<p>Close-grip bench presses, pull ups, walking lunges, some dumbbell work and some flexibility. All in a day’s workout! :)</p>
<p>I taught my first kettlebell class yesterday. Average age: 68. Definitely not the class population I was expecting and I’m not sure how well it will stay together like that!</p>
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<p>Gotta give 'em credit. Great to see people still exercising as they approach middle age. :)</p>
<p>I hope I can still pick up my kettlebell when I’m 68. Hell, I hope I can still pick it up, tomorrow!</p>
<p>It’s possible you’ll get more consistent attendance because class members have the time to devote. In my experience, part of teaching or guiding is gearing what you do to the individual or group you’re leading.</p>
<p>Travel day</p>
<p>hard boiled eggs as snack, dinner at French restaurant-- choucroute garnie and charcuterie plate. Pretty much the only low carb options.</p>
<p>Cals 1388
Fat 97 g
Carbs 25 g
Protein 114 g
Sugars 17 g</p>
<p>If 68 is approaching middle age, Im gonna need a lot more money in my retirement fund to last till I am over 100. ( which would be 25 years longer than my mom lived & 58 years longer than my dad) I would guess the * average * age in my water aerobic class could be close to 68, I havent seen the two tattooed female bartenders for a few weeks, they skew it younger. </p>
<p>I guess Ive been thinkng of the standard Russian kettle bells. It didnt occur to me that they could be made in smaller sizes. :o</p>
<p>Hops scout, that’s actually awesome. Wish I was nearby, that class might be the right pace for me ;)</p>
<p>Idad, that article about the hierarchy of fat nicely summed up something I knew once but have avoided admitting in my most recent fat loss endeavor ;)</p>
<p>Back in 1999 before my injury, I worked with a trainer for a six-week experiment as part of a program the chain was developing. The goal was in essence to find the most efficient way to blast fat fast and build strength. The only traditional cardio was a 5 min warmup on elliptical to get your blood moving. The next 20 minutes was a fast and to-exhaustion weight circuit. If you could finish rep 8, the weight went up 5 lbs the next session. Diet was
moderate but not a huge focus. A mere 20 min 3x a week produced outstanding results.</p>
<p>I lost 20 lbs in 6 weeks but more important to the goal, my cut was unbelievable, abs well-defined, etc. dropped several pant sizes.</p>
<p>Once the program ended, I was able to maintain the shape for about a year by pushing myself and always increasing the weight, though that part was hard without a trainer pushing. But then I relocated to another city, hated the gym, didn’t have same machines, etc. and fell completely off the wagon. After the back fiasco, I became afraid of weight resistance, because I seemed to re-injure it every time I tried to start up again. </p>
<p>That program never became wildly popular I suspect because most folks don’t like working to muscle failure 
But I saw with my own eyes the result, so I should consider finding a way to put some of that back into my life soon so thanks for the article!</p>
<p>Also, re knee, I suspect you’re right on. Yesterday I noticed that by trying to increase the pace, I was “over striding” uphill, and that my knee was taking the brunt of the extension. When I took smaller strides up, it was fine. I still managed 3.3 mph, which is faster than with snowshoes, but didn’t exacerbate the knee.</p>
<p>I do think ill add short interval stints on the airdyne to the trek routine to get better work. Those intervals “feel” more like that “muscle failure” approach that I responded to so well in 99.</p>
<p>And WOOT to the c25kers! You go gals!</p>
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<p>We have pairs of:
-2kg
-4kg
-6kg
-8kg
-20 pounds
-30 pounds</p>
<p>Then we have one 40 pounder and one 50 pounder. If this class stays like this, I may need to order a couple more 2kg and 4kg bells!</p>
<p>Okay, idad, so I added just 10 min airdyne at the end of my trek with 5-srts of 20:40 sec intervals – couldn’t get faster than 77 rpm but it certainly optimized my exertion during my available 30 min thanks for the tip!</p>
<p>Hops, is this the first group class you’ve taught? Are you excited about it?</p>
<p>Just a nice walk of 2.5 miles yesterday. My silly knee starts to get puffy and sore if I do more mileage and I start to limp which exacerbates my bad back. I just need to hold out until the beginning of June to get this knee thing taken care of. Diet has been clean and even have H back on the band wagon! </p>
<p>Way to go on the running sabaray!</p>
<p>Loved all of the motivation stories!</p>
<p>edit: Does any one here have any arthritis? When I had my meniscus surgery the surgeon said I had some in my knee and felt that I would need a knee replacement in the future. I can feel the difference in the dull ache and sharp pain of injury but I wondered if any one is doing specific exercise routines to combat the arthritis. I have a strong family history of rheumatoid arthritis. In fact my D1 was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis 20 years ago when she was 5 years old. Just wondering what works for you to continue exercising. Thanks!</p>
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<p>Post of the Day!</p>
<p>I’m in my taper (we call it “tweaking” on the running site). Got my 2 miles in this morning JUST before the 40 degree rain started. I’m doing all low HR this week as part of the taper and I’m feeling pretty good. I’ll have over a 50 mile week if I get through the 2 races. Terrible weather, but looking good for the races.</p>
<p>I’d guess that the average age in my mother’s workout group is in the upper-80s. I think that they all workout a lot slower than we do. It’s amazing that they workout at all. My mother has some limits because of scoliosis but she still goes to a place to workout three days a week - it’s a longterm research study on strength-training for seniors.</p>
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<p>That’s a lot of miles.</p>
<p>I’m looking to get a few miles outside late this afternoon. We should have sun, mid-50s but 10-20 MPH winds. This is just a short stint outdoors to get me in the mood. The tough part will be figuring out what to wear.</p>
<p>MOWC, that’s some serious running you’ve got ahead this weekend. What’s your strategy for Day 1 and Day 2?</p>
<p>I find it really hard to get motivated and tend to fall off the wagon whenever I get busy. I’m also a terrible procrastinator. I do like walking though I don’t like the time it takes so rarely do more than 2 to 2.5 miles. I always get exercise on the weekend because dh and I go to the gym together. My scale motivates me, the fact that I actually have two pairs of stretchy jeans that are really now too big motivates me, and finally health issues of my parents have or had - especially my mother who has Parkinsons.</p>
<p>“I find it really hard to get motivated and tend to fall off the wagon whenever I get busy.” - This only means that you choose the exercise activity that you personally hate. Why don’t you choose something that you would be looking forward to do every day? You should feel that if you do not have time to do it, then you deprive yourself of pleasure. Otherwise, NONE of them are worth it at all, just an additional stress instead of R&R. Yes, it has to be R&R, not the hard work. The hard work is for the competitive athletes, are you the one? If so, disregard my comment, please, my comment is from the ancient grandma who would easily outwalk her grandkids though.</p>
<p>Miami, there is no exercise that I prefer to lying around wasting time reading message boards. Really. Of everything I do I like walking the best, but I am firmly of the belief that weight training is critical for bone health and overall health.</p>
<p>North MN</p>
<p>Here are the exercises that my chiro/sports med doc gave me—need to strengthen quads and hips—idad may have others…</p>
<p>stretching:
-hamstring stretching (with rope or band) 30 second 3x per week
-standing knee stretch (grab ankle and pull foot backwards toward butt) 30 seconds 3x per week</p>
<p>strengthen:
-chair leg extensions (sit in chair an hold one leg out for 1-3 seconds —add weight over time) 20 reps 3x per week
- chair squats—up and down in chair with arms folded 20x --3x per week
- bird dogs
- leg swings
- side leg lifts</p>
<p>single leg balancing - 30 to 60 seconds.</p>
<p>The cortisone shot has helped my bum knee tremendously.</p>
<p>Deborah- yeah, this is new territory for me. My strategy is pretty simple. I want to leave it all out there on Day 1. You never know what a marathon might bring, but I have hopes for a successful race in Indiana and perhaps an age group win (and maybe age group course record). We’ll see. Day 2 is all about survival and being with my friends- some of whom I am meeting “live” for the first time after about 4 years of internet bonding in the Ladies Locker Room! It’s only 13 miles, right? :)</p>
<p>Workout today: TRX rows, knee raises on step, mountain climbers, kettlebell swings, squats with KB, KB halos, KB high pull, KB windmill. Finished it with stair climbing–8x 2 sets of stairs with a 10 second rest between each climb. </p>
<p>CJ: I have a hard time with a full Turkish Getup–I do what my trainer calls a Half Getup (don’t stand up all the way). I’ve just started using the heavier KB for that exercise. I also use it for swings and squats. Today, my trainer had me use a 20 lb KB because I was doing lots of KB work. I’d do a move for 20 seconds with a 10 second rest – did each move 8 times. </p>
<p>Deborah T: have only used the Valslides twice since I got them last week. I’m not the most coordinated person and it takes me a while to figure out exactly what I’m supposed to be doing–which is the point I’m at with the Valslides. It’s not an easy workout, but I don’t think it’s impossible. Don’t know if that helps.</p>