And yes, there is a difference between working around the house and targeted exercise that provides specific medically and scientifically proven benefits or which is training goal specific. It bears comment, though, that there is a lot of interesting new literature and studies coming out that targeted exercise alone is not enough to maintain health and absence of age driven diseases and conditions. These studies and reports indicate that basic movement during the day is essential and those who are sedentary during the day but for an hour of targeted exercise may be more at risk for many age driven diseases than those who incorporate movement throughout their day but do not engage in targeted exercise. See the recent report from the American Diabetes Association. It’s interesting stuff that could redefine the paradigms of what’s required for a healthy lifestyle. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I have to laugh. No matter what we do, it’s never enough. Next it will be a big debate on what is enough daily life activity and the finger wagging “you just don’t move enough after you do your daily workout”. But let’s face it, wow, the housekeeping my mom did and her mom did are way different than mine, with all my modern conveniences and yardwork with riding mowers, leaf blowers, etc. My mom and dad had a h u g e garden so that was their added daily activity pretty much 6 months of the year (NC). Just as an example. (I am one of those oddballs who actually likes to rake leaves).
That said, having retired, I really am too sedentary, I recognize that. My excuse is that I have been resting.
No one is finger wagging. But the average housework of today - pushing a vacuum, folding laundry, dusting, etc - really is not typically enough to provide cardio benefit. That’s all. It’s better than being at a desk job though.
I did Pilates reformer as well this morning. I did planks to work on core, targeted hip flexors, triceps, etc. There is just little way that everyday housework activity would reach those things. I am 51. I plan on living another 50 years and I’d like to be strong, hearty and able to be active. I need workouts to help me accomplish that. I know I could up my cardio, but I don’t pretend that I don’t know that.
So many comments I want to make!!! @collage1 - you did it. You got up, got clothes on (assuming!), walked out the door AND took a walk. Wow, if this thread is responsible for that I am thrilled!
YES. Like you take your meds, you must take your walk. Do you find excuses to not take your meds? Probably not. So…no excuses, decide how often/for how long - and take the walk, bike, whatever!
Like MOWC, I encourage you to join the Diet, Exercise, Wellness thread. Michael is very active there and others - we are NOT all athletes by any means. I PROMISE you I am not - what I am is consistent though. But, I also like donuts , so there’s that…
However a few tips you asked about.
is there a small loop you can do in your neighborhood on your bike - even a few blocks that you can do over and over to not have to climb hills? Blocks add up! In my neighborhood a block is about 1/10 of a mile.
I find the arms bands don’t slip when they are on skin underneath - I usually just purchase one at TJMaxx. I admit to just holding my phone (in protective case) when I run and walk. I prefer being able to glance at my time and such.
what type of phone do you have? You can download podcasts through the iTunes app. Download at home and then listen when you are out and about.
I mentioned elsewhere that Amazon Prime has exercise videos - some are ancient some more up to date. I particularly like the GymBox series - they have beginning on up videos in many varieties - yoga, pilates, strength training, kickboxing, etc. - most I have done are about 30 minutes. I move my coffee table and don’t need more than a few feet square to participate in the ones I have done.
PLEASE, PLEASE don’t be afraid to ask questions! (and pop in over on the other thread - MANY of us started there are non-exercisers - we truly are at all levels - but one thing reigns - we keep at it - we may stumble but we do not fall! (hardly!! :)) So while we are not perfect, embrace “just do it”.
@jym626 mentioned that it is not her thing to exercise early in the morning before work. Totally ok. But then you have to figure out what DOES work. Not doing it, not ok! My favorite time to walk/run is dusk. For some reason I feel like I have more energy, motivation, attitude to run in the evening as opposed to the morning. My breathing and endurance seems better in the evening.
I think being sedentary is a huge problem. I do all this exercise, but then I would plant myself in my office chair for hours! We would email people down the hall instead of getting up! In my early career, I took a train into Chicago and walked a good ways to the office. We didn’t have email or cell phones.
I try to get 6000-8000 steps over what I run each day. I stand up about half the day at my desk. I think it helps.
This is it exactly for me; no matter what I do (45 minutes daily elliptical and yoga once per week) the exercise nazi’s are always quick to point out that I need to add weights, or soul cycle or whatever. There’s no one anywhere more smug than the fitness snobs and when they imply that you need to exercise by running marathons or you are wasting your time, I’m inclined to say “fine, I’ll stop wasting my time and read a book”.
Regarding paddle boards, there are some really cool inflatable ones out there that when not in use can be packed up in a duffle bag for easy storage and transport. We have friends that have a couple of them and I’ve used them both on calm flat water and in ocean swells. When inflated, they are hard to tell from the hard shell boards and work use as well for most purposes. You do need to keep a patch kit available just in case but in 3 years of subjecting the boards to the hazards of living on a sailboat 6 months out of the year, I think my friends had one leak from a puncture that needed to be patched.
Yeah, but wouldn’t that be cutting off your nose to spite your face?
There are always going to be people who do more, who have more, who achieve more, who look better, make more money, have more friends, etc. ad nauseum.
Are you healthy? How is your blood pressure, blood sugar and cardiac markers? Are you fit? Do you have energy? And strength?
Those are the things we should be most concerned with. Not with the opinion of a smug, self righteous exercise blowhard. I have to say, though, that most exercisers I know are NOT like that.
Are you exercising for you or for them? Be confident in your decisions, level and such - IF you are satisfied with that. And have a snazzy come back for them.
I just do what I like and what makes me happy. I really try not to worry about each and every news article or comments people make, unless I perceive them to be knowledgeable and helpful. In 2009 I wanted to run a 5k. It took me until 2014 to run a 5k. I guess I honestly don’t know any fitness snobs. I definitely don’t know any Nazis. Doing something - anything - for yourself is better than doing nothing. Clean your house, mow your grass, walk your dog, go for a run, Pilates, yoga, TRX, kettlebells, Jazzercise, Zumba. If I hadn’t started doing something and gotten such a great support network here on CC, I don’t know what shape I’d be in now. It sure wouldn’t be good.
So many judgmental and defensive comments being made about a topic that should be discussed in an atmosphere of trying to understand a complicated area of human behavior that has important implications on an individual and societal basis. Let me put my comments below in context. I am hardcore, very hardcore about my fitness and health related activities. I train very hard, both with long distance high performance cycling and very structured resistance training using free weights, body weight and suspension training modalities. I am very conscious of what I eat and track my body composition using the latest in ultrasound technology. I do all of that because for a variety of reasons I enjoy it, get gratification from it and it serves my goals. Not for a minute, however, do I think that what I do is the only way to be fit and healthy nor do I think for a minute that everyone must subscribe to my type of fitness regimen. And I don’t think that any of the other devoted fitness enthusiasts who have posted on this thread think that either about what they do. I’ve gotten to know them pretty well on the diet and fitness thread as the open minded, supportive, sharing, welcoming and non-judgmental people that they are who just love to share their pasdion for fitness with others.
What is being lost in the discussion here is that the question of health and fitness exists on a broad continuum with many different paradigms. At one end of the spectrum is the recent growing recognition that basic health concerns and the avoidance of illness caused by a sedentary lifestyle and age can be positively impacted upon by by simply getting up and walking around for 5 minutes every 30 minutes or so. As I’ve noted, the recent literature is suggesting that this is important to follow even if you are involved in a regular structured fitness program. At the other end of the spectrum are those who are engaging in exercise that is structured to achieve certain defined performance goals. For such persons, merely getting up and moving will never be enough. In between are those who are seeking improved health, fitness and strength but don’t aspire to achieve performance related goals. Such persons will need more than just moving and less than highly structured goal focused training. So the message is, figure out what your goals are and pick the level of involvement that meets your needs. In doing do, recognize that the extreme’s at both ends have their limits. At my end of the spectrum, the level of intensity, commitment, time and even risk of injury are greater than most people want or are willing to buy into. At the other end of the spectrum, while just moving regularly will get you some health benefits, you won’t get the level or benefit of cardiovascular conditioning and maintenance of lean muscle tissue and strength that you that would get with a more structured program of exercise and which is necessary to maintaining functional fitness as we age. Recognize that there are material differences between the minimum necessary to promote health and what is necessary to promote fitness. There is a difference between the two and while the maintenance of health is obviously important, it is fitness that will enable you to continue to perform daily life activities and enjoy recreational pursuits as you age. You define your priorities and you pick your path. And you keep an open mind as science continues to unlock the mysteries of how our bodies function and respond to to our efforts to remain healthy and fit.
I have to admit that I am one of those people who don’t respond well to nagging. I know it’s childish, but there it is! Seeing my kid go down and use our new basement workout area though does inspire me to make time.
I do think trying to keep up with the latest science is not a bad idea though. It’s pretty clear, I think, that cardio isn’t really enough, and that if that’s all you are doing, you probably should consider finding something weightbearing to add to the routine. But I am very much of the school that something is always better than nothing. And there have been plenty of times in my life where nothing is pretty much all I was doing.
I would never encourage someone to run (or especially to walk) a marathon unless they really enjoy endurance training and are willing to assume the risk of injury and all the fatigue that goes with high mileage training. I don’t approve of “bucket list” marathoners because they usually wind up hurt. For me, I still compete in my age group, so my daily training is, essentially, “practicing” my sport, just as a musician would practice or a tennis player would practice.
I remember a few years ago @MaineLonghorn was in the middle of a particularly stressful time but was able to attend a meet up of our women’s internet running group in St. Louis. She had not been able to run much before this weekend and was not going to do the half marathon that she had entered. We convinced her to give it a try- even with a lot of walking. She did and she finished with a big smile and a feeling of accomplishment. We were all so proud of her- that’s what it is about.
I don’t do as much strength work as I should, but I do some and I know it helps with my bone density issues. I admire Michael and some of our other posters who are very disciplined about this aspect of exercise. I make all the usual excuses- no time, rather run, don’t enjoy it etc. And don’t even get me started on how often I have “food fails”. As Michael said, it is a changing landscape and we strive for improvement.
@ClaremontMom, I love podcasts when I walk, definitely takes some of the boredom factor away.
Regarding housework & yardwork as a substitute for exercise, I just moved out of a 3200 square foot house with a decent sized sloping lawn (and a NOT self propelled walk behind mower) and significant garden. Until several months ago when I put it on the market, I did all my own housework, and yardwork/gardening. It was a LOT of work – but it wasn’t enough to keep me in shape and keep my weight where I wanted it. Add a dog in, and it STILL wasn’t enough once I was in my early 50s. And I am not a binge eater, and eat pretty healthy and sensibly. I still had to do more (ski, trail run, exercise bike or rowing machine) to keep the pounds off, blood pressure low, and fit into a reasonable (not tiny, either) size of clothing. Some people may have a metabolism that allows just stuff around the house to stay in shape, but i wasn’t one of them. I think when you sit at a desk 40 hours a week and commute, that also adds to the problem (before anyone launches into the benefits of standing desks, a study came out a few weeks ago debunking many of the supposed benefits – and my feet couldn’t take it anyway).
Of course, but it’s not the exercise I concentrate on. Per doctor’s orders, I lift weights for my bones. If I had unlimited time, I’d do both, but I don’t.
I think MNK raises a good point about specific goals. I am never going to be a competitive runner like MOWC. If I make it through a 5k without paramedics called to the scene, we are good :-). I don’t have performance goals per se. But I desire to be strong, to have strong bones, to be reasonably flexible, to be able to touch my toes, to have a strong core such that if I slip on ice I can right myself (because I’m stupid enough to live in the north!), to be able when H retires to bike together in the countryside in Provence or similar and not be winded, to lead an active life. Not just healthy, but active. For me, those goals simply could not be met via everyday housework, etc. They require more effort. My 73 yo mother - for her, housework and light walking is sufficient; no one is sticking her in a Pilates class or sending her to CrossFit. I’m at a different place. We all are.
What I have found most is helpful is rare - a trainer who “gets it” that I am absolutely trying as hard as I can! I went to a CrossFit gym for a couple of years with an awesome coach. She was tough on me, but she understood that coordination is a challenge for me and gave me lots of tips on how to improve. She left, though, and the new coach, while nice, didn’t understand me.
Once I signed up for an outdoor boot camp. One day, I arrived to the park early and went for a run of a few miles. I was proud of myself for the extra effort, and pleased to see a smile on the coach’s face when I ran up to her. I was deflated, though, when she said, “MaineLonghorn! We need to work on your speed!!!” Geez, thanks. I don’t have gears. It’s pretty much “on” or “off.”
