This military circuit kicked my butt. But I did it, Hurrah!

I just finished a military circuit training for 20 minutes. I used the bike to slow down heart rate. At thee strength movements particularly squats and lunges my heart rate went over 110+. Biking at level 1 brought my heart rate back at the 80's, 70', and 60's.
The workout

Band Bench press* or pushups - in 1:00 - here I tied two bands to my cane, cane side on chest and pulled out. A broom would work.

Squats - 1:00 backside against the walk

TRX Pull-ups or pulldowns - 1:00 again works the muscles similar to a chin up- With TRX upper body it is where you place your feet to adjust the resistance. 

Bike or jog - 3:00 I think walking in place would work as well. Consider Sansone's four basic steps. Any of her workouts will demonstrate this. They are on line.

Band Military press* - 1:00

Lunges - 1:00 each leg

Band Bicep curls - 1:00

Bike or jog - 3:00

Tricep extensions.- 1:00 (Leslie Sansone kickbacks w pulldowns)

TRX 1:00 side squats - As I step out emphasis was on stating more on the step out leg. Gave me a chance to work my weaker leg. TRX on this was excellent. 

1:00 Kickbacks

Bike or jog 3:00

Situps - 1:00 - I stack four pillows on bed and lean back two sets of 20 to 21 for the two minute ab work. When I recovered from an illness this exercise gave me confidence to rise out of bed. Along with squats a real confidence builder if you ever have to recover from stuff that knocks you out. 

Crunches - 1:00

Stretch cool down-1:00-30 minutes small steps slower rate, stretch moves

You could bike two to three minutes between each exercise. Change the exercises to your needs. If I did two minute biking the workout would be 33 minutes, 3 minutes between each one would be 44 minutes, 4 minute biking 55 minutes. 

On another day you could do 11 different exercises, use different tools. There are different exercises to work the same muscle groups. A TRX band can be simply made from a solid rope that can bear your weight. This can be done with cans and bottles, light resistant bands, just the movements or any way your doctor recommends. 

Always start out slow, be safe, (I don't want to fall) listen to your body and put in movements like I did with the bike to control my heart rate. 

I know Reeves, I'm bored with your stuff. I get it, but gee Wally I did it! Keep walking😎

More strength training this week - Variety can be the spice of life

He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places. Ps. 18

Continued success through week six. 110 minutes this week were aerobic with a circuit training that included strength moves. Strength training I did 48 minutes. Short walks were less, but more fitness was done instead. On one day I did a mile walk at 4 and 3 minute segments. 
Biking remains my #1 aorobic activity. I did a few minutes each biking at a higher intensity level than before. Level 1 warm up and cool down, level 2 my control level, level 3 my intensity push and this week I did a few minutes at level 4 in two bike workouts.
Circuit training is real easy to design. You can choose weights, resistant bands, TRX, body exercises, cans and bottles and mix in 1-3 minutes of walking, biking, running. You can do this on your walks by bringing a resistant band with you. With a park bench or picnic table you have a gym. Below is a military circuit training I did using bands, TRX, and body exercises for a 20 minute workout. 
After my 4 set workout using blue and black tubes (heavy) I needed a day off. Using strength, aerobic, walking activities I was able to reach 172 minutes and still counting. 
Three things I want to leave you with is I am still at it👍 and there are a lot ways to get there which includes things like gardening, bird watching, going for walks, swimming, games, you get the idea. This week I improved my strength training and I used a few new ideas. 💬 Keep walking

Some of the nuts and bolts of senior resistance training

Most senior fitness guides recommend two to three days of strength training a week. There are so many ways to do this and are worth trying.
Benefits - I am not listing all the benefits - be independent, be ablate get out of bed or chair, set off floor, slow or add muscle, (muscle means able) improve bone health, flexibility, look better, improve pain control, sleep better, live

None of these benefits happen over night and progress is slower than when you were younger. Research I have looked at suggest improvement is possible into our 90's. Actual improvement if you are working at it may be 10% or 20%. Overall with most there is improvement.

Using stars for push-ups
the lower you go on the
stair adds resistance

There are many who suggest we are slowing down the decline. Regardless how you approach this you are giving yourself months, years of active living, that would be lost if you don't do anything. Make strength training another hobby in senior living. 

Not only is she doing a push-up here
but she is working her triceps
Note the feet placement, be safe and
 or two in

Consider the various tools we can use: household stuff - cans, bottles, make excellent weights.; workouts can be done with chair, countertop, wall, bedside, bench in a park. Body weight exercises like pushups, dips, crunches, squats, lounges, heel raises, - all of which can be adapted to your abilities. My favorite example is a push up can be done standing upright doing the push up against the wall, counter, off the stairs, bench, dress of drawers, dips from a counter with your legs doing squats for support. Using a counter for balance support will help you do these things safely. A countertop with a corner is excellent for dips with your legs assisting. Try it you feel the burn in your arms. Tubes, bands are great and can be done any where. Dumbbells, TRX, going to the gym are all good ideas.

You will actually look better
My feet should an inch or two
out for a better angle. 

Where you place your feet changes the resistance. Feet closer to counter or wall is easier.
If you go to the gym to assist chin-up, dips with machines is easy. If you

my hands push up as I
do the squat 15 to 20 reps

weigh 130 and you can't lift your weight you balance the weight assistance by adding 50, 70, 100, 110 weight where you do 80, 60, 30, 20 lbs. to do the exercise. If you add 120 lbs you will be working with 10 lbs. As you get stronger you add less weight. The same is true when you use your legs to support your dips. You control what your upper body is lifting. Your legs are getting a good squat and your triceps and upper body gets a full range of motion with resistance where you will feel it.
Include discussions with your doctor who with physical rehab or trainers will work your approach. As we age it isn't one size fits all. A good plan may be completely different for you. For most of us there is a plan.

Today for me is in home walking and TRX work outs. I hope to do 3 or 4 sets. In home walking I will do three to 4 minutes at a time. Later watching a Cub game I will bike 30 minutes on my recumbent stationary bike. At my work station I will take many short walks. Add washing dishes and clean room all good for me to keep walking.

5th week, short and to point. Keep walking

5th week at 150 or better. Having a week to reach goals helps being flexible. This week strengths were biking and short walks.
One of the benefits of retirement is you have time to work on these things. Keep walking.
Did you know this kind of stuff is good for the brain? Restricted in moving, consider a recumbent indoor bike.

Reporting for duty sir

In a health blog such was mine, I am grateful to be reporting progress in lifestyle gains. For you as a reader it has to be somewhat on the boring side, and I get it. We do want to move on to things.  But on the other hand I disclose my battles because I think they are quite common to all of us as we age. My motivation really is share what I find is working for me and it is really a work in progress.
What I have experienced is aging really can slow you down. All my years falling has come back to bite me, but giving into it isn't the answer. So with that in mind, how am I progressing this week?
I will share two stickies I keep on my computer to track a few things.

One thing I want to do is 150 min. of exercise that improves my aerobic capacity, strength and flexibility. Another thing I want to do is to keep walking in a way where I do not fall and improve my balance as well. With cerebral palsy I can lose the ability to balance like many people do in there 70's and 80's. Balance can improve but with an impairment the progress can be a bit slower. As you get older you may find balance issues you never had before. Take heart you can recover balance with a little know how and practice.
This week on my bike I did more intense workouts for aerobics. I applied an virtual walk walking an Hawaiian coast with the wonderful sound of the ocean and scene on my TV screen.  I also played an audio mystery and the time flew. Hearing the ocean was cool.
Every day I took short walks and a couple household shores. Granted the walks were only 80 to 100 feet, but I took them anyway. Included in thee walks was stair climbing. I also had brief workouts in home walking with moves side to side and backwards, kicking and high knee lifts. The movement include upper body movements all designed to move everything and balance. There was strength moves as well with TRX, body exercises, bands and weights. Well, I made my 150 minutes and then some and I can see the more I put into the easier it is.

A side benefit is less pain. Right now I can walk for 4 minutes rather than 2 or 3 before pain hits and my knees feel better. Biking with the support from the recumbent bike is pain free. Breathing is better and balance. It is still ongoing.
Don't get hung up about what you can do and not. You can break up the fitness any way it works for you. I am a big fan of a recumbent bike, they are easy to step into and the resistance is easy to more challenging resistance. TV, music, audiobooks, ambient sounds help the time on the bike. In outdoor biking has its own enjoyments. Assisted mother with bike actually is fun. Keep walking.

Include weight training in your fitness goals.

While my weekly goal of 150 minutes is ongoing, I have already reached it with a day and a half to go. Included this week, were minutes dedicated to strength training using body exercises, exercise bands, dumbbell exercises, and TRX training. None of these programs are new to me, but they count in a senior fitness program.
In an article, May 9, 2018, from AARP Why it gets harder to drop pounds after certain age, list two reasons to lose weight; loss of muscle and decreased activity. Caroline Aprovian MD sites we lose 5 to 10% of your muscle mass each decade after the age of 50. She recommends a diet in which 30% is protein and at least two days a week a weight lifting. One study, reported 3 pounds of muscle gain after 10 weeks.
Another article dated May 16, 2018 Get Moving! A Fitness Plan for Dropping Pounds gives practical advise on getting started and recovery.
There are many types of exercises of light resistance that add muscle to our body. Swimming and
water resistance, light exercise bands, all can help. Taking weight training to another level when we are increasing the weights and reps as you improve. Overall I think this is a good idea, but each of us have our own goals to consider. Being in touch with yourself and your doctor is always the first step in starting an exercise program. Being 50 years old or 80 years old are two different realities.
As we get older we do not process food as well as we did when we are younger. When we exercise we do not get the same rate of return that we didn't we were younger. For example the benefits of exercise may only increase 5% to 10% when we are older, but the important thing is there can still be a positive return as we age. There have been 90-year-olds who through the effort of weight training have been able to put on 2 or 3 pounds of muscle. Not only did they stop the decline of muscle loss but they actually added it to it.
If you are on the younger side of 50 it is a great time in your life to add on muscle. I like to think of it as saving for a rainy day. Having muscle to lose is a good thing.
There is flexibility in 150 minutes a week. There are days where not much is done. I have been at this awhile and I know there are set backs. I hope at least to be encouraging as that point. As long as we draw breathe we can get up again and bugger on. The week allows one to get back on tract. Having many ways to exercise has a way of adding up. Am I improving? I think so, but the return is not as fast as when I was younger. Being at it 4 weeks is cool. Keep walking
Ps.
Harvard Medicine reported on a study in April 2018 Jama Internal Medicine, extra protein does not add muscle in older men average Age 73. Looking the exercises done in the study may be a reason why. Training may have to be more vigorous. Protein drinks may not be as able as real protein from natural food?  Aging a muscle loss is the norm. Most believe life style changes can slow the process down. Finding strategies that actually add muscle is a new thing. It does take some doing.

Week three goal met

Hurray, week 3 reach my goal again. This week I have increased my indoor walking workouts. I did three days of aerobic walking workouts about 4 minutes at a time. Each day I walked 3 or 4 times to reach 1 mile workout. Biking I did interval training that covered longer aerobic workouts. I usually did my daily fatman body exercises, with a little band workouts. Walking limits because of pain but I feel better than I have. Biking I believe is still key in improving aerobic fitness but I am encouraged about walking.
Can't give up, keep walking

2nd week of 150 minutes

Mostly indoor biking High intensity workouts.

Finished week 2 reaching 150 min of exercise aerobic, strength activities.
Besides 4 days of aerobic biking I included two sessions of indoor walking and two stair walking as well. I did two minute rounds of shadow boxing, all of the activities push into aerobic fitness. Shadow boxing I wild a little more and this week I will do at least two strength training workouts. 

I'm cool, ready to go

With different activities my minutes will go up with biking 4-6 times pushing my aerobic fitness. Walking and stairs don't look like much but with a life time of falls and injuries I am trying.

I side benefit is better flexibility. I have more challenging balance issues than in the past. Indoor walking helps. 

How to make indoor walking work? Try a recumbent stationary bike. Very easy to get on the bike and very stable. The support on back and comfort is a plus. One can listen to an audio book or follow a fitness program on TV, smartphone, tablet or computer. Listen to music or TV to help time past. Every couple of minutes change resistance up or down to stay in your heart range for an aerobic workout. Listen to your body if breathing or heart rate gets to high lower your level and intensity until heart rate goes down. Make sure your doctor has given you some guidelines that fit you.

Having distractions makes the time fly and before you know it you reached your goal.

If you walking outdoors walk early or later and stay hydrated. This year we are not used to the heat. Walk trails with plenty of shade. Use sunscreen and a big hat. If you have not been walking go for short walks. There are days when it is just too hot to be outdoors. Keep moving.