People over 50

[Top Boss Ultra]

My parents are in their 50's, and I would like to convince them to work out. I'm assuming they need to start slow. As of now, my mom is a daily walker and she eats decently. My dad had diabetes and hypertension. He also doesn't pay much attention to what he eats. As a farmer, he is slightly stronger and more active than many other people his age.

Do any of you have advice about or experience with getting in shape past 50? Also, some reading from sources you trust would be great. Thanks.

[wildross]

I personally like the Strong Lifts 5x5 program. (I'm 52 by the way). Probably takes a bit longer to recover from workouts, but if your dad's the typical farmer, he probably needs to adjust his diet and add some more heart thumping activity. My dad got fat as my brothers and I took over the labor part of the farm and he did more management. He died of a massive heart attack at 51. Search for wildross on youtube or here on the forum and you'll find some videos of me lifting.

[oystergirl]

Top Boss, you must be pretty young...hehehe...50 is the new 30 and your parents are not old. My folks are 83 and 75 and they work out daily, eat right and I just put them on the plane for a month in the south of Spain. At 50 (I am 48 in march) your parents CAN do the same workout that you do if they chose to. I know plenty of people well into their 60's who rock out the fitness.

That said. If they are relatively set in their ways it might be hard to get them to do anything that is too overwhelming. I would introduce them to either the Perfect Health Diet or the Archevore Diet and explain the need to reduce or eliminate processed foods, wheat gluten and vegetable polyunsaturated seed oils. These are KEY for middle aged folks to protect the heart.

As for exercise. If your mom is walking regularly and your dad is doing manual labor, maybe put together a short lifting program that they can do with free weights or have them look at the beginner bodyweight exercise program here. My parents do 2 miles on the treadmill and back/core exercises but they do a ton of heavy lifting in the garden (my mother is a master gardener, not quite like a farmer but her back yard looks like the botanical gardens!)...

The most important thing of course is to make them understand that you love them, are proud of them, want them around for a very long time...no pushing...parents hate that as much as kids!

[cosmia]

I'm no expert, so all I can offer is a personal anecdote. My dad, who is 61, decided last year that he wanted to lose weight. He wasn't and has never been obese, but he was definitely getting to be on the overweight side. So he did two things: 1) started walking five miles every single day, 2) stopped drinking beer. That's it. His eating habits (which aren't super unhealthy but also aren't super healthy) remained unchanged. And he lost a lot of weight.

The point of the story being, simple things can go a long way. Of course he'd have to do more than that if he wanted his body to look a certain way / get stronger, but he doesn't. He just wants to be healthier and less overweight, and it works. But I guess it would depend on your parents' goals, really, just like anyone else.

[Oogiem]

I'm in my 50's. I'm also a farmer. I'm also overweight, under strong and not very flexible.

I am starting on the advice of the doctor to improve diet (moving more primal) and build strength. I already only eat grass finished meats and am slowly removing the carbs and adding more fat. I've started taking yoga classes (and there are some cowboys my age and a bit older in the class with me so I don't feel too out of place). I have both the Rebel Fitness Guide and the Rebel Strength Guide. I'm actually doing more of the Angry Birds style workout because getting the chunk of time to do the guides workouts isn't always happening. So I take 5 or 10 or 15 minutes to do a few squats while filling water tanks, do pushups against the chicken roosts before gathering eggs and other simple things during the day. I haven't lost much weight but I am a lot stronger now and am slowly getting more flexible. I think my fitness level is slowly improving and would a lto faster if I was more dedicated to working out.

I'd say the Rebel Fitness Guide is the better starting point because it's simple, easy and good for beginners.

[Top Boss Ultra]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Wildross, nice lifts. I think my dad could do Strong Lifts, but they live in a small town. There's only one gym, and I doubt he would take the time out to go there, at least at first. I may recommend it to him if he really gets into fitness though.

Oyster, I'm 25. So, yeah, I'm pretty young, and lately I've only been getting younger. I think you're probably right that my dad can do (at least a beginner version) of the same work out I'm doing, but that's probably not the case for my mom.

Oogie, I hadn't considered Angry Birds. I think that would be a great way to get them started since it doesn't require them to sacrifice one chunk of time. I feel like that is what keeps most people from working out in the beginning. If they decide they like that, I'll try to steer them toward the Rebel Fitness Guide.

What do you suggest to a person who can't do a squat? I know that for push-ups I could suggest wall push-ups and inverted rows for pull-ups, but my mom can't squat.

[ebm1224]

i agree with what's already been said and here's my personal anecdote

my mom was one of those people that was always a bit heavy but, while we were growing up, she really just let herself go. she would diet and lose like 50 lbs only to put it back on again and again. about 8 years ago she discovered (or rediscovered since i think she did it before i was born) jazzercise. i think it exists in most states now and maybe international. it's aerobic dance bascially with some stregnth mixed in. i've been to a couple classes and it's a very supportive, friendly, and social environment. i'm not a huge fan of the routines but i will say that my mom has lost a good bit of weight since starting it (along with watching her diet). more impressive than the weight loss, though, is the fact that she is so strong. like, my mom could kick my ass. also, her bone density is really good which i think for your mom is likely the biggest issue since she does cardio but doesn't weight train.

good luck!

[Oogiem]

What do you suggest to a person who can't do a squat?

I can't do lunges btu I can squat. They are similar but just enough different that I can do one but not the other. So I'd say try lunge.

[oystergirl]

Oogiem, I should hook you up with my friend Butterpowered bike who lives in your area and is a wild forage specialist and avid biker...! I love that you farm and grow your own food!

As for the squat. If your mom can't squat due to hip issues, trying to sit down on a chair slowly and then stand back up can work the same muscles with the needed support so she won't go too deep. Another good one is to slowly walk up the stairs and think of engaging the muscles while holding onto the railing. Both will strengthen without allowing for a big range of motion.