Retirement Has Been Good For My Health

T

Tekward

Recycles dryer sheets
Joined
Nov 18, 2006
Messages
429
I'm a 61 YO guy and the numbers from my annual physical are encouraging:

  • Weight: 170 from a high of 205 several years ago. Height 5'11"
  • BP: 110/72 (they said I had borderline high BP when I was 50)
  • HDL: 98 (ratio of 2.3)
  • Resting HR: 48 (+/- 5 over the last month)

I exercise daily and regularly intermittent fast (avg 16.4 hours per fast). Hopefully I'll be around a while for some grandkids.

Anybody else seen big health improvements since retiring?
 
Definitely--blood pressure down, sleep improved, stress headaches gone, eating a bit healthier (ie eating bigger meal at lunch, instead of late evening after work, better variety of good foods, cooking from scratch, less fast food), far less anxiety, especially Sunday night variety....
It s good to be retired!
 
That's awesome, Tekward!

I was going to post a link to a somewhat similar thread I started, but then I realized I posted it while I was still working part time. It was showing how my numbers were similarly improving even as I got older, while yours is about post-retirement. I hesitantly include the link http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/older-thinner-faster-52566.html, but it may come off a little self-congratulatory. It was meant to be motivational not to let age be an excuse to let health go. OK, and a little self-congratulatory.

I retired the spring after I wrote that thread. It's been a bit of a mixed bag since then. I tore my ACL a year later, but worked hard and recovered from that. Didn't get back all the speed, but I completed a couple races longer than what I'd ever done before. Friends said I definitely seemed more relaxed. My numbers have been mostly steady to slight improvement up until a health issue I've had for the last 2.5 years that has sidelined me somewhat, and resulted in weight gain. Hoping I'm on the track back to recovery. Age is making it harder, but not at all impossible. I tell you what though, I've had a groin strain three times this year (yes, I need to figure out how to prevent that), and it makes me feel about 40 years older, struggling to get up from bed or a chair, walk up stairs, get in/out of a car, etc).
 
Great job RB! The fitness struggle is real!

One big lesson I have learned is the importance of diversifying my workouts. I used to love biking but having the same type of repetitive motion created a muscle imbalance and aggravated my lower back.

Now my typical week has:

  • ~3 days of Pickleball (so much fun)
  • 2-3 days of gym with cardio, weights & Yin yoga
  • 1-2 days of jogging or biking
  • Several longer dog walks sprinkled in
Retirement provides the freedom to flex workouts based upon how I feel at the time.
 
Tekward said:
Great job RB! The fitness struggle is real!

One big lesson I have learned is the importance of diversifying my workouts. I used to love biking but having the same type of repetitive motion created a muscle imbalance and aggravated my lower back.
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Ditto. I ran daily for 25 years on a Precor Elliptical. (Got up with the roosters..ran for 45 minutes before work every single day - and on weekends, unless I was traveling on business). Strained 'something' in my leg back in Oct, so wound up in PT for a while earlier this year.

First thing PT guy told me was that I needed to vary my workouts and 'cross-train'. Precor one day. Bike the next. Do some walks, swimming, etc.

Since then, pretty much every Dr. I've been to has told me the same..your body needs time to recover from exertion of a certain type and doing the same thing on back to back days (especially over long periods of time like I was doing) apparently is tough on the body..
 
Same here. Weight down by 45-50 lbs. Friends commented that I looked very different six months after. No stress, no strain.

Started to eat better, cut out processed/fast foods. More fruit, veg, less meat.

It has all been good.
 
I'm sure it was healthy for me but much more healthier for my underlings! I cannot choke them for their utter stupidity from home!
 
I enjoy running in all sorts of weather. But after ER it is helluva lot nicer running at 10:30 AM in the winter than it was during my w*rk years, having to go out at 6:30 PM on a dark and cold (not to mention dangerous!) winter's night. I often chose not to run at night.
Most definitely, ER sure helped my fitness in that regard.
 
24601NoMore said:
Ditto. I ran daily for 25 years on a Precor Elliptical. (Got up with the roosters..ran for 45 minutes before work every single day - and on weekends, unless I was traveling on business). Strained 'something' in my leg back in Oct, so wound up in PT for a while earlier this year.

First thing PT guy told me was that I needed to vary my workouts and 'cross-train'. Precor one day. Bike the next. Do some walks, swimming, etc.

Since then, pretty much every Dr. I've been to has told me the same..your body needs time to recover from exertion of a certain type and doing the same thing on back to back days (especially over long periods of time like I was doing) apparently is tough on the body..
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Agreed. I believe younger bodies can handle it better. For me, every gym workout starts with recumbent bike warmups and ends with Elliptical cardio, but done in reverse stride to "unwind" from my biking.
 
We’ve been retired almost 20 years, and when I look at my peers I think we both look younger for our ages due to much less stress. Our faces aren’t particularly lined. Only our grey/whitening hair gives us away.
 
Indeed. It's been a few years and we still are down a combined 110 pounds.

This year has been a SOB. I need surgery for BPH, my insurance won't approve it. DW had a 72 day migraine and biofeedback has been the only effective treatment. My cspine just exploded and I'm trying to find some opioids(legality is optional at this point). I'm reduced to trying krantom for help.

I have gone from a person who jogged 20 KM weekly, lifted 3X weekly; to someone who can barely care for themself. I really appreciate the clowns who made this opioid epidemic real for those of us who needed and used the medication appropriately.
 
mystang52 said:
I enjoy running in all sorts of weather. But after ER it is helluva lot nicer running at 10:30 AM in the winter than it was during my w*rk years, having to go out at 6:30 PM on a dark and cold (not to mention dangerous!) winter's night. I often chose not to run at night.
Most definitely, ER sure helped my fitness in that regard.
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Nailed it! Picking the time of day to run to get the best temps and avoiding storms is a great ER perk!
 
Exercise up, Weight Down, BP Down enough to be off meds, less stress. Yes retirement has been good for my health.
 
Weight down a bit, more exercise, BP good but the biggest thing is I haven't had a bout of Depression since I retired almost 9 years ago.
 
RunningBum said:
Nailed it! Picking the time of day to run to get the best temps and avoiding storms is a great ER perk!
Click to expand...
Yep. I try to bicycle May-Sept. On hot days I can be out before breakfast, on cooler days in the mid afternoon. On days with some rain, I can usually work around it. Feels good.
 
My cholesterol is better, and lost significant weight. But what I can't measure is how many years I will live longer b/c I ER'd. I was sure the job was slowly killing me or at least, shortening my life span.
 
Absolutely and this has been by far the best part of retirement (though the other parts have been great too). Pounds down, bp down, cholesterol down, sleep up. Unfortunately I am still getting older in years....
 
Retirement has been good for my health. I eat better now - I used to work near a sea of fast food places. And I exercise more since I retired. It’s easier to find time for exercise when I don’t have to go to work. The extra time has paved the way for longer hikes, bike rides, runs, more weight lifting, and time to prepare healthier meals.
 
Less stress and better sleep for sure.
 
Definitely less stress. Some weight loss. Lower half of my body has strengthened just due to Pickleball.
 
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