<p>wow… 4:45, 5:15… now I feel like a slacker for sure.
Anyway, like Jolynne, I kicked it up a few notches today. Ran real fast on the treadmill for short intervals interspersed with light jogging and walks. And I lifted weights yesterday…hey I’m benchpressing 50 lbs 
So now, I’m sore and will probably be even worse tomorrow. Thank god for Advil.<br>
Missypie, I hope you got at least one useful tip from this thread.</p>
<p>Everytime we do “real” hiking, we are put to shame by some wiry retired couple going longer/harder/faster than we are. We honeymooned in Interlaken, and hiked the Alps. There were all these old people who walked up and down the mountains with no problem…they had been doing that their entire lives. </p>
<p>Of course, why anyone would voluntarily walk for days in 120 degree heat is another story.</p>
<p>What are you eating? Why aren’t you lifitng weights? Cardio by itself doesn’t do much. Diet and free weights are always the key.</p>
<p>^^ Disagree. This is a middle aged woman (as am I). Weights are good. Healthy eating is good. Cardio is excellent and will be the main component in helping her achieve her goal with the least amount of discomfort. (I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been a competitive distance runner for over 30 years and have been coached and trained by very qualified people.)</p>
<p>If the treadmill has a “random hill” setting on it, that could be beneficial. It would change up your routine for you without forcing you to learn lifts or run outside. If I have to run on a treadmill, that’s the setting I use.</p>
<p>The least amount of discomfort? She said she spends 45 minutes on the treadmill. That’s 300 calories burned, tops. Cut back on one starbucks drink that lasts you 5 minutes, and you’ve saved just as many calories. Im not discounting the importance of exercise, but diet is just so crucial. And I mean real diets, not slim fast and ceasar salad diets. Get protein and fiber with every meal, and keep your carbs low.</p>
<p>^She’s preparing for a vacation- not a weight loss program.</p>
<p>Tried the treadmill workout last Friday. 15 degree incline is tough. I was sweating heavily.
I think different workouts are tougher for different people.</p>
<p>My 20 year old D complained about the Gym and HS/College people hanging out looking good, not working out much.</p>
<p>missypie- thanks for getting me on the treadmill and congrats on running on it.</p>
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<p>I don’t want to be argumentative, but are you telling me that if a 50 year old out of shape person only eats right and lifts weights, she could get into sufficient shape to hike 9.2 miles up from the base of the Grand Canyon? It would certainly be an interesting experiment to try, but I think I’ll stick with the other excellent recommendations here.</p>
<p>I don’t need to lose weight. I’m finding that the only way I can get rid of that last bit of waist fat is to weigh 10 lbs less than I do now and the only way I can get to that weight is to eat virtually nothing. I did that in the 6 months leading up to my 50 birthday, just to see if I could do it, but I can’t live like that.</p>
<p>Vyse knows the deal.</p>
<p>Not for a 50 year old woman he doesn’t.</p>
<p>What did he say that doesn’t apply to a 50 yr old woman? Other than intensity, progression, frequency, etc, training a 50 yr old non athlete isn’t terribly different from training a 20 or a 30 yr old non athlete in terms of modality…</p>
<p>I’ve always understood that it is harmful to use free weights unless you use them properly. I’m pretty sure I can figure out how to use a treadmill or a staircase properly. Weights would take time and instruction by someone.</p>
<p>missypie–the trainers at LA Fitness (I know they are not your fav!!) can give you a free, one-hour instruction on the use of weight machines & free weights. I just tell them right upfront: “I’m not hiring a trainer. Sorry.” So, they know to save the sales pitch. But, they are really helpful w/giving tips. Sometimes you have to watch them to see who are the good ones (generally, the ones really paying attention to their clients, not scanning their eyes around the gym looking at something else or appearing bored). </p>
<p>Weights are not that hard, really. Just start out w/very low weight and move carefully and slowly. I’ve been doing them for many years. It’s much easier than cardio and mixes up the workout.</p>
<p>Weights are very good for older folk because they help to improve bone density, balance and over-all strength (there’s been some interesting studies done with people in nursing homes, for instance). It’s also good for the dreaded ‘double-wave’ where your hand and your underarm flap in sync. </p>
<p>However, for Missypie’s purposes, no, she doesn’t need to be lifting much if at all. 5 to 10 reps with 2 lbs would be a good start and it’s not hard to find proper form on the internet. The other nice thing about lifting, esp. for the arms, is that you see results pretty quickly…which is encouraging when <em>nothing else</em> is shifting a particle.</p>
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<p>I beg to differ. About 18 months ago, I started noticing that the other women in my Sunday School class were sporting pretty flabby arms in their summer attire. Being a bit younger and a bit thinner than most of them, I decided to start working with weights for my arms before it was too late. Zero change. I do them every other day. I’m going to increase the weight, but I have a feeling that after a certain ago, sag is inevitable and all I can do is try to delay it.</p>
<p>Here reporting that I just went up and down 28 flights of stairs. It occured to me on Friday that if I had just gone up 5 more flights of stairs, I would have reached the top of the building. So, today I climbed up 25 flights…but there was more building. I’ve learned that our 70 story building is more like 75 flights of fire stairs. I went up 3 more flights, but then there was a caution sign that said that above that level, the radio waves might be stronger than humans should be exposed to, so I headed down, two flights short of my goal. But it was interesting.</p>
<p>missypie–not to be a ‘know it all’ – but have you tried doing gradually increasing, heavier arm weights? I’d agree w/Novelisto–it’s an area that should show rapid definition, esp if you don’t have a lot of body fat.</p>
<p>Those stairs are killer. When I had a fam member in the hospital a few months ago, I could see a cardio improvement after going up/down the 5 flights of hosp steps every day for a few days! Kudos for braving radio-wave-danger-heights!</p>
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<p>I guess I’ll have to increase the weight. I was trying the “more reps with lighter weights” route, to get “thin and firm” rather than “big and bulky”, but seeing no effect, I’m obviously doing something wrong.</p>
<p>Just from my exper–you won’t get ‘big & bulky.’ You’d have to lift huge weights for years & years. I’m lifting 15 lbs regularly w/a one-armed curl (& moved up to 20 lbs, inspired by this thread!). I guess that’s sort of heavy-ish (for a chick!) & I’ve got definition…hardly any ‘bulk’ whatsoever.</p>