Santa delivered, so ..?

[Smart Red]

@digitS', when I started getting ready for retirement -- I wanted to be in prime shape -- I did intervals of: walking followed by short bursts of running back to walking. When I needed a break, I did push ups against the wall building my arm strength gradually as well. For wall push ups step a short distance away from the wall and lean into the wall with arms positioned as if doing push ups on the floor. As the reps become easy, step a bit further from the wall and continue. Over the course of 9 months, without ever trying floor push ups I was able to do 7 of them on my first try on the floor just from the strength I'd build up beside the walls.

For walking in place, speeding up the rate and/or raising your knees higher will help raise the pulse. For me, I never worried about my pulse. I just did what I did every day of that last year until I retired. The results were really amazing. I should try something like that again, huh?

 

[Smart Red]

I appologize. I should have started the above post with a big Atta Boy! for what you are doing. Carrying weights -- I have some that wrap around my wrists and legs -- will increase your pulse rate since you will be working with more weight. For working in the house, put on some favorite (fast) music to walk to. It is not exactly dance, but swinging arms and raising knees makes for a good workout.

 

[digitS']

Thank you for the Atta Boy, Red !

I had to shovel snow this morning. Since the garbage cans had to go out and I was slow in getting out there, I did the work in 2, rather than 3 periods ...

It's fairly good exercise along as I don't hurt my back ... more.

What I've found is that about 6 weeks after the gardening season has wrapped up, I start having some different physical experiences. So, has it been 6 weeks since you retired, @Smart Red ?

I took the push up idea as a challenge - thanks for that. I don't think I hurt myself, guys do have an advantage in arm strength. I was able to do 7 push ups, even making it back to straight arms after touching my chin on #4 ..! It wasn't easy, however .

I did learn something by taking the WebMD measurements of weight, etc. I am, of course, borderline overweight but my belly fat is good !!!

The heart is a concern because of family history. I've already outlived 2 of my mother's brothers, one died at 59, another at 61 and I've nearly passed the 3rd brother. Only 1 of her 4 brothers lived into his 80's, as Mom did. Nearly all of Mom's family had heart problems.

The good news for me is that 100+ pulse may be just fine! The American Heart Association says that I should start at 78/minute for the 1st few weeks. Shoot ... Anyway, somewhere around 130 should be a maximum and anything above, is curtains ..!!

American Heart Association advice on exercise time: "Thirty minutes a day, five times a week is an easy goal to remember." Five days per week. Honestly, I'd like to get going at least 3 times each and every day but I do recognize that "purposeless activity" gets boring in about 20 minutes ...

Steve

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

I better put in some tapes and start walking. My job typing as a medical transcriptionist is not a healthy one. The snow is deep and going to be awhile before I get outside. My mother died at 89 of congestive heart failure, which I think some of it was snoring and injuring her heart. She always had a lot of allergies and took a lot of allergy medication. I am not sure if that or that she was not active most of her life because she went blind in early 20s. She never had a weight problem. My dad's family lived mostly into late 80s and 90s except my dad who died at 75. I think from eating at that time margarine, corn oil, canola oil, a lot of sugar, and his personality. He died so fast, it shook us all up and that started my brother and me on a change of life how we ate. I think my dad had clogged arteries. I know I need to lose weight, relax, exercise, and stay away from bad food. Smart Red and digitS are getting me inspired. I am going to have to do some wall pushups.

 

[Smart Red]

Oh, Steve! That hurt!

No, it has been a little longer than 6 weeks since I retired. All the work and preparation that went into my last year of teaching and I got sick two weeks into my retirement. That total muscular break down I've mentioned before.

It has been 10.5 years since I retired. Each year I could do a bit more, saw a little more improvement in what I could do. 5 or 6 years before I could get in and out of the car (almost) like normal. 5 or 6 years since I started pumping gas for DH as a form of celebration just because I could.

7 years before I could get in and out of a kitchen chair without hanging on a table. 7 years before I could jump and get both feet off the ground. 9 years before I was able to snap my fingers and nearly 10 years before I could get into the car without lifting my leg into the vehicle. Over and over through the past 10 years, I've told myself I had recovered/healed as much as an old lady could. Over and over I found something new that I could do after those 10 years.

Granted, it is well past time that I should have started working to get back into some semblance of shape but . . . Perhaps your recent activities will get me moving, too. I have been thinking about it while talking about what I did back then. No reason I couldn't do it again -- with baby steps.

 

[digitS']

Well, if you are improving each year - you must be doing some things right, @Smart Red !

I've had no formal exercise program. No trainers, can't remember the last time I was in a gym.

I'm in a slide down hill ... It surprises me that I can get done some of what I have done the previous year.

I don't think it surprises people that I'm not in the same health, not maintaining the same strength, not enjoying the same abilities that I had 10 years ago. Most things didn't improve for me after retirement, not even briefly, that I can recall. And, I haven't had any acute health problems, ever. There was some improvement to my health during my 30's. However, being so chronically ill during the beginning of that decade, it was going to be one way, or the other. Once actual aging set in ....... pffffffft

So, you must be doing okay and doing some things right, Red! Certainly by comparison with most people.

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

Yes, Virginia...I MEAN @ninnymary, cows CAN jump!

 

[ninnymary]

Well darn ducks4you, I didn't know you could ride cows either! Thanks for the video.

Mary

 

[Nyboy]

Kind of sad poor girl wanted a horse had to settle for a cow.

 

[ducks4you]

That's what WE all said, on the Horse Forum! I suspect that she got her horse, after all of the attention.