Fitness, Nutrition and Health- All Welcome (Hardcore and “Light”)

So happy to see this thread starting up! I’m 65 and while I’ve always been pretty active (aerobic classes of various types, lots of walking) I took up running about 8 years ago and am loving it. I really feel like it keeps me fit and helps me control my weight, and I’ve started supplementing the running with group strength classes a couple days a week at a local Lifetime Fitness. I’m not great at exercising on my own - hence the classes instead of equipment - and I run with a friend or two most of the time. I have a weekly base of 20 miles, running about 5 miles four days a week, 2 days of strength stuff, and usually a day off. A little more when I’m training for a half, which I try to do twice a year. I started a vegetarian diet about 5 years ago, and it’s made me very mindful of what I eat. I love cooking so that helps too. I have a sizeable cookbook library - which I had to supplement when I went vegetarian. It includes lots of baking books - not used as much as I used to, but I haven’t totally given up sugar.

Here’s my re-introduction.

I’m a 56 yo female.

I ran (“jogged”) in HS and throughout my 20s, as a way to maintain my weight. I also picked up cross country skiing along the way. I’ve never been a huge fan of getting all hot and sweaty and exercising. It’s always felt like “taking your medicine”.

However, after I had kids in my early 30s, I was not successful sticking with anything. I dabbled with dumbbells & BW exercises. I know! I’ll start doing sit-ups! I tried walking more. I tried Couch to 5K. I looked into classes at the local gym. I was just too busy, too depressed, & too stressed out to take very good care of myself.

It really wasn’t until after both kids were out of the house & I changed jobs that I was able to take back some direction in my life. In an effort to expand my increasingly small circle of friends & to get outside more, I joined a large local hiking club. Lifesaver.

No RSVP. Every single Sunday. Year round. No matter the weather. I will never forget the first hike and my utter astonishment at how FAST everyone was walking. I kept my eye on a grey-haired woman who was in her mid- 70s and I was determined to not fall too far behind. ( @lizardly Yes! Inspiring. Take it as a compliment. )

Most people in the hiking club have way more $ and time than I do. Nevertheless, hearing all about their traveling and adventures was just what I needed. Hope! Life is NOT over. A new stage, possibly the BEST stage, is just beginning. It’s not just all downhill from here.

After about a year or so of hiking with the club, I was definitely a stronger hiker. I thought that maybe I needed to hike MORE in order to get in even better shape. But, that was a big hurdle. Hiking is a significant time commitment. Drive time. Hiking time. Tailgating time. The rest of the day being written off.

So, I dusted off some dumbbells in the basement and was screwing around with those for about another year or so. No real training plan. I sorta kinda knew lifting was important but wasn’t sure what to do exactly. You just lift the weights for some reps and sets, right? I was quite ignorant about strength training at that time.

It’s a little fuzzy to me now what it was exactly that provoked me to buy that Rogue Squat Stand last May. Something got to me and I knew I needed to barbell train if I was going to put a stop to sarcopenia plus build some strong bones.

I started doing the Starting Strength Novice Linear Progression, using the book The Barbell Prescription by Sullivan & Baker as a guide. I dialed into a podcast called Barbell Logic and found that very helpful as well – even if a lot of it went over my head in the beginning. YouTube helped with learning proper form – Mark Rippetoe.

I made the effort to see a SS coach in person, for 2 separate form checks and help with programming. I follow a lot of lifters on Instagram now and I have an entirely new definition of what’s possible for me, a mere mortal who isn’t particularly fond of doing hard things or exercising.

Sometimes I cannot believe I’ve managed to stick with it 8 months, managed to eat 150 grams of protein a day, and how strong I’ve gotten with baby steps. I am living in a different, bigger, stronger body. There are so many weird paradigm shifts I’ve experienced as I’ve learned more about strength training.

Ex: It was really weird to be “happy” about needing to buy pants a size up after ~40 years of trying to figure out how to eat less and wondering how to have a smaller body all the while feeling guilty for not exercising.

In the other closed thread, I mentioned that Westminster Strength & Conditioning is my very favorite strength training IG. Nobody is going to make the cover of a fitness magazine. It’s just ordinary people, of all ages, getting really strong with barbells. I love it! I like the focus on what your body can DO, not what your body looks like.

As you can probably tell from my post, strength training has had an unexpected positive effect on my mental health. Every time I hit a PR, I’ve done something hard that I’ve never done before. It’s really a cool feeling.

I’m looking forward to reading others stories and the support & encouragement we will surely have here. Cheers!

@MichaelNKat I knew Functional Movement and Fitness sounded familiar, so I googled it. The founder was one of my first PTs here in town. I won a copy of his book in a running race in the early 2000s. He moved away a long time ago though.

@kelsmom I’ve never done the complete P90X3 program, but I love some of those workouts. “The Challenge” is my fav!

@sushiritto I loved reading about your workouts on the old thread. For a few years I did crossfit like workouts (pulled from some website) in my old gym. I enjoyed it a lot. We don’t have a real crossfit gym in town, but the one most like it is way too $$$ for me.

@ClassicMom98 My workouts are definitely out of the norm for sure. I started at a CrossFit “box,” but I grew out of the programming fairly quickly, I desired workouts longer than one hour and, as you mention, they’re very expensive.

I now belong to a “barbell club,” which caters more to the power lifter and body builder type. But the club (actually looks kinda like a typical CF box) is small, has everything I need, and the owners have left an area open for me where I can do my thing. Also, I can move around the equipment as needed.

@Midwest67 's suggestion of Westminster was awesome. I check in occasionally. There’s an elderly women named Doris, if I remember correctly, who’s just plain spectacular and works out in a skirt. As mentioned, the IG feed focuses on regular people just beginning their fitness journey.

@MomofWildChild, I take Wieder Artery Health/K2 (from Costco).

For those who asked, P90x3 is series of exercise routines that are quite varied. Each is 30 minutes, with a unique focus. Body weight is used a lot, as are hand weights. You can do it in any order, but I have found the best result for me is to do one of the preset 14 week series (lean). The mix of different types of exercises works well for me. (@ClassicMom98, I like The Challenge, too.)

Thanks! I’m going to check that out.

As for me, I’m a 57 year old female. My fitness level is all over the map. I’d say I’m close to the “light” fitness level, but I’d really like to be “hardcore”. I just can’t seem to get it done.

I’m aerobically fit, good weight, and healthy, so far. I’ve run my entire life (though I’ve really slacked off lately). But I’ve never liked to lift weights or do core exercises (except rock climbing), so my body fat level is way too high, and if I have muscles somewhere, they are in hiding.

I make goals (like triathlons) and then don’t meet them. I was traumatized by bathing suit shopping four years ago (and if you don’t know what I mean, I hate you?), and don’t remember how to swim. My job kicks my butt sometimes as far as working all night, being exhausted and exposed to toxins, poisons, radiation, and God knows what else. I’m concerned about getting cancer, brain tumors, mesothelioma, etc, so I get extensive blood testing and bio identical hormones to help me feel better.

I’m glad MOWC started a new thread and hope we can help support each other! I really want to do better and meet my goals.

OK, seeking counsel. I am just turned 57 and for two years have been working out 3x a week as part of a class – one day aerobic, one day weights, one day half and half. I’ve lost 30ish pounds, most of that coming off the first year. I’d like to lose 40 more, but I’ve been plateaued for a year or so.

I very much enjoy the classes, but Monday went for my annual, and the doctor said that I need to wear a knee brace and get PT for runner’s knee. This is not the first time I’ve had this problem. I used to be a marathoner in my 30s and even did an ultra. I’m not afraid of hard work. I quit running because of the bad knee and then Morton’s neuroma from compensating blah blah blah. I gained a lot of weight when I stopped.

At this age, I am not interested in seriously injuring myself. I’m thinking of quitting the class, because I already do modifications to account for the bum knee and if I have to keep doing more and more modifications, why am I waking up at 5:15 a.m. and driving to this class and paying for it, etc. I would really miss the class and would need to buy more weights at home, but I’d like to lose more weight and haven’t for a year so it seems like I need to make a change anyway.

Thoughts?

Happy to be able to post here.

I am a 62 year old female (63 in a few months), who spent decades knowing I needed fitness and not doing much about it. Much of it was due to “mental junk” I had due to growing up totally uncoordinated and unathletic in a family of athletes. In my early 40’s one of my kids needed O.T. for awhile partly due to proprioception issues. That was an eye opener as I immediately recognized that in myself.

None the less, I had always wanted to try yoga and I did in the fall of 2014 when my youngest started college. It took several months, patient teachers and my own persistence for me to really get it down (though there remain certain poses I will likely never do), but with a consistent practice I got it.

Inspired by the old fitness thread and wanting to run a 5K Turkey Trot with my kids, I started running on my own. I stepped it up when I joined a training program for women (runners, walkers, run-walkers) sponsored by a local running club. I loved it and kept it up year round. After 3 seasons of participating in training, I was asked to be a coach last year. The very last thing I expected to be in my life was a coach! But I absolutely love it and will be coaching again this year.

Today? I practice yoga 3X/week , run 5X/week and have been rowing 3X/week. And @Nitmom - I am also training for my first half. Fitness has made me feel so much better about myself and my body and helped me mentally, too. In addition, I have whole new groups of friends from running and yoga.

I do not have speed, endurance, strength or coordination. I have determination and dedication and I use that.

If you heel strike while running, could it be possible to change to midfoot or forefoot landing to reduce the shock transmitted to your knee while running?

I am happy to get to know a little more about regular posters. I feel like this is “true confessions” of CC posters.
I’m an “everything is OK in moderation” kind of person. I will be 58 next month, and I am fairly fit, I guess. I am on the slim side according to my Dr, but wouldn’t mind losing a few pounds. My only real issues are in my right arm/shoulder. I’ve had a slap tear, an impingement injury, frozen shoulder, and maybe something else in my shoulder, and I have tennis elbow on the same side. I eat fairly well, but not great (I usually have yogurt and a banana for breakfast, have a salad most every day for lunch, and I don’t eat too much junk). My weaknesses are white wine and ice cream. I walk up to the 9th floor of my office building regularly (and down). It’s really more like like 16 flights of stairs each way. We spend a lot of our vacations hiking, biking, walking, etc. I walk around our neighborhood a time or two a week (4 miles), and I go to the gym and/or ride my bike most weekend days. I also take walks at work when I have time. I am NOT a runner. I have hand weights and a kettle ball that sit in our family room, and I use them a couple of times a week, but just for a few minutes or so. I’m more of a lurker than a poster on this type of thread, but I like reading what others are doing and getting inspiration. I will likely retire in the next 18 months, and I hope to join a hiking and/or biking club, go to the gym more, and probably eat better, once I have more time to cook. Reading about @MichaelNKat made me think that maybe I should learn more about fitness and nutrition when I retire, and maybe help others too. I really don’t know much about nutrition, but fortunately I’ve been pretty healthy and haven’t had to worry about much to date.

@“Youdon’tsay” , have you been fitted for shoes at a running shoe store? I swear by my local store for proper fit/shoe selection. They helped me when I first started having hip/back issues, and they helped me recently when I suddenly started having foot pain. There are lots of shoes out there, and professionals can be a huge help in finding the best shoes for an individual.

@ucbalumnus I’m not really a runner now. I do run for a few minutes on aerobic days, but for the most part my running days are past me.

I forgot to say that I would replace my 3x/week class with 5x/week walking. I already walk 5x/week, but just a mile and not particularly quickly so I would obviously walk much further than I can with my 13yo dog.

@kelsmom I used to go to Paul Carrozza back in the day (runners might recognize his name as footwear editor for Runners World in the '90s) but haven’t lately.

The reason that this is kind of time-critical is that my next session of classes starts Monday, and I’d get a full refund if I cancel before then. I need to make a decision soon.

So much great info, enthusiasm and story telling here!

I love that we have people like @sushiritto who admits to being “hardcore” - haha and others who just want to be healthier and benefit mentally from some exercise and improvements in eating.

@FallGirl , I LOVE this:
“I do not have speed, endurance, strength or coordination. I have determination and dedication and I use that.”

That is me, the woman soon to be empty nester who walked into a CC thread 7 years ago and is STILL me.

This thread becomes richer when we have people at all levels to relate to.

I feel like @“Youdon’tsay” was saying she USED to run - and was doing other things now but still suffering from runners knee? Is that correct? What kind of exercise has your doc given you permission to do? Would a second opinion be helpful?

Weight loss can be so tricky after 50 (or whatever that magic number is…) I try to not focus on a scale number but becoming more firmed up and well, less flabby!

I do always support a concise, complete food log for at least a couple weeks. Document EVERY morsel - also recommend using an app that can show you nutritional breakdown like carbs, fats, sodium etc. So sort of focusing more on the composition of the food you’re eating (and where you might make changes) and not just a calorie count.

@MomofWildChild Thank you for starting this thread. I found the closed thread especially helpful when I started working out.

I never participated in sports in either high school or college, and only got active because my first husband was a runner—he dragged me along kicking and screaming. We got divorced shortly after we completed the NY City Marathon. Even though that was long ago, I have never run any races again.

After that, I didn’t do anything until I hit 50-something. I started working out with a trainer and got to the point where I could bench press 100 pounds. I also did long-distance walking, participating in a number of 3-day sixty mile charity walks. It took a lot of time to train and I didn’t have time do anything else. When I retired, I become an avid fan of yoga and pilates and do either 4-6 times a week. I am even going on a yoga retreat to Costa Rica with my daughter.

My goals now are to try and get back to strength training and try something aerobic like spinning along with yoga/Pilates, My yoga hero is Tai Porchon Lynch—she’s 101 year old yogi who still practices and teaches. (I took a class with her at Kripalu).

@“Youdon’tsay” What about something more knee friendly like elliptical? You can get your heart rate up pretty nicely on those and you can also watch TV or something.

Great first day for this thread. Thanks to everyone and let’s keep it up!

I’m with Sushi in being hardcore. Running is just like breathing for me. I don’t love it all the time and I sure don’t like getting out of my warm bed and outside in the cold or onto the boring treadmill to do it, but my mantra has been “DO IT ANYWAY.” I also have a little bit of a shoe problem- I love to try new running shoes. We can have gear discussions at another time, but I will say that I have no shortage of shoes and athletic wear. I am a brand ambassador for a women’s running and athletic wear company called Oiselle, which supports some female pros and has the amateur team of which I am part.

@Youdon’tsay, first, congratulations on the 30 lbs, that’s quite an accomplishment! As to your plateauing, do you keep a food log or use an app to track what you are eating each day? Sometimes, notwithstanding our best intentions, we lose track of what we are really eating each day and some type of tracking system can produce surprising results. If you are into tracking applications, My Fitness Pal is a pretty good one. I’ve played around with others but keep coming back to MFP. There is a free version and also one that costs $39/yr. The “pay” version has some neat additional features but the one I really get it for is the ability to set my macro levels based on grams and not just percentages. Also keep in mind that as you lose weight, the amount of energy intake you need to to maintain or lose weight decreases. So, if you are eating the same amount today as you “lose weight” amount from 30 lbs ago, that could be an explanation too. All of this just scratches the surface of things that could explain why you have plateaued but following up on these two things is a good starting point. If making adjustments to your intake and tracking what you eat to keep you on track don’t seem to work, then take a deeper dive into other possible culprits like macro ratios, sleep patterns, nutrient profiles of the foods you eat. Basically, eat whole, real foods, avoid added sugar and processed foods, eat slowly and stop when you feel 80% full.

As to your running, does your studio have low impact cardio? Like an elliptical machine or indoor cycling? Very viable options to pounding away on a treadmill.

I likely need to pay more attention to my eating. I have used myfitnesspal but have fallen off that wagon as I often eat the same things so kind of know where I am (though I’m sure some days I am kidding myself).

The class I’m doing is a program at a fitness institute at a university, not at an open gym. I suppose I could go to class and then just do my own thing, but I’m not interested in that. After my last knee issue in my 30s I tried rowing and the elliptical and just couldn’t keep that up.

One thing I love about this class is that every semester you get a post-DXA scan. Do y’all know those? I’ve been able to see my fat% for down and lean mass go up. One big change I made last semester was to quit eating Lean Cuisines. My trainer did a whole paper on processed foods and adiposal fat (I’m an apple) and she convinced me that all calories are not created equal. That has been a huge shift for me. And this year my goal is to drink less Diet Coke, and so far I’m holding at no more than 4x/week. I am working this from a number of different angles!