean not to try various programs and give them an honest chance, but recognize we are all a little different when it comes to how we respond to stimuli.
- don't be afraid to take time off if you are burning out physically or mentally or your schedule temporarily makes exercise impossible or inadvisable. Coming back after a layoff can leave you greatly restored in mind and connective tissue. Yes you will have lost some strength or speed but this is easily restored to the previous level, do not stress downtime.
- train safe, any training injury might never heal 100%. Shooting for PB is great, but not at expense of injury. Life will injure you plenty, your training shouldn't do anything worse than muscle soreness, the occasional temporary connective tissue soreness and perhaps the odd stretch mark.
- at some point in your life, preferrably when younger, shoot for a high level of fitness. It is always easier to get back to where you've been, so if injury, illness or circumstance forces you into prolonged downtime you will be able to return to a high level of functioning far, far easier than someone who has never really gotten there.
- be mindful of your posture when exercising, at rest, or doing daily work or recreation. Get to the point where it feels uncomfortable to be using poor posture or leverage. If you do not learn this on your own, it will be taught to you by your own body the hard way as you age.
- keep your training engaging. If it isn't, change it up.
- recognize the importance of nutrition and tailor your diet to your expected energy output.
- develop a bunch of workouts you can do at home, do not be dependent on the gym or the availability of specific equipment or exercise modes. Location, injury etc can all have an impact on training options that you can make use of. Be flexible - it all works.
I attribute a lot of my longevity to training with fairly high intensity much of the time. I routinely train to momentary failure and if doing more aerobic oriented activity I push my heart rate to the highest sustainable pace for what I'm doing. I do not recommend this for everybody, but arrive at it by listening to my body and what it responds to best.