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.

Do you know what your targeted heart rate should be in exercise?

When I exercise, how do I know what my heart rate should be? Our targeted heart rate changes as we get older. One of the best answers to that question comes from your personal physician and in my case, information comes from my cardiac specialist. In my case the doctor wants me to exercise to improve my aerobic health. For my age and fitness level in exercise I should not go above 117 heart rate. 

The share care article, “Ask the Expert: What Should My Heart Rate Be During Exercise?” gives a formula that gives you a target you should shoot for. 

One of the things that we realize is that we can't train the same way as we did when we were younger. Now I think it's possible that an older person has kept their fitness level high. If so then they should be thinking fitness goals given by a doctor who knows them. There has been changes because I know of no athlete who competed a high level in their 20’s and 30’s can do the same in their 40’s, 50’s and beyond. We do age and we have to factor that in.

Now myself, my fitness is below par. So I have to start where I am at. Progress is slower. When I am exercising I aiming for reaching 75% heart rate to have aerobic exercise. How do I know I am there? 

To get a handle on your heart rate start with the number 220. Then subtract your age and you will get your heart rate. What trumps this is your health. If you are in poor physical condition then you will need a doctor’s advice. 

Generally most people the formula works, but people find away to be unique. For example in the last 40 years we are generally heavier then earlier generations. Our obesity changes our fitness.

So I start at the number 220 and I subtract my age of 66 and I reached 154. (220 - 66 = 154) This optimal number.  I next want to know, "What is 75% of that number?" (154 X .75 = 115.5.)  Round off the number and I am at 116. My target heart rate has moved from 117 to 116. Well, it has been about a year since my cardiologist gave me my goal. 

We don't want to get too intense!

How do I know where I am at? Fitness monitors and how do I feel? I want to be breathing harder but able to talk. I want to sweat but not two heavily. If my monitor or body tells me to reduce my exertion then I will do it. With practice I have gotten pretty good at reading my body. It is real easy to over exert, but now the risk is too high. A heart attack is not the goal. 

        HIIT High Intensity Interval Training really helps me here. Brief increased levels of activity my heart rate goes up then I go back to my control speed which still raises my heart rate but that heart rate goes down to safe levels for me. For example in intense biking where I either increase my resistance or speed that I'm peddling my heart rate reaches a 110-115. I maintain that for a couple minutes then I either lower my resistance or speed and sometimes both and my heart rate goes down to a 100 or below. 

I know from other studies that if I push my blood through the arteries 15% I am helping clean my arteries to keep the blood flowing. As my fitness improves and breathing becomes easier I should be able to spend more time in my exercise at that 75% heart rate. 

The bottom line is we have to learn to read our bodies as we get older and be aware of her own personal fitness goals. Check out the link below Keep walking

https://www.sharecare.com/health/heart-health/article/ask-the-expert-what-should-my-heart-rate-be-during-exercise?partnerid=HCA-CONT-WICH&cmpid=sc-et-em-00-up-050418&eid=1100069048&secureID=xGMyIl3IGPrasYnUgKpSEoMJqJ3NyrvSF2yKqwpL_m8nQWH8pRcCfP-Hlb30jwI9SkXWmn_bDh7i8fdmmG8-qA

Entering the shadows

Making a little progress. Working with 30 minute workouts to do at least three times a week. In fitness programs it is suggested to include activity that is fun like tennis, walking in golf, basketball, or a sport you like to play. Activity may be around the home like gardening, shores, housework. Hobbies like bird watching, fishing, hunting, photography can be done with movement involved.
So what can I do to challenge my self in strength, aerobics, balance and flexibility? I think it is time to enter the world full of shadows.
"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows..."
Thanks Orson
No, I haven't gone post dramatic  election. No, I am actually talking about shadow boxing for fitness.

OK it might help with the elections work off a little steam on both sides.
There are plenty of workouts on line and they can be adapted for senior fitness. Adapting the workouts to fit being 64 and not 20. A 3 minute round may stop at a minute or 2 depending on what I need to do. Included in the round may be push-ups, crunches, squats, lunges, resistant with bands, weights, TRX. There can be a ton of variety. The actually boxing workout can include movements that help balance, flexibility and strength. Impact can be light or not at all to help joint health. The boxing part may give interest to work through the winter season. The routines can be done with my risk of falling.
If you are younger the workouts can include impact of a bag. Learning and practicing the punches will give power and speed. Real fighting will flatten the nose and ears. But as a workout there is a lot of real benefits. It also may be a good release of elation stress.
Any fitness program can be adapted to your fitness level and age. Follow doctor's advise and hour own body and you can't go wrong. Keep walking

The sky is the limit, at least a 14er

I was reading an article today on the training that a 35-year-old woman Christy Mehan  does to ski the 54 14,000 Mountain peaks in Colorado. She does the skiing in March to May where it snows more and the snow sticks. When she and her husband climbed the peek the fun part comes when they ski down. She prepares for these aventures in the winter with 5 mile runs high intensity light weight workouts twice a week. In the summertime she hikes the mountains and participates in running events. 

Weight training and mountain climbing works all the muscles in her body and running helped her to control the breathing she needs to do it high-altitudes. Some of the climbs she has done have been dangerous where if you fall, you die. Christie is the first woman to have climbed and skied the 14,000 peaks in Colorado. She now is a 14er. Some of the views have been breathtaking. Doing these things with your husband and fellow 14ers demonstrates how beneficial the support is to do the extreme skiing.

Their hobby is possible because they work at their fitness. When she runs, it is uphill and that's pretty good for 5 miles. 

We all have our fitness and health goals. They may not be the same as world-class athletes but it is good for us to take care of ourselves so that we can enjoy the life that we have. Thank you Christie for having lived well. Keep the rest of us walking

http://www.wsj.com/articles/what-it-takes-to-climband-skievery-colorado-14er-1426524299?mod=WSJ_hp_RightTopStories

Biked in Southern California this morning, right in my living room.

The guy filming kept camera on the road, I would be sightseeing.
Probably good I wasn't biking outdoors.

In my indoor bike workout today I kept up with the cadence of the bikers moving along the California coast I think. It was a beautiful ride. Matching the beat count of the bikers simulated what you doing you biking on a trail. I've bike for 34 minutes. In afternoon I'll have a strength training workout as I mixup my days. There are plenty of videos of different locations for people bike. The simulation is different then spin training and today I did it off to a recumbent bike which consist of a chair in a portable cycle. The portable cycle is really good for seniors.

One of the nice things I like about biking is that it takes the stress off my back. I am working at extending my times on my feet so that I know for longer walks. Biking right now gives me extended time for conditioning. Fitness when we get older is probably more about adapting then it is competing. Fitness for your heart and body comes in the focus over trying to fit into some old clothes. A young bride and groom trying to fit into their wedding clothes makes sense. Oh when you're older the relaxed fit make sense. 

Last night’s meal was really good. I made the fruit salad which was easy and Barb made some fish and chips without using any oils or fat. I know she baked it but I don't know the recipe. But it was good. Keep walking

The fat did spin biking

Yesterday I was reading an article about a young woman who was doing spin classes in her home. The classes go for three months. She would miss the benefits of the social contact of the class but since she doesn't quite fit the profile of who you actually see in classes, she may be more comfortable. Spinning uses indoor bikes to beat of music to change speed intervals as the class bikes for my half hour to an hour.

Lately I have added online learning to my activities. It is another good way to use the computer and in retirement a great way to take classes. I use an indoor exercise bike so I thought why not apply a spin class to my use of it. It would make the exercise more aerobic and more interactive with the music and people in the video. So I checked on my browser online videos and check out one website that I thought had good programs.

It did not take long to see that these spin programs are challenging. My own conditioning is not on par with the participants. The type of bike I use is not the same. So it's time to modify. I found the music helpful as well as interval training. They would speed up I would speed up, they would recover I would recover. Recovering is this just a little bit slower speed. My pace was a little slower but to me I was working up a sweat. I biked for about 25 minutes. While I was biking I was practicing exhaling and resisting taking shorter breaths. This is a way runner breathes. I'm going to try to do it every other day give my body a chance to recover. I think it's a good way to do an aerobic activity similar to running only without the falls. Next time I'm going to check out spinning for older adults.

I have been encouraged my heart doctor to pursue better fitness. One of the things that you have to do is monitor yourself and stay within a safety zone.

There're many ways to walk with the fat Man. You can walk, swim, bike, spin, jog. Doing different things works your body different and give you the benefit aerobic activity that's good for your heart, blood sugar, and immune system. Besides a better living it helps as fight heart disease, Diabetes, and cancer. Keeps walking

Variety in circuit training

Seated curl can be done in chair, side of bed,
or a stabilizing ball. what is safe you choose

Today I visited two websites that gave a lot of how to new different band exercises. The other site gives dumbbells exercises, total gym exercises in other routines. As you build your own personal program there are a lot of exercises you can choose. You can do different exercises on different days Andrew do circuit training all you have to do is at 30 seconds of walking, running, biking in between the exercises. If you choose 15 different exercises and repeat another cycle you'll have 30 minutes of exercise. That's pretty cool.

Making the exercises work for you, choose movements that are safe and offers stability. Do the exercises that give you the best support and you're on your way. You can use a chair, counter top, wall. Get hey device that you can put it in your door to give you all kinds of starting points of the focal point of the exercise. Start out slow and remember you can do curls, presses, triceps all from a seated position. There are bands out there that gives light resistance. As always check with your doctor and think of controlled movements that are safe.

Keep walking

http://www.fitness.com/exercises/exercises.php?c=search&equipment=4

http://www.band-exercises.net/index.html

Battle of the sexes - wouldn't have it any other way

Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn cross wits in
Woman of the Year

The battle of the sexes seems to me to be in focus right now for the midterm elections. While the politicians will manipulate the picture, I have always looked at the battle of the sexes as kind of fun. As a teenager I became a big fan of Katherine Hepburn. In watching her films she matches wits with their male counterparts about as good as anybody. Many of her comedies had that theme and sexual tension which was a lot of fun. In real life and in the movies, Spencer Tracy became her partner and they battled wits from the get-go. For us it transformed into movie  magic.

And girls being girls in guys being guys still is amazing even today. I am nowhere near to understanding the female gender then I was 40 years ago. I still get surprised about everyday and I'm okay with it. There is so many strengths for us being who we are. We can bring our differences to a job, a family, or a relationship. Most of my life I worked for females and appreciate their strengths. 

In health guys and girls are different. In fitness they trained differently and would do well to learn from one another. Men for example could learn to be more flexible and become better walkers and train their lower bodies. Women could have more resistance and work out their upper body with the same intensity they do their lower body. Both men and women can benefit from lean muscle in aerobic fitness. Increase flexibility becomes more important as we get older.

Probably in both men and women they will exercise according to their own perspective and needs. It is who we are. As long as we are moving I'm good. Tip of the day, enjoy the humor of being different and above all, be kind. Keep walking

It is possible that you do not consider yourself an old fat man.

It is possible that you do not consider yourself an old fat man. Certainly if you're at the fairer sex such a label would be awful. If you are younger some of the things I write about me do not directly pertain to you. But I would think that in your mind anyway you would like to reach a ripe old age.
To improve your opportunity to live to be older here are some things that you may find helpful:
1. Start where you are - The younger you are the more preventative medicine makes more sense.
2. Develop your own medical team. A good GP is a good place to start. Other medical personnel can be added to your own needs. Having a doctor that can overview your medicines, and help you manage your care can really be helpful. Because I've had people in my close family have heart trouble and my grandmother died of cancer all in her 60s I was mindful of my health risk when I was even younger. If you have risk factors don't wait start your medical team.
3. If you are in your 20s or 30s you may still be in competitive sports. And your fitness training may be geared for that. As you move into your 40s look at your fitness from a health perspective. You have been fit and active you have already have done some good choices to add years to your life. Thinking of fitness as it relates to health will create new challenges for you but you like the changes.
4. If you're somewhat sedimentary then there's nothing like today to start. Take time to research a good fitness plan that involves aerobic, strength training, and flexibility.
5. Change your mindset about food, "eat to live, not live to eat."
6 My blog has a tendency to develop from my experience. My experience may be helpful to you, but health is really a personalized program. Some of my ideas may be very helpful, others may need to be modified, and others may be disregarded for something better. I am coming at this thing as one who is trying to improve my health. My awareness is from that perspective. I am not a medical expert. But I do investigate and do my best to research what I write about so I hope I am not wasting your time. Always check with your medical team for the things you need.
7. When you look for information that can be the most helpful don't leave your mind behind. You are in charge of the information at your disposal. This includes decisions that you make at the doctor’s office, articles, books, or digital information that you read. You are in charge of your health nobody can do it for you. If something smells like snake oil, it is likely a scam, be aware of it. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn't true. Sometimes when we are really hurting we could fall prey to scams.
Remember the earlier you start to care for your health, the more years you add to your life. The quality of your life for however long it may last will be better. Keep walking

Commercials a good time to move - Lose 50 lbs in a year

Well searching the web today I came up with a couple different ideas I think you might find interesting. One of them this talking about moving while we watch TV. I have to admit that I don't do it enough or should do it more. Liz Vaccariello, writing for Reader's Digest shares how.

Well are you trying to prevent kidney stones going to health day if you have diet design help you're the lower your blood blood pressure what they call it the Dash diet, – dietary approaches stop hypertension it may also prevent kidney stones. Go to the following link for information. http://news.health.com/2014/03/01/diet-to-reduce-blood-pressure-may-also-stave-off-kidney-stones/

"TV going to active time could be allowed if some of us could show as much as 50 pounds in one year! How about a few sit ups or push-ups during commercials? How about a 5 pound dumbbell lifting overhead 15 times with the charm for a 60s second break? If that seems like too much, at least, don't ever take a commercial sitting down. Use every commercial is a cutie get up and move move.

Try to stand and move as much as possible while you find yourself waiting. Depending on where you are, you could march in place, do a few laps around by your house, try a few stretches, or climb a flight of stairs." Tips from by Liz Vaccariello 

The idea here is that if we move throughout today even that a little bit more in the evening when we're inclined to be sitting watching. We are actually helping ourselves to lose weight and to be more healthier with our blood circulation moving and giving less time for us to be sedimentary. New research suggests even having the time of exercise may not be enough but finding ways to move throughout the day and actually be very healthy. So keep walking

No gimmicks but we need a plan

We've been exploring the ideas that we don't need gimmicks to make changes or to fight for our health. As we get older there's a lot more things are probably getting away. We may encounter diseases like heart disease or trying to prevent it like I am. I take a statins, I take my blood pressure medicine, and I work out and pay attention to what I'm eating. Other people may be looking at diabetes, or they may be looking at cancer. You know these three things coronary or vascular issues of heart and stroke, cancer, and diabetes that's what eventually gets to all of us if we live long enough. But diseases have a way of being an obstacle for us to make lifestyle changes that we may need to do to have a better chance of it. More and more doctors and scientists and experts are looking at obesity as a obstacle for good health. And obesity I think starts to kick in and affects us more as we age. By the age of 65 it could be a significant factor in why people are not moving around and becoming sedimentary.
So there we have it, we're sitting, not taking care of ourselves, we're over eating, we're not moving enough and we are doing activities like watching TV or computer or something that's not getting us moving. We need to ask ourselves a  question, 'Where are we at right now?'  that is is very important because I think each one of us the answer can be different.
So let's put a plan in action. We've  may have health issues, we may have an injury, we've had something going on where we've kind of put our life on hold. There could be an emotional event a loss of a job loss of a mate, a loss of the child,  other relationships breaking down. We encounter emotional issues that we never had before. Everyone of these problems could take us a while to figure out what steps we should take.
So while we're dealing with it, it's time to take the first steps. Like Bill Murray in What about Bob sometimes they have to be baby steps.
If we have become so sedimentary that just a little bit of walking we are breathing kind of hard, then the first step is to see our doctor.  Most people can return to moving again upon doctor's recommendations. My ideas may or may not be what your doctor says. Follow your doctor's counsel.
Here are some ideas to think about. I think it's a good idea to walk throughout the day. If that's our

case just take small walks and get yourself a pedometer and keep track of how many steps today. walking with walker, cane, taking walks into parts of your house through out your day is a start. If you can take a little walk every half hour or hour for sure. Keep you blood moving. Don't sit hour after hour at your computer or TV or reading. Get up every half hour and walk to the kitchen, use your stairs if you can. See how many steps you take. As you move you may find you are getting stronger. 
You know your first goal is to try and become un-sedimentary by walking over 3000 steps throughout the day. If you are really in this way make sure you start slow and follow your doctor's advise.
Your next goal should be trying to shoot for 5000 steps a day,  This may take you several months to get to and it may not happen all at once. Every day trying to walk in the morning,  start with minute walks, then two minute walks, than three minute walks, A minute afternoon go for another walk again starting minute to minute three minutes, and then an evening walk again same thing a minute two minutes three minutes and slowly build yourself up to where your walking increases where you can do 3 10 minute walks. If you walk 30 one minute walks in your day, you will notice the difference. 
I know I am repeating myself, but it is important. Your check in with your doctor you're going along with his recommendations, Your doctor may have personal recommendations for you. I am throwing ideas out there, but I don't know you and I am not a doctor. I do know most of us can get moving again. 
When it comes to walking through out the day if you can walk 7,000 to 10,000 steps a day you are on your way to being healthier.
Next, If you  haven't done resistant training in a while you have to start somewhere. It's a good idea to think about how you can use your body for strength training. There's a lot of exercises that you can do from the get-go. Again it starts with checking in with your doctor and then it goes from your doctors

recommendations. here you want to ask about resistant training for seniors or for people recovering from injury or illness. Your plan is unique to you. Here are a few ideas:

• check out on different sources about exercising for older people. There's exercises that can be done in a chair or around the chair. 
• There are exercises like I do where you can modify. A lot of strength movements can be done from things around your house. I can do a push-up off-the-wall, great for anybody. I could do a push-ups off of the table. (The idea I can my fat man exercises)
• I can do a push-up off of the counter. My counter is a great place for exercises. I can do lounges, I can do squats, I can do heal raises, I can do push-ups, I can do dips. In all these things I can use my counter for balance, as well as for structure to do some exercises like dips for example. When I do dips I use my legs to assist the movement to my fitness level.  Squats can be done off of the bed or chair I can I can do push-ups off of the bench and the lower you get to the ground the stronger the push-up movements. One push-up I can do is often the lower stair. 
• I think every day we could do something with their abs. I learned that from listening to one of the gym instructors talking to the kids in gym class do something every day for your abs. And so I do my sit ups off the bed. I got my feet on the floor and I just set up. It's got me very much into the movement with my CP, I have a hard time moving my upper body and lower body together, I always had. But here's a modification where I can actually do the movement and I find the movement is good for range of motion as well as strengthening my abs. I also do crunches and reverse crunches and other kind of moves for my abs. I'm learning how to do different kind of planking; I find it challenging, but I'm getting into that a little bit all to help to core muscles. Walking and standing also helps core muscles and so if you're sitting too much find ways to stand for your day. If you are sedimentary, try doing daily shores.  Stand down your work brothers you're working on a project and as you do things first. Of time all these muscles that you need to do it will strengthen itself. 

The flexibility is something that catches us unaware. We never know when we're going to become

Hit the trails this spring

inflexible, when the aging process makes us more stiff. Unlike a lot of people I've had the stretching all my life because of my cerebral palsy but now that you're getting older you maybe finding that you need to do a little bit of that as well. Flexibility helps range of motion helps with our pain, and definitely can with like with muscle exercise, walking and some resistance training we can actually take less painkiller. Movement works! Again be mindful of flexibility for seniors. 
Using resistant bands which I think are great as we get older we can find the bands for light exercises, exercises that need a little more strength, and then exercises that can take a lot of strength. There are levels of bands for your total fitness. Start with one repetition of 8-12 of the movements and when you are done with your routine, rest from it for 48 hours. As you get into it you can do one or two more sets. Multiple sets can build muscle into our 90's. Important to ease into it. 
Both the Internet and exercise support her out there for you to do right at home. Look into it and see what kind of works for you. My ideas are all about modifications. On my pages I have some good sites for support.
As we age it harder to lose weight and keep it off. I think it is easy to get discouraged. I think weight-loss is one of the most discouraging things that people face today. There's a lot of people working on it but it's a lot harder to be successful at getting over obesity.  Here I am the fat man walking and I've been at this blog now for several years, and I still need to make progress on my weight-loss. Am I a hypocrite? Maybe. But I can look at it today and know I need to move forward.  So I've been taken steps. I've decided to measure inches rather then the scale. And right now I am holding my own. And think I think I lost a half an inch, from last month. I will post my progress. Our waist should be half our height.  
I've been reading some articles of late that seems to point out that as we move into our middle 60s obesity makes it harder to be moving and it leads to more sedimentary kind a living. I am challenged by that to see if I can change the outcome. As I move towards a BMI that is more healthy, I look at this as a long-term success, and not just a quick fix. But that doesn't mean I don't need to act now,  I think I do. So for me I'm looking at where I'm going wrong, and I'm also looking at both information is helpful and also how to kick in the proper health response from my medical doctor and some other people to set up a better plan to do this.

Think through your life, Are you not moving enough? So where you at? Can we start today with a plan to see your doctor and to start looking for ways to move and get creative with it and try every day?
We need muscle to stay independent so take a look at strength training, this actually helps your heart and helps against your fight against the big three cancer diabetes and heart disease  A note on the fitness bands, you can take them any where and do everything you can do in a gym. Start slow and light and you will find they are great for senior fitness. Muscle looks better in our clothes and women don't bulk up. Think tone!
So I hope all these things Get active and go out there keep walking

No gimmicks, what stops us?

This is the second part response to what I wrote about last time. I was thinking about other things that challenges and prevent us from engaging in a more healthy lifestyle. I read an article in the New York Times Weight Gain in Older Women by Paula Spahn and she shares how women put on weight and the difficulty they have been taking off. It seems if women are healthy they have nearly a 20 pack percent greater chance of living to age 85 and having the ability to walk. As people encounter diseases their chance of walking independently decreases. Having heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and being obese are all factors in decreasing the possibility that you can be walking around when you're 85.
Read another article from Health Day where people who are overweight only sweat one hour a year for woman and three hours if your man. It raises the question what prevents people from working up a sweat getting 30 minutes of walking. If you are heavy like me you will sweat with just walking. Barb has a harder time working up a sweat. What prevents people from exercise and movement where they get more active.
It seems as if when we have health challenges it's a lot harder to put into our life the practices that we need to improve our health. I know it is a little more challenging than what people will admit to. If people who are overweight are people who are inclined to move from one location to the next where there setting. How can we change some of that. How can we put different kind of activities in our life where were moving around. It seems like there's a lot of people who have difficulty in trying to do this.
I have given this some thought now that I'm retired, and I am looking at ways where I can bring movement into my life. Helping out with some of the shores around the house that's it that's an idea that for me is a challenge. I can hear my kids laughing now. Getting up and doing different exercises when I'm working in the day on the computer is a good idea. I can do strength movements with my body throughout the day and at the end of the day I can have a full body workout by just taking small exercise breaks while working. I can go for a 10 minute walks throughout the day or even 20 minute walks. I can do some woodworking in my shop downstairs. I can use my stairs all around my house.
Shopping visiting people, getting out and moving around and when spring comes I'm planning to do some more bike riding. Using my bike to visit people in the nursing home and hospital. We need to find time to get in an hour or two of walking and moving.  When working on the computer, reading or watching TV at night are there things we can do to move a little for our health? 
My wife and I have noticed that if we plan to be walking when we are older it really does have to start every day now. 
There are a lot of things that I hinder us. We might have an injury, right now I have injury from a fall that hurts a lot. With my CP I have to give it time to heal. So it's a pain in the neck . So you know sometimes we get sick and it might take a week or two to recover from an illness. There's a lot of things that seem to interfere with our pursuit of activity. So I think we have to have the mindset to be able to reenter ourselves back into a routine of walking and doing things for fitness, stretching, and aerobics after we have these other times where we're having put down for a while. getting back into it isn't always easy. 
Next time I will go into some of things we are facing and the changes we have to make happen to move forward. Keep walking

The Fat man rules - note #17

As a fan of NCIS, I have bought into the humor of the investigative team as they have become like family to each other. The show is relationship driven as each plays their role to bring bad people to justice. Apparently Gibbs has 69 rules that his team keeps track of and try to follow. The viewer is not aware of them all but about half of them are known. These rules are shared like absolutes but the team and Gibbs regularly breaks them. Which leads to the one rule they all keep; "all rules have exceptions."

Here are some of the rules of the fatman:

1. Walk every day (swim, run, bike)
2. Do some form of resistant training 2 to 3 times a week
3. The older you get move and stretch for flexibility each day
4. Do the fatman exercises to be able to get off the floor and bed - to keep living
5. Think of shores to be done as therapy
6. Do fun activities you enjoy that moves
7. Learn to eat moderately
8. Eat 5 is fine, 9 divine servings fruits of vegetables a day
9. Eat one to two meals with fish every week
10. Develop your health team
11. With diet and exercise do it well 80% of the time (forget about being perfect)
12. Drink 8 glasses of water
13. When retired keep it all moving, 
14. Enjoy your sleep, but move through out your day
15. Talk with at least one person each day
16. Keep learning
17. Remember "all rules have exeptions" Keep walking

Not a resolution but a revision

Not really a resolution but maybe a revision is what I have been acting on of late. BMI we often think of a weight we need to be at. A good goal if you are obese is to become over weight. The weight loss there is huge for your health. As long as you are improving your diet and fitness you are your way to greater health. Diet to me is about portion eating and eating smarter and for your health. BMI has some variable in it based on muscle to fat ratio. The best way to know that is when you get closer to a healthy weight check in with your doctor.
Another way to look at it is your waistline. How ever tall you are your waist should be 1/2 that. I know there is a difference between men and women so look up what is for you and check with doctor. For me my waist should be at 35 to 37 inches. Well my doctor would tell me to get real. So my first goal is 40 inches. Once a month I will take a measurement and report the loss or gain. When I get close to 40 I will reveal my waist size. I have to have some dignity.
My old man exercises have been a real encouragement. They are sit-ups, crunches, push-ups, dips, squats, lunges and flexibility moves. I am also going to work out getting off the floor. Working to increase my flexibility will help here. As we get older we should do these body exercises and find ways to get the practical benefit from it. I am not a doctor or qualified to advise you but I am thinking about it for myself. If you are unsure of yourself to get off the floor practice with the kids around or people that can help you get up. Use a stable chair right next to you or a bed. And if you need to check with your doctor first that is always the best. Try first from a sitting position, then from a laying down position. It is good to know what you got to work on. Do you play with the grand kids on the floor than you know. Maybe that's why people find yoga useful or Tai Chi. Learn more about senior fitness. Check out Web MD or Dr. Oz for ideas on flexibility. Another place may be the National Institute of Aging. Keep walking 

Follow up on circuit training, look into it

Today is day 2 of my circuit training I hope to do 3 times a week. Aerobic in nature I hope it helps me return to jogging and fitness routines and ups my workout. Giving a day between should help as well top recover. A lot of things I have done this year have helped me get to this point.
The basic concept is to put three fitness moves together live shoulder press, side lateral and front laterals using dumb bells or resistance bands, then do a 3 minute jog then move to squats, lunges, heal raises followed by 3 minute run. having running time of 20+ minutes and a full body workout should come close to 30 minutes. I control my pulse and respiration by slowing intensity when I need too. When your body is 61 I have to pay attention to what my body is telling me. running could be 1, 2 or 3 minutes.
 I can also take this routine to the local trails. Barb can walk with me as I jog. The benches and bands can be adapted. If you are a runner you may want to think about on the go circuit training. Push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, squats can all be done on the run, as well as a number of strength training moves with resistance bands. Many things at a park can give you different angles to simulate a full gym workout.
Wasn't today a beautiful day. Lunch hour gave me some time outdoors. Keep walking

 

Eye of the Tiger

Think of walking 1,000,000 steps. If you walk 10,000 steps a day for 100 days you can reach that goal. that is a challenge Dr. Lianne Holloway met.

I did a circuit training today that really pushed me. Three strength training routines with a tube resistance, dumbbells  total gym and in between 3 minutes of running in place. For example push-ups, sit-ups and squats then 3 minute jogging. The rest of the strength training the exercises were linked together like curls, triceps, and reverse curls. then 3 minute jog.  I did 24 minutes of running and one simulated boxing round for aerobics and 21 different strength moves. Easily over 30 minutes of exercise. I played the routine with music, Felt like Rocky, you know the scene in Rocky 2 where he and Apollo are in the hospital. Actually I felt good. Keep walking

Dr. Lianne Holloway in Seneca, IL” page on Facebook.