What Was Your Work Out Today?

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  • RaquelFit2
    RaquelFit2 Posts: 208 Member
    Please don’t laugh but I am almost 64 and disabled. I started this plan 5/16 and everyday I strive to be more active. Today I went shopping for the first time without using a shopping scooter. I walked everywhere in the two stores I was in. Lifted all the groceries in and out of my car and put them all away.
    After lunch I swept my house and mopped my wood floor in our big living room.
    Everyday activities I use to do with ease are a real challenge now. I suffer from osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia.
    But I did it!!! I am so glad to be here with all of you. Congrats to all who wrote before me, and Don’t give up!
    Thank you for allowing me to share. Debbie

    Welcome to the thread. I think it's great you're motivated to be more active!
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »

    Even for those of us who don't really love training (in the strict technical sense of the term), even for those who don't even train in that strict sense, 1) recovery is pretty important, IMO. (It's increasingly important for me as I age, it seems like - resilience is the main difference I see in myself now vs. younger; YMMV.)


    2) It's not unusual here on MFP to see people go out hard on a new "weight loss exercise program" that's frequent, intense (for them at current fitness level), etc. . . . then crash and burn pretty quickly.

    Recovery problems are part of that, certainly
    .

    3) Formal training plans suited to one's level can be a pretty powerful thing, even for someone who doesn't really love training . . . and might be extra important IMO for someone who's a relative novice to exercise, doesn't have a basis of experience for intuition about fatigue effects, and that sort of thing.

    I think the importance of recovery (for sustainability and progress) is commonly underappreciated.

    @Ann, glad you saw fit to expand the discussion beyond my specific point. Re: comment #1 - You're in good company in holding that opinion. Joe Friel, the foremost expert in endurance sports and creator of the Training Peaks software tool for endurance athletes, goes into great detail around recovery as we age. In his book, Fast After 50, that concept is one of the most important to him as a coach.

    Re: comment #2 - Couldn't agree more. Every time we read a post from someone who's on day 18 in a row of a new high intensity exercise program, and asking if he/she should now start doing two workouts/day "since I feel great", my alarm goes off. The cumulative fatigue is just waiting to derail those efforts.

    Re: comment # 3 - The primary benefit of a training plan, whether generic or coached, is that it allows the person to build fitness safely. Any good canned plan has recovery days built in, as well as a periodized schedule that includes reduced volume weeks. (periodization). Coaches take that one step farther by designing the training schedule to carefully build in proper training stress, then tracking athlete's fatigue and adaptation to the training stress. Both of my triathlon coaches said the same thing: "Our job is to protect the athletes from themselves. We do this by tracking the training stress of each workout, as well as the accumulated stress over the period. We then look at how the athlete responds to the work to determine whether the frequency, intensity and duration are appropriate." This was measured by tracking heart rate, power output on the bike, lactic acid measured via blood (ear prick) as well as other anecdotal evidence, such as athlete's written comments about how they are feeling after each workout, energy levels, sleep patterns, appetite, etc.

    While this can be fairly involved with endurance athletes, the same concept applies to anyone starting an exercise program. Recovery days are when the growth happens! Our bodies need time to absorb the training benefits - more so as we get older.
  • BeYourBestSelfDeb
    BeYourBestSelfDeb Posts: 64 Member
    Thank you all for your kind words and support. Best wishes.
  • Bodenista
    Bodenista Posts: 146 Member
    Please don’t laugh but I am almost 64 and disabled. I started this plan 5/16 and everyday I strive to be more active. Today I went shopping for the first time without using a shopping scooter. I walked everywhere in the two stores I was in. Lifted all the groceries in and out of my car and put them all away.
    After lunch I swept my house and mopped my wood floor in our big living room.
    Everyday activities I use to do with ease are a real challenge now. I suffer from osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia.
    But I did it!!! I am so glad to be here with all of you. Congrats to all who wrote before me, and Don’t give up!
    Thank you for allowing me to share. Debbie

    Amazing and well done you. Osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia are so debilitating. Keep going, you're doing brilliantly 👏
  • bojaantje3822
    bojaantje3822 Posts: 257 Member
    Rest days are so important but so hard to stick to when you feel like you're on fire. I was really active before the pandemic, then switched to a desk job and stopped exercising for a year and a half. When I started back up my exercise, I went with twice a week to ease into it. By month 6 I had to impose a strict "don't you dare go to the gym on sunday" rule for myself. I would get restless and want to go.

    But it's paid off! Now, month 9, it's much easier to take my rest and listen to my body and the mindset of 'not showing up = failure' is out of my system.

    Anyway, my period is due today so I'm gonna do an easy pilates class and maybe walk to the store to get groceries and that's it. It's dry out and after the storm and rain yesterday that's very welcome.
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,193 MFP Moderator
    I did 2.5 hours of weed-eating. My whole body feels like a wet noodle... I guess this is an indicator that I need to get back into strength training.
  • mrmota70
    mrmota70 Posts: 523 Member
    Well I had to do my easy 30 min Sunday WO today because I forgot to tape up. Was feeling good and I thought let’s go for 4 miles. As I hit mile 3 I got a twinge on the right nipple… 🤬aka runners nipple…… 😫 settled for a decent 5k…

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  • Bodenista
    Bodenista Posts: 146 Member
    Back on it today after my rest day yesterday 😁

    Caroline Girvan Iron Series - Day 2 30 mins upper body workout.

    36 mins power walk at an average speed of 5.8 kmph.

  • Bodenista
    Bodenista Posts: 146 Member
    Djproulx wrote: »
    Had my best ride of the year so far today. It was so good because we had 5 riders of similar fitness levels, all of whom enjoy both the work and camaraderie during a training ride. Temps were very warm, but we had quite a bit of shade and cloud cover, so it wasn't that bad. Route was a climb through NW Connecticut into Massachusetts, following the Farmington River. The "out" portion is a false flat with some more pronounced climbs, then after a 3-4 mile loop around a reservoir at the distant end, the return trip is much faster due to the modest descending grade. Practiced race day fueling, consuming 4 bottles of fluid/electrolytes, as well as taking in 650 calories. Felt really good at the end and prepared to start a run.

    Total ride was 55.2miles completed in 3:08:14, or a 17.6mph pace. Averaged 146watts for the ride, which is on the low side of my HIM power zone. Very happy with that number this early in the season.

    Now I REALLY need to focus on my swim and run, or it'll be a long painful day at Watkins Glen in July, lol!

    Wow that's incredible. I've only ever done 55 miles in a car 🚗 🤣

    But seriously - well done!!
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    Bodenista wrote: »

    Wow that's incredible. I've only ever done 55 miles in a car 🚗 🤣

    But seriously - well done!!

    Believe me, its almost always more fun in a car. :)

    Thanks, but I've been at this stuff for quite awhile, so its just part of the lifestyle. I'm lucky enough to have a large group of friends who swim, bike, run, hike, etc. It is usually as much a social activity as a physical one.
  • Bodenista
    Bodenista Posts: 146 Member
    Djproulx wrote: »
    Bodenista wrote: »

    Wow that's incredible. I've only ever done 55 miles in a car 🚗 🤣

    But seriously - well done!!

    Believe me, its almost always more fun in a car. :)

    Thanks, but I've been at this stuff for quite awhile, so its just part of the lifestyle. I'm lucky enough to have a large group of friends who swim, bike, run, hike, etc. It is usually as much a social activity as a physical one.

    Sounds amazing, I wish I was part of your friendship group but I'd be the one lagging at the back saying, "hey, wait for me" as I fell over a rock 🤣
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    Bodenista wrote: »
    Djproulx wrote: »
    Bodenista wrote: »

    I'd be the one lagging at the back saying, "hey, wait for me" as I fell over a rock 🤣

    Then you'd fit right in!
  • drmwc
    drmwc Posts: 972 Member
    edited May 2022
    Saturday was nearly a rest day. I did do a bit of a walk, getting 8 miles in total.

    Sunday was fun. A few of us went climbing. I only got one hard route, but I was the only in the group to get it. (There were 5 of us; I am probably 3rd best. It is reasonably close, though - Debbie has by far the best technique, and Jon is is strongest. I am the most stupid, which lets me get some stuff the others don't.) It took me about a minute of terrifying slab shuffling to get to the crux. There, I needed to match on a small crimp with my body leaning at an angle, cut loose and immediately swing out to get a foot on a small ledge the other side of the arrete.

    We went of a barbecue afterwards. It was nice; it felt like a return to normality after lockdowns. I decided to walk home. At about 7 p.m, I thought better of this plan as the walk is around 18 miles (I had done about 6). So I got on the train, and only did about 11 miles for the day.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited May 2022
    Did an easy 80 minute workout yesterday. Around 30 minutes on the rower (easy stuff, around 2:25 pace) and then the rest on the Assault Bike. Trying to extend the duration of my Sundays a bit. Had gotten away from the long, slow workout day. Need to get it up to around 90 minutes on Sundays but strive to keep it super easy paced as well.

    Completely agree with others on rest. Seems like when I turned 50, I had to be extra cautious in listening to my body. 60 isn't all that far off now for me (two years). I know a lot of folks (and obviously some in this group!) that train well into their 60s. I know one rower that trains hard in his mid 70s! But all those folks know when to train hard and when to really back off their effort. It's a huge balance game and knowing your HR zones very, very well.