What is your favorite type of workout? Aging dilemma

[Paine]

I had a lot more variety in my workouts 14 years ago. I also don't workout as hard as I used to many years ago. For now I prefer weight lifting, pilates, Essentrics and gentle yoga. I wish I loved cardio but I don't.

[Leonana]

I love weights. Cardio is okay, but I walk a lot in my job, so do cardio workouts when I’m not working. I dread mobility, yoga, and I can’t do Pilates. I force myself to do short mobility workouts.

I didn’t start working out until I was 53, so I haven’t changed too much. I did have to stop high impact a few years ago.

[Kitten]

Oh man, I go through phases.

Right now I'm in my fusion phase. I am *really* enjoying YBB and all the benefits I'm reaping.

And I'm pretty sure when I finish my ten weeks, I'll wanna pull out my Body Beast worksheets.

Or my Core Secrets DVDs.

[annette]

I like boxing and kickboxing and do a lot of KCM and Cathe. I have issues with my feet so don't do step anymore which I used to absolutely love. Kickboxing gets my heart rate up and it's fun.

For weights I've been doing KCM and Cathe's newer workouts that go a bit heavier but slower. Her Perfect 30 weight workouts get a lot of use and I'm really liking Killer Legs.

I stretch every day for at least 20 minutes. Sometimes it's with a video, sometimes I just do my own thing. Jane Adams and I are becoming best friends. She is thorough and I like her demeanor. I'm 65 (how did that happen?) and find I need more stretching, especially for my hips and back. Also doing more balance work. I don't enjoy it but feel it's necessary.

[Jane P.]

For me it's weighs, right now I'm not lifting all that heavy, but I plan to build up. I really should do more cardio, but a foot problem is preventing me from going all out.

[Gale K.]

I struggle with the same issue. I'm 64 and have worked out fairly consistently since my 30s. Listening to the 'experts' I should be focusing on weight training, but when I do I'm sore and have neck aches and headaches. In early December, after a prolonged neck ache, I decided to not lift weights and focus on rebounding (which I so enjoy) and see what muscle toning comes with that. Between the holidays and being sick/recovering, I'm just now getting back into the groove, rebounding daily while doing isometrics (some with I Jump Instead). No headache, no neck ache since early December, and I'm feeling really good. I'm going with it, at least for now!

[donnamp]

Originally Posted by Gale K.

I struggle with the same issue. I'm 64 and have worked out fairly consistently since my 30s. Listening to the 'experts' I should be focusing on weight training, but when I do I'm sore and have neck aches and headaches. In early December, after a prolonged neck ache, I decided to not lift weights and focus on rebounding (which I so enjoy) and see what muscle toning comes with that. Between the holidays and being sick/recovering, I'm just now getting back into the groove, rebounding daily while doing isometrics (some with I Jump Instead). No headache, no neck ache since early December, and I'm feeling really good. I'm going with it, at least for now!

Gale - sometimes I wonder about the "experts" - and maybe listening to your body and what feels good to you is the way to go....

Donna

[Gemini2874]

Thank you for all the responses! Lots of good food for thought here.

Donna- yes, we are definitely workout twins!!

Gale- I hear you. The struggle is real. So many expert opinions telling us to do this and do that. I wonder if it will be like when they told us to eat margarine and then said oops, we were wrong, eat butter instead!!!!

[blzgrl]

Sometimes I think that the expert advice is directed at older women who are just starting out and don’t have a lot of time (or women who have a specific issue that needs addressing). In that case lifting weights is probably going to give them the most bang for their buck. For those of us who have been working out for many years, I think anything we choose to do that feels good in our body is enough. At least that’s what I tell myself! I do yoga most days with a few days of walking. One day is for weights and one is for dedicated cardio (hiking, biking, step or floor aerobics). When I go on a challenging hike with my husband and feel great, it makes me realize what I’m doing is just fine. I’m 60, BTW.

[FirmDancer]

I'm 67 and have gone through an incredibly challenging year related to breast cancer & everything that encompasses: diagnostic procedures, surgery, radiation, side effects, allergic reactions, physical therapy, the emotional impact of finding a new "something" on an MRI. Before this experience, I was hard-core intensity: loved CrossFit, loved heavy weight training, every day I would do either Les Mills Body Combat (kickboxing) or BodyPump (super-high rep ranges). I actually kept that up during the 8 weeks of diagnostics, etc before surgery!

But as the year progressed, the intensity of my "workouts" has steadily decreased. And I'm loving it! I am enchanted with Jessica Smith's AAP and her workouts. I am not following any rotation; my goal is to do (and take notes on) every single one of her new workouts. So frequently, I'm doing a "strength" workout on consecutive days. I recognize that and I'll rotate between going heavy for a workout, or using much lighter weights, or some days - just bodyweight! I think it's been 3 months of doing that, and I am astonished as how good my body feels! So many of Jessica's AAP workouts focus on the intrinsic / accessory / stabilizer muscles and I'm getting a lot of benefit from that. My posture is better, my stamina is increased, I can get up and down from the floor better. (And hopefully many of you will never experience this: but I was able yesterday to do almost a full push-up to get myself off the MRI table.)

As others have stated, so yes - my intensity has decreased, my choices have changed, and listening to my body -- but doing "something" consistently - has put me in a good place.

-Neita