But also do weight training three days a week, and try to do yoga twice a week.

Check for exercise classes at your senior center (you only have to be 50 to join my senior center). If your senior center doesn't have any exercise classes, ask for permission to start a class yourself.

There are about 15,000 people in our town--don't know how many are over 50.

Our senior center, like every other entity, has very little money, so we pay $2/class to keep the senior center open.

At the present time, we have volunteers teaching the following classes:
Stretching and Strengthening; Yoga; Tai Chi; Line Dancing. We also have a volunteer who leads us in the exercises on DVDs. Some people meet at the senior center and walk from there.

Also, Weight Watchers holds meetings at the Senior Center twice a week.

I feel very fortunate.

The gym I belong to has "free membership" for people over 65 on certain days at certain times, including free Zumba and yoga classes. They even have one of the trainers do a women's circuit training class.

The gym I belong to is too far away to walk to, and I have zoo membership. I just need to get my driving license to get exercise, ironically enough.

I do walk now but for six months I sat around eating and feeling sorry for myself and gaining weight. Now I am working to reverse the weight gain and it's hard . What type of resistance training do you suggest?

I do mainly hack squats and a few upper body exercises like triceps pulldowns and sitting rows, and planks for my core. I see A LOT of people using resistance bands: men, women, young, old, very fit, getting fit.

I was just getting ready to go running now, but a thunderstorm came up, so that will have to wait a bit.

Have a great run when the storm clears.

Is as good as running you know.

right now.

And running isn't the only exercise you can do. Walking is a great alternative (and much easier on the joints). I like to walk with a purpose, though. I do my errands on foot (store, library, university) and it really is a wonderful way to get your blood moving without pushing yourself so much. And I DON'T do that dopey power walking!

It's called chiari, I also have a neck injury on top of it. I love running have been a runner for over a year so I know how to run and walk. I'm sad that I have to stop for now and yes I walk at least 2 miles most days..

Interesting.

but the neck injury has caused me so much grief I would certainly tell anyone who has had a head injury in a wreck that whiplash can come back to haunt you even 2 years later. I wish I would have demanded physical therapy right then. I have the best physical therapist, when I told her the neurosurgeon said I may never get use of my neck back she blurted out a bad word and has been sending me to colleagues for second and third opinions. We shall see what happens.

I use a weight-loss app called My Fitness Pal, dumb name but pretty good app. I like it because it adds on more calories you can eat the more you exercise. It's like gaining a life in a video game. I have a tracker on my phone that registers my speed, distance, etc. that I can enter onto the other app.

It's about all I can manage, running really hurts my knees and I have a problem with a large chest. Even with sports bras, it discourages me from running because of pain. I wish I could, because then I could eat more, lol.

My favorite is swimming, but that depends on the weather.

but then i gained muscle weight. : (. but now i can see the results, slowly but shirley, but it was MUCH easier as a sophmore to end the year at 149 and come back as a junior at 120. dare i hit a scale?

However, I love to do activities which qualify as exercise like gardening, walking and cycling. I bike at least 3 days each week and walk on the other days. I don't always get in 30 minutes each day but I do on most days.

The endorphin rush and improved sleeping patterns are two of my favorite benefits, but the family/friend activity benefit is fun too. We often cycle with friends, combining a long ride with a lunch stop.

The suggestion above about senior centers is good. One of my neighbors bicycles with a group of seniors every Thursday morning. They meet at the center and head off. The senior center also has lots of low cost yoga, stretching, and other exercise classes.

Although I do it about twice a week. "Medicinal" exercise!

Has done wonders for my health, physical and mental.

I have terrible arthritis (etc) in my shoulders, so I've been doing a variety of specific exercises for years to strengthen the muscles that support those joints. Good news is I have amazing muscle development there. Bad news is is that the joints have deteriorated to the point that what I was doing was now making is worse. Oops.

Still do most everything wearing 10-lb ankle weights though.

the worst is my left hip and knee (psoriatic all over really & osteo in the knees). The disease is considered moderate and has responded really well to meds (I do injections of Humira). Still, I have this feeling if you stop moving you are done for - so I have dogs to walk. Day in, day out. They couldn't care less if it is raining - out we go.

So I lift buckets of water to take out to water them (and my many fuchsias) daily. By the time I have my first shoulder surgery, I should be in my house, where I'll have a yard and lots of outdoor spigots, so I won't have to lift/carry water with my really bad arm while the other one is in a sling!

I'm getting PRP injections in my elbow, but I may end up needing surgery on at least one elbow, too. They're not exactly sure what kind of arthritis I have, other than it's severe; most people my age don't have upper extremity joint damage like this without pro sports being involved (for one thing, there's no cartilage in my joints anymore but I do have bone cysts).

I hadn't heard of that technology. I am mid-40s so pretty young as well for this, but my dad came down with psoriatic in his teens. I'm fortunate that mine isn't so severe.

I'm glad you're able to still keep up with the gardening!

I stopped to get iron (everything I grow is acid-loving ) and I ended up with another fuchsia ...

It's not really gardening if they're all in pots. Even if some of them are in really BIG pots! (and small ones ... also started three more bonsai today HELP ME!)

Mid 40s here, too but it's been going on for 30 years. Trying the PRP because I've had my lifetime limit of cortisone shots. Today was my third and final injection - I'll let you know in 6-8 weeks if it worked! It's being used for soft tissue and bony problems; if your insurance covers it, it's worth investigating since it has the potential to heal damage.

Last edited Tue Jul 17, 2012, 05:52 PM - Edit history (3)

I'm an extremely active person, have lived in rural areas all my life, (but was not always in a rural area when I was working), power walk at least 3 miles almost every day, vegetarian (mostly whole foods but like some processed soy products, fruits and veggies, cheese, occasional fish), take complete EFA oils every day, natural multi-vitamins every day, non-smoker, no "recreational" drugs, light to moderate alcohol use, no soft drinks that have HFCS in them, eat very little sugar except for occasional binges almost never eat anything with artificial ingredients, drink a lot of only purified/well/spring water, occasional stevia sweetened soft drink, 100% fruit juice, coffee, and (mostly occasional) alcoholic drink, avoid chemicals like the plague, and blah blah blah ad nauseum.

I'm a little below average weight for my height, been called a disgustingly happy person, generally sleep well, vitals (BP, pulse, blood oxygen, cholesterol) are in normal range, all my lab tests are normal or better, mammogram no lumps, have not had a cold or flu for about 4 years, never do flu vaccines, no STD's, no allergies, always have lots of energy. I have no problem spending 4-6 hours frolicking in a warm ocean and can generally backpack 10 or more miles a day on a medium difficulty trail with a 35-40 lb pack without collapsing.

I have 2 grandchildren, have all my teeth, 20/20 vision, don't need reading glasses, have almost no gray hair (what I do have was primarily the result of when my boys were in their teens.

Knock on wood. Every day that I wake up with no health problems is another awesome day.

Coffee is my addiction drink 3 - 4 cups every morning, tried to give it up years ago, but that turned out to not be an option.

I may not be the brightest candle on the altar, but at least I'm pretty healthy for now.

Can't say if exercise and reasonably good diet over the past 20 years has been responsible for my good overall health up to this point, but it seems to work for me, and I'm definitely going to keep on doing what I'm doing until I can't do it anymore.

The thing is, I spent a good part of my life working in a profession where substance abuse was part of the general accepted lifestyle, and when I was younger I pretty seriously abused my body with cigarettes, lots of strong herb, sporadic and often excessive non-addict cocaine and alcohol abuse, with bouts and binges of other substances, stayed up late and too often all night.

I'm probably lucky to be alive after that, and maybe my healthy lifestyle now is the reason I am.

My partner and I spend time together getting exercise. Instead of sitting and talking, we walk and talk. We go to the gym together.

Edit: Link to study http://in.news.yahoo.com/inactivity-may-deadly-smoking-062529890.html

It touches in a lot of what we've talked about in this thread. Very interesting.

"not exercising is deadly."

now that I have arthritis it is a great exercise for me (swimming and yoga are good also - but this is the one I do consistently). Best thing about it is that you don't skip working out when there are 2 dogs ready to go - rain or shine.

Mentally and physically!

30-40 mins of cardio, 30-40 mins of free weights/machines. 4 days per week min.

I know I'm light on cardio.. I'm lazy

totally agree with your listed benefits... I would add, helps maintains bone mass, more important for older
females than males, but helps guys, too

definitely helps with sleep.

I think if more people exercised, there'd be alot less drug prescriptions written.

I think some folks just don't know how much better they would feel if they exercised a bit and ate a bit better. I'm not snarking on them, I mean it when I say they just don't know. The mind and body are so interwined.

And, I do way more cardio than weights, although I get in a good 25-30 minutes three times a week.

My GF stopped exercising 6 mos. ago.... feels crappy now, always tired, doesn't sleep well, etc.

we used to do 2 mile walks together.. now it's me and my IPod

This is not me. It's someone I love:



Does it look he's not getting enough exercise? It didn't stop him from suffering from a genetic disease, for which he must take prescription meds.

I also have a disease for which I take a pound-o-pills daily. No one knows exactly what causes this kidney disease, but it isn't lack of exercise.

Those of us with chronic illnesses didn't do it to ourselves. Really.

Not aimed at you, o2012 - and I purposely made the photo creepy when I made it anonymous because it made me laugh

I meant it how Iggy says His (?) GF feels. I know a lot of people who are always tired, always a bit down (NOT depressed), always feel a bit physically off, etc. If they just did a few fun active things and ate just a little better, they would feel better, but it's hard to say that to someone without them thinking you are judging them and calling them lazy or fat, which I would never, ever do, nor do I even think it.

I know there is an "alternative holistic" theory that says if you have certain chronic conditions or illnesses, it's your fault. It disgusts me when Scientologists say it, and it disgusts me when "alternative holistic" folks say it. The only MD I have is WebMD, but I know enough to know that isn't true.

Sorry for the random CoS reference, but I've been reading a lot of "Tomkat divorce" stuff today.

mostly body-weight exercises. We don't have a fastball team this year (or last) so I'm playing slo-pitch and if there's a shinny game going on in the winter and I'm at the rink ...... I'm in. I've come to realize that going without exercise for any length of time makes my dep. and ptsd much worse.