I am working on 75, and certainly can’t do all of the things that i used to enjoy doing, but I still try to keep as active as I can. Mostly, I don’t take any kind of pain medicine, and can keep the arthritis and stiff joints at a manageable level just by avoiding inflammatory foods, and doing whatever exercise that I can. For me, the fitness center has been a Godsend, because I can do do much more in the water than I can otherwise. We usually go for an hour, and in that time , I can now swim about 3/4 of a mile, more or less, depending on how much time I spend doing water exercises and how much swimming. I have a set of swim fins, and that really exercises my legs, even when I am just walking around in the water, and I am hoping to get to the point where I can get up and down better again. I have at least two childhood friends who still have horses and ride all of the time, so they are in good shape for our age. I think that I could still ride okay, but my balance is not as good anymore, nor my body strength to catch myself when I do get off-balance; so horseback riding is not a safe thing for me to be trying nowadays.
As most of you know, I have had 4 joint replacements which makes some kind of exercise difficult.. I still work the field during the season which is starting and that gives me a full day of exercising in the form of WORK.... I do cycle, walk, (no jogging) walk the stairs where possible, and generally keep active.. I can't get on some of those exercise machines.. NO WAY !!! I cannot lift weights with 2 shoulder replacements..
Oh it seems to me you're doing plenty of exercise @Steve North for a man in his 70's... and having had the shoulder replacements too... still cycling?..good for you..
We no longer have any granulated sugar in our home. That is since we are now both Diabetic II. Splenda and a little flavored cream in my coffee. All of our canned fruit we buy is No Sugar Added. No more pies, cakes or Easter, Halloween, Christmas candy. However, we do still buy white bread. Still like our potatoes, like fried, baked or French fries. Exercise...…..well, not much here (where we live) anymore. Boat will be transported to Colorado, so it won't see the river here anymore. Will go back to the Range and use up some ammo that we have and don't want to take with us. Moving company won't take ammo. Will take firearms (thank God). So, basically, our main exercise is walking while shopping.
Best to be safe -- those falls can be deadly. I am very unstable from the hip replacement and DDD in back, and even have gone from 5 5 to 5 3 in height in the last years since replacement. I try not to be too angry, believe me it's been there, but at least my general health is good. 81 soon.
When I was still going to my gym and I stopped membership when I was in mid 60's, we had a guy member who worked out like a maniac, he was so addicted and already had some replacements, we called him the bionic man. At that time I never dreamed I'd have a replacement down the road and I did at 72...
Joy........... Can you imagine what they did 100 years ago when one suffered from bad joints ????? Today they can replace almost any joint in our body... I have had both hips and both shoulders replaced.. My wife had a knee and an ankle replaced.. We both feel fabulous and at least we have a quality of life and can continue living painless.......
There is a new documentary coming out about the Ketogenic Diet, and how beneficial it is for people. I just got the announcement on Facebook, and i signed up for it. It is going to be a 9 part series, and each part will be featured free for anyone to watch for about 24 hours, as they are released. How it usually goes with these kinds of seminars, is that you can watch it free as it is happening, and then they offer you a package deal to purchase the whole series; but you are not required to purchase anything to just watch it as it comes out. You do not have to have Facebook to watch this, just go to the website and sign up for it. The first one is at 8pm (EST) on Tuesday, and then one episode each day for the whole nine day series. Here is the website that has a short video, and lots of information, and shows who the speakers will be. So, I think that this will be great for those of us who are interested in low carb, ketogenic diet, autophagy, and anti-aging information . I plan on watching it, and since we have 24 hours to watch the episode once it is aired, it should be fairly easy to watch all nine of them. https://therealskinnyonfat.com/optin/
Yes, my mother and her sisters all limped at the end but no replacements, and here I am with a walker and do my limp and a hip replacement, mine did NOT come out as I went in for it...and I'm not alone. Just because you and your wife did great, doesn't mean everyone does. I've read many other's stories. My D.O. was saying that these replacements are the bloodiest surgeries going.. These surgeries are such trauma to our bodies, and good for you.\ A person on another group talks about the 30-40 arthritic surgeries she's been thru, this is hard for me to believe that a surgeon would continue to cut up one's body. But this is the internet and anything goes....
OK............. I don't do exercises per say, but I am working the field almost every day weather permitting.. We have acreage and there is always something to do out there.. Next week it will be the start of planting some vegetable seeds and onion bulbs.. first the soil must be turned and attended to .. A few trees to chop down that were damaged over the winter.. They were knocked down by the wind and snow.. Chain saw time.. Remember, I don't do any exercise but Boy-O-Boy am I ever working my ass off.....
My mother did a garden and scrubbed floors on her knees and washed walls and that was her exercise, she had plenty of OA but no replacements. Dad watched her do all the hard work and lifted his bottles to his mouth. He really never had OA and lived to 96....and ate tons of sugars and carbs. Everyone does their life and end up with what they have in the end. I so often wonder how I'd be with NO hip replacement. But I have no groin pain and I did before surgery but now have too many surgery complications. Our bodies are all unique. Glad you are doing good. Sounds like a lot of planting. I buy my foods but nothing like home grown I guess, it's been a long long time since those days for me. j
I have been digging up trees from the forest and planting them along our border to make a natural fence on one side of out back yard.. so far, I am up to 25 trees and more to come.. Dig them out, bring them home, dig a hole. plant them.. now, that isn't exercise but is it ever strenuous work.. My raised vegetable garden is just about ready to start turning the soil, add some more black earth, some compost from out composter, and plant the onion bulbs, carrot seeds, and other seeds like parsnip and whatever.. too early to plant any plants.. Not before the first week-end in June because of the danger of frost......
I actually exercise harder and more consistently now than I have ever done. Even taking into account my time in basic and extended training in the Army, I move around more weight now in an hour than I would do in a whole day whilst in the Armed Forces. All that said, I do not wish to write about “me”. I’m an observer. I’ve watched my wife progress from week to week with her exercise and even though she may not see the physical changes, I do. From barely able to last a few minutes in the pool to swimming a mile, the whole process she’s going through is somewhat astounding and the better thing is, she smiles a lot more and she’s amazing. Setting her aside though, I have seen people of extreme age do so many things whilst I’m working out. People come in sitting in wheel chairs and using walkers and in just a few weeks are accomplishing things they didn’t imagine they would ever do again. There isn’t a week that goes by that someone of age doesn’t ask me what I am doing and how to do this or that and nearly everyone asks what I have in my gallon jug that I carry around. They want to change and they do. Whether they start with one of about 10 leg machines or sitting at a contraption which simply allows one to use their hands instead of their feet to pedal, they’re doing something to improve their quality of life. I personally know a couple of guys who have scars going the entire length of their backs and there’s a couple who have obviously had open heart surgery but they are taking over their life where the surgeon left off. Heck, one fella has had multiple joint replacements and a triple bypass but he’s absolutely determined to better his golf swing by hitting the gym. Not bad for an 80 year old. The bottom line concerning what the seniors at the gym do and what the majority have in common is that rarely do I hear someone lamenting about their physical malfunctions but instead, they brag about how much they have overcome. It’s a given that very few seniors will be able to exercise the same as they did when they were younger but if the truth be told, I’d bet that very few of us even gave consistent exercise and a good diet more than an occasional thought when we were younger which is probably why seniors get so stove up and need so much help. Yvonne and I are probably a bit extreme with our regimen and probably not the best of examples but even so, something is so much better than nothing. Reading back, I have a lot of honor and respect for people like @Steve North and a couple of others. Instead of sitting around crying about what could have been and what should be, they are out there doing something, enjoying life and making the best of what they have. It would appear the Steve has taken charge of his own life and such is the challenge that we all face as we grow older and things go wrong. We change and whatever that change entails, we’re human and we have the power to adapt to any situation and if exercise and diet fits that bill, so be it. Let’s see. Today is leg day. Full body warm up for 20 minutes then some squats then load up the leg sled. Hmmm....start with 200lbs at 10 reps and gradually graduate to 550 for 10 reps x 3. Not bad for a guy who couldn’t walk 25 feet without taking a rest 4 years ago. The wife? Yeah, she’s doing her thing too today. Couldn’t walk 25 feet either but is now swimming a mile or so....and smiling about it.
Bobby... I am pleased you can do what you do, and whatever you think,........ don't stop.. For your wife, EXCELLENT as well.. Nice when the 2 of you can do something together that is good for the both of you.... As far as I am concerned, after 4 joint replacements and pushing 80 years, I consider what I do just enough to keep me going for a while anyway.. When the time comes that I can't handle the work anymore, we will sell the place we have and take the next step... I don't suspect that will be for many more years, but, one never knows..