60 yrs and up

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Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    bethe wrote: »
    Thank you, AnnPT77 and Pdc654 - I appreciate your encouragement and comments. Re: strength training - it's funny, but I used to be sort of a gym rat in my 20s. I do not relish the idea of weight training in my 60s though, lol. But at this point I am so weak, even gentle yoga is giving me quite the workout. I had a (thankfully) mild case of Guillain-Barre Syndrome last year, and it really nailed me. It gave me an strongly increased understanding of the difficulties faced by anyone who suffers from any type of permanent disability. Anyway, I am recovered now but still weak, especially in my legs. Ah well - it could have been much, much worse.

    I think yoga is quite under-rated, in the popular understanding, for strength purposes. When we do poses that support a fair fraction of our bodyweight - especially if we're still somewhat overweight - it can be gradually beneficial to strength, as long as muscularly challenging. There is a "too gentle" range, but if it challenges current strength, there can be benefits . . . it's just likely to be a slower route than something like weight training, which is likely to be the fastest, most efficient route to strength or muscle mass gains. That can be OK, even best, as an on-ramp.

    Progress is pretty much always possible, and IMO always beneficial.
  • ridiculous59
    ridiculous59 Posts: 2,807 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    @ridiculous59 , what are the grades in dragon boating education about, if you can explain?

    All we have in rowing is novice (first year of rowing), and open or age group - for competition.

    Sometimes camps/classes recognize an intermediate level, too, with diverse criteria depending on the specific class or camp.

    @AnnPT77 I was talking about the kids being in grade 6 and 7 in school i.e. 11 and 12 year olds. Sorry for the confusion! A handful of teachers use it as their classes' end-of-school-year outing. Our boathouse is in a public park so they come to the park, do some scavenger hunt type stuff on the trails, picnic, and go out in the dragon boat. It's a fun day. We haven't been able to do it for a couple of years due to COVID so only committed to two classes this year, in case we'd lost our touch LOL (but we hadn't! 🙂).
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    @ridiculous59 , what are the grades in dragon boating education about, if you can explain?

    All we have in rowing is novice (first year of rowing), and open or age group - for competition.

    Sometimes camps/classes recognize an intermediate level, too, with diverse criteria depending on the specific class or camp.

    @AnnPT77 I was talking about the kids being in grade 6 and 7 in school i.e. 11 and 12 year olds. Sorry for the confusion! A handful of teachers use it as their classes' end-of-school-year outing. Our boathouse is in a public park so they come to the park, do some scavenger hunt type stuff on the trails, picnic, and go out in the dragon boat. It's a fun day. We haven't been able to do it for a couple of years due to COVID so only committed to two classes this year, in case we'd lost our touch LOL (but we hadn't! 🙂).

    Oh man, I totally misunderstood: Sorry!

    But that sounds like So. Much. Fun!

    On a few rare occasions, I've had an opportunity to help with scout troops or Y camps or something, getting a rowing experience by rowing in a barge (which is like rowing your living room, totally safe/stable). Such a good experience (for me *and* them)!

    For other readers, this is what the barge looks like (with adults in it).

    n5asquh95bdh.jpg

    Versus what a skinny racing-style rowing shell looks like, from the rower's perspective - me, in this case.

    x6dn8c57qbtk.jpg
  • swimmom_1
    swimmom_1 Posts: 1,302 Member
    Glad to catch up on your posts. I worked everyday this week. Good to hear most everyone is doing well. :-)
  • Seabee_74
    Seabee_74 Posts: 26 Member
    66 here and looking for some new motivated friends.
    I recently returned after a few back surgeries but I'm hitting it hard, gym, logging my food, open diary and encouraging my friends etc. 😄
  • swimmom_1
    swimmom_1 Posts: 1,302 Member
    Seabee_74 wrote: »
    66 here and looking for some new motivated friends.
    I recently returned after a few back surgeries but I'm hitting it hard, gym, logging my food, open diary and encouraging my friends etc. 😄

    Welcome Seabee_74. Were you in the Seabees?
  • GoRun2
    GoRun2 Posts: 448 Member
    I was doing pretty good. I lost 15 lbs or half of my weight. I need to buckle up and get back with the plan. I'm thinking if I tell all of you that I'm getting with the plan and have a talk with myself it will help. I was feeling frustrated with something yesterday (not food related) so I ate a lot of low flat flavored yogurt, not because I was hungry or it was on the plan, just because I was frustrated. sigh
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    GoRun2 wrote: »
    I was doing pretty good. I lost 15 lbs or half of my weight. I need to buckle up and get back with the plan. I'm thinking if I tell all of you that I'm getting with the plan and have a talk with myself it will help. I was feeling frustrated with something yesterday (not food related) so I ate a lot of low flat flavored yogurt, not because I was hungry or it was on the plan, just because I was frustrated. sigh

    Sympathies, @GoRun2 . . . I think all of us probably have an off day here and there. Still, a bad day is just one single drop in the ocean of life.

    It's a good idea IMO to spend a few minutes thinking through how to handle things differently next time similar circumstances arise, but guilt about it is 100% optional (and feels icky 😉).

    After that, if you can get back on your normal healthy track, things will turn out just fine. After all, it's the majority of our days that determine the majority of our outcomes, not that one off day here or there.

    Best wishes going forward!
  • Timberlan127
    Timberlan127 Posts: 237 Member
    Hi Everyone!! It sounds like you are all taking advantage of the better weather and getting out to do all kinds of sports. I love walking with my dog so that is my main exercise. I also do the elliptical a few times a week. I desperately need the strength training but don't seem to be able to make myself do it consistently. The weight loss is still up and down but at least it is very slowly going down. Sometimes by only .2 of a pound in a week or staying the same but even that is progress. I have also been staying with the 25% protein for each meal when ever I can. Since I'd like to lose at least 60 more pounds it is discouraging when the loss is so slow. But I am determined to make this a life style so if it take 2 or 3 years to reach goal as long as I'm eating healthy that's ok. Pdc654, I can relate to now having less muscle because of all the yoyo dieting. Your water aerobics will really help you with that I would think. I still haven't found any place here. I will keep looking. I have been looking online for some leg strengthening exercises and found a good routine the other day. So now I've just got to make myself do it.
    Keep working at it everyone. I loved reading about all your adventures!!
  • swimmom_1
    swimmom_1 Posts: 1,302 Member
    My usual elliptical but today I felt good at 18 miles so I continued to 26.25 miles once again. This time my pace was slower so it took me 372 minutes. When I did it before, May 29,2022, it was 337 minutes. About a 14+ minutes/mile compared to sub 13 minutes/mile the earlier time.

    @Timberlan127 Just noticed your picture of your dog. Is it a Yorkshire Terrier or a Silky Terrier? I have my third and fourth Yorkie right now. My first, she had 3 litters, (kept 1, so I could tolerate, finding them new homes) when I was a stay at home mom. It's a lot of work with such small dogs. Making sure they are adequately gaining.
  • Pdc654
    Pdc654 Posts: 317 Member
    Thanks @Timberlan127. Yes, there is strength training involved with the water aerobics. The water alone provides resistance and we use aqua dumbbells in many of the classes. So it's helping. I feel it afterwards. However, I know lifting is more effective. I hope to start doing that soon. Like you, I just need to make myself do it!
  • coblujay
    coblujay Posts: 688 Member
    Happy Saturday! After my vacation, it's been tough to get back on track with eating and exercise. Finally, in the last week I'm back hiking and swimming. I had to laugh after swimming a mile in the pool at a new best time of 65 minutes. It's a new pool since the one in my neighborhood closed for the summer because of lack of lifeguards. The old pool was 25 yards and the new pool is 25 meters. What a difference that makes! I think the improvement of my time is because I don't have to make as many turns, not that I'm swimming faster. But, I'll take it!!
  • Timberlan127
    Timberlan127 Posts: 237 Member
    swimmom_1 wrote: »
    My usual elliptical but today I felt good at 18 miles so I continued to 26.25 miles once again. This time my pace was slower so it took me 372 minutes. When I did it before, May 29,2022, it was 337 minutes. About a 14+ minutes/mile compared to sub 13 minutes/mile the earlier time.

    @Timberlan127 Just noticed your picture of your dog. Is it a Yorkshire Terrier or a Silky Terrier? I have my third and fourth Yorkie right now. My first, she had 3 litters, (kept 1, so I could tolerate, finding them new homes) when I was a stay at home mom. It's a lot of work with such small dogs. Making sure they are adequately gaining.

    Another dog lover!! Nice!! I have an Australian Terrier. They are a larger version of the Yorkie and have descended from Yorkies and other breeds. This one is my second Australian Terrier. I loved my first one so much that when she passed I had to have another. I love their energy and bold mischievous natures as well as their affection for their family. My only regret is that I didn't find this breed earlier in life. I would have probably gotten into to the breeding end of things too if I had.

    You're elliptical workouts are awesome!! I think I'm doing well when I do a half hour and I know I'm not doing any where near that number of miles. That is quite the workout. You must be making great progress with the weight loss.
  • Timberlan127
    Timberlan127 Posts: 237 Member
    Pdc654 wrote: »
    Thanks @Timberlan127. Yes, there is strength training involved with the water aerobics. The water alone provides resistance and we use aqua dumbbells in many of the classes. So it's helping. I feel it afterwards. However, I know lifting is more effective. I hope to start doing that soon. Like you, I just need to make myself do it!

    Why is it always easier said than done??? And why can I make the commitment with aerobic exercise and just not be able to do it with strength training? Nice that you at least get in some with the water aerobics!! I think if I could just get the strength training in the schedule I could do it. I guess I should give up aerobic exercise a couple of days a week and do the strength training instead. I guess it's just the fear that I won't lose weight if I don't do the aerobic exercise. I'm barely losing half a pound a week now. I guess my impatience is showing again. But I need to lose another 65 pounds to be healthy. So slow is better than not losing at all.
  • Timberlan127
    Timberlan127 Posts: 237 Member
    I’m 70 and started MFP 3 days ago. I have been motivated to get moving, and logging my food shows me where I need to improve. I barely eat any protein, as I don’t eat meat and eggs regularly. Also, I am not consuming my daily allotment of calories due to the addition of calories because of my exercise. I’m going to figure that all out in the coming weeks. Glad to be here.

    Welcome!! MFP is a very helpful site and this group is the best. They are all very helpful and supportive. Wishing you the best in your weight loss journey.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    Pdc654 wrote: »
    Thanks @Timberlan127. Yes, there is strength training involved with the water aerobics. The water alone provides resistance and we use aqua dumbbells in many of the classes. So it's helping. I feel it afterwards. However, I know lifting is more effective. I hope to start doing that soon. Like you, I just need to make myself do it!

    Why is it always easier said than done??? And why can I make the commitment with aerobic exercise and just not be able to do it with strength training? Nice that you at least get in some with the water aerobics!! I think if I could just get the strength training in the schedule I could do it. I guess I should give up aerobic exercise a couple of days a week and do the strength training instead. I guess it's just the fear that I won't lose weight if I don't do the aerobic exercise. I'm barely losing half a pound a week now. I guess my impatience is showing again. But I need to lose another 65 pounds to be healthy. So slow is better than not losing at all.

    Noting that some exercise formats have both strength and aerobic benefits (and some calorie burn), though they may not optimize one or the other benefit. I do, in my (long term) experience get some (limited) strength benefit from my rowing, though far less efficiently than one gets strength benefits from lifting or challenging bodyweight strength workouts.

    Some forms of circuit training (high rep, low resistance strength exercises, either bodyweight or with weights/resistance bands/etc.) also have both strength and cardiovascular benefits to some extent.

    IMO, things to watch out for with the high-rep faster-paced resistance workouts are fatigue and form. (I think that's especially true for beginners, or those of us who may have some pre-existing physical challenges.) In brief, what I mean is that when going at a faster pace, and especially when starting to fatigue, form can suffer, and increase injury risk. This is IMO manageable with reasonable caution, and a gradual increase in the challenge (pace or intensity). I worry a little when I see beginners leap into heavy-duty fast-paced "HIIT" circuit or bodyweight training, for this reason.