Fitness After Fifty

Fitness After Fifty: If You Don't Want to Join a Gym

Everyone is talking about fitness these days.  Some are avid exercisers and others avoid exercise like the plague.  The one thing they have in common is that they feel guilty about something.  You want to be healthy, and toning up is a real bonus, but you just can’t bring yourself to join a gym.  .

The cost of gym memberships is not expensive as many places charge only $20 a month, and it is not unheard of for insurance plans to cover the cost for older adults.  Still, if time is a problem you are certainly within your rights to want to avoid the inconvenience of going somewhere else to work-out.

From a fitness standpoint, exercising at home can be just as beneficial as going to a health club.  In fact, studies show that home exercisers are more likely to stick with their program than those who go to the gym.

Advantages of working out at home:

• Flexibility:  It doesn’t matter if you are a morning person or a night owl.  You can exercise whenever you want to and at your own pace (no waiting for your favorite machines).
• Cost effectiveness:  Working out at home costs less, remember to factor in gas money as well as the time you lose getting to an outside facility.  You can set up a home gym for less, and there will be no month dues.
• The part I like the best about working out at home is not listening to loud music that someone else selects.  I’ve mentioned to gym staff that classical or semi classical tunes a few hours a day would be nice but hard rock wins every time.  
• You aren’t competing with anyone else and you don’t have to worry about how you look.

Still, it’s not all that easy.  Because you exercise at home you are doing it alone.  Boredom, staleness and lack of drive can be a problem.  You must be self motivated, learn how to vary your routines and change things up a little.  If you need a personal trainer to weight you, nag at you, and encourage you, it’s not going to happen at home. You will need to set your own goals, figure out what you want to accomplish, and choose the most appropriate equipment.  Don’t forget about exercise DVD’s to help you shake things up and vary your routines.

There are so many home fitness products on the market that it can be hard to know where to start.  I liked the advice from Kelly Turner (www.KellyTurnerFitness.com) that I read in the Seattle Times (Sunday, April 22, 2012).  She recommends the simple route.  We all know people who use their treadmill and elliptical machines for cloth hangers, so hard not to laugh and agree with her.  Instead of buying a treadmill or an elliptical that you aren’t going to use, she suggests buying a jump rope or going for a walk/run. A DVD can cue you in strength training techniques.    Dumbbells from a garage sale, a resistance band, or using your own body weight can give you an unbelievably good workout.  Everyone needs help with exercise routines.  I love DVDs, the workouts found in fitness magazines, and programs found on the Internet or on cable TV.

 You can outfit your home gym with as much or as little as you like.  The motivation part is going to have to be up to you.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fitness After Fifty: Jumping Rope

Skipping rope probably brings to mind grade school recess and movies about professional boxers, but you don’t have to be a kid or a professional athlete to skip for the fun of it.  I thought I might give it a try, although my expectations aren’t very high.  Not only am I not very well coordinated, but the springs in my feet and legs are not what they used to be.

What other piece of exercise equipment is this inexpensive, will fit into a brief case, and is easy enough for a child to use?  Well, that is the question isn’t it?  It may very well be easy enough for a child to use, but does that mean that we can do it without hanging ourselves?

Experts say that it is a common misconception that only fit, well-coordinated people can jump rope. They contend that people of all ages, sizes and levels of fitness can learn how to do it.  Weight Watcher magazine (July/August 2011) did a series of articles on rope jumping as the perfect exercise form.  Jumping rope tones everything (legs, back, abs, arms, chest and shoulders), and it is a good cardio workout.  It is also good for coordination and endurance and it is second only to running when it comes to calorie burn. The articles dummied down the instructions to the point that I felt quite encouraged.

They say that if you are new to jumping rope you can practice without a rope at first.  Just pretend you are holding a rope in your hands and swivel your wrists as you take your first jumps.  After that you will be ready to try the “basic jump.”  The instructions say you should hold one end of the rope in each hand with the rope dangling behind your heels.  With your feet together, elbows at your sides, swing the rope overhead.  As it reaches your toes, jump just high enough to clear.  You will probably feel a bit ungainly and awkward at first but go ahead, give it a try.  What do you think?  Pretty easy isn’t it?  Start slowly, make small circles with your arms and hold your elbows close to your sides as you turn the rope.

Once you disavow yourself of the notion that you have to jump high it will seem a little easier.  You should be jumping just an inch or two off of the ground.  It is actually easier on the knees and hips than running, since you land on the balls of your feet.    You can find a high quality rope for $10 or less.  To make sure your rope isn’t too long or cumbersome they recommend placing one foot in the center of the rope.  Grasp the handles and bring your arms up.  The handles shouldn’t extend past your armpits.

Carol Kruchoff (Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles, CA. January 25, 1999) assures us that even a klutz can learn how to jump rope if they are taught properly.   With proper instruction and practice, anyone should be able to jump rope.  Your goal will be to jump continuously for 15 minutes.    If you don’t have time to do anything else, this could be the perfect workout for you.

 

 

Sports Injuries: The Perils Of Active Aging

 Lauren Stanforth (Times Union: Albany, N.Y. January 6, 2008) used the term “boomeritis” to describe the aging baby boomers and their drive for physical fitness.  Basically the term refers to the people in their 40s and older who are now experiencing muscle, joint and bone problems for their efforts.

It takes a lot of interest and a lot of exercise to maintain a certain level of fitness.  People today all understand the benefits of an active lifestyle.  The problem is that many people over 40 try to maintain this level of fitness by doing the same activities that they did twenty years ago.  The intentions are good, but most people don’t take into account that their bodies are not the same as they used to be.

 Physicians, of course, stress the avoidance of injury.  They recommend lower-impact activities to relieve stress on the joints.  They encourage more flexibility training and core strengthening; things you took for granted when you were younger.  When you were younger fitness meant bigger muscle. Now that you are getting older you need to focus more balance and your cardiovascular system.

Stretching the Achilles tendon, stretching the shoulders and stretching the back is important.  Flexibility is also important, especially for the back.  “Boomeritis:” basically refers to the bumps, bruises, and tendonitis that people are plagued with as they get older.  A lot of these injuries have to do with the biology of people’s tendons and muscles.  Aging muscles and joints are not able to withstand the force of what you are asking them to do.

USA Weekend (May 13-15, 2011) ran an article based on adv ice from The Doctors (daytime TV show) on how to avoid sports injuries.  If you are a seasonal exerciser and have been waiting for warm summer days to arrive; you may be an accident (or a pain) waiting to happen.  The “all or nothing at all”  approach to exercise sets you up for the sprains and strains, knee and tendon injuries, swollen muscles, shin splints, fractures and dislocations (ouch, it makes me shutter just to write those words) that we were talking about.  Basically you need to prepare yourself for summer baseball, bicycling, golf, tennis, running or a dozen other activities long before you head out the door.  Their advice:

• Schedule a physical.  Get a checkup before starting a new sport or fitness program, especially if you haven’t exercised for 3 months or have a new medical condition.
• Build up slowly.  This is the thing that most of us don’t do.  Sports medicine folks recommending increasing your level of activity no more than 10% per week.  If you could only run a quarter of a mile this week you aren’t going to be ready to do a mile tomorrow.  Increase a few minutes at a time until you reach your goal.  Mix up your routine with a variety of low impact activities.
• If you plan on playing a sport (repetitive movements can do you in quickly).  It is important to strengthen the muscles before hand.
• The experts all recommend a 10 minute warm up to increase blood flow to the muscles, and a 10 minute cool down to gradually reduce the temperature of the muscles.

Putting Fun Back Into Exercise

 A lot of people fail exercise routinely because they find gym routines boring.  These same people get on the bandwagon regularly and fall off just as regularly.  Unless you exercise religiously just because it is the right thing to do, you might need to look a little further for motivation.

Jean Murphy wrote an article about putting fun back into exercise (The Wall Street Journal: Tuesday, February 11, 2011) that I think speaks to a lot of us.  She interviewed a fellow exerciser who made it her mission to find a way to motivate herself, and her main criterion was that it had to be fun.

Trainers often recommend training for a mini-triathlon or a marathon in order to motivate you to exercise regularly.   Training with a goal seems to work well for some people. This particular lady decided to give it a try and she trained diligently to ready herself for a mini-marathon.   She trained and she competed and she crossed the finish line, but came to the realization that she wasn’t really athletically competitive or particularly gifted in any of the areas. She also realized that it wasn’t much fun.

This realization led her to explore different forms of exercises that might appeal to the everyday athlete.  One of the first things that she checked out was rowing.  She did this by signing up for a rowing camp and was lucky enough to find a group of kindred spirits (aka as the casual athlete).   She found that she could be a good recreational rower and have fun while getting a good workout.  The enjoyment was in the process and the exercise instead of in the competition.

Another avenue that she explored was dance as a form of exercise.  She signed up for a tap dancing clinic and was hooked after the first lesson.  It took her almost a year to learn the basics, but once mastered she found that it was a great aerobic activity. Dancing is also good for the memory because you have to remember all of the dance steps and sequences. She figured that tap dancing and rowing were sports that she could do forever.  Once you learn the basics they are easy enough to do.

Being committed to exercise she tries to do other things like biking, walking, swimming and conditioning classes, but the rowing and dancing were the most rewarding and the most fun for her.  She recommended getting out there and trying new things. If you find an activity that you enjoy it will motivate you to exercise routinely.

Fitness: Ready, Set, Go! Make A Commitment To Exercise

What are you waiting for?  I know you want to do this!  You’ve been thinking about it for a long time, but committing to an exercise program is just as hard as dieting or quitting smoking.

Camile Noe Pagan (Arthritis Today: January/February 2011) tells us how to get ready, get set and go for it!   It is always a good idea to check with your doctor before starting a fitness program, especially if you have chronic conditions that need to be taken into consideration.  Forget it, if you are harboring the notion that he/she will tell you that being a couch potato is fine.  It isn’t going to happen.

Now that you are ready it is important that you don’t take on too much.  The road to fitness is paved with bodies fallen by the wayside because they took on too much and couldn’t go the distance.  You don’t start off by trying to lose 100 pounds or by trying to run a marathon.  It is more important to try to shoot for the first 10 lbs and go from there.   As for exercise, wait until you can comfortably jog/run a quarter of a mile before thinking of any distance happenings.

Know what to wear.  Shopping is the fun part.  If having just the right outfit motivates you to get out there, go for it!  A comfortable pair of shoes, loose comfortable tee shirts and sweatpants is all you need to get started. If that doesn’t float your boat you can go the whole nine yards and buy perspiration-wicking attire, but you might want to wait and see if you are going to work up a sweat first.

Get Set:  If you can get your spouse out of bed or find a like minded friend the battle is half over.  Having a workout buddy is a great motivator.  Reward yourself often (not with food).  How about a massage or a pedicure?

Make a Commitment:  Schedule your gym time (think of it as you time) and no excuses accepted.  If you can’t get out there first thing in the morning, do some floor exercises or yoga stretches before you go to bed and start over tomorrow.

Go for it!  Listen to your body.  Look for exercise programs that are easy on your joints.   Walking, water workouts, stationary or recumbent cycling, yoga and tai chi, and resistance training are good choices.

Stick with it!  This is the biggie.  After a couple of months you motivation may flag, but don’t let excuses break your momentum.  Your joints may hurt, you are too busy, or exercise is just plain boring (good excuses but not acceptable). If your joints hurt they need to move.  You can gentle down a little but remember that if you are inactive your condition will get worse.  Busy?  You will always be busy, but if you feel that way it means that you don’t think that you are important enough to be worth the effort.  Boring, of course it is boring but there is no reason that you can’t switch things up a little.  Variety is a good thing.  Even the most fun sport can get boring if you do it day in and day out.  On top of that, if you do the same things all of the time you are putting yourself at risk for repetitive stress injuries.  Challenge yourself, but go ahead and alternate workout programs.  Make the commitment to exercise.  It could be a matter of life or death.

 

 

 

 

 

Fitness: Ready, Set, Go!  Make The Commitment To Exercise      

 

What are you waiting for?  I know you want to do this!  You’ve been thinking about it for a long time, but committing to an exercise program is just as hard as dieting or quitting smoking.

 

Camile Noe Pagan (Arthritis Today: January/February 2011) tells us how to get ready, get set and go for it!   It is always a good idea to check with your doctor before starting a fitness program, especially if you have chronic conditions that need to be taken into consideration.  Forget it, if you are harboring the notion that he/she will tell you that being a couch potato is fine.  It isn’t going to happen.

 

Now that you are ready it is important that you don’t take on too much.  The road to fitness is paved with bodies fallen by the wayside because they took on too much and couldn’t go the distance.  You don’t start off by trying to lose 100 pounds or by trying to run a marathon.  It is more important to try to shoot for the first 10 lbs and go from there.   As for exercise, wait until you can comfortably jog/run a quarter of a mile before thinking of any distance happenings.

 

Know what to wear.  Shopping is the fun part.  If having just the right outfit motivates you to get out there, go for it!  A comfortable pair of shoes, loose comfortable tee shirts and sweatpants is all you need to get started. If that doesn’t float your boat you can go the whole nine yards and buy perspiration-wicking attire, but you might want to wait and see if you are going to work up a sweat first.

 

Get Set:  If you can get your spouse out of bed or find a like minded friend the battle is half over.  Having a workout buddy is a great motivator.  Reward yourself often (not with food).  How about a massage or a pedicure?

 

Make a Commitment:  Schedule your gym time (think of it as you time) and no excuses accepted.  If you can’t get out there first thing in the morning, do some floor exercises or yoga stretches before you go to bed and start over tomorrow.

 

Go for it!  Listen to your body.  Look for exercise programs that are easy on your joints.   Walking, water workouts, stationary or recumbent cycling, yoga and tai chi, and resistance training are good choices.

 

Stick with it!  This is the biggie.  After a couple of months you motivation may flag, but don’t let excuses break your momentum.  Your joints may hurt, you are too busy, or exercise is just plain boring (good excuses but not acceptable). If your joints hurt they need to move.  You can gentle down a little but remember that if you are inactive your condition will get worse.  Busy?  You will always be busy, but if you feel that way it means that you don’t think that you are important enough to be worth the effort.  Boring, of course it is boring but there is no reason that you can’t switch things up a little.  Variety is a good thing.  Even the most fun sport can get boring if you do it day in and day out.  On top of that, if you do the same things all of the time you are putting yourself at risk for repetitive stress injuries.  Challenge yourself, but go ahead and alternate workout programs.  Make the commitment to exercise.  It could be a matter of life or death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercise Goals: Longevity, Not Sweat, May Be The New Exercise Goal

 If health rather than elite athletic performance is your goal, you may be able to embrace some new ideas about exercise.  We have gone through our lives with an “all or nothing at all” mantra and more often that not it has been our undoing.

Linda Friedland (Business Day. Johannesburg: February 14, 2007) writes that it is possible that you do not have to sweat to achieve maximum benefits from your gym workout.  I’ve always felt that being soaking wet from perspiration meant that I had done something really good for myself, but I could be wrong.  Professor Harvey Simon, the author of “No Sweat Exercise Plan,” believes that perspiration and pain are not necessarily the answer.  The old exercise gurus who maintained that you had to push your heart rate up to 70-80% of its maximum may have inspired a few avid athletes, but in the process discouraged the rest of us, so it makes you wonder who wins.

The good news, he says, is that moderate exercise seems to be just as good for long-term health plans (long term is the word that does most of us in) as the “big sweat.”  There are many reasons why you may choose to exercise.  You may want a firmer body, six pack abs, peak athletic performances or even to improve your over-all well being.  These are all good reasons, but your ultimate goal should be to achieve good health.

You still need cardio (aerobic exercise) but the interpretation of it, intensity and time has changed a bit over the last few years.  The frequency should be 3 times a week (more wouldn’t hurt), but the intensity doesn’t have to be as severe (moderate is good), but the time spent should be longer.  Experts are now recommending 40-50 minutes.  Walk, swim, cycle, jog at a comfortable pace for longer (instead of 20 minutes at a break-neck speed).

What is the perfect workout?  An optimal workout should include at least three cardio sessions a week of 40-50 minutes, coupled with some light weight training and a twice weekly flexibility and core strengthening work (yoga, tai chi or Pilates). The focus is not solely on athletic performance, it is about optimal health and longevity.

 

 

Fitness For A Lifetime: The Need For Exercise Never Goes Away

Aging can’t be stopped, but exercise can slow it down and help you manage your quest for independent living in the process.  Too many people have the attitude that if you failed to engage in healthy habits when you were younger that it is too late now.

Of course, deep down you know that isn’t true.  Getting older does not mean that you have to become fat or weak or suffer from age related changes.  Yes, there are some factors such as hormones, heredity, nutrition and disease processes that play a part in how well you age, but if you exercise you can put up a good fight.

Vince Faust (Philadelphia Tribune. November 2, 2010) offered up a good case for why every age group should exercise.  Heredity can’t be changed.  You are who you are genetically, but studies show that the influences of a healthy lifestyle can make a bigger difference that you might have imagined.  Do not use “bad genes” as an excuse for not taking responsibility for your own health.

Strengthening your muscles, tendons and ligaments will make you stronger and will help support an aging skeletal system and joints.  We all want to do kicky fun aerobic exercises but your bones and joints need to be strong enough to withstand the rigors of a hearty workout.

Always get a complete physical and the go-ahead from your doctor before embarking on a fitness program (they never say no, but chronic conditions aggravated by slothful habits will need to be dealt with first).  It is important to have a Physical Therapist or a Trained Fitness Professional introduce you to the “why’s and how’s” before you embark on a major lifestyle shift.  Lifting weights can be dangerous if you don’t do it correctly.  A complete workout needs to include exercises for each body part.  This includes chest, shoulders, triceps, back, biceps, forearm, thighs, calves and abdominals.

Strengthening programs are recommended for people well into their senior years to help them perform everyday living activities such as walking, grooming, and dressing, climbing stairs and getting in and out of chairs.  Balance and coordination will keep you safely on your feet.  When added together we are talking about independence.  Do not wait until you are 70 or 80 to start an exercise program.  The habits developed at 50 can keep you in tip top shape for a lifetime.

Aging starts when you are born and is progressive.  You don’t think about it when you are younger because you are always in a hurry to get to the next step.  That next step arrives faster than you think it will, and you need to plan accordingly.   Life is precious. Good nutrition and daily exercise are important.  Many of the physical problems associated with aging are due to lack of exercise and poor nutritional habits.  Every age group should exercise.

Are You One of those "On Again, Off Again" Fitness People?

We’ve all know someone, or maybe it is you, who starts a new exercise and/or weight loss program every New Years Eve or every birthday or every month.  You may have noticed by now that this haphazard approach never works.  You always have big plans for losing weight or getting in shape but never really get the idea that this involves a real lifestyle change and a real commitment.

 

Your body never has a chance.  You start out like a house-a-fire, hurt yourself, and then sit around recuperating for however long it takes.  Well guess what happens while you are recuperating?   All of that hard earned muscle tone and flexibility fades away.

 

Wina Sturgeon wrote an article for the McClatchy-Tribune Service (July 21. 2010) about stop and start exercisers.  The article, “Boomer workout:  Stops and starts are bad for boomers,” cautions against using the start and stop method when it comes to health and fitness.

 

If you have been sedentary for years, it isn’t impossible to get in shape if you remember that there is a difference between what a 20-30 year old can do and what a 50-60 year old can do.  You will soon notice that the biggest difference is the recovery time.  Recovery time is considerably slower when you get older, and those aches and pains just might hang around forever.

 

The process is more involved than this, but I think you all understand the muscle tear part of the equation.  When you do a hard workout, you damage the muscle fibers.  When the muscle repairs itself, it becomes stronger.  As you get older this process slows down.  Cells don’t rejuvenate as quickly and instead of feeling stronger you may actually end up feeling weaker.

 

Many start and stop exercisers spend months doing very little physical activity, and then jump back in as if they hadn’t taken any time off at all.  You ignore the nagging pains that may actually be signs of tendonitis or muscle strain.  You push yourself harder than your body can handle and end up injuring yourself again.

 

Don’t make this mistake!  If you have been sedentary, even if only for a few months, you have to work yourself back into a fitness routine slowly.  Start out with two workouts a week for the first month, and then add another session the next month.  Three sessions a week is all that the body can handle.  If you haven’t worked out for years it may take six months or longer to build up your body again.  But, it must be continuous.  You can’t do this in fits and starts.  Consistency is more important than the amount of work that you do.  Starts and stops will just put you back on the couch.

Move Your Body: Senior Exercise Plans

Taking a yoga class reminds me that flexibility is a big issue for seniors. Every week I fuss about how hard the class is and I wonder why I am there.  I will admit that I always feel great afterwards, so working up a sweat and bending my body every which way seems to pay off.

 

One of the common causes of joint discomfort is osteoarthritis, which is a slowly progressive joint condition that typically shows up in people of middle age and beyond.  We live in denial as long as we can get away with it, but once osteoarthritis makes an appearance it is here to stay.  You probably already know that the symptoms which include pain, stiffness, swelling, cracking noises on movement and decreased function.

 

Movement helps.  Arthritis is one of the most common reasons that people give for limiting exercise and other recreational pursuits.  Fears of pain or injury are good excuses, but physicians aren’t buying it.  People who are physically fit are healthier than those who are inactive, and it is especially true for people with arthritis.

 

If you are having problems relating to joint pain and lack of flexibility you are probably wondering what it is safe for you to do.  A report written for Targeted News Service, Washington D.C. (August 12, 2010) discusses how important exercise is to your treatment plan, if you are unlucky enough to suffer any age related disabilities.

 

Flexibility:  Flexibility exercises help you to main flexibility in affected joints and the surrounding muscles.  Benefits include better posture, reduce risk of injuries and improved function.  Persevere and you just might be able to do a down-ward-facing yoga dog or at the very least bend over to put on your shoes and socks.

 

Strengthening:  Strengthening exercises are important too.  They are designed to work the muscles.  Strong muscles improve function and reduce bone loss. 

 

Aerobics:  Aerobic exercises include activities that work the large muscle groups of your body in a repetitive and rhythmic manner (improves heart, lung and muscle function).  Safe forms of aerobic exercises for people with joint problems include walking, dancing, water exercises, bicycling or exercise equipment such as treadmills, elliptical trainers and stationery bicycles.

 

Body Awareness Exercises:  These are the exercises that focus on posture, balance, joint position sense, coordination and relaxation (i.e. yoga and tai chi).

 

For people with various forms of arthritis, exercise is an important part of the treatment plan.  The benefits include less pain, more energy, improved sleep and better day to day function.