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Jack,
I'm 70 and I keep up exercise. Feeling physically healthy and able just gives life that extra glow for me. I've also had chronic issues with my back, and I do regular abdominal exercises. Plus I hang inverted for short stretches on a regular basis. It's been working for me.
I can do 35 push ups and 15 pull ups. I think one's early life sets a pattern as to where one's muscle development will be strong and where not so strong. Anyway, I try to find the spot where exercise is helpful but not too much. The good feeling from exercise can easily lead me to overdo it if I'm not watchful.
We're sure off topic here, but shared experience always seems ok.
Thanks for the feedback. I think this discussion is well on topic, since some doctors (think Dr. Charles Meyers) recommend physical activity for patients dealing with prostate treatments and possible side effects such as weight gain and diabetes.
Aloha Jack,
You can also add to that list, coping with depression, better tollerence to meds, shorter recovery time after treatment, better digestion of foods, you get the picture. Exercise that heart, and perhaps your genes will allow you to live a few extra years.
Hang in there,
Joe
You have a full understanding of the benefits of exercise. Your sign off was 'Hang in there'. That's exactly what I'm going to do. I mentioned I can't do complete chin-ups, so I've decided to try this: hang from the bar for five seconds,stop and do some other light exercise for 30 seconds, then repeat several times. I think my problem with the chin-ups comes from residual weakness just under my shoulder caused by a by-pass procedure. My buddy had the same procedure and the same pain, which has taken over three years for both of us to begin to feel better.
I agree with others that this exercise topic is NOT off-topic. I had become quite inactive before my Pca diagnosis in late 2009, and early-on read that exercise is key. I went right out and got a pedometer and have kept up an active regimen since, currently averaging over 10,000 steps/5 miles of walking a day...mostly with my two dogs.
I do feel it has helped with my Active Surveillance course, and certainly has benefited my overall health, which I consider excellent at 70+. Plus it has been especially beneficial for my mental health and outlook! Now if only I didn't hate weight exercises, push-ups, etc...
When walking with the dogs carry a small weight in your free hand and pump your arm, preferably raising your hand over your head. Switch hands. You could tie the dog leash to your belt and use both arms. The starting weight could be a can of soup. This will add resistance training to your aerobic walking.
I have seen many strange sights when dog walking up and down hills (which I recommend for getting the heart rate up) - always off the lead (which is better for the dog and better for me) but never have I seen a man pulled along by his dog attached to his belt and swinging cans of soup in his hands! I fear that I should have a very wide smile on my face were I to spot that phenomenon.
I have always wondered about the sanity of the folks I see walking with ski poles in either hand on perfectly flat ground. I know it's supposed to add to the exercise, but isn't it better to exercise without looking daft?
I guess I'm not embarrassed by exercising in a goofy-looking manner. Many is the time I'd go to the high school track and alternate between jogging normally and jogging BACKWARDS, something I did during 3 NYC marathons at age 50 60 and 70.
Well, Sir Ed, I have never worried about looking foolish. And good idea about weights, Jack. I need more hands, however. I already walk wearing a reflective vest, my 2 dogs on leash (narrow roads w/no sidewalks + park rules for adjacent area) plus a trash bag hooked onto my belt and a trash-grabber tool in one hand: we have the cleanest roads, free of all litter, in the state! Normally I can count on shoveling snow for exercise this time of year...but this season I've only had to shovel @2inches of snow twice.
If you're responsible for shoveling snow, then you probably have your own home. With luck, you have a second floor, therefore, steps. You can use them to start off with modified push-ups: feet at the bottom, hands five or six steps up. Don't join a gym, work out at home, avoid the traffic. Google "easy home exercises".
thanks, Jack. Yes, and we finally got some snow this winter, so I've been shoveling my 200ft drive and an 80yr old neighbor's as well the past two days (over 7000 steps on my fitbit this am). Thanks for the tip on stairs: our office/computer room is downstairs, rest of the living area upstairs, so no excuse, right?
Roger from the Indiana Dunes.
I'm with you on snow shovelling. Here in England we've had a couple of weeks of eight inches or so lying. Now gone, thank God. The tip about steps is a good one, I'm all for that - as long as nobody suggests going up and down with ski poles and cans of baked beans in either hand!!!!
I hate to admit it, but it looks like I jinxed myself, talking about my exercise routine. I just developed a niggling pain in the neck (2 on a scale of 10) . Chiropractic and physical therapy didn't work, so I'm cutting back.
