I grew my butt too big. And I don't like it.

[bubbles76]

Chomper, how long do you stretch after workouts? Does it depend on what you have done during the workout? Additionally, how often should one tack on yoga? I do miss yoga when I don't do it, but never seem to find the time to fit it in.

[Chomper]

I don't time my stretches because I use it as a reward for finishing the workout, but it's got to be at least 5-10 minutes unless I'm in a super hurry. Yes, if I only did upper body strength I will mostly do upper body stretches. But because I have issues I always do my favorite lower back stretch- lying on the ground hugging my knees to my chest.

With yoga you have choices. One is to put short yoga sessions into your days several times a week. I tend to do one longer practice once a week. I feel like that's enough for maintaining my yoga abilities, but not for making much progress. So I think I'll try to add several short practices to the week along with the long one. I think the mental benefits of yoga are what I'm wanting as well. Try short stretchy relaxing ones right before bed. And short morning practices when you get up.

[PhyllisG]

Strength and flexibility is definitely not an either or choice. You need both but many concentrate more on strength rather than flexibility. As I get older I realize the need for flexibility more and more. I see so many guys who are solid muscle and have zero flexibility and guess what they are training people.
The need for flexibility was just an observation of how I feel as I age.

[momofcha]

Originally Posted by PhyllisG

The need for flexibility was just an observation of how I feel as I age.

This is me to a T. I'm finding more and more that I need/want to add in more stretching - because I need it and it makes me feel so much better. I'm doing a 21DF rotation and there are zero rest days. Granted, one day is yoga and one is pilates, but I'm finding I absolutely need some CS/essentrics in there in order to continue on. I'm also walking a lot more and finding that my hips are getting especially tight.

P90X3 Dynamix is one of my all-time favorite workouts.

I feel like this thread has done a complete 180 and I apologize to the original poster.

[TinierTina]

Originally Posted by Chomper

Flexibility is considered mostly genetic, and while a lot of people would benefit from making the effort to increase their flexibility a little bit, it was mainly to prevent injuries and bad backs, etc. I'm just reporting what I read in the book. I would not be surprised if very little research is done on flexibility vs. strength and cardio, so maybe there are interesting discoveries waiting to be uncovered. But I feel like the science is not there yet. I like to think of flexibility as part of mobility, which a lot of fitness people do now, and I do consider mobility very important to daily functioning as well as to strength training and cardio training safely. I also think yoga is awesome, and as you say, combines flexibility and strengthening work. I have always taken time to stretch thoroughly after strength workouts, so I have pretty good flexibility and mobility. That's probably why I am having trouble seeing strength and flexibility as an either/or situation.

Which, is so true in my case, so much genetic (and I'm so solidly built, and inflexible at the hip joints), that I can increase my flexibility using cardio dance and racewalking ... (I sacrifice developing abs, though ...because for me that's old school floorwork and little bearing on flexibility) ... and, ironically, hip flexibility increases in a dynamic fashion (which is much more functional) ...

[mspina]

Sorry, but I'm in the "keep the muscle and love it" camp for all the reasons stated here. You lose muscle, your body fat percentage will go up. You really want to be "tiny" but fatter???? Because that's what will happen.

Just buy new jeans.

[Scorpio6]

rhbrand: My sentiments exactly! My aunt before she passed could not move her own body bcse of muscle wasting. Never did a lick of strength training in her life.

[Jane P.]

She may lose a bit of muscle size without adding fat to the area. I say go for the way she wants to look.

[fatkat555]

Originally Posted by PhyllisG

I wanted to add another thought.....flexibility. As you age this becomes just as important as strength. I find myself concentrating on this more and more. When I was younger I did a lot of yoga and then concentrated more on Cathe strength and aerobics...lots of step. Now I found myself really wanting and enjoying doing yoga again on a daily basis. First thing in the morning actually. Yoga really does combine flexibility and strength without the use of weights. I can especially feel it in my legs and glutes. I also feel that staying fit as you age involves more than just how much you can lift but on how physically active you are each day. Nutrition becomes even more important.
Personally for me bigger muscles are not the only answer. You need flexibility too.

And the forgotten piece of fitness, balance. You need to work on balance as well. If you can get to a point where you can hold a balance with your eyes closed, they've proven that it helps your mental ability keeping you sharp and focused, less prone to falls.

[eyefit]

Originally Posted by rhbrand

The best thing about muscle, if you don't like it, you can lose it far easier than fat. Go back to Insanity type workouts, and it won't be long, a few weeks maybe, you'll lose that muscle.

This is so true! Without a doubt, it's easy to lose muscle quickly if you don't like the aesthetic. This is especially true with each passing year. I think a lot of women who "bulked" when they were younger forget that as they get older it gets harder and harder to put muscle on period due to the natural muscle atrophy that occurs with age. We're definitely fighting a losing battle against Father Time in that regard. Like others said, I think of it as "putting muscle in the bank" and I'll keep fighting that battle as long as I can!

I sure wish I could get into the low reps with high weights thing. As it is, I simply prefer muscle hypertrophy workouts. Doing just a few sets with low reps and long rest periods bores the bejeezus out of me. Plus it's just really not possible to go truly heavy at home for lower body. I swear, though, some day I want to go to a gym and get a personal trainer to help me design a program with big heavy lifts. Someday...

Now I'm going to express an opinion about "skinny jeans" here...so big caveat on this being MY opinion since I've been jumped on for this in the past. Personally, I feel that the whole fashion trend of skinny jeans encouraged an unhealthy body image and aesthetic for many women. In order to wear that fashion, the ideal is to have very thin legs and not much of a butt. Oh and small calves, too. Some women have this naturally, but it is difficult to have that "look" if you are working out to build muscle in your lower body. If you have muscular thighs, calves and a nice round butt those jeans just don't look right. In fact, right around the time that skinny jeans came into fashion the whole "thigh gap" concept came back as a "thing" that young women coveted. Because of this, I've always despised skinny jeans. Remember...my opinion!

Originally Posted by Jeanne Marie

I have a friend who is my age (late 50s) and she recently told me that after a bone density scan she was diagnosed with osteopenia. Her doctor immediately put her on one of the super calcium supplements. She has had horrible side effects. He never once suggested to her that she try weight training. I just don't get it.

This makes me so sad.