How to take on a new sport as you get older

The morning after her first footy training session, Catherine Haslock knew she was in strife.

"I pulled up lame, basically," she said.

"My quads couldn't handle running and kicking at the same time."

The Melburnian had just joined the Darebin Falcons AFLW over-35s team. And because she'd cycled every day for years and was no stranger to kicking a football around, she assumed she'd be fine.

"I thought of myself as a reasonably fit person, but I then realised as soon as I started playing football that my body just wasn't up to it," Catherine says.

Her quads were so tight and sore, she couldn't finish a full training session for weeks.

"I got really frustrated those first few sessions because I really wanted to participate.

"It made me feel really old and unfit, and that's not how I perceived myself before I started."

Read more

ABC Health & Wellbeing