simple old age exercise

resting52 · Post by **resting52** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:04 pm

Baby girl just came home from the other side of the world. There everyone sits on the floor much of the time-like for meals, meetings, etc. I'm talking OLD ladies get up and down off the floor many times a day....and they do it in skirts no less!

So, at 52, I've decided to get up and down off the floor 20 times per day. I started with 5, yesterday was 10 and today I'll try for 15. I get all the way down, stretch out my legs, get up and stretch my arms up. Takes about 2-3 minutes tops. I'm adding it as a HabitCal

Can y'all relate to getting older and more inflexible????

I don't want to be one of those little old ladies that gets down and can't get up.

Resting

fkwan · Post by **fkwan** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:08 pm

resting52 wrote:Can y'all relate to getting older and more inflexible????

I don't want to be one of those little old ladies that gets down and can't get up.

Resting

I'm already one of them and have been for many years.

I never, ever could squat. I have horrible hip arthritis and even with PT bending down in any kind of a squat is painful. Ritual Buddhism involves this sort of thing in spades: prostrations. You have to crouch down in a kneeling position and then touch your head to the floor and get up -- 108 times.

It would take me years to do this and it would be ugly and involve much clawing of the floor and holding onto walls.

Luckily, I'm at the age where I don't care what I look like or how much pain I'm in if I HAVE to do something, but I pass on things like prostrations.

f

JillyBean · Post by **JillyBean** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:32 pm

I'm 52, but I don't call myself "old"! Sure, I am not as flexible as my 17 year old daughter, but I can get up and down off the floor when necessary. I just began shovelgloving last week. I did it for three days and then came the weekend. I am going to do them today as soon as I get off the computer.

Squatting, as fkwan mentioned, is something I have never been able to do, either. I have bad knees. When I was a kid my knees would pop out of place - it used to be called trick knees back then... So now when I do those sorts of moves it's pretty awkward and my muscle strength isn't there. But, I'm short, so I don't have to bend over too far to be at floor level anyway!

As long as we are moving, I don't think it really matters what we are doing.

Mavilu · Post by **Mavilu** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:24 am

The best way to prevent stiffness is to regularly stretch.
I'm not 40 yet, but I can tell I'm getting stiff if I spend a week or so without stretching, especially when I go down to the floor and sit cross-legged in the odd yoga routine I do now and then.
When I get into the habit of doing stretches every night I'm as limber as ever and that's the same reason these ladies you talk of can sit in the floor so easily: they stretch those hips regularly every time they sit down.

Tink · Post by **Tink** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:37 pm

resting52 wrote: Can y'all relate to getting older and more inflexible???

We're not getting older; we're getting better

i can get down no problem, i may have a struggle getting up gracefully though

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 1:23 pm

I decided some years ago to take up Yoga when I turned 50. I did, and love it. Now I wish I'd done it when I was 35 (but then I felt that more cardio was what I needed, and time is always limited). Yoga (or Pilates - I alternate) offers a good blend of balance/flexibility/strength, all of which tend to make a difference in aging.

But a lot of what we attribute to "age" is really "under-use." If you exercise regularly, it makes a dramatic difference in quality of life at ANY age, but is particularly noticeable as you get older. I am 51, but have more energy than a lot of women who are 10-20 years my junior. (And I'm often mistaken for younger - people associate health with youth in this country.)

For an inspiring read, pick up "Younger Next Year." It's co-written by a doctor who specializes in gerontology and a 70-something guy who followed his advice religiously and is astoundingly active. Very "guy" tone (though I think there's a sequel directed to women), but a good read.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 1:42 pm

It's funny. I don't associate mobility, pain and such with age.

I have arthritis and have since I was 12.

I do make the effort to stay as active as I can because I want to push the day I CANT as far away as possible.

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 4:27 pm

I have a tend to have an inflexible body, I have done yoga off and on since my twenties, doing Bikram yoga for three years in my thirties, when I had surgery in my abdominal area several years ago and couldn't exercise I discovered something called Oxycise.

It is deep breathing and stretching and it is very gentle and feels VERY GOOD

for several years I have been trying to do it daily with little success .. doing it in spurts, but I am now using Habitcal to day it daily and am finally doing it everyday.

I know it is kind of "weird" but I love it. I don't really do it for weightloss all that is what she sells it with. I do it for flexibility, meditation and deep breathing.

you may want to check it out, www.oxycise.com

Blueskighs

resting52 · Post by **resting52** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 4:50 pm

I think that maybe I need to look into AND DO more flexibility exercises. I've heard there is a good program called Yoga for the Inflexible. cute name. I'll look at those programs y'all mentioned.

Resting

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:14 pm

NoelFigart wrote:It's funny. I don't associate mobility, pain and such with age.

I have arthritis and have since I was 12.

I do make the effort to stay as active as I can because I want to push the day I CANT as far away as possible.

I can see where that would be a really different association for you. Good for you for being so proactive - a lot of people would not.

I once heard the phrase "TAB"... "temporarily able-bodied" from someone who was disabled. Her point was that she had pain, reduced mobility, etc. early in life, but at some point MOST of us will have to endure some form of disability. For many of us, it is directly age-related.

But that's not a given. Thanks for the reminder.

purplefleck · Post by **purplefleck** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:51 am

I wanted to second KCCC about the book 'Younger Next Year' and yes, they do have a woman's edition. I'm not sure why, but it kicked my butt into gear. Basically the authors say, the tide is against you from 50 on but hey, you've got another 30 years to live, how do you want to feel? Like a fragile old lady or a healthy older person. Ya gotta exercise. Don't ask yourself it you want to get up and go to the gym, just do it.

I'm 55, and joined a near-by gym in Jan. (I used to exercise regularly in my basement with videos but just couldn't get up to do it) I go about mornings a week for a 6:00 am spinning or weights class. I must say, I feel good and have never sweated so much in my life. It is nice that the majority of the folks in those classes seem to be my age or older. I even bought myself some cycling shoes for mother's day. My cell phone often rings during my workout as I still have a youngish kid at home but it's become a habit to workout.

I'm finding that it is harder to lose weight at this age but on a number of levels am continuing to appreciate the NoS eating plan

Everyday Systems