Steve at 82 It’s been close to nine years since I last posted on my own fitness activities! So, there is no shortage of stuff to talk about! Perhaps the most important thing is that I am still at it. I recently turned 82 years old and this decade promises to be a challenging one physically. Sarcopenia --- the loss of muscle with age and its replacement with fat --- has kicked in big time and my former “Mr. America” physique is slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past. The best that anyone in this situation can do, I fear, is to fight it to the best of his ability in an effort to try to stop the process. The prevailing medical advice is to exercise, specifically to do strength training. I don’t always agree with medical advice. However, in this case, I feel it’s on the money. I would only add that a compete fitness program also requires aerobic exercise. In addition to our muscles and bones (osteoporosis is another problem that senior citizens face that can be countered by strength exercise), we must keep our cardiovascular system in shape too. So, the bottom line is that, in-so-far-as exercise is concerned, it’s business as usual for me. Getting old should not be an excuse for stopping. We should --- no, must (!) --- exercise as hard as we safely can if we are to maximize our potential to remain physically fit to a ripe old age.
For me, “business as usual” means two workouts almost every day. In the morning, after I down at least a half-quart of diluted orange juice to rehydrate myself, I either run or exercise on a stationary bike for at least a half hour. Both are great aerobic exercise. However, I feel that the bike is also a good strength workout for the legs. I do interval work that leaves my thighs burning --- just like pedaling up a long hill on a real live bike. I do my upper body strength workout before dinner. It centers on the use of the K*I*S*S* Exercisers that I have developed. There’s a lot more info about them elsewhere in this website. I do a bunch of sit-ups beforehand both as part of a warm-up and because I feel that, except for a few very lucky people, one’s abs require special attention. Even though I’m basically a skinny guy, I still pay extra attention to my midsection.
And, remember, all this exercise stuff improves our internal health too. Our body is a system. We eat healthy natural food to load our blood with the nutrients our body requires for its health. Exercise moves this blood to every cell in our body in an efficient manner. I already mentioned that exercise can be at least a partial cure for certain diseases. Cardiovascular issues, sarcopenia, and osteoporosis are three; I’m sure there are more…
Plenty more to talk about. See you in my next post.
For me, “business as usual” means two workouts almost every day. In the morning, after I down at least a half-quart of diluted orange juice to rehydrate myself, I either run or exercise on a stationary bike for at least a half hour. Both are great aerobic exercise. However, I feel that the bike is also a good strength workout for the legs. I do interval work that leaves my thighs burning --- just like pedaling up a long hill on a real live bike. I do my upper body strength workout before dinner. It centers on the use of the K*I*S*S* Exercisers that I have developed. There’s a lot more info about them elsewhere in this website. I do a bunch of sit-ups beforehand both as part of a warm-up and because I feel that, except for a few very lucky people, one’s abs require special attention. Even though I’m basically a skinny guy, I still pay extra attention to my midsection.
And, remember, all this exercise stuff improves our internal health too. Our body is a system. We eat healthy natural food to load our blood with the nutrients our body requires for its health. Exercise moves this blood to every cell in our body in an efficient manner. I already mentioned that exercise can be at least a partial cure for certain diseases. Cardiovascular issues, sarcopenia, and osteoporosis are three; I’m sure there are more…
Plenty more to talk about. See you in my next post.
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