Exercising safely in older age

[Timax56]

I know we are all pumped about losing weight and getting fit as we open the box and see our shiny new gadget that is going to assist us in our quest but do we ever think about our state of health and ability to complete the task ahead?

As a 56 year old male who is now more aware than ever that the ravages of time and lifestyle have had their way with me and my waistline, it dawned on me that if i don't do something about my health now then it would be easier to do nothing. Recently one man died and two others were airlifted to hospital from our local gym (not on same day), they were in age range 55-75.

Now i have been to the gym and seen older men and women really going for it, heart rates peaking at well over the recommended values for their age, sweating profusly and often barely able to maintain poise on the equipment. Don't get me wrong, I am full of praise for anybody who tries to better themselves but surely exercise does come with a health warning! I must admit I have been guilty of overstepping the mark on many occasions, not sticking to my plan, some days your body feels good and urges you to do more and other days you find it hard to get on the equipment.

We have to remember also that as we get older we do not recover as well as when we were young. My recommendations are simple, Moderation in everything. Eat healthily, drink occasionally, exercise daily.

Our bodies require a fine balancing to operate at their optimum, put too much into them and they become heavy and sluggish, don't put enough into them and they become frail and underpowered. Put the right amount and type of food into them along with the right amount of exercise and they should function at their peak (assuming all the other parts of the body are working as they should) I don't think fitness/weight management is rocket science ie, eat too much and not burn it off = weight gain, burn off more than you consume = weight loss.

It is more about our ability to understand our limitations, enviromental, physical,psychological factors all have a part to play on how we approach our goal. I believe that we all have the ability to acheive our ideal weight/levels of fitness but we should do it safely.

Moderator edit: Format. 

[Zimni]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this topic. It is so important to maintain balance in everything, and fitness is one area where enthusiam can take over rationality - and I would have to be honest and say I have fallen victim to it myself before. As long as we learn and grow from it all, everything does fall in place in its own time. 🙂

Cheers.

[FitBeforeFifty]

I'll turn 50 in a couple of months. I look at this from a different perspective. Correlation is not causation. Sure, people can have a heart attack while working out or running a Marathon. People also have heart attacks while sitting on the coach, having sex, mowing the yard, eating breakfast etc... 

There are benefits to vigorous exercise that can't be realized with diet or simply walking.

In my opinion, the key isn't moderation it's progression. Don't try to do too much too soon. I got to my original goal weight and fitness level by a slow increase in duration and/or intensity over months. Each week I just tried to do a little more than the week before. After 9 months I progressed from a 1 mile walk/jog to running my first 1/2 Marathon in 1:45.  After my first 1/2 Marathon I continued to progress until I could run my first Marathon at 47 and came in second in my age division and finished ahead of a lot of 20 and 30 year olds. 

My mother (in her 70s) was very concerned for my safety but what she didn't realize is that I had built up to this over a 2 year period. Running a Marathon for me was just as safe as my overweight, out of shape peers mowing their yard.

I lift weights (heavy for my size) 2 or 3 times per week and run 20 - 30 miles per week when not training (40+ miles per week when training).

I'm in better shape now than when I was in my 30s and I don't really see a reason to back off.

Personally, I think my chances of getting air lifted are a lot less than my sedentary, overweight peers.

[USAF-Larry]

I fully agree with your statement, " the key isn't moderation it's progression", @FitBeforeFifty!  I am in my 70's, and more fit than many 30 to 50 year olds that I know. But, that didn't happen all at once, it happened by continually working at it and gradually increasing exercise levels to keep that progression happening.  It is very common every winter to see news reports of men that go out to start shoveling snow, and then have a heart attack because they haven't exercised since last winter's snow.  The same can happen if a person goes to the gym and jumps on the elliptical machine and goes to the max.

[shipo]

I also agree with "the key isn't moderation it's progression" statement.

To @Timax56 I was 56 when I changed jobs, cut my combined work/commute week from 100+ hours to about 44 hours.  With the additional time I started running again and lost 70 pounds in about 6 months without really trying (i.e. no diet).  Progression was absolutely the key; by the time I was 57 I ran my first half-marathon of my life and turned in a time of 1:42; not exactly moderation.

You might say too much given my heart rate was often well up above the bogus recommended heart rates, so much so my *average* beats per minute for a long 90 minute run was exactly what my calculated maximum was supposed to be.  A better measure, and the measure I use, to determine whether one is doing too much is simply breathing; if one cannot catch their breath and are in immediate danger of collapsing, then they're pushing too hard.  The flip side is, if one can carry on a conversation in short sentences, then that individual is probably training in their sweet spot for developing endurance. 

[bcalvanese]

I think it should be both.

You should progress until you are at a good fitness level for your age and then maintain that level.

Many people go to extreams and I believe there is such a thing as over exercising, and one cardiac surgion started finding the same issues with people who exercised too much as he was finding with people who had bad diets and where obese.

I would recommend using the cardio zones and time to measure your workout. If you keep your heart rate in the cardio zone for at least 20 minutes, you will get a minimum improvement. 30 minutes, better improvement. 60 minutes, even better. etc... The peak zone should be for short bursts, and should not be used for long periods of time. Fat burn can be used for recovery workouts.

This is just my opinion though.

Also, older people may want to get a stress test to find out if thier heart is healthy enough for exercise, and to get their max heart rate.

[Stinkyfish97]

I would also keep your doctor in the loop at what your trying to do. Sometimes telling your doctor "hey I plan to keep increasing my excersise routine". Keeping your doc in the loop is always a good idea. He may be able to give you a better idea where you are at right now. If he tells you I would not try to go to hard, your heart wont take that kind of punishment from what I can tell from the scans and EKG. I would listen to that advice. Always be honest with your doctor at what you are trying to do.

Listen even professional athletes undergo regular testing to make sure they are not pushing it to hard. They test for wear and tear on muscles, joints. They undergo EKG, MRI, to check for heart conditions. And while we are not athletes and some of these tests are likely unneccesary for us, our doctors still have a good idea where our conditioning stands.

I agree with those that say progression. Just make sure to keep your doc in the loop of any progressions you want to make changes to. While many say they are in better shape than 30 and 50 year olds, which may be true, you still have a lot more wear on your joints, heart, and muscles than someone in their 30s or even 50s. A 30 year olds body will repair itself better than a 60 or 70 year olds. That also means if you are carrying even a little extra weight as an older person and you begin working out that is a lot more wear and tear. The first goal of anyone who is older is to 1st talk to your doctor, and then set a weight loss plan. There are some certain excersises I would not do if I was 70 and carrying 10-30 extra lbs or more for that matter. Running on any surface would be one of those things, even walking on hard surfaces could be a bad idea for someone really out of shape. Opt for lower impact training until you lose some of those extra lbs. Reduce the strain on your muscles, joints. Sometimes progression starts with first understanding where you are at currently. I know you may not like to hear how frail an older persons body is, you may even resist and pretend like it does not exist. But truth of the matter is your body does not regenerate or heal itself as fast when you are 70 than when you are 30. 

[shipo]

I have to disagree with many of your comments; especially in relation to running.

Numerous studies over the last ten or so years have shown running, even for those who are carrying "10-30 extra pounds" is one of the best and safest exercises one can do.  That and contrary to the old adage which cautions against running when one is older, the studies show quite convincingly runners in the 50-70 age range suffer from fewer joint and far fewer heart related issues than non-runners.

The larger question is why runners, even very overweight runners like I was when I started running again in 2013 (roughly 100 pounds overweight), are able to exercise without suffering a high incidence of issues.  A few things I've gleaned from the studies:

• Start gradually
• Start slow
• As fitness increases, increase distance NOT speed (bones, joints and connective tissue develop at a slower pace than the muscular and circulatory systems) until many hundreds of miles have been run and the runner can run non-stop for roughly an hour
• Good shoes and soft surfaces (dirt, grass, sand) dramatically reduce the amount of impact/shock transmitted through the body
• As for recovery; the studies have shed some light on that as well; it seems us older folks do in fact recover just as fast as younger folks after workouts done at any given percentage of our current potential
• Building on the recovery thing; the most recent study I read (which was done in Finland and tracked many thousands of older runners for something like 20 years) theorized it is the impact of running on the femur as well as the stress put on the femur from the tendons and ligaments which triggers the body to produce more growth hormones which in turn aid in recovery and (slow and gradual) development of joints and connective tissue

I'll search around for a link to the Finnish study and post it when I find it.

[brerbill]

I'm almost 70, run 6 days a week at an easy/moderate pace totalling over 30 miles per week, and am building to 44 mpw over the summer. The runs currently vary in length from three to ten miles each. That's my slow and steady 'progression' at a one mile per week increase for the next three months. If I get too tired, ill, or injured - I'll take the appropriate time off (and even "back up" on my schedule) if needed. 

Actually, the best I've felt physically is when I have run every day. And, I enjoy doing my long run and a couple of others each week completely barefooted.

Just as important to me as 'progression' is following up with "consistency". For me, maintaining a higher level of physical fitness is accomplished through consistency with exercise and other good health habits. Once every 4-6 weeks, I'll take a week and run half my normal mileage and/or take several days off, just to give myself a good short rest.

I'm 5-10 and was 186, but am working on losing 25 pounds (lost 7 pounds the first two weeks). I wasn't obese, but know that not carrying around extra weight can help lower my BMI to the 'normal' range, lower my BP and cholesterol levels, plus I'll be able to run faster when I do race.

[DeeA2Z]

@Timax56 Great post!!  I've struggled with my "weighty" problem for more years than I care to admit. The proverbial straw was a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes in January 2015.  (Some of us have to learn everything the hard way!)

I hate to admit it, but I often forget I'm no longer 40! (In my head I'm 40...still...)  Your comment about recovery time really hit that particular nail for me.  In addition, I have to manage fibromyalgia.  I'm extremely sensitive to weather and barometric changes; humidity just sends me over the edge.  Sadly, I live in PA in a county I always refer to as The Humidity Bowl.  I lived in Southern CA for 12 years and wish with all my heart that I was unable to stay there.  Living near the beach was the best microclimate for me.  Maybe some day we'll be able to relocate.  

Your comment about moderation was also on point, and that applies to everyone, not just the "seniors". Gee, imagine if I'd have been this savvy 20 years ago!  Live and learn.  Thanks so much for sharing your valuable insights; should be required reading for all who want to improve their health and fitness.

[emili]

I fall somewhere between Timax and Fitbefore. I think you should push yourself, but know when to stop. You will know because your body will tell you. I strongly agree with fueling your engine the right away, you also have to rev it once in awhile to know what it can do. If you never try for 60, you won't know how fast you can get there. I believe folks who have never exercised with any regularity are afraid to really give it their all because everything starts to hurt immediately. They don't look at it from the perspective that it will stop hurting the further into fitness they go. Others jump in like crazies and can't figure out how they injured themselves. There has to be a middle where you do the most you can, while paying attention to signs and signals that maybe not all is as it should be. Excellent thread...

[FitBeforeFifty]

I feel like everyone could learn a lot from endurance training because it teaches you progression, periodization and interval training. I never really knew what it meant to really push myself in both duration and intensity until I followed an endurance training plan. In fact, I never really knew there was a tradeoff to be made between intensity and duration.

This is what I learned from endurance training. I feel like it's applicable to fitness progression in general but has it's roots in endurance training:

Day to Day

Most of your workouts are at a much lower intensity and duration than the race your are targeting. I'll refer to running because this is my main area of expertise. A typical training week would be broken into 1 high intensity run (fast pace sustained or in intervals), 1 long duration run (slow pace) and a bunch of "easy" runs of "shorter" distances and slower/moderate paces. My high intensity day would be either running intervals or running what we call a tempo run. You never run 2 hard runs on consecutive days. The day after a hard run I might either have a running rest day or run a short run at a slow pace for "recovery."

Week to Week

Most training plans are built on a pattern:

Week N: Build

Week N+1: Build

Week N+2: Build

Week N+3: Recover

You increase duration and sometimes intensity every week and then have a recovery week. The 3rd week is usually the hardest. You are usually pretty tired and sometimes the soreness doesn't quite go away. You then have a recovery week where you back off considerably and allow your body to recover, repair and adapt. You then start the cycle over again where the training load in week N+4 is higher than Week N+2.

Every week you are trying to go either a little farther or a little faster. You push yourself close to (but not past) your limits. Over time, you limits grow and you adapt.

The great thing about endurance training is there are calculator that can project out a training plan based on your current fitness. Go out and run a 5K race. Put in your time and the calculator tells you how fast you should run your intervals, how fast to run your long runs, and how fast to run your easy runs:

https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/

There are similar calculators based on heart rate if you've measured your max HR. For me, I know my max HR because it's the HR I hit at the end of a 5K race or a hard interval.