Lowering exercise intensity with age, what has worked for you?

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  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    Excellent. Thanks for coming back to update us.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,570 Member
    jaroby wrote: »
    I know I wasn’t able to specifically respond to each reply in this thread, but I read them all and am so grateful for all the input!

    I wanted to give an update because as it was noted, age was likely not the cause of me feeling like I needed to lessen the intensity of my exercise.

    It turns out getting enough sleep, getting back to drinking the amount of water that helps me feel good, and taking more time to stretch and work on mobility have just about taken care of the “all over achy/slow recovery” problem. :smiley:

    Yippee!!!!!

    On another note, I had the appointment with the Posture Restoration Therapist today. I could cry tears of JOY. Turns out I’ve been walking around with my back a bit arched, my ribs bowed up towards the front, and my left hip more prominently forward than the right. I’ve also got an anterior pelvic tilt (which is silly because it’s something I’m aware of and have tried to fix :neutral: ) I tend to place more weight on the balls of my feet rather than my heels and trying to squat with my hips all internally wonky like that + carrying myself through the day like this has been the cause of my low back pain.

    So, the goal is to reset the way I hold myself unconsciously throughout the day. Posture Restoration Therapy.

    Even after one single visit complete with instructions on how to hold myself correctly the lower back pain is significantly reduced and I can’t help but think “How on EARTH have I been carrying myself around like this day after day!?”

    So if this has ever been a thing you’ve considered, I *highly* recommend it!

    Is your therapist trained through the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI)? I have worked with a Doctor of PT that has also been through their program and incorporates many of their techniques. Bonus, he's also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. His therapy room is part of a gym he a a partner in so we can go out to the floor and he can check form.

    I've made fantastic progress working with this person. Best of luck to you.
  • jaroby
    jaroby Posts: 152 Member
    @AnnPT77
    @SnifterPug
    Thank you for sharing in my excitement! :smiley::smiley:

    @Theoldguy1
    Yes! My therapist is trained through the PRI! So glad you’ve had great progress with this type of PT. Best of continued luck for you as well!
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited November 2020
    Assuming that you are in good health and have no significant medical problems or disabilities, I don't think that 32 is an age at which you need to worry about reducing the "intensity" of your workouts.

    Ask again in 28 yrs when you turn 60.

    So, says this 70 yr old man who doesn't do any workout w/any degree of "intensity" any more.

    Lo and slow to avoid injury is my motto doing any type of exercise now.
  • Ikeeptrying2
    Ikeeptrying2 Posts: 156 Member
    I'm mid-50's. Some of my intensity and endurance has reduced since I began training 6 years ago.

    My focus is now to train hard, but to also train smart.

  • dmkoenig
    dmkoenig Posts: 307 Member
    Joe Friel is the father of aerobic training - he's written seminal books like Runners Training Bible, Triathletes Training Bible, etc. He's well into his 70's now and a few years ago he wrote a book called Fast after 50 which is based on the latest science on aging and exercise. The number of athletes over 50 is growing and new performance records are continually being set. Two major takeaways from the book: (1) in order to maintain/improve fitness, high intensity training needs to be part of your program, including weight training. People who just do a lot of low intensity aerobic work over time lose fitness over time. Not saying it's not good for you, just in terms of maintaining threshold performance (as measured by VO2 Max). (2) As you age, you need longer periods of rest and recovery, which includes sleep. Friel is a big proponent of periodized workouts where you have weeks of higher load followed by a week of recovery. For younger athletes it's often 3 weeks of build followed by 1 week easy. For 50+ athletes it's more like 2 weeks build followed by 1 week recovery. The other elements that become really important are stretching and flexibility. So I would encourage keeping some level of intensity in your program if you want maximize your vitality. Best of luck in your journey!
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