Staying fit in advanced age

@rodkleiss
First congratulate yourself for wanting to stay fit. It is half the battle to be motivated.

I have exercised all my life and played a lot of sports. I am now 76 like you. 7 years ago my main exercise was playing tennis 3-4 times a week. When I got a pacemaker the extreme arm movements and jerking caused problems with my AICD/Pacemaker wire in my heart.

My cardiologist asked me to consider doing Spring Triathlons. I was already walking, swimming and biking just you do all three on race day. You have to train for it so that required me to train. I have heart failure but no exercise restrictions. So I trained and did my first race back in 2017. I got hooked and have done about 50 of them now. Placed (1/2/3 finished medals) many times but just happy to cross finish line. I do them at a moderate level of exerticon not maximum.

Do you like to bike? Great exercise. How about just walking instead of jogging and try to stay on asphalt or soft surface not concrete sidewalk. I race walk the run portion of Spring Triathlons because of pain in back. Do you like to swim? One of the best exercises out there. Do you have a YMCA around you. Most have lap swimming lanes.

My cardiologist and heart failure doctors have told me that being an exerciser all my life has allowed my body to compensate for the heart failure. I see one recommended yoga. Great for your body. I do chair yoga. It does not mean sitting in a chair. You use the chair for balance. I have trouble getting up from a prone position so none of those posses are in chair yoga. You will be surprise but yoga is exercise and the first time you do it you will be sore.
Stay motivated and find something you like to do. If it hurts don't do it find something else. Being sore is not the same as something hurting.

This isn't a very helpful answer 😉 but a good friend of mine belongs to Silver Sneakers. I don't know anything about the program, but she said that it's wonderful.

Get on Silver Sneakers if you can it’s free through most Medicare insurance. Group activities or can work out on your own. I’m 79 years old I see some older men at my gym but few women. Mainly young people but movement is important as we age

You are an inspiration and appear to be mighty blessed genetically, Bonnie! I just turned 74 and I go to the gym at least 4x per week, and this week will be 5x. I derive physical as well as mental benefits from doing so. You do what you can do, whether it be a stroll, a walk or an exercise class for seniors but do something! The social as well as the physical aspect of successful aging is incredibly important to one's sense of well being. It was one year this past December that I retired from a full time job. Since that time, I have made a concerted effort to stay active both physically and socially. Yes, I had to push myself to venture out of my comfort zone at times. And, I am so glad I did. Carpe diem!

I've read these comments on fitness and they are quite positive and I agree. We have to keep active or we will lose that ability. And we have a number of standard methods available. The one I've heard most about is Silver Sneakers. The few times and places I've tried Silver Sneakers, I have to say it was pretty light weight. A lot of moving while sitting in a chair. These are old-folks exercises in my book and I'm not quite there yet. And of course there is walking and running (if able). All good things there too. And then the idea of working with a trainer after setting some goals. Balance, strength, flexibility, endurance. All of the above are what I think we are looking for. How can we stay fit.

Recently we watched a movie about old people called 'The Great Escaper' with Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson filmed in 2023. He's 90 and I look at his body and that is what I am trying to avoid. Losing all upper body strength, along with mobility and flexibility. The question is how to move forward.

I'm doing the usual things. I work with a trainer. I try to find groups in my area with some small success. And I run and X-country ski to round things out. But I can be my own worst enemy. I tried running every single day because that's how I got fit as a youngster. At this age though (76), I just hurt myself. My hip started hurting and I just worked through it until it became a real problem. I'm finally getting over that now.

And that is exactly what the big problem is here. What is the best way to improve? My young trainer has all sorts of ideas but he's young and I wonder if he can really put himself in my shoes. I know I had no idea the body took these changes. So far what we are doing seems good, but it is still a guessing game.

I keep thinking that someone somewhere in the medical community has focused on how to navigate age related changes in the body with the overriding goal of improved fitness, not just maintaining the status quo but improving. I'd join that kind of movement in a moment and travel to join such people because I'm convinced we can overcome some of these little troubles and get on a better track for fitness and health.

Hi Arlo, I think you're right about water aerobics. It should need a fantastic exercise. But the scenes I see are waving arms in the water pushing noodles around. It seems to me we should be able to use the water to get around problems that have resulted from our aging and exercise completely, but that's not what I'm seeing.

@rodkleiss I do water aerobics 7 times a week. Out of 40 participants there are usually about 10 men.

We use water weights. You chose the size you can handle. Bigger the harder to move IN THE WATER and you have to be careful as the water creates a real drag on the weight going through water so you can pull a muscle. Too light not enouch tension too much and can hurt yourself.

Our instructors on the aerobic parts work on getting your heart rate up. Most wear apple watches and check their heart rate. What I do is bring my speed up to the point I have to breathe hard. At this point I know I am in aerobic level.

On strength portion I have my own water weights that tire my muscle out before the exercise is over. How well does it work my muscles are sore the next day.

Water aerobics is how much you put into the exercise. Some of the exercises are very hard and I can tell you if you are not used to doing them you will have hard time doing them until you BUILD up your muscle strength. Do NOT judge water aerobics by what you see on T.V. with just arm waving. Not in our classes. I live in a 55+ community.

If you do not add some weight bearing exercises to water aerobics you can develop joint and spine problem so I add walking twice a week and I also bike 25 miles twice a week. By the way I do Sprint Triathlons usually 8 a year and have completed overr 50 of them since 2017. I think water aerobics helped me finish all and place many times with added stamina to my body. I am 76 years old.

@prcrowe I think Silver Sneakers is a feature of most of the Medicare Advantage programs. Although my gym has some Silver Sneakers classes and i believe anyone who belongs to the gym can attend.

Depends on what you. Are doing. Some exercises that involve muscle stretching are excellent in the water. Gradually strengthen the muscle is still beneficial...

You are right I have Medicare and a Cigna supplement Plan G and don’t have Silver Sneakers so I have to pay to join my Community Rec Center. Where as my partner has United healthcare AARP supplement which has silver sneakers and he does not have to pay to join the Center and he also has access to free classes. But I Don’t want to change just for silver sneakers. So like everything you have to make choices