The Senior Exercise Blog

The Recumbent Bike: A Serious Exercise Option

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:44:39 GMT

Recumbent bike: It makes building strong legs, hearts, and lungs a lot of fun.

Red Wine's Resveratrol is a Good Thing

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:43:05 GMT

Drinking moderate amounts of red wine and its resveratrol is a healthy habit.

Diet & Health Study News

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:41:31 GMT

When I turned 50, I was invited to participate in a national study on diet and exercise and their effects on aging. The study is administered by the National Institutes of Health. The American College of Sports Medicine, AARP, and the National Cancer Institute are also involved. I signed up and periodically they send forms to be completed and occasionally medical tests are required. People from six states in the U.S. take part; the information is collected, studied, and conclusions reached about diet and exercise. Today I received a mailer summarizing some of their findings. They follow here:

Exercise: Out of the nearly 253,000 participants the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, those who followed the physical activity guidelines had a 27 lower risk of premature death than those who did not. The physical guidelines recommended a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week or at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise three times per week. Source: Physical activity recommendations and decreased risk of mortality, by Leitzmann, Park et al. Archives of Internal Medicine December 2007.
Diet: Men who followed most closely a Mediterranean type diet were 17 less likely to prematurely die from cancer and 22 less likely from cardiovascular disease. Women were 14 less likely to die of cancer and 21 less likely from cardiovascular disease. The Mediterranean diet reflects the traditional cuisine of Crete and neighboring regions, including Greece and southern Italy. It consists of mostly fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains, fish, monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, moderate to low amounts of dairy and alcohol, and low amounts of meat. Full diet study report here.

Testing Myself

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:30:02 GMT

Im sore. I tested myself Monday by doing my Deck of Cards workout. Its a butt-kicker. Heres how it works . . . Get a deck of playing cards. Assign an exercise to each suit. I assigned them as follows:

Hearts Dumbbells Clean & Press (dont go too heavy or youll never make it through).
Clubs Pushups.
Spades Bodyweight Squats.
Diamonds Mt. Climbers.

Shuffle the deck several times. Place the deck face down. Start a stop watch. Turn over the first card. Lets say its a seven of hearts. Clean & Press your dumbbells seven times. Turn the next card. Suppose its a nine of spades. Do nine bodyweight squats. With each card, do the same number of reps as the number on the card. The face cards are considered tens. Aces are eleven. Remove the jokers or keep them and assign them any number you want to. (I remove the jokers.) Keep going through the entire deck. Then check your stop watch. Write down the time for your record. The idea is to go through the deck as fast as you can. If you do it that way, its a test and butt kicker. Of course, the workout is not difficult if you casually go through the deck. In shape athletes do the workout in less than 30 minutes. The training is supposed to be popular with Japanese wrestlers and judo competitors. But they often confine it to two exercises, such as squats and pushups. I like to do it with four. How did I do? It took me 27 minutes. When I tested in 2003, I did it in 20:53.79. However, I used a different exercise mix, which may or may not have been less taxing. I tested twice in 2004, finishing once in 21:27.75 and once in 22:22.25. Though the exercise mix was slightly different each time (meaning there is some degree of comparing apples with oranges), there is no denying that Ive lost a step or two. Age happens. But Im still under 30 minutes. Im sore. This is not a test for beginners.

My Current Workout

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:37:59 GMT

I change routines regularly. It is not because I am searching for some magic formula that will prove all others lacking. Mostly, it is because I have been training for so many years that I would get bored doing the same workout all the time. I make changes to keep things interesting. There are other reasons why changing workouts is a good thing, but they are for another time. Some of my routines turn out to be more fun and more productive than others. And circumstance, of course, plays a role in the type of training that is practical at the time. In my book, Living the Fitness Lifestyle, I list a variety of programs to fit almost any situation. Right now, Im doing a routine that I like a lot, which I call "5 x 5." It works like this . . . I have two basic workouts and alternate them, in a Monday, Wednesday, Friday format. As with nearly all of my routines, I like to superset opposing muscle groups. There is no rest (only long enough to move from one station to the next) between movements. Five times five means I am doing 5 sets of 5 reps for each exercise. For each movement, I select a weight I normally use for 10 fairly hard to get but not backbreaking reps. Remember, theres no real rest/recovery period between sets. After 3 minutes of light calisthenics to warm up, I do either program A or B. Remember, the supersets are exercises in pairs. Program A:

Nautilus Crunch Machine
Back Extensions
Leg Press
Leg Curl
Chest Press (I use a Nautilus cable device that I love. Certainly standard barbell or dumbbell bench presses are appropriate, but I stopped doing those several years ago because of shoulder irritation.)
1-Arm Dumbbell Rows or Seated Cable Rows.
Preacher Curls
Cable Triceps Press downs

Program B:

Weighted Decline Sit-ups
Back Extensions
Dead lifts
Side Split Squats (see demo.)
Overhead Press (barbell or dumbbells)
Lat Machine Pull downs
Cable Curls
Parallel Bars Dips

Following each program, I hop on a recumbent or upright stationary bike for 15 minutes. The first 5 minutes are at 65 percent of my target heart rate. Then 5 minutes at 85 percent. And the final 5 minutes back to 65 percent. Finally, I stretch for 5 minutes. From start to finish, my workouts take about 48 minutes. On my off days, I go for walk/hike with my dog, 30 minutes to an hour.

Fat in the News

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:45:06 GMT

While checking out the health news this morning, two items caught my eye. Both had to do with obesity. First, is the story about fat kids arteries. The news is not good. And it makes me wonder: how much more evidence do we need before we parents and grandparents dump the sugar drinks and junk foods? Read about fat kids arteries. Next, theres the Supreme Court of Canada decision that obese people have the right to two seats for the price of one on airline flights within Canada. That this is an issue at all has societal implications that go way beyond the courtroom. Read In Canada, the Obese get two airline seats for the price of one. In my book, Living the Fitness Lifestyle , I began the Nutrition section with the following: The defeat of famine is the goal of all societies. Unfortunately, triumph often evolves into the other extreme gluttony. After all is said, the solution to the problem comes down to the following: We must move more and eat less junk, kids and adults alike.

Qigong for Relaxation and Flexibility

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:36:35 GMT

Increase flexibility and relieve stress with Qigong.

Can a 73-Year-Old Man Play College Basketball?

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:33:39 GMT

One determined senior, Ken Mink (age 73), passed the required physical and made the college team. Hes not going to get too many serious minutes in games but he does play. Personally, I couldn't play college basketball when I was 20. So I sure couldn't do it now. For his age, Mink is exceptional, to say the least. But most seniors are physically capable of a lot more than people think. Heres how you can turn back the clock . . . If youre a beginner, first schedule a physical with your doctor. Tell the doc you want to start a program to get in shape. If you get an okay (and 99 times out of 100 you will), get some experienced assistance. Read a book and/or get a trainer. Start out slowly but incrementally challenge yourself. And never quit! You may not play college hoops in your 70s, but you will surprise yourself at what you are capable of and how good you can look and feel. And if you should happen to make the team, please let me know. See video.

New Study on Creatine

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:09:43 GMT

Creatine seems to have lost some of its luster with bodybuilders. Maybe it peaked a few years ago when Body-for-Life was the hottest thing in fitness. It was part of the supplements regimen most BFL competitors used. Now a recent study at Ohio State University, which involved elite level swimmers, appears to prove again creatines worth when it comes to improving in events requiring short bursts of speed or power. I used creatine several years ago and got good results. Nevertheless, I stopped taking it for the reasons explained here. I always point out when mentioning creatine that it is not a steroid, it is not related to steroids, and it is a legal substance. I do this because it sometimes gets erroneously lumped in with illegal or banned substances in media reports. You can read about the results of the OSU study here . . .

Steppers and Stair Climbers

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 05:09:28 GMT

Ever wonder about steppers and stair climbers for cardiovascular training? Discover the answers here.

You Tube and Me

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:39:15 GMT

Ive been reading about putting short exercise videos on You Tube and decided to try it. Or, I should say, my wife, Patty, agreed to do it for me. We used the video of a leg exercise I particularly like, the side split squat. Something happened, though, in the transfer, and unlike the original it is kind of fuzzy. Well have to get that worked out. Nevertheless, it is clear enough so that anyone can learn from it. Go here. There is a place for comments and to rate it. Let me know what you think.

Exercise Bikes

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:09:12 GMT

Upright exercise bikes are functional, compact, and perfect for home gyms.

Personal Trainer Certification

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:30:29 GMT

Do you or your trainer have personal trainer certification? Learn how to get it here.

Ephedra Diet Supplements

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:06:54 GMT

Many athletes take ephedra supplements, even though they are illegal. They may also be dangerous.