<p>Wound up not doing much of anything over the weekend except for getting a lot of sleep and doing some cleaning in the basement. We’ve moved a lot of things from the kids’ apartment (mostly daughter’s apartment now that son is living in Boston) to our basement so it was getting rather cluttered so I spent some time cleaning it up yesterday. Mostly moving the bookshelf and putting books in storage bags into bookshelves and cleaning up and throwing out stuff we don’t need anymore. I need to spend more time on the basement including vacuuming.</p>
<p>I went to bed around 9 last night and woke up around 6 - it might be allergies bothering me or caffeine withdrawal - felt pretty sluggish. I spent some time on the weights and felt better. Work is busy but I only have two weeks of crazy scheduling and then my life will be a lot simpler afterwards so I should have much more time for working out.</p>
<p>Miami, I appreciate your good intentions, but it’s clear you haven’t met me in person. There is no reason for me to lose weight, and I have fairly low blood pressure. I’m not looking to lower either of those numbers. I’d like to improve my strength and endurance.</p>
<p>MOWC, nice job on a tough day! I’ll bet your daughter really appreciated your help in getting to the finish swine.</p>
<p>Deborah T, good work on the couch to 5k. I did that when I started running. I never actually finished it but I did keep running. I switched to the Galloway program, which is still walk/run, but you arrange the walk/run minutes to fit your current abilities.</p>
<p>On mini-weights, I’m sticking with 'em for now. The new jog-walk, jog-walk challenge is enough. Blank, thanks for the tip! </p>
<p>Being very clueless about weights, about a month or two ago I made the mistake of attempting exercises with them that were a little more work (for me), heavier weights, and at the same time doing those exercises each day. :eek: It did not take long before my upper back was very sore. I had no idea that it’s generally recommended to do weights more like two times a week. </p>
<p>The good news is my error helped me decide to connect here.</p>
<p>And I am very thankful for all your help! It’s fun having the camaraderie, and learning more about things like how to strengthen the core is sure to be better for my body.</p>
<p>Two or three times a week, with a day off in between, is probably ideal for use “mature” exercisers!</p>
<p>The key is to just pick a weight that is going to be challenging for the final two or three reps. So, if you are going to do 12 to 15 reps, it’s gotta be a lighter weight. If you are gong to do 6 rep sets, then it should be a heavier weight, so that it’s hard on number 6. Both are really beneficial and there are good reasons to vary the workouts so some are lighter/more reps and some are heavier/fewer reps. Lighter/more reps is probably better to start, because it lets you work on the form. I start light with a new exercise, do six rep sets, then eight reps, then build up to 12 reps. When that is good and solid, I get a heavier weight, go back to six reps, and start the ladder over. People make it a lot more complicated than it needs to be!</p>
<p>If you can’t do 5 or 6 reps without your form breaking down, then the weight is too heavy. There’s absolutely no reason for people our ages to be using any weight that we can’t lift 5 times – with the possible exception of a chin up or a push up where it might be an an accomplishment just to do one of them! It just leads to bad form which leads to injuries. And, I don’t know about you, but I’ve got nothing to prove. I’m not planning on entering any weight lifting or bodybuilding contests! Other than some mild soreness the evening after a workout, exercise shouldn’t hurt. When I’m still sore the next day, I figure that I need to rethink what I’m doing or take a break or something.</p>
…yeye. another pound (lost on a donut day - 3.5 donuts, no dinner) put my BP to my normal 107/64. About 33 point total drop in BP!! Now I just need to lose to fit into some clothes that is still too tight, at least 7 more lbs. I know that I will not get any more strength or stamina from my routine, just way too old for that, and I do not want to do more than 10 miles and exercies more than 2 hrs / day. Most people are saying that it is too much already. My goal is normal BP, Blood sugar and maintaining my height (no osteoporosis) and preferrably not to shop for the next size clothes, I hate shopping.
We are all different here at different stages in our lives, having different goals.
Too much rain today, no 10 miles for sure, maybe 3 - 7, depending how we feel…
Good Morning All! Went to the gym this morning and walked on the dreadmill for an hour. Kept the pace at 3.4 mph and just a slight incline. Felt good to be back in the gym and working up a sweat! Knee and back feels good at the moment. It is hard to be starting back at a reduced speed. Will do my stability ball exercises here at home as they can be quite comical. idad…you asked what exercises I am doing on the ball. Here are some of them:
Sitting to bridge
Bridging with leg raise
Bridging with arm raise
Bridging with opposite arm/leg raise
I also have to do some breathing exercises that relate to postural restoration. They are a bit odd but seem to help.
Thanks! We had to drive back from Cincy and now I’m at work. Ugh. Not too sore yet (D and her H are really sore- he ran the half) but it may get worse. Just really tired.
MiamiDAP- how are you measuring that 10 miles? Garmin? I’m not buying it. Sorry. And you are NEVER too old to increase strength and/or stamina. We have my wheelchair bound 85 year old mother working on strength so she can transfer more easily.
<p>^ I have not gained any strength or stamina in a past couple decades. But I am doing much heavier weights (few times heavier sometime) than HS / college / other younger females and can walk much longer with no negative results next day. I wonder what I am doing wrong…or can we improve indefinitely without crazy drugs / HGH / other hormones? I am not willing to subject my body to any of that.</p>
<p>There is evidence that low-weight high-rep builds just as much muscle as high-weight low rep. This series of articles gets more technical the farther you go, but they are pretty interesting:</p>
<p>6 miles, first three at 8:34, second three at 9:15. Also did free weights, medicine ball slams and weight machines. Overall, a heavy workout day. I guess all of that sleep over the weekend was helpful.</p>
<p>Are those with your fore-arms on the ball, feet on the ground? Or, are those the ones with your shoulders/back on the ground and feet on the ball? Either way, those are really tough! Making serious core training a part of your exercise routine will pay big dividends with your back, I suspect. The payoff a year down the road will be huge.</p>
<p>Another Monday. Another workout. Nothing too exciting.</p>
<p>Did the iPod nazi’s 4-exercise circuit for the core stuff again. Two sets. Nice breakthrough on the stability ball mountain climber knee drive holds. Still hard as heck, but I felt a new degree of stability holding the knee position.</p>
<p>I also did far and away the best sets of [single</a> leg squats](<a href=“Team USA Women's Hockey workout at MBSC - YouTube”>Team USA Women's Hockey workout at MBSC - YouTube) I’ve ever done. I’ve just been chipping away at these and this was a major advance. If I keep making progress, I might be able to take the step stool I’m squatting to out of the picture. The goal is to do a full single leg squat without going down to a seat. This is a really challenging exercise, even with just bodyweight. It’s not just push up out of the hole with zero help from the second leg, but the working leg also has a major balance/stability challenge at the same time. That hip has to stabilize the body weight in three dimensions – forward/back, side to side, and up/down. It’s really satisfying to make some progress with ths one.</p>
<p>I’m doing it standing with one foot on the weight bench, the other leg dangling to the side. I squat down to a little step ladder that is 17 inches taller than the bench. My cat kept jumping up on my ladder! I guess he wants to try single leg squats…</p>
<p>Spent two days of hard work in the garden (transplanting hosta, pulling chickweed, and planting lilac bushes). I worked 4 hours each day and was exhausted when I finished. Didn’t feel like going to the gym or working out at home. Decided I should do something, so I went to hot yoga tonight, which really felt good. I’m trying to figure out why there are daysin yoga class when I am totally lacking in flexibility–other days, I’m able to do so much more. Warming up makes a little bit of difference, but not too much. </p>
<p>Congrats on your marathon MOWC–to your D too.</p>
Blank, thanks for the tip! </p>
idad…you asked what exercises I am doing on the ball. Here are some of them: