Charter Member of Boomer Generation

[WillLightfoot]

Hey, there!

 

Very new here.  Refusing to go quietly into that great goodnight.  Turning 69 this summer.  I'm 5'8". Have gotten weight down from 200 to about 185 recently.  Having difficulty reducing more.  Tried running, walking.  Working on diet and other activities now. Reading/studying everything I can get my eyes on.

 

My biggest frustration is that this health/fitness industry has largely ignored a huge revenue source.  That's the boomer generation.  The magazines and the website have little that is helpful for my generation.

 

Body goals would be to get weight to below 170, lose belly fat.  Performance goals might be to complete 5k run/walk in 40 minutes. (Best is about 42 right now.)

 

I have been tinkering with dumbbell training to maintain or slightly improve strength.  Also working with flexibility exercises.  Also continuing walking for maintenance.  No running of late.

 

Positives: No serious injuries or ailments.  Legs good. Some flexibility for my age.  Blood pressure and cholesterol both good. Good control of time to work on things.

 

Negatives: Lose wind easily.  Short of breath with not a lot of exertion.  Some plantar fasciitis, but managing it at the moment.

 

Would like to find like-minded people here at NF.  Perhaps we need a new tribe/type called The Sages or something.

[Elastigirl]

Hi and welcome! There are several older wiser people on the boards. We have a thread we chat in here http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/68642-chronologically-blessed/

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

Welcome. I like being called a sage , although I still feel like a stupid kid much of the time.

[Bookish Badger]

Welcome to the Rebellion!

 

Most of the fitness advice is targeted at the younger folks, but I've found that walking is walking, and a weight is a weight. Good form is going to be the same regardless of if one is 18 or 78. 

 

The biggest difference I've found is progress speed and recovery time. For example, you'll see programs like StrongLifts saying you should do squats 3 times a week and should add 10 pounds every workout (until you top out), but we don't bounce back as well as the whippersnappers do. So lifting 2 times a week and increasing weights by 5 pounds every other workout might be better. We can still get really strong, or really fast (or whatever your goal is), it will simply take us a bit longer to get there. 

 

[Moxie~girlFriday]

Welcome WillLightFoot!

 

Have you given swimming a try? It is so much easier on your joints, and I find that I don't get winded even when exerting myself. We are minutes away from the hot days of summer, where I know people start finding other things to do instead of walking/running in the heat, so water for the win! Plus Aquaman does it... so there's THAT!

 

~Moxie