Hey everybody! Adam, from TFG Radio, here to lament about getting older, or at least my body getting older!
In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been at this game of 40k for a long time. I have models that are older than a lot of players at thins point. In the early years you didn’t need as many models as you do now. Even an ork horde back in 2nd edition, although a lot of model, never reached close to 100 models. Back then i was you , limber and full of energy! I was able to play a lot of games over the course of a weekend at a grand tournament. Over the years that has slowed down a little bit but I still think I can play the current horde armies to a reasonable conclusion. At least that is what my mind is telling me.
My body, however, is telling me something else. The army I am currently building has almost 150 models in it. more or less. My original list had almost 200 models. I have played a few games with the list and realized a couple things. Movement trays are a must. I have those on order and will be able to move model much quicker. Even after 1 game I can already feel it in my back. I can only hope my back can hold out over the course of 3 games in a day. If I can achieve that, I think I should be able to do a 2 day event. Even so, I will have to be sure that I have some type of pain medication on hand for hen my back, or even my legs, begin to ache. The other thing is the mental fatigue as the day wears on, especially since my army requires a lot of thought into its movement and target priority, Hopefully some snacks during a tournament and water will help with that. oh. by the way, this isn’t an ork list or even a guard list, but Renegades & Heretics. So not only do I want to cause my body the pain of having to play with the army, but I apparently also want the soul crushing experience of playing an army with no stratagem or even White Dwarf index rules*. I am literally playing an index army against every army that has a codex. I must hate myself.
I know there are ways I can mitigate the issues I am having with the army. I have already mentioned a few. But what else could I do to help? I could always where a back brace, that might help a little. there is also the option of hiring a servant to move the models for me. I mean I do have a nephew that could move models for me. Maybe I could use those sliders, like you see in the headquarters of old war movies, to move my models around. I’ll have to stop by a shuffleboard court. To reduce weight, I should use paper print outs. They’ll be the right height, and easy to hide if I turn them sideways. I’m sure it would be fine, I’ll just have to make sure I don’t play on a table near any fans. The last option would be to not play the army and just use an army that has way less model. What’s the fun in that?
That’s all for this week, I hope you enjoyed the read. Let me know your thoughts, and the aches & pains you go through for 40K, in the comments section. Don’t forget to visit our Facebook, Twitch, and Patreon pages to stay up to date on what we’re up to and when episodes drop!
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*Fingers crossed
Take a heating pad with you to the tournament. After a day of games apply hot and cold, ziplock bag with ice from the ice machine, and alternate 10 minutes at a time. Try to end on hot and stretch afterwards. Stretch your hip flexors as much as possible. Lots of squats and push up to keep your core strong. Backpack for books, dice, etc, to keep the weight even on your spine.
I’m 46, with an physical job(I run a glassblowing studio) on concrete all day and I have 3 acres to maintain at home… I’m pretty active and play CSM, Demons, and R&H when I can… I can tell you now, if you don’t keep your core strong it will get worse.
Yeah, I had a run of bad health starting back in 2013 that left me in substantially worse shape, and I’ve been finding it really hampers my ability to play 40K, especially with larger and more mobile Armies. I’ve only ended up dropping a game once due to not being able to make my back work, but there have def been a number of events that I chose not to attend because I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to keep going through the whole thing.
Not a helpful suggestion more of just an observation. Standard table height is kinda silly for what we do upon that surface. We have all seen standing desks at work places and those dinning room tables that are extra tall. I dream that some innovative young whippersnapper would invent a blocking set up that can safely and cheaply raise the standard height of banquet tables available at most venues by about 8″ to 12″. Sorry short folk.
Agreed on that front. Standard table height is generally below my waist.
Yeah, standard table height isn’t the best for a lot of things. It destroyed my back in a couple of years when I was a baker, hence my earlier comment here.
Short folks can use a step stool or a Segway or something. There isn’t really anything I can do that will make leaning down to reach like that not mechanically awful for my back.