Help With Starting Exercise Program For Sedentary 63 Year-Old

woodstock99
woodstock99 Member Posts: 338
edited April 2016 in Working on Your Fitness

I am 63 and have never been a physical person.

I have joined gyms, bought treadmills, had personal training, tried classes, etc but nothing else ever stuck.

I work a high stress job with 10-12 hour days, take care of DH, 2 dogs (one new puppy) & 86-year mom remotely, handle our finances, am involved with volunteer work, etc so exercise always falls to the bottom.

BUT I know now that my weight & sedentary lifestyle may have contributed to my BC and to keep from recurrence I need to lose weight & exercise - no more excuses.

I am good with eating healthier and the right foods, cutting back on sugar, etc and have seen 2 nutritionists (one at the facility where my BS is and another woman who who is a bit more alternative but a BC survivor) and have already made significant changes but I am not sure what I should do for exercise that I will stick with to get the weight off and get rid of estrogen.

I have lost about 10-12 pounds since my BMX and my BMI is now at 27 (it was at 29) and if I lose another 17 pounds it will get to 24 and w/in normal range albeit high-end.

The MO I saw when I was heavier wanted me to lose 40 pounds which would put me at 21 BMI but I can't see that happening.

I try to take a 30-minute walk daily - usually at lunch - and am still seeing a PT & doing my ROM exercises as I developed cording and still have a lot of tightness.

Even though we live in TX we do not have a pool at our house and there is not a gym or facility near where I live or work that does although swimming appeals tp me as it is solitary. I am not boig on group classes. I need to de-stress and have some quiet time.

There is a 24-hour Fitness across the street from where I work that I joined years ago when they opened and I am still a $10/month member as I have been too lazy to cancel auto-bill & kept telling myself I would go.

Would buying (another) treadmill or recumbent bike for home be a good supplement to walking so I can do this at any time any day of the week?

I do have fibromyalgia (but it's pretty much been in remission for past 5+ years & I only get flares when it is cold & damp or under high stress) & some cervical stenosis in neck & upper back.

Open to all suggestions.

Thanks so much.




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Comments

  • Warrior_Woman
    Warrior_Woman Member Posts: 1,274
    edited March 2016

    Hi Balthus -

    Good for you with all the progress you've made. These lifestyle changes really are a challenge. I've always been an exercise nut and I've supported many friends who struggle with it. They've spent ridiculous amounts of money on all kinds of gadgets, fads, classes, trainers, nutritional aids and wound up frustrated. I really believe that exercise has to be tied to something you enjoy. If it is a drudgery it won't happen. I enjoy exercising because I feel competent with what I'm doing and I always feel better after. I don't exercise to feel better next week. I exercise to feel better today. But that is not likely to help you yet. You've already identified that you prefer solitary activities such as swimming and walking. The gym sounds convenient for you too. I sometimes take my camera when I walk with hope of catching interesting shots. The smart phones make a world of music and videos available as well as lectures and audio books. I was on a stair stepper for 3 hours when I was reading a novel that I could not put down. I run new places with different scenery to make things interesting. A friend likes to walk the mall. Of course she shops too but tracks her stats on her fitbit. My father is in his late 80s and exercises everyday. We're both similar in that we rotate our activities. Doing the same thing everyday gets boring. Swim, walk, hit the gym, walk the mall and keep moving. There is a group on here that posts their daily exercise. They're great support. Remember that even little changes make a difference. I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

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  • Manu14
    Manu14 Member Posts: 153
    edited March 2016

    Sounds like you're going in the right direction, Balthus. With working so many hours I think it would be a challenge to carve out separate workout sessions at the fitness center. I think the European style of working more steps into your everyday routine might be a good place to start. You're already walking during your lunch time. How about getting up early enough to walk the dogs before you go to work? If you drive to work, maybe you could park farther away from your building and walk the last six blocks. Avoid elevators and always take the stairs. I am just a year older than you and bought the new Fitbit Alta a couple of weeks ago. I am so pleased with how helpful it is. It gives a little vibration if I haven't walked 250 steps in the last hour. Studies are now showing that moving more frequently helps lose weight better than one long workout session per day. The Fitbit gives me just enough incentive to add a little more movement to my day.

    Hope you can find what works for you.

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  • LisaAlissa
    LisaAlissa Member Posts: 1,092
    edited March 2016

    This is going to sound like a silly idea, but if you work in a large office building, can you use the bathroom on a different floor, and take the stairs in-between?

    If you carry a smart phone or a fitbit (or similar device) with you, you'll see the additional steps/flights of stairs you add without adding additional time to your busy day.

    HTH,

    LisaAlissa

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  • woodstock99
    woodstock99 Member Posts: 338
    edited March 2016

    Unfortunately I need to park in my building as I work late and would not want to be walking at night in the dark with my stuff and our building keeps the doors locked on each floor.

    You can exit on each floor to walk all the way out of the building so I would need to work up to be able to do 8 flights.

    I am going to try to add more walking at night & on the weekends now that it's staying lighter later (yeah) & maybe extending my lunch time walk.

    I do try to get up every 30 minutes or so from my desk & computer to walk around our floor.

    Has anyone ever tried or used a treadmill desk?

    I used a Jawbone when it first came out but had a lot of tech issues so gave it up. Maybe I should try a Fitbit.

    Thanks for the encouragement!

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  • Warrior_Woman
    Warrior_Woman Member Posts: 1,274
    edited March 2016

    I've never used a treadmill desk but I have used my laptop while walking on the treadmill. It is great when I'm feeling pressured with work.

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  • Nel138281
    Nel138281 Member Posts: 2,124
    edited March 2016

    Check your local Y. Many of them have the Livestrong program. It is a program for cancer patients/surviviors. 12 weeks and I believe free. It was a great way for me to get moving again

    Be well

    Nel

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  • woodstock99
    woodstock99 Member Posts: 338
    edited March 2016

    @nel - Yes I have already done that & unfortunately the classes are during the week during the day at locations too far from my office.

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  • farmerlucy
    farmerlucy Member Posts: 3,985
    edited March 2016

    I try to save BCO for the treadmill (note try). I only do a mile on an incline but even that makes me feel so much better and chases the mental beasties away. It is amazing how quickly 20 minutes goes with an iPad, treadmill, and BCO.

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  • woodstock99
    woodstock99 Member Posts: 338
    edited March 2016

    My husband and i just rejoined a fitness center that we belonged to about 10 years and of all the ones we had ever joined it was the one we went to the most.

    It's also full of old people like us!

    It was my birthday a few weeks ago & his is on Sunday so we thought this would be a great gift to each other.

    It's a full-service facility with a beautiful 1/2, full & 2 mile walking path as well as a year-round heated (outdoor) pool, machines, classes, pilates, trainers, etc.

    I am not quite 3 months from my BMX and I do not particularly want to share this with anyone there so I was wondering if anyone here can suggest to me what I can be doing now besides walking and recumbent bike for cardio?

    Also can I do Tai Chi?

    Thanks in advance and this is a photo from the walking path.

    I am happy just for this as the sidewalks in my neighborhood are in terrible shape and it's not too enjoyable to walk so having this beautiful vista will motivate me.

    image

    .

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  • woodstock99
    woodstock99 Member Posts: 338
    edited March 2016

    My neighborhood is not conducing for walking at all let alone dog walking as the sidewalks are messed up and uneven and I am afraid of hooking my foot and going flying - again. This happened a few years ago and I broke my left wrist & was lucky the dogs did not run away. I have small dogs who stop every 2 minutes. One is now 10 years old and the other is 9 months old so also their activity levels vary. So we do walk them but it's not exercise. We do not do dog parks. We did but believe they picked up giardia (sorry if spelling is off) and our vet advised us to stop going. Also we have had some issues at ones near us where there have been large & aggressive dogs in the small dog area and the owners are not very nice people. The Texas summer is coming s soon temperatire and mosquitos will be an issue.

    But we joined the fitness center and now I am looking for suggestions on what someone 2 & 1/2 months out from BMX can safely do. Thanks.

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  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited April 2016

    What a lovely walking path!! I would think that vista would inspire you to go, go, go!

    Yes, I think you could try Tai Chi. It is very gentle and you could modify your arms as needed for now, until you build up strength. If you are going to start any weight training, I would suggest that you start low and advance slowly, so as to not aggravate the lymph system. Weight lifting too much too fast could be a trigger for developing lymphedema. There are guidelines over on the lymphedema forum. StepUpSpeakOut has tons of information about exercising while reducing your risk.

    What about swimming?

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