Staying fit in advanced age

@rodkleiss , I am almost 72. I started jogging late in life. It was/ is a wonderful social and physical activity. I developed osteoarthritis in my right hip about 3 1/2 years ago. I didn’t get diagnosed for about 7 months because i first attributed my pain to not running for 4 months after dislocating my shoulder. I thought i was maybe increasing my mileage too much. When the pain did not go away i finally saw my PCP who took xrays and diagnosed osteoarthritis. I saw an orthopedist a few months later who took his own xrays and told me i had bone on bone and was an immediate candidate for surgery. That was quite a shock to me. It took me a year to decide i was ready for surgery. It was when i noticed that the osteoarthritis was limiting more and more of my activities. That i decided on surgery . I continued to walk and workout at the gym before surgery. Well except for developing anemia, the surgery went well. I did not have the 6 week back to normal that some have described. I went to physical therapy for almost 3 months, went back to the gym for weight training and back to walking 3-5 miles several times a week. I need to get myself back to a yoga class and a pilates mat class. My trainer has me work on balance . Another thing she emphasizes is practicing is going to the floor and getting up. The hardest thing for me is exercising on my own. I was easing back into jogging with a plan my physical therapist gave me and i developed a hamstring pull. I need to make physical activity more of a priority.

@rodkleiss

Briefly, I am 82 and have always been slim and not particularly active and have no underlying chronic health problems. Ten years ago I retired and joined an active senior class held 3 days a week given by a very fit senior who is one year older than me. About 5 years ago I started daily walks and currently do 2 plus miles a day.
My suggestion is to join a gym where they have senior classes that focus on strength and balance and cardio. You can get some free instructions on machine use when you join. Your health insurance may cover a silver sneakers type of program. You may not find the class particularly challenging depending on the instructor but you will find a community of people your age who use the gym regularly .

I would say to listen yo your body and don’t exercise to the point of soreness or pain. That will do more harm than good and could lead to injury. Get into a comfortable routine. When you get to my age there will be days you are not as spry as the day before. Your muscle mass has decreased and you have to accept that you are not a youngster anymore.

My gym teacher is focused on not falling so his classes are mainly stretching, balance, weights and cardio. He is always reading and learning. I incorporate stretching and certain yoga type exercises into my day.

I am up at 6 to walk. I still go to the senior classes even though they are not as challenging as they once were. I want to maintain what I have but I did start to jog in spurts recently out on my walks. I found I could do this fairly well but know I can’t run with my daughter.

Ask around at some of the gyms near you….most should have a monthly fee with no contract. You can get a sense of what they offer and see the demographics of its customers. Some will let you try a class for free.

I wouldn’t be too concerned about increasing your level of exercise once you have established a routine but rather maintaining that level. You may also decide to take up biking or pickle ball. Diet is important and remember to keep your protein level up. You’re gonna get older for sure and may slow down a bit but you will be far above someone who does nothing.

My two mantras are “You are what you eat” and “Don’t let the old woman in”.

Good luck on your journey and good for you for wanting to stay healthy and active.

FL Mary

@rodkleiss Rod, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! You have already seen a few posts with people talking about what works for them. I think it is a matter of doing what works for you, and here we get to see different ideas.

Fitting in time to do purposeful exercise is great. Remember, everyday tasks can be their own form of exercise [I am thinking about my duties to keep our street gutters and sidewalks clean]. Sometimes we can modify those tasks to make them more challenging and create our own individualized plan!

I live in a rural area with no access to a gym, but we have some great roads for walking. Wearing a bright orange vest and going against traffic, I have seen close-up, the colors of fall and critters of all sorts. Taking along a bag to gather litter, two things get accomplished at one time.
Ginger

Oh gosh! I meant 3 MILES per day, not three hours!!

@walk4life

You mentioned being able to get up from the floor. Wow, that is so important to be able to do especially if you live alone. Our gym guy had us do that once and said to check yourself for injuries first if you have fallen. He wanted us to be able, at the minimum, to crawl to a sturdy object to lift yourself up. A few of our members had difficulty with that. One lady who fell outside in her driveway had to wait for a neighbor to pass by. She didn’t have her phone and her husband, who was inside, had no idea she was laying in the driveway.

When I do my floor exercises (and even when I don’t) that’s one thing I do daily. You need your core strength and the only way to keep that core strength is to do what exercises you can on a daily basis.

For those of you who don’t think you can, try (on carpet preferably) to crawl over to a chair and hoist yourself up.
Progress to getting yourself up without help. You can also practice getting up from a chair without using your arms. That might be a safer start . Try doing that several times daily. Putting both arms out in front of you will give you momentum. Get into the habit of not using your arms to get up. Who cares what you look like. Try a soft chair first so you can fall back into it.

And stretch stretch stretch . Dance, dance dance too ..why not.

FL Mary

Same 2 mantras for me, and the wife's none too happy: she's been locked in the garage for two days.

@imallears , that is great advice for a progression of getting off the floor. I am hoping to progress to getting off the floor without using my hands to help me up.

I wondered about the three hours, lol 🤣

I wondered about the three hours, lol 🤣