what type of exercise?

[W2R]

I am 64 and have always been active, but with the long winter in the midwest and no work, I have put on a little weight. In the 5-10 pound range. what type of excercise do you people use to keep from putting on weight in the winter? What type of excercise do you do to get rid of the winter weight?

I have been going to the gym to lift weights for an hour, three times a week. Well, an hour total but during that hour I lift weights for 40 minutes (19 machines, 2x10 reps on each machine), stretch for 10 minutes, and the remainder of the time is taken up by dressing and undressing. Anyway, I have been steadily increasing weights and I am pleased with my progress.

Also, every evening I ride my recumbent exercycle for 30 minutes. It is so much fun, and has lots of pre-programmed routines and all the bells and whistles. Last night I rode 8 miles in 30 minutes on a programmed course with varying intensity, and I challenge myself to increase that distance and the difficulty of the course.

In combination with Weight Watchers, this routine has helped me to lose 17-18 pounds since the New Year and I haven't had to give up eating lunch out every day. I do think that controlling what I eat is more important to weight loss than exercise for me, but I am enjoying the exercise for what it is. I like being stronger, more capable, and less sedentary than before. I am 62 and female.

Hope this helps!

 

[Alan]

Where did you hear that?

Various places including a study reported in the Journal of the AMA

Conclusions In this study population, fitness was a significant mortality predictor in older adults, independent of overall or abdominal adiposity. Clinicians should consider the importance of preserving functional capacity by recommending regular physical activity for older individuals, normal-weight and overweight alike.

 

[gratefuled]

Where did you hear that?

I agree with that, simply because a minor change in scale weight doesn't necessarily mean that fat has been added, especially in a "fit" person. Could be water, bad digestion, lean tissue, etc. That said, if you're noticeably gaining body fat it's probably the right time to make some sort of adjustment.

 

[GregLee]

In this study population, fitness was a significant mortality predictor in older adults, independent of overall or abdominal adiposity.

I don't see how it follows from this that adiposity is not a mortality predictor, independent of fitness.

 

[haha]

I don't see how it follows from this that adiposity is not a mortality predictor, independent of fitness.

It doesn't.

Study Finds that Both Weight and Exercise Are Key to Longevity - December 22, 2004 -2004 Releases - Press Release Archives - Press Releases - Harvard School of Public Health

And for the most part these studies are all over the map, "proving" mostly whatever the investigators or their sponsors wished to have proven. When you think about it, all these factors interact very subtly with one another, and with other not named factors. For example, it may or may not be true that attaining normal weight by various different pathways leads to the same outcomes.

For me, I don't want to be fat, and I don't want to be unfit, but I also do not think that there is enough time in life to really make much sense out of all these studies. Most of us know fit people who died young, or who had MIs during a tennis match or basketball game and were saved by CPR and a timely 911 ride to the ER. Most of us also know fit people who lived a very long life.

It is hard for me to recall very fat men who lived to an advanced age, but that might just be a problem of recall. There are certainly thin men who died young of cardiovascular or other problems.

Peope die, people live. Often it seems more or less random, and likely not a large enough effect to set one's compass by. I believe that in modern America it would be difficult for a very sedentary middle aged person to be normal weight, and likewise for a meaningfully overweight person to be eating well.

Ha

 

[Alan]

I don't see how it follows from this that adiposity is not a mortality predictor, independent of fitness.

I'm not qualified to answer that.

You asked the question of someone as to where did they hear that it is better to be fit than fat, and I simply Googled "better to be fit than fat", and found lots of hits including the one I posted.

 

[freebird5825]

I am not an exercise machine fan, so I put on some good tunes and dance in the living room. It is fun and definitely a light to medium cardio w*rkout.
I still have some lingering RSI (upper body) issues, so I have to go easy to avoid triggering all that mess again.
I also have a firm rule to get up every 20 minutes and do some mild activity such as laundry, empty dishwasher, get dinner going, etc.
And of course there is some fun exercise Mr B and I can do together...

 

[mickeyd]

15 minutes on the weights, 30 min on the treadmill and 30 min on the stationary bike five days a week.

 

[Midpack]

I like weight lifting because it's been most effective for my body weight and personal health/quality of life - and I can do it at home. I also enjoy riding my bike, but can't do that in winter. I also go for walks on treadmill in winter, but don't much like the latter. My wife wanted the treadmill, so I use it sometimes. And I just try to stay active in my everyday life, park far away, take stairs and not elevators, do some physical tasks at work even though I don't have to, etc.

 

[frank]

I agree with gopher that you pays your money and takes your chances, but its all about quality of life. I want to be able to do things and some of those things are physically demanding, so to do them you have to stay in shape. its not so much that I want to be a weightlifter or marathon runner. I simply don't want my retirement to go downhill because I am physically unable to do different things.

 

[Alan]

I agree with gopher that you pays your money and takes your chances, but its all about quality of life. I want to be able to do things and some of those things are physically demanding, so to do them you have to stay in shape. its not so much that I want to be a weightlifter or marathon runner. I simply don't want my retirement to go downhill because I am physically unable to do different things.

+1

 

[eytonxav]

A lot of folks that are looking for functional stength for various activities swear by CrossFit, although I feel it is pretty expensive and seems kind of cult like.

 

[observer]

Swimming, swimming, and swimming. Doing laps is great for us 50+ geezers since there's no stress, wear, or tear on knees, ankles, shins, etc. It's great cardio fitness... better than running in my opinion.

The only problem is finding a place for lap swimming that's reasonable in cost. It might be worth joining a local fitness center (that has a pool) for $50-60/month, or else local community colleges often provide local residents with cheap memberships for access to their pool.

 

[igsoy]

A lot of folks that are looking for functional stength for various activities swear by CrossFit, although I feel it is pretty expensive and seems kind of cult like.

I'll second the vote to look into crossfit workouts. The workouts are different every day, so you don't get that same old same old feeling and start letting your motivation slide. Crossfit.com posts the workouts everyday. Welcome to CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness

Don't be intimidated by the difficulty, you can also look up BrandX for easier levels of each daily workout.
CrossFit Brand X Forum| CrossFit WOD

There are no crossfit gyms in Dubuque, so I guess it's cheap when you just do it on your own in your garage or whatever.

The gym I go to in my town has people from ages 16-87 doing the same fun intense workouts, just scaling the load to each person's ability. The 87 year old guy can deadlift 200 lbs., and is quite proud of that. He comes 3-4 times a week, his 60 year old daughter and her 30-something daughter also come. Doing stuff with free weights and intensity will keep your muscles and joints strong, your coordination and balance keen, and you'll feel better than you have in years.

This stuff works, seriously, I'm a 42 year old woman, only weigh 125, and I just maxed my 1rep deadlift yesterday at 290 lbs. I couldn't ever do that when I was 20 years old, it's been so much fun doing all these things I never knew I could be capable of, haha.

 

[jerome len]

Eat "healthy" and 30 minutes a day on a treadmill watching your favorite tv program. No pain, lots of gain. Took off an average of 3 lbs every 6 months over past 6 years. Lost over 45 lbs total, went from a pre diabetic back to normal, always get a compliment from my doc.

Everybody does their own thing. I've recently added some upper body strength excercises and I'm looking at Yoga, but.........I just want to look better and have some extra time for excercise. Let me add I work a lot of hours and could have multiple excuses........excerise and diet mean life through health. It's that important!

All said, do what you like, what you'll do every day for the rest of your life.

 

[eytonxav]

This stuff works, seriously, I'm a 42 year old woman, only weigh 125, and I just maxed my 1rep deadlift yesterday at 290 lbs. I couldn't ever do that when I was 20 years old, it's been so much fun doing all these things I never knew I could be capable of, haha.

IGSOY, That is awesome; you go girl! Heck, I am 65 lbs heavier than you and the most I have ever DL is 315 lb for 3 reps, as I generally do not do 1 rep lifts. My usual routine keeps me at 275 for 5x5.

 

[Moemg]

The only problem is finding a place for lap swimming that's reasonable in cost. It might be worth joining a local fitness center (that has a pool) for $50-60/month, or else local community colleges often provide local residents with cheap memberships for access to their pool.

If you look around you can probably find a gym for a lot less that that . I pay $23 a month and it has a large pool .

 

[RockMonkey]

I run, and generally lead an active lifestyle. Having young children helps, too. Last Saturday I ran a half marathon with 4443 of my closest friends. I beat 3128 of them to the finish too (sounds better than 1316th place)!

 

[67walkon]

Bill Walton was recently quoted as saying we all reach a point where the exercises we can do are biking, swimming and weight lifting. He's had ankle fusions that prevent running and much walking, but he can do those other things.

Anything you can do is good.

 

[nun]

Cycling is great excersise and it saves you money too. I do all my shopping with my bike so te car just sits in the driveway. Cycling also gets you out side and I've discovered lots of places I would never have found in a car. This year my holiday wll be a 3 week ride around Iceland

 

[haha]

Bill Walton was recently quoted as saying we all reach a point where the exercises we can do are biking, swimming and weight lifting. He's had ankle fusions that prevent running and much walking, but he can do those other things.

Anything you can do is good.

I remember years ago when it first appeared that Walton was going to have his career shortened by joint problems, he laid some of the blame on long hours of basketball on concrete courts. I think it is hard to overemphasize how important resiliency of surfaces is in prolonging weight bearing joint comfort. Concrete is a very unyielding surface. I have some modest arthritis in one hip from an old hairline fracture that went through the joint socket. I can perceive the difference between a wooden floor laid on concrete, and a wooden floor suspended on normal SFH joists, or sprung as some courts and dance floors are constructed.

You have to keep moving and keep having fun, but also be kind to your joints!

I am planning to buy a Concept 2 Rower to have in my LR to provide me with a high level of baseline fitness, and then walking around, 2x/wk weight lifting, and dancing will be mainly for pleasure, but I will stay pretty fit even if the weather is awful, or I can't get to a dance or my partner is traveling or whatever.

I have used these before and like them, plus I don't have to get wet in a pool which I really hate in winter!

Ha

 

[martyp]

There is weight loss and then there is fitness. As far as weight loss is concerned it is calories in vs calories out. It's basic physics. Do what you can that is achievable and sustainable to shift the equation to net calories out. Once I turned 50 I felt like my metabolism had slowed down (or that I was just less active). I do some exercise but mostly I've shifted to reducing portion size. I eat what I want, just a little less. I have a pretty healthy diet too.

Now that I've ER'd I started going to a gym and working out with a trainer. After two months I feel more fit, more energetic, more coordinated, and stronger.

 

[Danmar]

Weight loss is mostly diet(portion control) rather than exercise. Exercise is worthwhile certainly and I work out stenuously every day. But when I need to lose weight, I need to cut back on intake rather than increase work load.

 

[obgyn65]

Hello Frank - I would start here Physical Activity for Everyone: Guidelines: Adults | DNPAO | CDC

 

[Major Tom]

Well, this is not much help to you Frank with your cold winter weather, but I'm in the SF Bay Area where the winters are mild. My main form of exercise is cycling. I don't own a car, so if I want to go anywhere, I have to get on my bike.

A few months ago, the doctor told me that my LDL is a bit on the high side, so I have to pedal a bit harder.

I'd agree with everyone that has mentioned swimming.