Count me in. I’d take it a step further and say that resistance strength exercise, balance/mobility, and core stability exercises should be the foundation of physical fitness for middle aged folk. Almost all of the functional capability we naturally lose as we age can be reversed (or at least slowed) by those kinds of workouts 2 or 3 times a week. Keeping lean muscle mass is critical and those kinds of workouts prevent insulin resistance, which is huge in avoiding obesity, type 2 diabetes, and the high risk cholesterol profiles.
At the end of the road, what generally takes an old person out of independent living is the lack of strength to get up off the floor if they fall or even get up from a chair (or the toilet). Doing some kind of squats two or three times a week shifts the odds dramatically, even without considering the immediate quality of life payoff of being stronger and more flexible and having better balance.
Ran 1.1 miles on the treadmill with the minimalist shoes. No hip pain again today, though my calves are a little sore. The stability ball wasn’t hanging around in the spot where I usually do my strength & core stuff, so I had to venture into the weight machine area to find it. There’s a rack with 3 different sizes, and since the last time I tried this, it was with a large one, I decided to try a medium sized one. I took said ball into the aerobics room so I could have some privacy while I tried to not to fall off. I tried the exercise where you bring your feet into your chest, and wow, this is really hard.
But anyway, which size stability ball should I start with?
Basically, when you are sitting upright on the ball, with the feet on the floor, you would like your thighs to be parallel to the floor with a 90 degree angle at the knees. But, honestly, it probably doesn’t make that much difference.
I would say that most guys are going to be OK with a 65 cm ball. Most women would probably be OK with a 55 cm ball.
The crazy thing is that the ball tucked in position is actually the easy part. Fully extendign the ball out to a full plank is a very challenging core position.
iPod nazi gets particularly sadistic with variations from that position. Push up with feet on the ball. Pushup with one foot on the ball. Alternating between knee tucking the ball in and a pushup. And the hardest thing I’ve ever tried: going down to the floor for a pushup WHILE simultaneously rolling the ball into aknee tuck and rolling the ball back out as you come up from the push up. I’ve never done more than three or four of those and always ended up in a heap on the floor, panting, and sweating profusely from all out 100% exertion. The thing about all these exercises is that the require so many muscles working hard just to stay stable on the ball. So the addition exertion of actually doing something is very tiring.
<p>wow , I can tell you all are going to be a good source of info. I had plantar fascitis for 18 mos. , terrible heal /foot pain. I was fitted for orthotics ( just arch supports) - magic.!
I am fine now. I run 45 min Tues. & Thurs., longer distances one weekend day.
Feels good so far:) I am also sporadically doing P90X ( no leg work) on my off days.
I agree with the core comments and upper body, have to work it all!
Have any of you done P90X? I of course do the EZ version but it is helping overall.</p>
<p>Where is your tendonitis? legs? I use compression socks after a long run, not during.
They bother me too much when I run, but they have alleviated any shin splints.</p>
<p>I did my first Trail Run in Feb. = Super Bowl Shuffle in the snow. I wore my Yak Trax,
it was so much fun. But I was sore… uneven ground. I think its fun to mix it up and challenge myself in different ways. So I try to do one 5k/month, we’ll see how Half goes.
I just dont want to be fat and fifty!! I want to be FIT
Have a great weekend!! No matter how slow we go, we are lapping everybody on the couch~</p>
<p>Wow. I feel like a piker. I just walked for 49 minutes, 3.2 miles. Nice sunny afternoon. Pushed the pace pretty hard on the hills. Didn’t work up a sweat, but I was “glistening” as they say, and breathin’ heavy. Saw a max heart rate of 84%, which is pretty high for just walkin’ these days.</p>
<p>Came home, had a sip of water, and headed to the basement to try iPod nazi’s 4-exercise ab circuit. Ouch.</p>
<p>I’m proud to say that I did the whole thing, as written. 12 touches of each foot on the first exercise, 12 reps total for the last three exercises. No break between exercises, each set took me right at three minutes. I did take 60 seconds between sets because, frankly, my abs were on fire. Total time, including the two short rests: 11 minutes 47 seconds.</p>
<p>I was grunting by the end of each exercise. That’s a butt kicker of a workout. Or, more accurately, I guess… a punch to the stomach. My abs actually hurt by the end of each set.</p>
<p>Went to the Y for weights. I was lethargic today - took a five-hour nap this afternoon. It’s probably a combination of not enough sleep during the week, lots of coffee, playing tennis yesterday and the crazy amount of pollen in the air. I felt better after the workout.</p>
<p>I absolutely love the Nike running shirt. Fits really well, and it’s very comfortable. It would be nice to have one in a lighter color for outdoor use. The one I got is a dark blue, not exactly the best on a hot, sunny day.</p>
<p>^^^
Keep watching the racks at Marshalls. I saw one in navy blue and another in white. Did you try looping your iPod cord through the reflective loop at the back of the neck?</p>
Tried a new recipe. Iron Chef Cat Cora’s broccoli slaw. Took about five minutes start to finish. I just made one change to the recipe. I cut the sugar in half. Not as sweet, but a lot lower carb.
1 12oz package of grocery store broccoli slaw mix
2 TBS dijon mustard
2 TBS white sugar
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 TBS Franks Red Hot Sauce
1 tsp celery seed
Salt and Pepper to taste
Just whisk everything together, dump in the slaw mix, and stir it up.
Makes 4 small servings (120 calories), 3 good size servings (155 calories), or 2 huge servings (230 calories).
<hr>
You could obviously doctor it up further with raisins, nuts, etc. but it was pretty good on its own. Not as sweet as the prepared stuff from the grocery.
<p>Of course. Every gadget freak would have to try that out. It actually works quite well once you get it in. I was able to do it with the shirt on. I decided to try it because my headphone wire gets caught on the weight machines that have little levers and handles in places. The best approach would be a new iPod Nano with watchband and wireless transmitter to wireless headphones.</p>
I bought all of those running shorts because they have the pocket in the middle back so it’s not a problem with running. Just a problem in the weight room.
I tried a few wireless headphones and they all succumb to sweat eventually. I never found a good solution and in that space, buying a more expensive product doesn’t improve your odds of success.
<p>Briefly checking in, good work, everyone. I hope I haven’t missed MOWC’s marathon yet.
Saw the temps for Boston, and think it is a good thing BB didn’t run it this year.
I’ve been doing twice daily snorkeling sessions. Although not exactly triathlon training, this isn’t your bobbing at the surface in a life jacket stuff. Definitely covering a lot of ground, out about an hour, and diving down 20 feet or so, glad to have the lung capacity. Two steep, long, hot hikes-- but also more than a few fruity cocktails. </p>
<p>CJane, I’m jealous - skiing and snorkeling are my two favorite types of exercise, of course, following running. Enjoy!</p>
<p>I’m seriously thinking about going for a run today. That would be my 5th day this week - yay! Yesterday I dragged Mr B out of bed around 6:30 am for an exercise session in the hotel’s gym. After breakfast, which was more like a brunch, we went for a walk in the nearby park, but that did not count as exercise since Mr B had to stop every 50 yards or so to take pictures of something. :)</p>
