Fitness for us older folks: summaries from peer-reviewed research Journals - with references

[OldFellrunner]

There's very little support for older (70 + ish) people who want to get fitter than they currently are . So I'm posting short summaries of the research that I find. I'm lucky, I have access to properly validated , peer reviewed research. Trouble is, that research is often locked in the Journal in which it's published and so stays there - for just a few to read. 

From British Medical Journal, January 2015 

'...

• Health and functional benefits begin with any increase above the lowest levels of activity; some activity is better than none

• New guidelines now advise interspersing prolonged sitting with short bouts of standing and light activity

• Small increases in activity may enable some older patients to incorporate more moderate activity and thus get closer to the recommended 150 minutes a week

...'

The article mentions the 150 minutes a week target quite often . It doesn't mention the 10,000 steps target commonly discussed today.

Super-quick summary: get off your backside - often. I find my VERSA 4 good at telling me how I match up against the 10,000 step and the 150 minute targets.  🤐

Bit embarrassing really. 

[OldFellrunner]

I've just bumped into this video - it could have been  an advert for FitBit sales to older people ...

https://youtu.be/yNxFpudlVw0 

Some of the folk on the video make me tired just looking at them .... 

[OldFellrunner]

This (American) article points to the importance of resistance training ( called RT in the article)

Super-quick summary .  Having someone qualified to support you through a Resistance Training  exercise programme is much better than exercising alone. 

From the Conclusion

'... Strength increased in both studies across all RT treatments compared to controls, yet significant improvements in both strength and body-composition occurred only in programmed and/or supervised RT. As general increases in physical activity have limited impact upon body-composition, public health practitioners should structure interventions to include progressive RT....'

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5872542/  (Open access Journal)

National Library of Medicine,  March 2018, Downloaded 25/11/2022

[NellyG]

Wow, interesting stuff @OldFellrunner It shows just how important exercise is

[OldFellrunner]

Well Nelly, if I'm doing the research for myself  (because there appears to be little published guidance for older folk) I might as well share it .... and try and relate it to FitBit, because that's the reason I'm here in the first place. 

Are you aware of any guidelines or training support  for older people? Or might you have any ideas as to where we might look for authoritative support? Bearing in mind that Internet is full of shared ignorance - I'm anxious to avoid that.

[SunsetRunner]

Hey @OldFellrunner ,  check out this link The Complete 10 minute Senior Workout - YouTube He has lots of videos for us seniors and its good info. His name is Eric Daw, I found lots of great exercises and concise, clear exercises.

 Take care

[OldFellrunner]

Thanks @SunsetRunner , I've had time to view the video now. I think it's excellent because it gives a good framework on which to build - or to which to aspire.

I have a Versa 4: and I'm not sure which exercise in the menu I should use to log the workout ...

Exercise> workout > other exercises > interval workout >  ?  .... don't suppose it matters too much, as long as I use the same one for each individual session.

What do you think?

[SunsetRunner]

Hey @OldFellrunner , I'm still using a charge 2. It's really old but works great. I don't log exercise, I just log steps and calories. I use my Fitbit as a motivational tool not as gospel. As they say it's not a medical device but it can get me in the ballpark and I can see if I'm going in the right direction. Works for me. I started at 253 lbs. and about 16 months later I weigh 165. Wow. Started walking and logging all of my food. After awhile started some light exercise and strength training. Rowing is great. Eric Daw's channel helps a lot. The calories burned can be out of whack so I try to keep my caloric intake around 1500 cal. a day. I found out what my BMR and TDEE are and stay under that. That's for me to lose weight but the more I move the better I feel. Take care