What is your routine for staying fit?

Seasoned citizen here. I walk and I play bridge. If you don’t use it you lose it.

I go for regular walks, hikes, and bike rides. I will sometimes go to the gym or workout at home, but it’s rare. I’m still mostly skinny but I’m in decent shape.

I wish I was fit right now. Before covid I taught Zumba twice a week and took an additional 1–2 classes during the week. Plus, I went dancing 2–4 times a month aside from the zumba.

Since covid hit in early March I do zoom zumba half assed twice a week, and I walk once a week (I keep saying I am going to do it daily, but never have). I did start swimming again for a short time in November, but now it is too cold outside. I might try starting that back up in a month. Not nearly as much exercise as I should be getting. I am the one in the house who cleans and I do most of the cooking, so at least I am on my feet for that.

I am eating better than usual since I am not eating much restaurant food, but it’s not like I am sticking to an all healthy diet. Prior to covid I ate out 2–3 times a week, since March I have ordered take-out food I think 5 times. By end of April I was down 9–10 pounds doing nothing on purpose, and then I plateaued. I would love to lose 10 more, just haven’t buckled down to do it. Even more important I would like to not be clogging my arteries.

@si3tech I walk a lot during my golf rounds. I used to play bridge, but have not in a long time, although I do exercise my brain playing sudoku or chess.

@Demosthenes You are probably fit as a fiddle. But you do not qualify as a senior.

@JLeslie My morning routine has developed gradually. For the longest time my _only exercise was golf. Mind you, I played about six times a week!

I realized that walked a few key elements: cardio, strength training. As I got into my 70s, my posture, which was never great to begin with started getting worse. So I hired a personal trainer. Because of covid, I stopped him coming to our house. I tried Zoom for one session. But that was no good. I would do some of what I had learnt from him, but on a random basis. He came back for a few weeks after getting tested negative for covid. But I was uncomfortable around him. I was almost glad when he found a regular job and ‘fired’ me.

I then started doing his prescribed warm-up routine. Gradually I have added core conditioning exercises, some breathing exercises and meditation. I find that if I do the exercises on golf days, my game sucks even more than usual. So I have stopped exercising on golf days, but still do warm-ups, breathing and meditation.

In addition I do intermittent fasting, not necessarily for body weight control (although that is a good side effect), but mainly for health benfits. The result is that I feel fitter than I have in years.

I’m 63 years old. I lift some weights at home, do Pilates and yoga. Before the pandemic I took contemporary lyrical, ballet and jazz dance classes at a studio. Boy do I miss it! Now I walk, sometimes hike and do some dancing at home.

I sit on my ass and eat pizza.

@lastexit One thing the pandemic has taught me is that I really don’t need to step outside my home for anything at all! Sure it is a lonesome way of life and I thank God everyday that I still have my golf outing 4 times per week. BUT, other than that, I do everything at home. I do miss the social contact we used to have at parties and dinners out. But that is no excuse to not stay fit.

@Darth_Algar Are you proud of that or do you regret that you don’t have the drive to change your ways?

I have good friend (that I haven’t seen in about six months) who says he can’t ever lose weight because he hates to diet or exercise. And he sounds proud of it!

@crazyguy I think most of us miss the social contact. I was asked nicely to retire last year because of the pandemic. It took some getting used to, but I’ve managed.

I’m 70.
5 days a week I paddle canoes 7 to 10 miles per day. Alternate hard and easy days.
2 days a week I go on 9 mile hikes
4 to 5 days a week I do 9 different calisthenics.

On very windy or icy days I skip canoe paddling and substitute hiking, swimming or stationary bike and Concept II paddling machine.

Good health! Stay strong!

@lastexit That must be hard, to be asked to retire. I hope your financial planning was conservative enough to handle it.

As far as getting used to retired life, keep in mind that:

1. You cannot possibly work all your life.
2. It is easier to adjust when you are in your late 60s vs mid-late 70s.

@gondwanalon Wow! I am getting tired just reading about all you do! May you keep it up for many more years!

@crazyguy I have a good pension plan from my union and savings for retirement of my own. At 65 I’ll collect my SSI and Medicare benefits. I feel fortunate.

I use light weights at home and hike whenever I can.

@crazyguy I recommend getting your vitamin D checked if you haven’t in a while. Next time they draw blood at a regular check-up.

@crazyguy

I’m good with it.

It becomes increasingly difficult as we get on in age. I’m a fairly fit middle ager and there are two things that I keep in mind. Flexibility and body fat maintenance. I can’t keep up with muscle building routines that my younger self did because I’ve found out that my middle aged body is more prone to breakdowns, fatigue and injuries. More importantly, I’ve discovered that no matter how intense my routine is, I can never regain muscle mass and strength that my younger self had….age is not just a number…it takes a toll on your body….So, I keep it relevant.
Yoga is the best thing discovered by mankind….well, at least in the fitness world. The routines are adequately intense, work all the muscles in the body, stretch and flex the body, in all the right ways….and are overall very effective in keeping the body flexible. The one thing it can’t do is weight management (unless you do advanced yoga), so, I do something else to shed the fat rolls. I play….an intensely physical game, Badminton. This sport keeps me in shape, keeps the muscles lean and taut, which is what I want at this age.
Overall, an hour of yoga in the morning and 2 hours of intense badminton after 7 PM in the evenings is my routine. It works well. On days I can’t play (or when I’m injured), I run or cycle. I run 8–9 Kms, which takes about an hour and half max…or I grab my son’s cycle and go for a spin, about 13–15 kms (which roughly takes the same time). All these things work for me.

Also I think that it’s a good idea to keep an exercise journal. A journal can help to motivate you as you don’t want to leave too many pages empty.

Remember that it is better to exercise a little every day than to do a lot once in a while.

I’ve maintained a continuous exercise journal starting from January 1, 1983 through to today. Lists all workouts and races. The record shows 32 years of running and racing over 2,000 miles per year and 6 years of outrigger canoe paddling over 2000 miles per years. Of course there is much more (swimming, weight workouts, cycling, calisthenics, walking etc).

Good health!

Fit shmit. I’ll have another brew and not sweat it. I’m gonna die eventually anyway. I have a fast metabolism, so weight gain has never been a problem for me. And I’m to old to work out anymore. And even my cardiologist once told me that I don’t really need more exercise than I normally get at work anyway. Butt load of walking and stair climbing.

I live in a three story house, a lot of days feel like I’m doing a stadium run with all the stairs. (Yes, I know that’s hyperbole, and I know what a stadium run really is, but I’m 66 and kinda fat, so I like making it sound dramatic and interesting, and really 20 flights a day is a lot.)

@lastexit I think one day you will be so glad they asked you to retire.

@misfit My trainer was big on light weights. That he used to bring for every one of our sessions. Since he fired me I have not used any weights.

@JLeslie I was shocked to find my vitamin D level was low. I truly thought that since I am in the sun four days a week, I should have plenty of Vitamin D. Now my wife and I take a supplement.

@Darth_Algar Of course, you are.

@AK I agree that yoga is awesome. My wife does it regularly. Your routine is awe-inspiring. I have attended some of my wife’s yoga classes that last one hour. After the warm up and ten minutes of hard postures, I am already wondering how much longer.

As far as weight management goes, my experience is that all the exercise in the world can do only so much. Eventually, the food intake needs to be controlled.

@gondwanalon I think that is a good idea, especially if your exercise routine varies a lot. Mine is set. Warm up, Kapal Bhati (a particular breathing exercise) and TM (transcendental meditation). On non-golfing days I also do core exercises: wall sit, crunches, etc.

@Nomore_lockout It is not about extending your life. It is about being fit as long as you can.

@canidmajor Going up and down stairs is hard work. For years we have had a house where the kitchen, family room and master bedroom are all on the same level. Going downstairs was rare. Now we are moving into a house where we’ll have to traipse downstairs and upstairs fairly often. May need a chair lift soon!

@crazyguy

Yep. Especially when reading the replies of snide randoms on the internet.

@crazyguy I asked because you said you play golf better if you don’t exercise in the morning. That sounded like a D deficiency to me.

Do you protect your skin? You only get D if you are exposing a lot of skin to the sun without any SPF. If you block tanning you block the D.

Don’t wait too long to retest. See if your supplement is actually getting you into normal range.

@JLeslie Thanks. I will.

I noticed it’s definitely required more effort to stay in shape as I’ve gotten older, especially since my career is at my desk most of the time and I study in the evenings so… more sitting. I recently purchased a stand-up desk, loving it. When I’m done with my workday, I like to hop on my treadmill and go for about an hour, I mix it up with some steep climbs and jogging. I do yoga/pilates as well a few times a week, just about 15 minutes at a time. That seems to be enough to keep me in shape, that plus a healthy diet.

@EL48 I am tired just by reading all you do.