60s Work Out

No, I don’t mean sweating to the oldies, here.  I had a birthday last week.  Blessed to be another year older.  But yikes.  If I don’t keep on top of my exercise, it is becoming way too easy to skip a workout or two. 

And then I feel blah.  I don’t love working out, but I surely hate it when I don’t. So here is a little update on working out in the 60s.

I’m no health or medical expert, but I want to share my go-to work-out and what I did the first week of my 62^nd year.  Each year on my birthday I challenge myself to a little harder-than-usual work-out.

This is meant to be encouraging and motivational, especially if you’re a little older or a little fluffier than you used to be. Anyone else raising their hand along with me on this?

There is no competition with our younger self, there is just an embrace of this self now and a little prod to keep it going.  The results are worth it.

Diet

A note about diet.  My diet journey has been super confusing for me the past few years.  Everything I thought I knew about healthy eating and my body was turned upside down when I was diagnosed with SIBO. 

After a recent annual trip to my doctor, we agree that I am on the other side of that, and I can return to a more comfortable eating routine.

And here’s the thing.  The more I exercise, the more I tend to crave foods that are healthy for me.  Chips after the treadmill?  No way.  Give me a beet salad.  Honestly. 

And here’s the proof.  Look at this beauty I had for my birthday dinner.  Okay, full disclosure, I also ordered a decadent grilled cheese and was in love.  But I ate half and stopped myself from certain disaster. Um, maybe I had fries on the side too. Okay, but I really do crave healthier food.

I have been minimizing sugar and that has helped tame the inflammation. Sure, I miss sugar, but the payoff is worth it.

Gym

Work took me to Tacoma on my birthday week and the hotel I stayed at was new and lovely.  The gym was fantastic and reminded me of being on a cruise ship with windows lining the room and machines facing out.

The view?  A snow-topped Mount Rainier.  Watching the sun rise on the mountain every day was like a blessing from God.  What a wonderful way to start my day with exercise.

Getting out in fresh air every day is really important to me, but a nice gym is my happy place.

Treadmill

Cardio is always the first thing I cross off my work-out list.  I don’t love to run, but it’s a very efficient way for me to get my heart rate elevated quickly and after 20 or 30 minutes, I’m finished and feel great.  Except my muscles and joints, that is.  Just kidding.

Keeping my heart rate up and not killing myself is the goal, so I usually alternate speeds like this:

• 3 minutes at 5 MPH
• 1 – 2 minutes at 6 MPH
• 1 minute at 4 MPH
• Repeat until two miles are reached

Does that make sense?  Now, let me add here that 6 MPH is pretty darn fast with my short legs.  A 7 MPH run is a sprint for me.  Those days may actually be over, but I think I might try that when I’m a bit closer to home.  Just in case.

I love these treadmills that have videos of different paths and I really love it when I pass other runners on the path. Ha.

Arms

Next up on my birthday routine was arms.  I like to exercise my biceps and triceps several times a week. Many fitness experts recommend twice a week with heavy weights to build muscle. I really, really want to build muscle and fill out my loose arm skin. But. My hands cannot handle heavy weights. So, as with anything else, I do what I can.

I did three sets of 20 of both biceps and triceps with ten-pound weights.

Abs

I did two sets of 50 each of ab crunches and oblique crunches on the stability ball. That’s a total of 200, of course. Abs are another set of muscles I train frequently during the week. There are a number of core exercises I mix up, but I do add them on to every workout. Unless I walk. Then I always “forget” to add them.

Legs/Balance

To combine a leg workout with a core balance workout, I used the Bosu ball for two sets of 30 each squats, 20 each leg lunges and 20 each dead lifts. Okay, the dead lifts might have been on a stable floor. I need a little more practice on the Bosu; I’ve become rusty.

Here is a professional video that illustrates the dead lift exercise I did. Credit to Howcast.

You can see I used the Bosu squishy side up.

I also got in about 15 minutes of yoga stretches each day, so it was really a perfect exercise week. I hit shoulders, back and chest on alternate days, but these are my most common exercises.

I’m open to any suggestions if you have additions or thoughts.

Sending much love and healthy wishes for you – whatever year you’re in.