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What activities do you do to keep fit and to keep your morale high after 50?

At age 63 I decided to start a huge flower garden, since I' just gotten the land, and my best friend needed more affordable cut flowers for her volunteer work. I went a little overboard, and plowed up 140 feet by 80 feet except I left grass strips between each 4 foot wide row, and a wider center grass area for whatever I might do someday (parties, play).

It has been an education in finding my physical limits, since basically my yard work stops after the first frost, and my muscle tone fades away during the 6 months of winter. The chiropractor keeps fixing my spine and knees which get out of whack during heavy work. A few years ago, another doctor said it's great to stay this active, but at my age I need to do something all year around!

Any suggestions appreciated....

I LOVE Pilates - it challenges my mind as much as my body (if you get a good teacher); I've tried yoga and haven't been able to connect with the practice although I will probably try again.

I also lift weights twice a week in the gym we have in our basement. I have a personal trainer who writes up routines for us and uses an app so we can follow what we're supposed to do.

We also like to hike, but I've been challenged by plantar fasciitis since last fall. I'm finally seeing a podiatrist tomorrow morning.

Once you're over 50, it is incredibly important to do some sort of weight-bearing exercise for your muscles, which has a direct impact on bone density. Some people say something as little as doing PIlates and walking is enough, but I also do specific weight training just to help my bones.

In the end, exercise benefits my brain more than my strength. Last month when I was so sick for over four weeks and could barely walk around the block, I had some issues with depression and anxiety. Once I started feeling better and got back to my routines, my mood lifted tremendously. Both my Pilates teacher and therapist noticed a big difference in my mood. My goal in my senior years is to always find a way to get some sort of exercise and stay as active as possible. There are always ways you can modify most exercises to fit your health and a good trainer can help you with that. I'm more concerned about strength than my weight. If my muscles are strong, then I can deal with being 10-15 lbs above my ideal weight. Losing weight is 80% eating and 20% exercise, so I know what I need to do if I want to lose weight.

We are about to start a new landscaping project for our new house and we have to decide what shrubs, beds, etc. we want to have. I've lived in a house that had too many beds to keep up with (so we hired a weekly gardener), and I've lived in a house where the landscaping was a lot, but I was younger and able to keep up with it. So I'm going to look for a compromise for our new project that allows me to tinker in the yard, but it won't be a disaster if a week or two goes by and I can't get out in it. Like Superesse, we are now limited by winter for yard work, but ideally, I'd like to maintain my workout schedule at the same time as working in the yard. Right now it's just a big disaster with soil erosion material all around our backyard, which is mostly dirt, rocks and hardened cement areas from when they poured the addition to our house. But I have to keep going out in it anyway to pick up dog poop (otherwise, our dog eats it). It's like the poop is camouflaged with all of the debris in the yard, so it will be nice when we eventually get real grass again!

Wow number4, very "poetic" description of your yard! Hehehe...BTDT but not with dog poops.

So I take it that the weight training gym set in my bedroom needed to be used a bit this winter? Which it wasn't. My excuse is, the handles on the pull down bar were sticking out just far enough near the bed that my husband didn't like that and he flipped them 90 degrees to store them. Any time I do think about it, I know I'd first have to set the metal pull down bars back. And then too, we got a puppy last year who gets very worried if I'm doing anything he can't get involved with (German Shepherd)! Bark Bark Bark. (I've owned that thrift shop find for 15 years, so what did my excuse USED to be? Can't remember...)

So I really hand it to you for sticking to an exercise program!! Keep us posted on your new landscaping plan! I've already had a consultant suggest it may be time for me to scale back a bit. Instead, I decided this winter to try more aggressive weed eradication when the weather permitted me spraying, and that has helped more than anything. Also, last Spring we rented a bed edger from a big box store and it made such pretty furrows, it has helped keep the damn weed grass runners from invading the beds. I use a broadleaf weed killer that is effective as low as 45 degrees, made by Bonide; found it at the farm Co-Op. So my goal now is to succeed without hiring landscape help. I ride my own grass mower, so that is the easy part.

Superesse, that's an impressive undertaking. As number4 was saying, our landscaping is getting to be too much for us. I used to be able to weed for hours but can no longer do that. We had a lovely flower bed that turned into a mess no matter what I did. I'm dreading dealing with that this year.

As for exercise, I run when aches and pains allow, walk and row. I have lifted weights here and there but do not enjoy it. I'm much better if I'm following a video. I do a lot of yard work May - October. I struggled these past few months with not feeling well, exhaustion, motivation, seasonal depression and anxiety. I work so hard to stay in shape and then poof it's gone.

Number4, that's A great routine you have going!!!! I would love to try a yoga or Pilates class if I ever get my anxiety under control.

zebra, I'm comforted in a strange way to know I'm not the only person here who suffers from acute withdrawal every year when Jack Frost comes to town! After my garden is blasted back to smithereens, all that's left to do is "fall clean up" and looking "forward" to HOLIDAYS....GRRR! Too many calories, too many emotion-packed triggery days, and with all my immediate family being deceased, that time of year just ain't a recipe for Joy. And that all-important Purpose in Life I seem to gain from keeping the landscape looking nice, vanishes...just like we all will do. Pretty depressing, when you think about it that way.

So what's the worst thing about weeding? For me it's a toss up between (a) feeling defeated by the sheer energy of undesireable plants wanting so hard to survive my eradication efforts, even as my chosen plants struggle just to live, or (b) the repetitiveness of cleaning up a bed, only to see it needing the whole thing done over again...like freakin' housework?

That's where the chemicalmanagement has to come in, judiciously, of course. I'm scared of glyphosate, as it kills human gut bacteria if it gets in our bodies (and that can be through consuming whole grain foods, did you know?) Organics often don't work at the scale I'm doing this, halfway to a commercial size operation.

I splurged and bought myself 20 sessions with a personal trainer at the gym for my 56th birthday. I'm about 2/3 of the way through them and feeling stronger, but I'm concerned that I won't keep it up once I don't have someone waiting on me to show up. My PT is out of town this weekend and she set me up to minimize worry about working out alone while she was away, but I haven't gone. Come hell or high water, I'm going this evening. She'll be back in town tomorrow and I want to be able to report good news, not wimpy news. Sigh.

I used to walk 10k steps every day, then my feet rebelled. I went to the podiatrist a couple of years ago and they treated me for plantar fasciitis, but it didn't seem to do much. I tried again with a new doctor and they found my heel angle is too low, which basically means that I have flat feet, I think. I had club feet as a baby and had to wear corrective casts and shoes, so she says my feet are actually in really good shape for having that history. I finally got my custom orthotics last week and bought myself a pair of Hokas, and my feet are so happy! I'm excited to be able to walk for exercise again.

I need to lose about 30-40 pounds, so I messaged my doc to ask about semaglutide. I was hoping that she'd prescribe it without me having to come in since I JUST saw her a couple of weeks ago and had labs done, but she wants me to come in, dang it. I have a couple of friends who've had really good results from using it.

My husband and I have always been very active.

We have been firefighters for the past year and we have done all the possible courses but our fire company, despite a large and well equipped gym, is not very active and we are possibly the fittest people there (although I don’t feel anything like it!!).

I cannot do yoga because lots of upside down poses make me burp all the time and make me feel nauseous. How do you do it??

I do some running but I have realised if for any reason I miss some sessions, my progress disappears so quickly!!
I am glad I have a dog I need to walk.

Fantastic, that's awesome that you're firefighters!!!

When I do not have motivation to exercise I can always manage to get the dog out for a walk so I'm at least moving. Thank goodness for our furry friends.

So many people have PF and from what I understand it is quite painful.

SS33, are you doing weights with your PT?

"I'm comforted in a strange way to know I'm not the only person here who suffers from acute withdrawal every year when Jack Frost comes to town"

Me too!!! I am not usually as bad as I was this winter.

Biking.
I just started using a bike after a 5 year hiatus. Previously I would do the 8 mile commute to work (and 8 mile home) on a standard bike several times per week. Since I live in a hilly area this required a shower at the office, and again when home. A bit of a bother.
Last year my wife and I got e-bikes. I do the commute when I chose not to work from home, but we also go riding maybe 2-3 times per week. Can be anything from simply riding a trail, to using the bike to go visit friends (never been stopped after a drink too many...) or even going downtown for lunch or coffee. The electronic assistance (motor) levels the hills out, and you can choose your level of exercise based on how much assistance you want.
I saw some survey that indicated e-bikes offer more health-benefits for the +40 year-olds because we spend more time on them than conventional bikes. It’s better to spend an hour with 120bpm, rather than half an hour at 150bpm trying to conquer the last hill on your way home...

Other than that...
My best friend is a physiotherapist, and I take part in group sessions he has twice a week. The focus of these sessions is to strengthen and exercise muscles and motor-skills for balance. Simple exercises that strengthen the ankles, walk a straight line, train eye-and-body coordination and so on. He says that with age these muscles and the ability to keep balance diminish. I have noticed in a lot of daily activities that my balance has increased significantly. Things like walking on icy ground, when wading while fishing, clambering over rocks and so on.

2 years ago I decided I needed to lose a lot of weight, I was very unhealthy, my balance was not good, my diabetes was out of control.

I started new meds for the diabetes, got super serious about my diet (half keto half Mediterranean) Slowly started building up my exercise, first by walking the dogs, then added yoga, then added weights, then added paddle boarding (I can even stand on my board now lol)

I walk about 15k steps a day (before work, lunch and after work) before and after with the dogs. I do yoga three times a week and weights 3 times a week in my little home workout room. (When I tell my one dog lets do yoga she does down dog now lol) I also do a series of physio exercises for various body pains that I have.

I lost 150lbs and I feel better than I have since I was in my early 20s!

This is bordering on a thread-jack IMHO:

150lbs!!!

That is definitely worth a stand-up ovation! WELL DONE!
As someone whose username is also a pun on a lifelong battle with weight I can recognize how hard that is, and what a major impact on lifestyle that weight-loss can be. It’s not been as drastic with me – with the help of one of these wonder-drugs (comparable to Ozempic) I have lost 75lbs in the last 24 months, and it’s made a major difference.
Things that many take for granted; like before I would enter a clothes store and look for anything that fitted. I then had to decide if the neon-yellow shirt or the one with the parrot-print in XXXL were the lesser bad choice. Now I can chose from standard sizes, and not the highest options.
Another change: My cycling... Two years ago my weight placed me well over the limit most manufacturers make, and standard tire-rims couldn’t take my weight. Now I’m below those limits. One reason I started cycling again.

Finally – to get back on track:

WALKING!
My wife and I have for years taken walks together. Often with the dog. Do this probably 5x each week or more.

I forgot to mention of course I walk the dog, too.

Anyone who does push ups? How many? how did you build it up?

When my autoimmune diseases are under control abd I'm hitting on all cylinders I hit the gym 3 days a week. Have honestly found the stain aster to the most rewarding machine for aerobic exercise. To consistently make improvements on time tolerated and increasing speed is fun.

But as a posy menopausal female I read focus on weights. My spine is jacked from 30+ years of nursing. Plus my autoimmune arthritis I have to keep the supportive muscles strong. I use a variety of machines and free weights. Working back and arms or legs and abd depending on the day.

I have never thought weights are a healthy thing. I will do my research about it.

SS33, are you doing weights with your PT?

Yes! It's all weights and body weight stuff. Monday is back and shoulders, Wednesday is arms and chest, and Friday is leg day. Every day is ab day. Fridays are SO HARD. I love it. I love squats. I'm weird like that.

Anyone who does push ups? How many? how did you build it up?

I have a partially torn rotator cuff (who doesn't after 50?!) that I got from...drum roll please... doing push-ups, so I have to be careful with upper body stuff. I'll likely never do push-ups again, and I'm 100% okay with that.

I have never thought weights are a healthy thing.

From what I understand, strength training for old people helps with bone density and cardio health, and a number of other things.

[This message edited by SacredSoul33 at 4:57 PM, Thursday, April 11th]

From what I understand, strength training for old people helps with bone density and cardio health, and a number of other things.

As I said, I need to do my research.

👍🏻

Not to threadjack either but

I have lost 75lbs in the last 24 months,

is pretty amazing!

And thank you Bigger I am pretty proud, not just of the weight loss but also how strong I've become, how much my balance and flexibility have improved and most surprisingly of all how much my pain from Fibro/cf have improved.

I have never thought weights are a healthy thing. I will do my research about it.

Weights are pretty important especially as you age. There are a lot of studies on just how important they are. There are lots of easy ways to get started on them. Even just getting a cheap set of dumbbells to use at home.

"Numerous studies have shown that weight-bearing exercise can help to slow bone loss, and several show it can even build bone. Activities that put stress on bones stimulate extra deposits of calcium and nudge bone-forming cells into action. The tugging and pushing on bone that occur during strength and power training provide the stress. The result is stronger, denser bones." - From Harvard Medical School

Strength training that works all major muscle groups can increase bone density of practically all of your bones, in particular hips, spine and wrists. Those (and the ribs) are the ones most likely to fracture as you age. What's important here is, you can add bone density through weight-bearing exercise, even if you've already been diagnosed with osteopenia (which most women of a certain age already have). When you have strong muscles and bones, increasing your stability and strength, you're less likely to have a fall that would cause a fracture.

I've (as I'm sure many here have) seen many, many senior citizens start a decline trajectory when they have a fall and break some bones; it reduces their ability to be active, and a sedentary lifestyle at an older age is high risk for an earlier death. It's just a reality, so yea, healthier bones (which are rough more critical as you age) through weight-bearing exercise is a HUGE benefit to your health (especially women who tend to lose more bone after menopause begins when our estrogen drops).