Work It
Fitness. Getting stronger, healthier.
If we could put aside the partisan political crap for a moment, I could use a little advice.
I have never been a fan of exercising on purpose. For most of my life I was generally healthy. As I am getting older and especially the last couple of years I feel I have become more sedentary. I seem to get winded easier.
A cousin of mine told me to come over to her house everyday as she has a park nearby and we could walk around the walking track. I think that would be good for cardio and kind of build myself back up some. Get a little endurance back.
Her son goes to a gym. I have actually never been to a gym so I am a little leary about that. Plus not to be too graphic yet I had a hernia surgery a little while back and they didn't want me to lift much.
I would also feel a little intimidated as I am kind of skinny at the moment.
So does anyone here exercise? If so what do you all do and does it help? I really need to gain some and gain more endurance.
Any advice would be helpful, just remember, I haven't done much in the last couple of years and would have to start slow, I would think.
Off to the races!
One lap...
Trying to get motivated.
Here's one that might help Ender, and you don't even need a gym. I'm 73 and babysit for two grandsons (9 and 12). To keep up with them, I got a bike. Even without the bike, watching them and keeping up with their antics takes a lot of movement (exercise). Besides keeping me moving around and physically fit, watching over them (keeping close enough to them to keep them from doing something stupid that might get them hurt or killed) keeps my interest in living at a high level. Not only am I doing something useful but having little kids around is a load of fun. I often say that, "If I knew how much more fun it is being a grandpa than it was being a dad, I'd have started out with that."
That will keep you active.
I am one of the people that never had kids. Not sure how that would have worked out. Haha
Spent a lot of time helping raise the siblings kids.
You sound like a great Grandpa. I don't mean great as in generation, I mean great that you love spending time with them. I think it is something they will remember forever.
The bike thing is a good idea. I would have to get one. Maybe bike around the neighborhood.
get a stationary bike like I did. after a broken leg and 2 broken ankles, walking a lot leads to pain. I also trashed both knees and ankles back in the 80's climbing telephone poles so I can't handle much high impact now. you can usually find used bikes on craigslist cheap, since most people that buy exercise equipment don't continue using it and they turn into furniture that people stack shit on.
I hang my clothes on mine, lol.
sell it to ender and hide the money from the resident gatherer...
I'm dead serious about this suggestion. Order these from Amazon. My ortho surgeon's written instructions after I went in to check about possible knee work included trying tart cherry supplements. His PA said to try them for a month and if they proved to be ineffective, just stop taking them. They've not only been a godsend to me, but for several others to whom I've made the suggestion. If you still have my email addy send me your address. I'll order a bottle for you and send them to you as a gift for all the years of entertainment.
The closest I have come to death was doing a nuclear stress test at the cardiologist's office.
I needed a nap after that train wreck
Holy hell, that made me laugh really hard for some reason!! Haha!
that's me getting off the couch
Another really hard haha!
I don't know your age but walking is excellent for you. It's not a high-stress exercise but it does the trick.
I'm probably a lot older than you and walk about 1 mile every day and swim 2 to 3 times a week and I'm still upright and breathing and past the life expectancy age for males in the US.
55. I think.
I am really thinking about walking around the track. Four times around is a mile. I would have to drive over to her house every day though.
You don't need a track, I walk in our neighborhood. Measure out the distance and start walking from your front door.
I walk the loop around our house twice, 1/2 mile each time. I also have a few other routes measured as well so I don't get bored with the same one every day.
Absolutely, neighborhood walks are much more interesting than a track and you meet neighbors. My dog got me started and like you, I had multiple routes planed, one to avoid boredom and two I have different lengths depending on how much time I have. I had gotten to a standard two mile walk twice a day and up to a five mile walk on weekends. Cancer and an extended hospital stay followed by two more in the same year through me off of my stride for a while, but I'm now back to my standard 2 mile and working on my longer distance, last week I did a 3.2 mile walk.
I just got my 2nd COVID booster and am now going to start swimming again. I'm in my late 60's and both are great, low impact exercises.
I always enjoy reading your comments, thanks for participating.
That's an excellent idea, Kav. My neighborhood is great for walking because we have hills. I have to climb a hill just to get off my property.
My sisters and I were supposed to start going to the base gym every Monday and Wednesday but I had my ID confiscated because it was expired and just got a new one on Friday. Then we bought a new camper and this past Monday we had to reload it with all the shit from the old one. And well, yesterday...let's just say I had to suffer a procodure and just didn't feel like it.
Next week. Next week I promise
There are literally thousands of ways to get exercise and maintain a reasonable level of fitness. The key I have found is to find something you enjoy and do it with gusto so that it keeps you coming back. For me one of those things is playing and coaching baseball. When I step on the field for practice, to coach, or to play, I have one speed, and that is "full". Like any sport, or any endeavor in life, focus and intensity are the key to success. Focus and intensity sound like hard work, but if you are doing something you love it just comes naturally and it becomes contagious.
Some other things I have done for exercise, or to get my mind off more stressful aspects of life, are:
1. Long sunset walks with my wife in the evenings.
2. Teaching and playing racquetball with my son, even though he has long since learned to kick my ass at it.
3. Yardwork. Believe it or not, very challenging yet relaxing and keeps me coming back for more. I'll admit this one gets tougher the older I get, but there is something satisfying about it that pushes me to continue.
Hope this helps. My point is that exercise needn't be viewed as all hard work and no play, it can actually be part of your favorite things in life.
For the longest time I never had to worry about it. When I was young I played soccer. One job I had was for a rent to own company. We learned how to move furniture and large appliances by ourselves.
Great advice. Number 1 is good for both physical as well as you mental and relationship health, all interrelated. I'm resuming number 3 after an extended illness. I'm one of the last in my neighborhood to cut my own grass, aerate, fertilize, etc. and deal with my leaves in the fall. I stayed with it at first because I was to cheap to pay somebody, then I decided that it was not only good exercise, but relaxing as well, I work with noise conciliation, Bluetooth headphones playing some music.
easy for you to say, but what self respecting brainless nymphomaniac wants to be seen with somebody my age?
Rhetorical question, or were you expecting an answer?
Did someone say brainless nymphomaniacs? That's going to be the name of my new all-girl rock band.
Ok, Now I am wondering about the nymphomaniac part, as I know you are lying about the brainless part...
That reminds me of a group my best friends and I went to see back in the day at Hammerjacks (a former nightclub in Baltimore City)
Cycle Sluts From Hell
Damn! I love that!
I remember Hammerjacks. Holy hell, a blast from the past.
I saw the Pretenders there when Chrissie Hynde went back on the rode after taking some years off for her daughters. Last of the Independents was released a couple of weeks earlier and their set included three songs from it - great show.
The last time I went - I think it was Cycle Sluts From Hell - they were still playing the same music overhead from like 10 years before.
I was trying to remember. I think the last thing I did up there was at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, it rained. We tried to roll a joint under a tree in the back. Didn't work. We were soaking wet. Aerosmith still played though.
Merriweather Post Pavilion is right down the road from me. A concert a few weeks ago was basically flooded out - Halsey, I forget the other acts.
I think the last time I went was to see James Taylor.
When we were young we use to take filed trips. One was to some old boat parked in the inner harbour.
I remember the paddle boats people use to paddle around. I never did it though.
It has been so long since I have been up there. Hell, twenty years maybe.
Not knowing age or gender ( yes it does matter ), here are some generic things to think about .
walking is pretty low impact on the joints , but one has to consider past injuries as had been mentioned already about pain from those .
a stationary bike recumbant or otherwise isnt bad either .
resistance bands , available most places , also are a good start .
at 60 i still do free weights and have my own set up here at my home , so no lookie lous to make fun of the old man when he struggles alittle .
here is something i learned in the military that might help a little dependant on the exersize reguiem you choose be it calastetics ( pushups and stuff like that) .
try and do your max for 1 min , every exersize , that is your evaluation sets .
The simply drop down to where you want to start be it 50%, 60 70 or 80 % That will be your actual work out / exersize numbers .
After doing the 80 % for a week or 2 , you re- evaluate what your max in a min is , and start all over again where you want .
It works the same for me doing free weights i just substitute the max in a min for how many pounds/kilos is my max , find out what my max lift is for any exersize with weights , and i start at 60% and go up after i can not feel "burned " for a week .
Whatever you choose , the thing is to start slow except for the evaluation set , have to know where you are to know where to start. IF something hurts , stop, evaluate what your doing and if needed correct your form( doing the particular exersize correctly) if after correction it still hurts , then find an alternate exersize that has less impact .
Oh and when you first start out ? everything and part will hurt a little , you will hurt in parts you didnt even know you had those parts , but dont give up. you will be able to tell the I hurtmyself pain from the i hurt but im growing pain .
AND as always , talk to your GP , and get their advice , thats what they get paid for most times , how to stay healthy without hurting yourself .
other than that , enjoy .
I was born in 67. Yes, I am a guy. Haha
I do need to gain some though. I am way too skinny.
You do just regular free weights? I remember the old timey weight benches people use to get back in the day.
I like that I could do it at home.
still have part of the set my father bought me when i was 14 , and thats what i have and have always had , a bench with leg lift and the bench inclines .i have of course over the years added different brands of weights .
i do a mix free weights one day and calestethics the next . the old rule of giving the body a break and free weights holds true .
weight gain is easy losing it or losing it where you want , is the problem
, look into protein powders , or , just go on a see food diet , see food and eat it .
your only 5 years younger than i am , so we know about what equipment we talk about due to time frame era .
some how and somewhere , i aquired a set of 50 # plates that fits my bars , i dont use those , i use those on the lawn aorator as extra weight with 2 cinder blocks .
excuse the mess and poor quality photo, but it is amud room so it catches all, but it gives you an idea
That is what I was thinking. Yep, I know the kind.
I guess I could put something on the back patio.
One of my biggest things is motivation. Getting off my ass and doing it.
that is usually 90% of it . getting up and doing it .
I really do want and need to do something. I need to bulk up my arms chest and shoulders.
Going out and getting some weights might be comical, watching me try to haul them home....
I still have a set of Sears & Roebucks Ted Williams weights, lol.
Bronze plastic filled with sand I believe...
Have a Ted Williams 22 long rifle with a scope too, , somewhere in the garage.
Great recommendations. I also do limited free weights, also at home and calisthenics (from my Army PT experience).
I've been thinking about a recumbent bike but haven't tried one out yet. Do you ride one, any advice?
LOL the only "bike" i have is my harley .. things to consider is back problems or problems with the lower joints . if they have been injured .
an up right stationary is good for some of those things , just as a recumbant is good for some , just have to taylor it to what fits you .
of course doing it at home? one has to look at available space .
I have a bench and 375 #s of weights and bars in my large mud room , but it still feels cramped .
That is a problem as well. Any big set up I would have to use the dining room. Not that it hardly gets used anyway....
Thanks, I have some disk issues, both lower back and near the neck from parachuting and a car accident (also probably genetic as my father has disk issues). I got an Sole Elliptical about 7 years ago for bad weather - big fan.
i always say , if someone has been injured , talk to their dr first ., thats what they get paid for .
Me to. They hurt my knees the least. Plus with resistance they can really burn you using the arm bars.
A buddy has a recumbent. Word to wise though if you have back problems. He does as well and has trouble getting out of it. So he doesn’t ride it much which kinda defeats the purpose ....
Appreciate the caution. I may be to old (to try a recumbent, maybe better to step up the swimming.
Good advice. My wife agrees.
We walk the dog every night. That helps a little, but we should be increasing time each day. I bought a set of Diamond Dallas Page Yoga For The Real Guy discs, but haven't done anything with them. I keep saying I'm going to, but I'm either too busy or too tired... excuses. I gotta do it.
Fat tire bike and dirt roads/trails. No joint shocks, no competition, no traffic, and you can pin a heart rate for as long as you want.
I use to ride but never off trail. More so urban street.
If you have bad knees, Elliptical machine.
Bikes hurt my knees. Ellipticals don’t, lower impact than walking even.
Since I'm considerably older than the lot of you walking and swimming are my main exercises now.
Back in the day it was quite different.
1. The daily dozen (military)
2. long distance running. 2 to 5 miles four times a week
3. Swimming, 10 to 20 laps 2 to 3 times per week.
4. Listening to my wife (strengthens the ears)
5. Scuba diving
6. Skydiving
7. Some organized sports, baseball leagues etc.
8. Yes dear to my wife. (strengthens the jaw muscles)
I'm exactly the same weight today as when I got out of the military, 50 plus years ago. 175 lbs but the distribution of the weight isn't the same as back in the day.
Sky diving? No thank you.
I don't think I could do scuba diving either. I wasn't good at snorkeling. I can actually swim better without the flippers, I couldn't stand them.
A continuation from my military days.
I would physically have to be pushed from the plane.
This is me holding on to the door...
It's much different beneath the waves.
The hardest part of scuba diving is getting out of the water...
I have also read that exercise is good for your brain and stress relief.
Do you have room in your backyard for a raised bed for just a bit of vegetable gardening? That's what I'd like to do but it cuts into my eating-ice-cream-in-bed-while-watching-the -Science-Channel time. But I do have two small roma tomato plants that are producing.
I have a hard enough of a time keeping the flowers in the pots on the back patio alive...Haha
That's been true for me. I also sleep better when I exercise and drink less.
Walking checks a lot the boxes for better health. Stress relief, heart health, etc. and it is low impact for those of us who are limited. And free…lol. Just make sure you get good walking shoes.
Once you start and get a routine going you will enjoy it.
Even a quick 15 minute walk daily can change your how feel.
Believe it or not, that is something I would have to get. The last couple of years I just go out, throw on the whites. Go out, throw on the blues.
None of them are really for walking long distance.
I am weird....
You know I find that positively dreamy. Cut that shit out.