I am a 76 year old male and did the chair rises in 10 seconds. I do a bit of working out with lighter dumbbells. A few years back I used heavier dumbbells and would work up soreness in my shoulders and back. Then it would take weeks before I could get back to using them.
Anyway, this idea of muscle strength is intriguing and for sure my nearly 80 year old wife would likely benefit. She has had several operations in the last 9 months for a hernia and bowel obstructions, the latest being a few weeks ago. Once she is fully recovered, I hope to help her get back to being more mobile.
Thanks for the information. It will be very useful.
10 seconds - you're a legend! Have you tried using resistance bands? You might be able to use them without getting that soreness. I really like these ones: https://ptpfit.com/products/total-resistance-gym. They would be great for your wife, too, once she's recovered from her surgeries.
Having chalked up my three score years and ten on the biological clock, I know only too well the reality that muscle mass declines with age. I used to be able to power away doing repeated hill sprints against high resistance on an exercise bike but, although the spirirt is still willing, the leg muscle strength isn’t. Still, some moderation of expectation allows me to cope with that.
For the upper half of an ageing body, the story is similar. After wasting three decades as a distance runner who totally ignored my pencil-thin arms and the rest of the upper body equipment, chronic overuse running injuries forced me to do more gym classes like circuits and boxercise classes and some weight machines which improved things a lot. These days, I have added a set of dumbells and resistance bands to my home gym to keep it up, although that pesky age-related muscle mass decline is manifesting itself upstairs, too.
What I used to be able to do when I was 20, or 30, or even 40, is not what I am capable of doing now I am 70 but that’s life – we aren’t going to last forever.
My five unassisted chair rises, I’m pleased to be able to boast, were completed in 12 seconds, for what it’s worth – and that includes with that old man’s issue of a hernia repair (another occupational risk factor of ageing).
Less than 12 seconds for 5 chair stands - well done, you! Keep up the training, and make sure you add more resistance as soon as you're finding it relatively easy to do 10-12 repetitions.
I've recently got back into sandbag training, and let me tell you - it's next level! Lifts that are easy to do with dumbbells or barbells suddenly become much more challenging once you add the instability factor of the sandbag.
As always good stuff, Robyn. Thumbs up. So important what you laid out re: light resistance/strengthening/stretching exercises for every body. It's all important
A person can add on to the above with Brain Training. Truly training/exercising their brains. 2 good programs I, and many others who I got involved in these programs, have used for more than a decade. They are brain training exercises.
It's not an IQ test type thing. It's not a contest, not even with yourself much less how you 'rank' against others on their scale <-- I wish they wouldn't have done this. They didn't 'rank' for years but suddenly went WOKE and just had to tell everyone how they are ranking against others and even themselves. BIG mistake. Ignore it and just do the exercises 3-4 x a week, no matter what, for 10-30 mins each time. Be consistent, week in / week out, rather than training 1 hour to multiple hours at a time in a day.
#1: Posit Science / Brain Headquarters: https://v4.brainhq.com/ I believe the genesis of this program was Stanford University
I would try one paid year (or month) with #1 above. Its cheap, I believe it's $62 per year with Posit Science/Brain HQ. By doing this, you can still do 3 *free* exercises per day on Lumosity, #2 above. The other reason is, BrainHQ is a little better with their brain exercises. Opinion only. Combine the two programs - but only paying for one.
Try it. Most will like it. As long as you realize it's not an IQ test nor a contest pitting you against others. Ignore that silly crap & don't stress out. It is not a contest. The benefits are rather huge/striking, even for my 80 year old father with Alzheimer's. Consistency (forever) is the key.
BTW, I get zero kickback from either of the businesses listed above. Zip, Zero, Zilch. I couldn't live with myself by hyping them (or anyone) for $'s. Don't mention this post and they'll never know who sent you to their websites, if you are worried about kickback hyping.
Excellent point! Recently I came across a study (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12884427/) which found that people who did 6 weeks of training in playing the Double Decision game on Brain HQ, followed with booster sessions 1 year and 3 years later, had a 25% lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia. Very impressive!!!!!!
Yes, I've read that. Brain Training is good stuff. I'll do the 'brain training' until the day I drop.
Same with your post on physical exercise. Been doing it since I was knee high to a grasshopper and will continue until the day I croak. As long as people do not overdo either of the above (little bits here and there several x a week) and stick with it forever, it's hard to beat.
I am a 76 year old male and did the chair rises in 10 seconds. I do a bit of working out with lighter dumbbells. A few years back I used heavier dumbbells and would work up soreness in my shoulders and back. Then it would take weeks before I could get back to using them.
Anyway, this idea of muscle strength is intriguing and for sure my nearly 80 year old wife would likely benefit. She has had several operations in the last 9 months for a hernia and bowel obstructions, the latest being a few weeks ago. Once she is fully recovered, I hope to help her get back to being more mobile.
Thanks for the information. It will be very useful.
10 seconds - you're a legend! Have you tried using resistance bands? You might be able to use them without getting that soreness. I really like these ones: https://ptpfit.com/products/total-resistance-gym. They would be great for your wife, too, once she's recovered from her surgeries.
Having chalked up my three score years and ten on the biological clock, I know only too well the reality that muscle mass declines with age. I used to be able to power away doing repeated hill sprints against high resistance on an exercise bike but, although the spirirt is still willing, the leg muscle strength isn’t. Still, some moderation of expectation allows me to cope with that.
For the upper half of an ageing body, the story is similar. After wasting three decades as a distance runner who totally ignored my pencil-thin arms and the rest of the upper body equipment, chronic overuse running injuries forced me to do more gym classes like circuits and boxercise classes and some weight machines which improved things a lot. These days, I have added a set of dumbells and resistance bands to my home gym to keep it up, although that pesky age-related muscle mass decline is manifesting itself upstairs, too.
What I used to be able to do when I was 20, or 30, or even 40, is not what I am capable of doing now I am 70 but that’s life – we aren’t going to last forever.
My five unassisted chair rises, I’m pleased to be able to boast, were completed in 12 seconds, for what it’s worth – and that includes with that old man’s issue of a hernia repair (another occupational risk factor of ageing).
Thanks for the detailed article.
Less than 12 seconds for 5 chair stands - well done, you! Keep up the training, and make sure you add more resistance as soon as you're finding it relatively easy to do 10-12 repetitions.
I've recently got back into sandbag training, and let me tell you - it's next level! Lifts that are easy to do with dumbbells or barbells suddenly become much more challenging once you add the instability factor of the sandbag.
Sounds challenging but I'll investigate that. Investing in your health is never cheap, I suppose!
Worth the investment, I promise!
As always good stuff, Robyn. Thumbs up. So important what you laid out re: light resistance/strengthening/stretching exercises for every body. It's all important
A person can add on to the above with Brain Training. Truly training/exercising their brains. 2 good programs I, and many others who I got involved in these programs, have used for more than a decade. They are brain training exercises.
It's not an IQ test type thing. It's not a contest, not even with yourself much less how you 'rank' against others on their scale <-- I wish they wouldn't have done this. They didn't 'rank' for years but suddenly went WOKE and just had to tell everyone how they are ranking against others and even themselves. BIG mistake. Ignore it and just do the exercises 3-4 x a week, no matter what, for 10-30 mins each time. Be consistent, week in / week out, rather than training 1 hour to multiple hours at a time in a day.
#1: Posit Science / Brain Headquarters: https://v4.brainhq.com/ I believe the genesis of this program was Stanford University
#2: Lumosity: https://www.lumosity.com/en/
Suggestion only.
I would try one paid year (or month) with #1 above. Its cheap, I believe it's $62 per year with Posit Science/Brain HQ. By doing this, you can still do 3 *free* exercises per day on Lumosity, #2 above. The other reason is, BrainHQ is a little better with their brain exercises. Opinion only. Combine the two programs - but only paying for one.
Try it. Most will like it. As long as you realize it's not an IQ test nor a contest pitting you against others. Ignore that silly crap & don't stress out. It is not a contest. The benefits are rather huge/striking, even for my 80 year old father with Alzheimer's. Consistency (forever) is the key.
BTW, I get zero kickback from either of the businesses listed above. Zip, Zero, Zilch. I couldn't live with myself by hyping them (or anyone) for $'s. Don't mention this post and they'll never know who sent you to their websites, if you are worried about kickback hyping.
Excellent point! Recently I came across a study (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12884427/) which found that people who did 6 weeks of training in playing the Double Decision game on Brain HQ, followed with booster sessions 1 year and 3 years later, had a 25% lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia. Very impressive!!!!!!
Yes, I've read that. Brain Training is good stuff. I'll do the 'brain training' until the day I drop.
Same with your post on physical exercise. Been doing it since I was knee high to a grasshopper and will continue until the day I croak. As long as people do not overdo either of the above (little bits here and there several x a week) and stick with it forever, it's hard to beat.