Moving along like a tumbleweed

Strength training this week was 15% of my work out minutes this week. This is an upward trend as I work in different strategies.
In Dr. Ken Cooper's Start Strong, Stay Strong he presents a case for the benefits of exercise to square off the curve of aging where we spend more time in health then we do in disease and decline. There will always be things we can't control, but he suggest we can control about 66% of the things that effect our health.

7th week

Dr. Cooper suggests that 50% of our exercise should be aerobic no matter what age we are. All of his life he was into aerobics but research led him to make changes in his exercise routines. His guide line is 60% aerobic and 40% strength training. There is a blend of strength in aerobic training. There is no question weight bearing exercise is part of the strength program. So when I change the resistance in my recumbent bike I am increasing the strength my abs to lower body. When I am climbing stairs, walking I am strengthening my muscles to move. So while I know I am increasing my strength program the aerobic training has been helping.

I hope I am encouraging you to not give up. The government study I cited below is a review of many studies on strength training and seniors. They cited only 10-15% of seniors are actually doing any kind of work out. It may be true active seniors use their muscles in work and hobbies. We need to include those activities with their health benefits. I like to use step conversions or calorie estimates of the things we do. They count.
If we do not work at it, we may not be adding enough muscle to our body to maintain an independent life. A thin person who is inactive may be close to the weight they had when they were younger but as we age more of the weight is fat and less of it is muscle. Their health could be in danger. I know as the fat man I have to work on it.
When you develop your fitness program there are so many ways to do it. It always starts with the reality of your health and your doctor's recommendation. The older you are the more you need to check out how seniors exercise.
For me the process is slow. This week I took breaks in my circuit training just to keep my heart rate in a healthy zone for me. During the breaks my heart was still working. In my strength movements I had to slow down because I was maxing out. Each exercise has its own limit. This was my 7th week, but I still and maybe always have to be in touch with what my body is doing. Progress is measured in months and not weeks like it did when I was younger.
An indoor recumbent bike is quite a tool for senior fitness. Different levels of fitness bands are also

Different colors different resistence

good tools. Body weight exercises that can be adopted for your fitness levels are helpful. Training with senior fitness people going at your own pace helps with the proper approaches. If you are in your 80's short brief walks can be very helpful. I am coming to believe the best thing I can pass on is not do what I do, but know there are many things you can do that is good for you.
I have a long way to go for better fitness. I am not there yet it is cool that I am working on it. Keep walking
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3117172/pdf/Dtsch_Arztebl_Int-108-0359.pdf
https://www.collegesportsscholarships.com/strength-resistance-training-seniors.htm

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.

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. 

Be positive, adapt, work through challenges

One of the purposes of my blog is to record my journey for better health and fitness as I age. One of the things that I've noticed my story is not one  and done and happy forever and ever. No for me it is a series of changes, some of them unexpected. 

Part of the John Lennon quote, “Life happens” challenge my possible success story. I never anticipated falling into a depression and anxiety from a long term insomnia. Walking was also helping me sleep. Lifelong stressors then adding a few more setbacks, my brain wasn't working right. Like Humpty Dumpty I wasn't able to put my life back together. 

TRX give it a try

Returning to health I was back on the walking trail, but a serious fall in the winter two years ago and walking as I had known it changed forever. (I still have issues) While I was recovering I was able to improve my resistant training with body exercises, TRX, and resistant tubes.

Walking was replaced by my indoor recumbent bike, indoor walking with Lessie Sansone with brief periods walking that I could tolerate with my backache.

Having cerebral palsy with thousands of falls has a practical outcome of joint pain from head to toe. Pain management involves help for my GP, physical therapists; but surprisingly, the most relief comes from therapeutic movement, resistance training, aerobic training. Flexibility has

It hurts but latter you
will feel better

issues all the time in the life of someone who has cerebral palsy. What I have found it is easy to have more problems; for example, putting my socks and shoes on. I suppose many seniors experience the pain is they age into their 80s and 90s. But for me right now it is extremely painful. What do I do to relieve the pain? Two or three times a day I cross my feet on my knee and rotate the foot at the ankle joint and each day the pain is less. (I have to work through the pain and I can’t let it go) This was something I never had to do it when I was younger, but pain teaches you new things.

I want the blog to be a positive experience as I share some of my successes. The fat Man exercises, adopted push-ups, sit ups, dips, squats, heel raises, walking stairs are all just about anybody can do as we age. These moves are adapted to fit you. A push-up off the stairs from lower stair to four steps up give you a push-up from hard  to easy. Using a countertop, table top or a wall give other levels of resistance. Dips can be done at a corner on counter top in the kitchen. You use your legs to vary the resistance. The Internet can showing you how to do body resistance exercises.

Today I did I hitt program enjoying the Internet cycling workout 30 minutes. The exercise

The bike I use

includes interval training of high intensity, higher resistance cycling with periods of lower intensity and resistant cycling. The cyclists in the program are all using hi end indoor bikes. Once again I adapt the program to use my indoor recumbent bike and to keep my biking in the heart range that is good for me at 65. I am not going to compete with Younger more fit people on the screen. I follow the beat of the music and keep my pace up and increase resistance in the sprint periods. 

I stayed in my heart range and following program I've biked about a mile longer then I would have if I was biking by myself. 

I really strongly recommend an indoor recumbent bike. The comfort and adaptability to bike listening to a book, watching TV, listening to music; you will find yourself biking every day. You don't have to buy the most expensive one, but by a good one. Biking is a good way to battle diabetes and for many of us get the steps we need each day to be healthier. For me it is an activity where I have no back pain.

If you go to YouTube and typing cycling workouts you will get a lot of options. Check out the link below. Work with your doctor in this. Keep walking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRylMkvahjM

Bike station at computer

I'm always on the lookout for another way to move as I work on the computer. As I reheat my 2 cups of coffee in the microwave for one minute each, I go through six old man workout moves using the kitchen counter.

• Push-ups 
• Dips 
• heel raises 
• Lunges 
• Side lunges 
• Squats 

Three days a week I have my suspension training connected to my door and I did two sets of push-ups, curls, triceps, pull-ups, squats, and there is three different types of squats I can do. 

On the days I do my strength-training I have several tools to use. The one that I use most consistently is my resistant bands. And there is about 12 strength-training moves duplicating moves at the gym. 

Five days a week I do at least right now three 10 minute walks that are either indoor walking with Leslie Sansone or I walked outdoors. My next step with my walking will be one of the 10 minutes I will walk for 20 minutes. But I think I will keep the other two 10 minutes walks. In 12 weeks my 20 minute walk will expand into a 30 minute walk. You can see if I add up all the little ways I move it is more than an hour a day. 

Chores like doing the dishes, vacuuming and in the winter using the snowblower are other ways to keep moving. I've been a little bit lazy and I need to include the laundry in this. By adding a few flights of stairs it will be all the better. 

I bought a portable biking device that I can turn into a recumbent as I work on the computer. I just listen to a sermon by Pastor Lutzer up at Moody Church in Chicago that went about 35 minutes. I biked for 31 minutes that put three thousand steps on my pedometer. It felt like easy biking you do when you got your bike in gear and your feet is moving along at a steady pace. I read about using this tool at the computer station to help movement while you work. Blood circulation, calories burnt, breathing deeper all boost your health. The device can also be used by the arms. You can rehab hand, wrist, arm and shoulder injuries with it. When I was in rehab I would go three minutes in one direction and I would go to three minutes in the other direction. Upper body movements also are used in cardiac rehab. If you have heart issues check with your doctor.

I will update you on how I use it. I know it's one more way to reach a goal of 10,000 steps a day. In the wintertime we can use all the little help we can get to keep moving. 

Keep in mind the principles as we get older to be involved with aerobic training, strength training (this actually increases as we age) and flexibility. I was just reading Wayne Styles blog on accountability. He has a small group bible study with men and he lists 10 questions to help in the Christian life. 

http://www.waynestiles.com/10-accountability-questions-to-grow-your-christian-life/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+waynestiles+%28Wayne+Stiles+Blog%29

Two questions from the list, #5 Have you done your hundred percent best in your job, school, or retirement? With #8 have you taken care of your body through regular physical exercise and proper eating and sleeping? When we retire or as we age we need to give ourselves time to exercise. Because we are at the age we are now it is time to eat a healthy diet that is heart friendly. There is more and more written about sleeping today and how it is connected to our health. How do we do our best in retirement? I know that's more than physical fitness but for right fitness now that is part of retirement. (other responsibilities may include how we live, being involved with others, make people our business, spiritual vitality and life, engaging hobbies etc.) The choice here relates to how we feel and are we able to stay independent. Moving, walking, adaptive strength training all help us with arthritis, our heart and brain and lungs. However long we live it is a life better served. Keep walking