Fitness, Nutrition and Health- All Welcome (Hardcore and “Light”)

[MomofWildChild]

I’m starting another thread, as suggested, for anyone who wants to talk about fitness/exercise, food choices and related issues. We welcome all input, whether you are a serious participant in a sport or fitness pursuit or just wanting to exercise for health or weight control. The focus of the content will depend on who posts!

I have been a competitive runner for over 40 years, but am now past my mid-60s and have been lax with my strength training and, well, not so good with my food choices. My main health issue is osteoporosis, despite all my running. I run every day and compete 6 to 8 times a year in road races.

I know we have a lot of expertise in the CC community on all of these topics. We have @sushiritto who does CrossFit and knows how to eat very “clean”. We have @Midwest67 who does great with her hikes and her strength training. @MichaelNKat is a certified trainer and cyclist. @OhioOhio Is a runner. @abasket is extremely consistent with her cardio activities. We have yogis, Pilates devotees, runners, cyclists, skiers and fitness walkers. We want to hear from all of you.

We are mainly middle aged parents here, and it can be helpful to have a community of folks to support our efforts to eat healthy (mainly) and keep up with cardiovascular fitness and strength.

Welcome to ALL!

[Classof2015]

@MomofWildChild thank you for starting this thread! I found the previous thread very helpful as I got back into running after a long hiatus. I found a lot of positive energy and support from the other thread and I’m happy this thread continues in that same vein.

[Midwest67]

Thank you @MomofWildChild !

[Lizardly]

Thanks for starting this thread, @MomofWildChild !

I have been lurking more than posting lately, but enjoy following everyone’s journeys, especially those who do things I don’t do, like @Midwest67 and her weightlifting and @sushiritto and his CrossFit.

I am in my late fifties, another long time runner battling time, getting slower but hanging in there. I also swim and take group exercise classes. My strengths and weaknesses are probably the same: I am not afraid to try something new and look foolish and I love activity and so tend to overdo things. My weight is normal but my nutrition could use work. I have a sweet tooth.

Today I am going to a spin/weights class with a bunch of people twenty years younger than me. I’ll try to keep up, but stop and watch if I can’t. Should I feel flattered or patronized that they find me “inspiring”?

[momofsenior1]

Thank you so much for starting this thread!!!

I’m going to be 50 this year and have a host of sports related injuries and surgeries in my past. As a result Of my previous play hard/no pain no gain mentality, I’m reduced to walking and body weight work only for daily activities that I can manage pain free. My knee and back can’t handle running and serious weight lifting anymore. (Finding moderation in my youth would have been helpful).

My fitness goals are walking five miles/day and staying fit enough to ski, hike, and kayak. I do regular core work to help my back. I’m starting year two of my walking goals.

Food is harder for me. I love to cook and recently found baking sweets. As empty nesters, we travel and go out to eat more as well. I try to limit desserts and alcohol to F/S only. I really need to work on my portion sizes so that’s another goal for this year.

At my heaviest I was 220 pounds. I’ve been holding fairly steady for the past decade around 160. At my lowest I got down to 120. Is like to see a 140 number again but my overall motivation are health related.

[Nitmom]

I am 46 year old female. First time going to try Half Marathon. Medium active life style. I need help for how to train in 10 weeks of time. i appreciate guidance and support. Thank you.

[MomofWildChild]

@Nitmom I would be glad to help you with half marathon training tips. I have had excellent coaches in the past and also have coached some runners myself. What weekly mileage are you currently doing and what is your longest run? If you are trying to just complete the distance, I don’t think you need a run longer than 10 or 11 miles in training, and that should be about 2 weeks before the race. A couple of 8 milers before that would be great.

[Classof2015]

@Nitmom – congrats on signing up for a half marathon! Good luck!

[ClassicMom98]

Yes, many thanks to @MomofWildChild for starting this though I was mostly a lurker on the other thread… Like most others, I’m an aging runner (pretty competitive, but not as fast as @MomofWildChild ) and lifter. I also took up yoga at age 40, but my studio closed down last year. Now I mostly do restorative/yin style at night while watching TV. Flexibility is my biggest weakness. My body wants to turn into a fossil.

I don’t know how much I’ll post because I’d feel like a broken record if I posted here daily. I’m pretty OCD when it comes to exercise. 6 days/week I get up at 3:45am and do 60-75 min of aerobic activity (some combo of run/stairclimber/bike) followed by 45-60 min of lifting. My old lifting gym closed down last year too, but I was also a member at Planet Fitness, so that’s where I am currently. It’s OK, but I do miss my barbells! And my pull-ups are now done on a smith machine with my feet tucked behind me. (I’m a big girl at 5-10) I live in a very small city, so I don’t have many options. But I don’t want to work out at home, as there are too many distractions. My gym is my second home. I actually met my H in a gym at college many moons ago…

[MomofWildChild]

Getting up at 3:45 is quite impressive! I try to get out the door by 6 or 6:30 but have found that with my demanding job, I just get too tired if I do too much running on weekday mornings. I try for 3-4 miles and then usually do a couple more right when I get home from work on my treadmill while I decompress from the day.

[kelsmom]

I am 60. I was a runner for years, until my hips protested. I also did high impact aerobics for many years. When I returned to full time employment in 2008, I found it difficult to fit aerobics classes into my schedule. I walked at lunch & did yoga at home. Three years ago, I discovered P90x3, which I do daily.

When I was diagnosed with osteoporosis in my hips a year ago, I realized I needed to make some changes. I started eating more calcium-rich foods & I tried to walk more. My biggest issue was stress from my job, though, and I realized it was hurting me in many ways. I left my job in early September.

Since then, I have lost 15 pounds. I cut out processed foods, I avoid sugar, and I try to make sure what I put in my mouth will benefit me (although I am not fanatic about it). I have the time & energy to cook healthy meals. In addition to my daily workout, I walk as often as I can (winter in Michigan does mean I sometimes can’t quite bring myself to go outside for long). I added a vitamin k supplement to help carry calcium to my bones. I feel really good … much better than I did a few months ago.

I recently learned that many of the exercises I was doing are bad for me due to my osteoporosis/osteopenia. I have modified many moves in my P90x3 workouts, removing twisting, hinging from the waist, and sit-up type moves. I don’t do the Pilates workout anymore (I will probably look for osteoporosis-safe Pilates workouts), and I have a number of alternative moves for the yoga workout. It is challenging to change things -especially since I have had to remove some moves that I really like - but I am focusing on doing what is best for my body.

I want to do all I can to maintain the best possible health.

Is anyone here familiar with Osteostrong? They are coming to our area soon. The concept is interesting.

[MomofWildChild]

@kelsmom What a great turnaround! How much Vit K do you take? I haven’t tried that.

[CBBBlinker]

Adding my thanks to MOWC for starting up a new thread. I had pretty much stopped posting on the other one, but hung around some in “read only” mode.

I’ve been exercising on a fairly consistent basis for 40+ years. Once in a while I take a hiatus, but I always come back. In the past I’ve done some running; in the far distant past I ran a bunch of 10Ks. More recently I started running again, in an attempt to jump-start my aging metabolism. I can’t say that I enjoyed it, but I kept at it. A couple of years ago I switched over to the Galloway Method (alternating running and walking intervals) and that was better – but I still didn’t love it. Now I’m more in the mode of “run when I feel like it; do some other cardio when I don’t.” I had been doing strength training, but not for the past year. I need to get back to it.

I’d rate our eating at about a B+. I do all the cooking, so H eats what I cook. He’s always looking for snacks and sweets; I’d just as soon have none of them in the house.

I have osteopenia, which so far, has not progressed. I’d like to keep it that way.

@kelsmom What is P90x3?

[abasket]

New, fresh start! Love it! Hoping to see lots of new, fresh faces along with others who have been out in open before!

@ClassicMom98 , please sound like a broken record! That’s called “consistency”. Important!

Me in a nutshell: Turned 6-0 a few months ago. Started running through the C25K app at age 53. The other thread (and my Fitbit soon hopefully to be an Apple watch…) provided me with AMAZING support to get me to where I am today which is also pretty consistently doing 30 minutes or more of SOMETHING nearly daily. I log my running (an average run is 3 miles), purposeful walking (aiming for a fast clip of 15 minute miles or less), spinning/cycling and occasionally strength training which I don’t love but I am also an osteoporosis person avoiding meds. In the summer I also kayak and swim.

That said I too LOVE to eat - and cook. I could lose 5 pounds - or more! I still have plenty of stomach jiggle. I am not competitive - except with myself. I can be very accountable on my own to getting exercise in.

I have a special interest in cooking/nutrition not at a scientific level but an everyday level. I would especially love to see healthy recipes shared on this thread!

[MichaelNKat]

Yay MOWC!! Look forward to participating in my free time (what little of it there is)!!

By way of background, I’m 66 and have been an athlete all my life - collegiate diver, martial arts competitor, weight lifter, runner (once upon a time) and avid cyclist who has trained with wattage based training with elite level pro coaches (though I never came close to being an elite level pro cyclist, lol). As MOWC mentioned, I’m a certified personal trainer. I also have certifications in indoor cycling from Mad Dogg (Spinning) and Stages Cycling. I hold a certification in Functional Movement and Fitness and am a certified TRX instructor with 50 hours of instructor certification training. I am also a certified Nutrition Coach through Precision Nutrition and am in the process of finishing a certification in Senior Fitness Assessments and Training. In addition to my private fitness practice, my daughter and I own a group class based fitness studio in Philadelphia (BPM Fitness) that features group strength classes based on functional movement training utilizing TRX, kettlebells, dumbbells, sandbags, battle ropes, slam balls and plyo boxes and other fun toys. We also feature group indoor cycling utilizing Stages bikes. So, I’ve been around the fitness world for a while, both on a personal level and from the perspective of working in the industry.

I am happy to share whatever information I can and look forward to learning from the ideas and knowledge that everyone else brings to this forum. We all started somewhere and have our own personal journeys in fitness, nutrition, weight management and health. The more we all share, the better we become, the more we learn and the closer we can come to achieving our goals.

[itsgettingreal21]

Family obligations and general apathy have really gotten me off my game the past few years. I finally decided to get back in shape and rejoin all my sporty friends who I haven’t seen very often since I’ve been living on the couch. I need to lose about 40 lbs to get back to my ideal weight. I hope to get there by fall. I’m trying to avoid my usual pitfalls by meal prepping on Sundays to avoid fast food (I don’t like cooking and love restaurant meals) and fighting my insomnia. Down 6 lbs so far this month. As for exercise, starting off with 60-75 minutes of cardio 5-6 days a week, weights 3x per week. Goal for this year is to ease back into triathlon training and compete in 2-3 triathlons, a few races, and otherwise get back outdoors (kayaking, hiking, long recreational cycling).

[Lizardly]

@kelsmom Also curious about p90x3. I remember p90x and still do the seven minute ab routine at times.

[sushiritto]

@MomofWildChild Thank you for starting a new thread.

I would be classified as “hardcore.” I’ve been doing CrossFit for about 5-6 years. I love it. I love the variety. I also say that I have exercise ADD and OCD. For those that don’t know, CF is a workout regimen that involves running, rowing, biking, lifting barbells and odd objects, gymnastics, etc. I also street/trail run 1x or 2x week on my off-CF days. I do some local CF comps, 5K’s, 10K’s, obstacle runs and, on a rare occasion, a 1/2.

My CF workouts are typically 90 +/- minutes in length 5x week. With CF, most actiivites and rest periods are timed. I work out in the afternoons and evenings, but I admire those that can out the door at 4:00-6:00 AM. I tried once.

Thursdays and Sundays are typically rest/recovery days, which I use for longer runs or a complete rest day.

My main focus for the past several years has been about reducing my body fat % and increasing lean body mass. In terms of body fat %, I’m presently at my lowest % and feel that I’m at my ideal weight for my age. I eat mostly a Paleo diet, which is essentially protein, fruit, nuts, veges and yams/sweet potatoes for carbs), but add a little whole grain. I don’t eat sweets and avoid anything with added sugar. Occasionally I’ll eat rice, when we get some sushi.

[deb922]

Thanks so much @MomofWildChild for this!

I’m 57 almost 58 and try to do something most days. I tried to run but it was bringing me down and frustrating so a year ago I switched to purposeful walking around 15 minute miles.

Now that it’s winter, if the weather would cooperate I LOVE to Nordic ski. Not very good but I just love to do it. Today I thought it was going to warm up but decided to snow so I put on my yak Trax and got 3 miles around the neighborhood.

Someone asked on the other thread about yak Trax’s. I have yak Trax and I have ones that have the nails in the bottom. They are not comfortable and feel like you have nails driving into your foot. The yak Trax are coils and to me are much more comfortable to walk paved streets in. My neighbor did put screws into the bottom of a pair of old shoes. I don’t think that would work for me because I don’t find that comfortable.

In the summer, I play lots and lots of golf (I walk) and also hike.

I’m like a bunch of people here in that I’m late to this fitness thing. As my husband and relatives tell me, they wouldn’t have ever predicted that I would become this person, but they love the person I’ve become.

[MaineLonghorn]

MODERATOR’S NOTE: I’m happy to see that another thread has been started. Please keep in mind that this should be a positive, encouraging place for people to share and get advice. If the moderators start seeing snarky, preachy posts, the thread will be closed. Please do your best to keep it open!

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