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Staying fit in advanced age

Posted by Rod @rek, Nov 9, 2023

I'm 76 and have been working to maintain fitness actively for about 10 years now. I have come to recognize how age affects our physical abilities. My heart rate won't ever pass 170 again. I have to be careful on training. If I train too often, I get hurt now. I can't run every day. The legs get sore and don't have time to recover. That's also when I can injure joints. On the other hand, I still seem to be able to gain strength through careful repetition, my balance keeps improving with training, and flexibility as well although there seems to be a real limit to my ageing joints. Oh yes, I seem to be out of breath more quickly as I age. And all of this remains uncertain.
I don't know what is normal for a 76 year old healthy male, how I can improve abilities or should I work more to preserve present ability? There don't seem to be many men or women my age to compare to. I'd love to join a workout community or some such thing but I sure don't know how to get started.

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mabfp3 | @mabfp3 | Jan 23 4:23pm
In reply to @casey1329 "I'm a 72 yr. old woman and agree with all that is being said. The main..." + (show)
@casey1329

I'm a 72 yr. old woman and agree with all that is being said. The main thing for me is not to over do it and injure myself which I did last March and didn't return to a 100% until November. I do 5 miles a day on my recumbent bike and lift 5 lb weights, for 3 sets. This routine keeps my knees pain free, have osteo & meniscus problems, and allows me to get in and out of the tub for bubble baths and on a good day get my 10,000 steps in. It may not be an impressive work out but it keeps me pain free & mobile...good luck !

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I am a 74 year old woman and I give you lots of credit for all that you are doing to stay fit! I try to go to the gym twice a week but haven’t been now in two weeks, for one reason or another! I try to do some of the weights (on the lighter side) and the stationary bike. When I was young, I used to jog for several miles, along with doing aerobics and skiing. In my 40’s and 50’s, I walked three miles every day. My knees are now bad (probably from those activities in my younger days!) and I have had one knee replaced. I will never have the other one done. The pain and rehab was awful! However, keeping the quads strong, as you are doing, is so important to keep that knee pain away! Good for you with 10,000 steps! Once the weather is better here in MA, I am going to get back to walking!!

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jc76 | @jc76 | Jan 24 6:13am
In reply to @fortasha "I’m 85 and ride a trike 5 to 10 miles most days .At 72 I was..." + (show)
@fortasha

I’m 85 and ride a trike 5 to 10 miles most days .At 72 I was also very fit and walking 10;000 steps a day +
At 80 all changed had a degenerative spine,arthritis and can’t walk much ,so the bike is my alternative to keeping fit , and home exercises..

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@fortasha
Way to keep going. I have the same issue (I am 76) with degenerative bone diseas in spine. I have an old herniated disc from playing football as a teenager.

I can walk 3 miles but have to do on side of road as found the concrete sidewalks just to hard an brutal. Do you hava access to a pool. Walking against water is a great exercise and it removes the weight issue for back problems.

I really like biking also. Stay positive as wow at 85 you are still doing great!!!

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jc76 | @jc76 | Jan 24 6:22am

@rodkleiss
I don't think you should be down on not doing a 170 heart rate. At 76 the old standard is 220 bpm minus your age as a maximum heart rate.

You mentioned some strength training. Have you looked into Tai Chai? Yoga? They may sound like not strength training but they do along with strengthing joints and improving balance. First time I did them the next day I was really sore.

In my opionion should try to maintin your fitness and not push it. What I find is when we get older when you try to push you get injured and then have to stop exercising.

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1 reply
Rod | @rek | Jan 24 8:46am
In reply to @jc76 "@rodkleiss I don't think you should be down on not doing a 170 heart rate. At..." + (show)
@jc76

@rodkleiss
I don't think you should be down on not doing a 170 heart rate. At 76 the old standard is 220 bpm minus your age as a maximum heart rate.

You mentioned some strength training. Have you looked into Tai Chai? Yoga? They may sound like not strength training but they do along with strengthing joints and improving balance. First time I did them the next day I was really sore.

In my opionion should try to maintin your fitness and not push it. What I find is when we get older when you try to push you get injured and then have to stop exercising.

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Funny you should mention it. I'm joining a yoga class next week. I also like Pilates. But we just don't have much talent for that up here.
On fitness, I agree and disagree. Yes, we can injure ourselves easier now and take longer to recover. I'm evidence of that. But I'm learning to pace myself and limit expectations. And things are improving, strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance. I'm actually anxious to see when I will reach the crest and inevitably start losing fitness. Hope it's a slow decline

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casey1329 | @casey1329 | Jan 24 3:32pm
In reply to @mydogsbestfriend "Thank you for your reply. I do walk 1+ miles each day but we just had..." + (show)
@mydogsbestfriend

Thank you for your reply. I do walk 1+ miles each day but we just had 15” of snow so the rural road is not good now ( I could walk but the salt is bad for my dog); I am somewhat close to a couple of parks also but I don’t like driving in the bad weather. I am consider a treadmill, I find them expensive though I did have a manual one ( non-electric) until it wore out, so I am looking into those. I do have the elastic bands & just found a place in my house where I can use them for shoulder & arms stretches (steel beam in basement I’m sure I can pull it down 😭). I will be 77 this Fall and have bad disks in my spine and lots of osteoarthritis in my feet. I started changing my diet since my Nov wellness check but it’s never been bad. I get upset with my primary MD as my blood tests are usually a tenth (.1) more than the “normal “ numbers so he says I’m ( for example) prediabetic. . My glucose was 101 and my A1C 5.9. Just over the line. I only take a thyroid med and for the last 2 years Amlodopine ( lowest dose). Try to eat mostly no salt, no refined carbs and little red meat. I am about 10 pounds overweight. I just get discouraged when the doctors go by normal test numbers and tell me I should be taking ( ex) metformin. I refused.

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think about getting a recumbent bike. i put it in front of the TV, turn on CSI, and before i know it I've done 5 miles. I can feel it strengthening my knees...good luck !

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1 reply
edsutton | @edsutton | Jan 24 3:47pm
In reply to @mitfit "I read an article in the New York Times this morning about “power” in our later..." + (show)
@mitfit

I read an article in the New York Times this morning about “power” in our later years. Read it if you have access to the Times. So I ordered 4 lb dumbbells to begin my power journey.

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Mitfit
Thank you!
It's a great article, best I've read on this.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/22/well/move/power-strength-aging-workout.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

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mydogsbestfriend | @mydogsbestfriend | Jan 24 4:59pm
In reply to @casey1329 "think about getting a recumbent bike. i put it in front of the TV, turn on..." + (show)
@casey1329

think about getting a recumbent bike. i put it in front of the TV, turn on CSI, and before i know it I've done 5 miles. I can feel it strengthening my knees...good luck !

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Recumbent bike is not helpful. A PT put me on on a couple of years ago and it made my back/spine worse. But thank you for the info

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pablo81 | @pablo81 | Jan 25 6:53pm
In reply to @omta "Good for you i know it doesn’t sound like it is easy to keep going for..." + (show)
@omta

Good for you
i
know it doesn’t sound like it is easy to keep going for you but you have no choice but to keep moving it has to be part of your daily life If you want to survive
Good luck

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Agreed. I find myself relying less on doctors and more on my own judgement with research. I am now using Chatgbt AI model and find that an order of magnitude improvement in research.

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2 replies
Rod | @rek | Jan 25 6:57pm
In reply to @pablo81 "Agreed. I find myself relying less on doctors and more on my own judgement with research...." + (show)
@pablo81

Agreed. I find myself relying less on doctors and more on my own judgement with research. I am now using Chatgbt AI model and find that an order of magnitude improvement in research.

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But if we could get the doctors to think about it, wouldn't that be nice?

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omta | @omta | Jan 26 6:37am
In reply to @pablo81 "Agreed. I find myself relying less on doctors and more on my own judgement with research...." + (show)
@pablo81

Agreed. I find myself relying less on doctors and more on my own judgement with research. I am now using Chatgbt AI model and find that an order of magnitude improvement in research.

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I’m 90 a male , and over the years i have found that knowledge is the Best medicine but i might add not only knowledge but also doctors figure strongly into the equation Knowledge help you make the right decisions along with the doctors

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