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What exercises help to increase muscle tone as we age?

Posted by johncottingham @johncottingham, Aug 26, 2022

At 83 my muscle tone is decreasing. Walking is helpful, but does not address all my muscles. Is there a good plan written from Mayo or others describing exercises my wife and I can use to restore muscle tone without doing damage?

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woot | @woot | Sep 28, 2022
In reply to @sueinmn "5:45 am is not in my vocabulary since retirement. I got up at 5:30 am for..." + (show)
@sueinmn

5:45 am is not in my vocabulary since retirement. I got up at 5:30 am for almost 40 years - but not any more. I like to sleep until the mid-day hour of 7:30 am. I used to go to the gym at 6am before work, but my old body would NOT like that these days.
Sue

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I’m with you, Sue. If/when I go back to in-person classes, I’d love to find one that starts at, eg, 10 am. In the meantime, I do classes (tai chi, strength training for seniors, stretching for seniors) on YouTube. But I know going to an in person class would motivate me more.

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JK | @contentandwell | Sep 28, 2022
In reply to @imallears "@realitytest I am of the same mind about gym memberships. I have belonged to a local..." + (show)
@imallears

@realitytest

I am of the same mind about gym memberships. I have belonged to a local gym for the past 9 years and attend 3 active senior classes weekly. I don’t have a supplemental insurance so I pay $20 a month and a yearly $25 annual fee. This is money well spent. We are surrounded by many gyms that are cheaper plus the Y . This particular gym caters a lot to seniors . There are a lot of us in my area. These classes are geared towards strength, balance, cardio and our instructor who is 82 years young also teaches core and is forever pounding it into our heads about preventing falling.

My exercise routine at home and walking 2 to 3 miles daily has become a religion to me. My food is my medicine and I am lucky that I have no organic problems.

I structure my week around classes (which are very social too) and treat it like going to work everyday. I have gotten to the mindset that I can’t not “not exercise”. I am 81 and there are days I feel that age but I wouldn’t be able to do what I do or keep up with my very active healthy family who are good role models if I did not adopt this lifestyle. I feel, and am, very strong and have good balance.

Most people need the discipline and structure of gym classes. If you can work out on your own, that’s great. Either way I think joining a gym that’s suited to you is the right start. I find most people who use the gym are very helpful when you are just trying out a new machine and are happy to give you tips. There are more low cost , monthly payment type gyms than ever before that don’t require contracts. Or check out some senior centers. Exercise can be very addictive once you start feeling the benefits.
Half my wardrobe is gym attire lol.

FL Mary….waiting for a whole lot of rain and wind this week…I’m on the West Coast…Tampa Bay Area…yep right where you see the cone.

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@imallears I'm jealous of the cost of your gym and also that they have exercise classes tailored to seniors. I have not yet rejoined my gym but the discounted senior monthly rate was $70 before the pandemic, I'm sure it's more now, and I have heard that to join the initial membership fee is now $250! If they don't give me a break on that I will not be rejoining.

Also, the only things beyond the actual gym that they have for seniors are the pool and Zumba. I hear they have added pickleball but that sounds like it's too fast with too much risk of falling for me. The pandemic has really aged me.

I really need to get back to something. I am burned out on doing YouTube videos.

@sueinmn Even 7:30 sounds too early for me. I was up by then before the pandemic to get to 9:00 classes but now I'm a total night-owl and sleep at least until 8:30.

@beverlyruth Are the Harvard Health exercises on YouTube or in one of their booklets that cost about $20? I have a number of those booklets but not one for exercise.
JK

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beverlyruth | @beverlyruth | Sep 28, 2022

The Harvard Medical School Workout Workbook has 10 complete workouts to help us get fit and healthy. It’s been helpful to me and worth the $20. Béla Ruth

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hawkssr | @hawkssr | Oct 12, 2022
In reply to @johncottingham "I too am 83 and use https://qualitylivingusa.com for education and endorsements on CBDs which alleviate my..." + (show)
@johncottingham

I too am 83 and use https://qualitylivingusa.com for education and endorsements on CBDs which alleviate my arthritis in my left shoulder. It taught me to start at the dosage recommended on the bottle of tincture and "titrate up" to the dosage that alleviates my pain. That means, "start low and increase slow." Once the pain is gone, stay on that dosage.

I also have found nothing from Mayo to help me tone my muscles but just ordered two books from Harvard Health Publishing on workouts and core strengthening. "Workout Workbook" is at http://www.health.harvard.edu/wowb and "Gentle Core Exercises" is at http://www.health.harvard.edu/litecore. Hope these three are helpful.

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Is CBD for short term or is it safe for long term? I’m 76 female in good health but do have joint pain along with Grover’s disease. Looking for help with the joints and if it would also help with Grover’s that would be a major miracle! Thank you..

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casey1329 | @casey1329 | Oct 13, 2022

I found doing 3 miles a day on my recumbent bike, I'm 71 yr.old female, has given me back pain free knees. I have torn meniscus and osteoarthritis in both knees, which, among other things, made getting up from the table painful but no longer. Also, I do 5 different repetitions with 5 lb. weights for upper body strength which strangely is strengthening my core muscles. I hope this was helpful...good luck !

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Mentor
Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Oct 13, 2022
In reply to @casey1329 "I found doing 3 miles a day on my recumbent bike, I'm 71 yr.old female, has..." + (show)
@casey1329

I found doing 3 miles a day on my recumbent bike, I'm 71 yr.old female, has given me back pain free knees. I have torn meniscus and osteoarthritis in both knees, which, among other things, made getting up from the table painful but no longer. Also, I do 5 different repetitions with 5 lb. weights for upper body strength which strangely is strengthening my core muscles. I hope this was helpful...good luck !

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Hi Casey - I'm not surprised your light weight regimen is helping your core. When we concentrate on safe and correct form to lift even a small weight, we engage the core muscles.

Do you do your weights every day? My PT has recommended 2-3 times each week.
Sue

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casey1329 | @casey1329 | Oct 13, 2022

Yes, every morning while I watch the news.

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ajh5285 | @ajh5285 | Feb 20, 2023

I used to be quite muscular, but am now very wasted. Sorry that I can't provide much else in the way of details, since it happened before my diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, and I think I may have thought it was related to a flare of I B S. In retrospect, I now suspect that this "flare" was my pancreas starting to shut down. I plan to ask for a PMR (physical medicine and rehab) referral when I next see my oncologist, but that is a couple of weeks off. In the meantime, I wonder if any of you have exercise routines, or links to online sets of exercises.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Mar 12, 2023
In reply to @ajh5285 "I used to be quite muscular, but am now very wasted. Sorry that I can't provide..." + (show)
@ajh5285

I used to be quite muscular, but am now very wasted. Sorry that I can't provide much else in the way of details, since it happened before my diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, and I think I may have thought it was related to a flare of I B S. In retrospect, I now suspect that this "flare" was my pancreas starting to shut down. I plan to ask for a PMR (physical medicine and rehab) referral when I next see my oncologist, but that is a couple of weeks off. In the meantime, I wonder if any of you have exercise routines, or links to online sets of exercises.

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@ajh5285, while not specific to cancer and since you said the decline in muscle ton before your diagnosis, I thought you might appreciate this existing discussion in the Aging Well support group (https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/aging-well/)

- What exercises help to increase muscle tone as we age? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/muscle-tone-decreasing-markedly/

There's also this related discussion:
– Exercise during chemo https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/exercise-during-chemo/

Every activity counts. Have you ever tried chair yoga? Did you get a physical medicine and rehab referral?

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