need a "talking to" about exercise 50-60 yo
ImKaren768
Posts: 19 Member
I know all these young people are active. I didn't find the category for even less then sedentary when I set up my profile. I'm 59 and have no desire to exercise. BUT, my weight loss is slowing done. So nag me, tell me I can do it...mostly tell me how you get moving!
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I understand that you have no desire to exercise. Do you have a desire to get up off the toilet? Do you have a desire to fix your own food when you want it? Anything you do, everything you do, uses muscles. As you age, your unused muscles atrophy, and they're not there anymore and you can't use them to do anything. You lose your balance, fall, break your hip, get confined to a nursing home and your family will neglect to visit you. I'm not even exaggerating. The only person who ever will care about you is you and if you don't then having a username account at myfitnesspal isn't going to do you any good when you're stuck on the toilet and your LifeAlert button is in the bedroom.
So get some exercise while you still can.
I have a couple of dear friends who are happy, healthy, and past 90. They still take walks together.15 -
People our age are capable of a lot. I am an ex power lifter who was able to hoist 315 overhead at 68 years of age and I did that sitting down because I had a sore knee. Last month I completed a 100 Km bicycle ride. Now ImKaren, buy yourself some workout duds, join a gym and have at it.
Never compete with anyone other than yourself, Ignore everyone else on the floor, because they are all too wrapped up in worrying about how they look in the mirrors to be concerned about you. Strive to be a little better everytime you do a workout. You will be amazed by your progress.7 -
Exercise is for fitness and health. As a person who deals with a lot of clients over 50, I'll be the first to tell you that I train them differently. I train them more for EVERYDAY functional movements. So if your leg strength sucks, chances are you can't get off the ground well. And that will dictate many times how long your lifespan will be. How about opening a jar? Or climbing stairs? Or just shopping in a mall? If you struggle to do any of those, then NOT EXERCISING isn't going to improve it. Muscle atrophies when it's not used, that's why many people who age become so much weaker and frail. But it's PROVEN that even elder people can significantly improve their physical fitness by just doing a little exercise a day. And it doesn't have to be crazy. So all you have to do is MAKE THE CHOICE.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I led a sedentary life for 30 years and finally joined a gym with my daughter in 2014 at the age of 55! I started out only doing cardio and wanted to lose 25 lbs or so. I ended up losing over 50 and started powerlifting! I've competed in 5 meets and getting ready in 2 weeks to do one of the biggest meets for me so far. You are NEVER too old to start something new. People tell me all the time how much I've inspired them.10
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I could nag you to death. I am just about 64 and didn't start this until I was 54.
Move, goddamyoumove.
Yes, I know, I didn't like moving , mrs sloth personified- I had never exercised, but the thought of becoming less than who I was made me move, made me exercise, made me lift weights.
I can throw my 7 yo grandson about, I can hike through the ruins of Pompeii in the summer heat, I can build things in the house (drywall) I can build patios to relax on with a glass of wine, I can do all the things life requires, and enjoy an active, action packed vacation.
Do you want to be the person on the side lines, or the person parriciparing.
Try everything, do everything, find your sweet spot.
Cheers, h.
I could have ranted for pages, there are some wonderful fit, friendly women here that are over 60.12 -
Please don't stereotype me. I'm 57 years old and I'm more active than 20 and 30 year olds I work with.
As far as me I just enjoy it. I can scream and rant and Rave at you all I want but it's going to do me no good. You have to find your own personal why of why you want to do it. Once you find that why the exercise is going to be easy and you're actually going to look forward to it.
As far as me I never want to go f****** back to where I was before. Pardon my language but that's the way I feel about it. Oh and just to take away some excuses double hip replacement and arthritic knee that needs to be replaced and an arthritic shoulder that needs to be replaced eventually. I'm more active and physically fit than I was 20 years ago. Find your why and like the commercial says just do it2 -
OP: My mother died a couple of years ago at age 101.
She never exercised or watched her weight. She had various health problems over the years but they didn't stop her. However, when she was around 90 and living alone, she had a couple of fall down incidents which did.
On two separate occasions, she didn't have enough strength to get up off the floor or out of the bathtub. Couldn't even reach the phone to call for help. She was discovered shortly after each incident but these incidents led to her placement in assisted living, where someone could always watch over her.
Her lack of physical strength and conditioning resulted in her being confined to a wheelchair and a bed for the rest of her life. Her caretakers had to lift her from one to the other. They also had to feed her, dress & undress her, change her diapers & wipe her bottom and bathe her.
Despite her physical disability, she was tough and lasted many more years than her doctors thought possible. It was painful for me to watch her slowly deteriorate physically and mentally before she passed and I swore that I would do what I could to prevent that from happening to me.
I spent the past year losing 38# from 196 to 158 and dropping my BF from over 20% to below 9%. I exercise 1-2 hrs a day, 5 days a week, weigh myself daily and log everything that I eat and drink.
I'm 66 now and am in the best shape and health that I have been in many years.
However, based on my family history, I could well live another 30 years or more. I want to remain as physically strong and active as I can until the end and plan to continue to exercise and watch my weight until then.
Hopefully, this story will provide you with the same motivation to exercise and watch your weight as it does for me.
Good luck!11 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »I understand that you have no desire to exercise. Do you have a desire to get up off the toilet? Do you have a desire to fix your own food when you want it? Anything you do, everything you do, uses muscles. As you age, your unused muscles atrophy, and they're not there anymore and you can't use them to do anything. You lose your balance, fall, break your hip, get confined to a nursing home and your family will neglect to visit you. I'm not even exaggerating. The only person who ever will care about you is you and if you don't then having a username account at myfitnesspal isn't going to do you any good when you're stuck on the toilet and your LifeAlert button is in the bedroom.
So get some exercise while you still can.
I have a couple of dear friends who are happy, healthy, and past 90. They still take walks together.
Yep, the nursing homes are busting at the seams with people who can't get off the toilet Maybe if they would have been doing some exercise the last 20-30 years it would not be an issue and they would still be at home.0 -
STEVE142142 wrote: »Please don't stereotype me. I'm 57 years old and I'm more active than 20 and 30 year olds I work with.
^^ Totally agree with this. Please don't sterotype me, either.
I'm 63. I love walking and hiking. My car got a flat tire this week. While I was waiting for a new tire to arrive at the car dealer, I walked to the gym, exercised, walked to the grocery store afterwards, and carried my groceries home.
I could have asked a friend to drive me, but why?
I'm glad I can do these things. I am a normal weight for my height. I absolutely do not intend to be an old, out of shape person -- knowing I made myself helpless.
The mentality of thinking you are "old" and can't do things is the way to poor quality of life and early death.
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ImKaren768 wrote: »I know all these young people are active. I didn't find the category for even less then sedentary when I set up my profile. I'm 59 and have no desire to exercise. BUT, my weight loss is slowing done. So nag me, tell me I can do it...mostly tell me how you get moving!
I'm 50 ... so I'm still one of "these young people". My husband is 62 ... I still think of him as pretty young too.
We're both active and have been for years. We met on a long distance cycling event in 2003, and have spent our lives cycling long distances together.
Cycling long distances is my main motivator for keeping my weight down. It's a lot more work to haul extra weight up the hills!
And it's fun! We've travelled and done events in various parts of the world, and met interesting people and have seen lots of things.
I'd rather do that than to sit in my house all the time. Boring!!3 -
ImKaren768 wrote: »So nag me
i can't be bothered i can't even muster the motivation to nag my best friends, so nagging a total stranger over the internet . . . nah.
however, you probably can do it unless there's some kind of physical limitation. and even then you can probably do something else. personally, i don't know if being nagged about anyone to do anything has ever had the slightest effect on me, but if you seriously want other people to take over the accountability and the credit for you getting active, the most effective move would probably be to pay some trainer to call you every couple of days and beak at you about whether or not you've done whatever it is.
for me, an easier path was to block out other people so i could hear my own voice talking to me. it figured out some stuff that i not only like doing, but i actually wanted to do even though i didn't want and still don't want to do 'exercise' as a generic concept in its own right.
in that sense, i've been active one way or another for ages, but i still don't 'exercise' i'm just a couch potato who likes to ride bikes and lift weights.3 -
We can all nag you until we are blue in the face but unless you want to exercise it would be pointless.
I was sedentary and obese until, at 51 I felt I needed to take control of my life. I lost 73 lbs and started exercising. I can now run 10k and am doing Insanity and will get back to lifting when my shoulder injury heals. I'm in the best shape of my life and loving it!
Find the best time of the day for your exercise and do something you enjoy ( walking, dancing, cycling whatever YOU want to do) For me it was exercise dvds before work as I had no energy and too many distractions after work.
I want to live a long healthy active life and not be stuck in a nursing home unable to move.
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I was 57, the only exercise I had was walking to work, uk size 20 and growing. Was starting to have difficulty getting in and out of the bath and experiencing hip and knee pains. Then my son announced his wedding and my first thought was I didn't want to look like this in his wedding pictures. Long story short, I joined gym hired a trainer and for a few weeks thought I was going to die and my trainer was the most sadistic person ever, then I realised I was starting to enjoy my sessions, weight was dropping off and I could move easier. I am now 59, working out at least 4 Times each week and walking between 4 and 7 miles each day. Am now uk size 8 or 10 and am determined to be able to do a pull up beforeI am 60. And my confidence has grown in every area of my life, I can dance without worrying what people think, I can go on the biggest fairground rides. Go exercise there is nothing to lose and a whole new life to gain3
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just do it1
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Only you can choose the person you want to be as you get older. Fit, active and independent as you go into your 60's and 70's or keep on doing what you are doing and let the rest of your life be one of diminishing opportunities.
Being in your 50's and never being interested in exercise does not necessarily mean that is the person you have to be for the rest of your life. Start small and do often is the best advice that anyone can give.
Or just say it is too hard and you don't like it and then you can just spend the rest of your life getting sicker and slower and being dependent on unreliable people for the rest of your life.
Just for the record your "young people are active" is just a big pile of denial. I am 45 and am fitter and more active than most people I know. It is not easy at first - but then guess what, it gets to be easy and then you look back at your old life in disbelief.2 -
Don't think of being active and moving as "exercise". Find an activity you DO like (walking, dancing, yoga) and do it every day consistently. You'll be amazed how good and alive it makes you feel.1
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Lots of great advice & info here. I agree with them! I work out 6 days a week, combinations of cardio & strength with some Pilates reformer thrown in. I'm over 50, in really good shape, & manage my physical issues (a bit of arthritis in left knee, shoulder impingements, degenerative disc in my neck), feel terrific. I have long gray hair, wear my skinny jeans, watch the 20-somethings whine @ bootcamp class, watch women younger than me gain more & more weight, use walking sticks, eat crap, never move & get sick all the time. I'm not a saint by any stretch of the imagination, but living a long, healthy, active, productive life is what I want. Sitting & complaining, making excuses & justifications, is not. Nobody else can motivate you; people like those in this thread are too busy living a healthy life to spend time nagging you. Think about the quality of life you want, & then get off the sofa a get it.1
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OP, I hope this thread inspires you because it sure does for me. Several posters I recognize from being long-time MFPer's who always give great insights, advice, and stories worth thinking about. But we're not going to nag because we know it's really all on you. Make the decision and do it; or don't. It's your life.0
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Walk!2
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