You’d think that age and wisdom would help us find good daily routines for senior fitness. Instead, I keep going back to workouts I did in my 40s and 50s, expecting to create the obsessive habits of younger years. Not only do I not have the time for 45 minutes of cardio and the same for weights, I end up so sore and exhausted, I don’t go back for a week.
When I was younger, I thought, “If I didn’t have to work, I’d exercise and play tennis all day.” Reality? “If it weren’t for my …(knee, shoulder, back, etc.)… I’d be exercising every morning, but…”
Those of us familiar with gym workouts and daily tennis or golf often struggle to “get back” to a senior fitness daily routine.
Back Benches Are Full of Senior Fitness Drop Outs
Especially when we’re on the back benches for hip, knee or shoulder replacements, it becomes a fight to regain previous levels of fitness. “No pain, no gain” is no longer wise. It’s more like, “Slowly, slowly, catchee monkey.”
It’s just damn hard. My mind is still 40, and I believe I’m getting better and stronger, instead of weaker and stiffer. That’s human nature, mixed with a dash of optimism and a whole lot of ego. “I can do this, just gotta get up and do it; but first, I better sit here with the heating pad, and then ice it.”
Two years ago I was 74 and fitter than at 54 or 64. I had lowered my body fat from 29 to 25. My BMI was 18. I was 5′ 7″ and 114 lbs. I worked-out twice a week with Rio who had me doing a tough series of squats, lunges and push-ups. Today I’m 5’4″, 117 lbs. and lucky to get in two training sessions a week and a few Pickleball matches. I feel disjointed because there is no regularity to my exercise, it’s hit or miss.
Are Bare Minimum Exercises Key to Senior Fitness Daily Routines?
If I set up a series of daily movements, I can get back into a suitable fitness solution. Inspired by research on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), I believe that workouts of shorter duration but with progressively more intensity can be the solution to senior fitness daily routines.
As I mentioned last week, fewer reps means less opportunity for injury to aging muscles and joints. As long as there is incremental increase in intensity, either through changing the speed of action or by increasing weights to make the movements more challenging, one can build muscle. This doesn’t require more time in the gym or on the courts, quite the opposite.
What are you doing to preserve your senior fitness with a daily routine? Are you paying attention to progressive intensity?
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