Over 65 and working your program?

michael_hatten

Any seniors out there? I'm 68, my wife is 71, and we work out five days a week. My wife mainly uses her Concept 2 rowing machine; I alternate between a treadmill and an elliptical machine. We both do a few resistance exercises 2 - 3 times a week; she uses dumb bells, I use dumb bells and a cable-style weight machine. We're tracking our diets on MFP. I just wondered if anyone our age is out there working a program.

middlehaitch

Hi, I am close at 63. There are quite a few over 60's on the forum.

Have to admit I am not one who loves exercise, just loves the benefits of it.

I lift 3 days a week (AllPro-progressive compound lifting), warm up on the concept 2 , do a simple walk, row, or swim 20-30 min 2 days (happily skip them if I am otherwise occupied), and Iyengar yoga for 90 min on Sunday's with my SO.
All are done at the local rec centre, except the walking. I find adherence when exercising at home hard.

I have also surprised myself by going to group classes like Zumba, Pilates, belly dancing, and Aqua Fit and having quite a bit of fun. They are good for when I am feeling particularly lazy.

Welcome to the MFP forums.

Cheers, h.

Rinde99

I'm 60 and exercise 6 days per week for an hour minimum per day. Started running from scratch in September on a Couch to 5k-like program Runs are MWF. Either do a little more cardio following my run or finish up with 1/2 hour of yoga. TThS are my strength days. I started with body resistance exercises in August but just recently changed to weights. Takes me about 45 minutes then I do light cardio and end with yoga.

I started on MFP to lose weight and get fit in July. Now that I'm almost at goal, I'm focusing more on upping my protein and getting more exercise. I plan to run my first 5k in 25 years in February...just as a baseline run. Then with additional training to build endurance and speed, I hope to run more road races and be competitive in my age group(was a good runner in my 30s). If all goes well and I get back some of my former speed....adjusted for age...then I want to try running master's track...either 800 or 1500. I haven't a clue whether any of this will come to pass, but I enjoy having dreams and goals for my 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond.

sgt1372

Just turned 66. Retired for just under 10 yrs. My current "job" is to stay in shape. Lost 31 lbs down from 196 to 165 in the past 5 months. Currently, at 163 & 16% BF. Want to reduce BF below 15% and maintain weight bet 160-165.

Workout 5-6 days a week, which currently includes low rep heavy lifting and calesthentic routine, which includes pushups, pullups, hanging leg raises, dips, sissy squats and GHRs. Also have a spin bike and Concept Rower but have cut out intensive cardio since I hit my target weight.

michael_hatten

Why do you think you can cut your cardio because you've reached your target? The cardio got you there. From my experience, if I cut the cardio the weight comes back.

I started to use MFP to track my fats. My last cholesterol test was a little high so I want to see if I can bring it down by keeping fats lower. My doc said don't worry because my high HDL's more than make up for my total Cholesterol but I would still like to see if I can bring it back to where it used to be. Besides, it's the exercise that keeps my HDL's high.

sgt1372

michael_hatten wrote: »

Why do you think you can cut your cardio because you've reached your target? The cardio got you there. From my experience, if I cut the cardio the weight comes back.

Well, fact is, cardio is NOT necessary for weight loss. As is often cited on MFP, it's all about CICO -- calories in and calories out.

However, I didn't say I stopped doing cardio period but, point in fact, I haven't done any cardio (rowing and spin biking, in my case) for a month and, in that time, I have lost 4 lbs from 168 to 164. So, this proves that cardio is NOT necessary to weight loss.

That said, I am still doing heavy weight lifting and calisthenics which burns calories. I am also logging and closely monitoring my caloric intake each day to insure that my food intake meets my caloric intake and macro goals.

To me, these are the basic things that you need to do to achieve your weight/fitness goals.

middlehaitch

With regards to your comment-

'Why do you think you can cut your cardio because you've reached your target? The cardio got you there. From my experience, if I cut the cardio the weight comes back.'

I eat to exercise, not exercise to eat.
My calories are based on my daily activity and when I exercise I make sure I fuel it.
If you need to do cardio to maintain your weight you should maybe re-visit your calorie intake.
Throughout my weight loss, and 6 years maintenance,I never depended on exercise for a calorie deficit.

Cardio doesn't get one to ones goal weight, a calorie deficit does.

Cheers, h.

michael_hatten

I get your point. I just work the other way. I do cardio for heart and lung health. Weight control is a side effect. I just noticed that if I knock off the cardio, my appetite spikes and I end up eating too much.

middlehaitch

Yes, that was what I was saying- exercise for health not for food intake. If you are gaining when you stop your cardio it is because you are not adjusting your calorie intake. Hunger spikes may be due to boredom rather than true hunger.
Or-
Personally I can't eat a couple of hours before any kind of exercise, makes me feel sick, nor a couple of hours after, stomach feels too tense, so I tend to eat less on high exercise days and more on the day after. If you are similar, and stopped cardio for a week, a relaxing of stomach tension, could lead to wanting more food.
We are all individual and need individual methods to reach a CICO balance.

Cheers, h.

BrianSharpe

You're a few years ahead of me but I typically run 4 x weekly, row (another Concept2 fan) a couple of time a week, hit the gym (Stronglifts 5 x 5) 2 or 3 times weekly, ride my bike as often as I can and am doing a coached swim program (I'm signed up for an Olympic distance triathlon next June & my swimming sucks....)

I still have a ways to go in the weight loss department but my focus is more on fitness than the number on the scale (admittedly I'd like to get down more to improve my racing performance)