Senior Roll Call: VFers 60+ years old!

[psupam]

I am 71 and have suffered with arthritis for many years. That required me to modify what I could do for exercise but I always did something. Last year I had both knees replaced and have a serious plan for returning to peak fitness. Since I am only 12 weeks post-op for the second knee so far it is just walking, outside and inside, using my elliptical and some weights. I plan to return to the FIRM, some Cathe and my beloved step workouts. I will modify as needed to protect my new knees. I am in better health than many younger people I know and credit exercise with that although I am always struggling to lose weight. The only reason I would have trouble getting off the floor would be I can't figure out how to get down there to begin with since it hurts to kneel on the new knees! I really feel that the exercise always pays off. When I started out-patient PT for my latest knee the PT thought he was in the wrong room. He expected an old lady with a walker and was quite surprised!

[Hsim]

I just turned 63 in December. Health wise I thnk I'm in pretty good shape, I have no conditions that need medication and I can work out to at least to a high intermediate level. I have good energy levels every day. If I don't tell people my age they will never guess it.
I will be retiring in the next couple of months. My husband and I are in the process of selling our home in NY and looking for a new one in Ca. where we will be a lot closer to my daughter. Eventually I will get another job, just not a high paying, stressful job in accounting. I don't mind working but I will not be consumed by the demands of a job anymore. I'm at the age that I feel I need to slow down and take some time for myself while I still have my energy and health.

[Gams]

Pam, I can relate to your comment about not knowing how to get down on the floor. My left knee has been broken twice and after favoring that leg for so long, I
developed weird ways of doing things and apparently I still have a little bit of a limp. From time to time my dad will ask me why I’m limping, but I don’t feel like I’m limping and when I pick something off the floor, it’s like I don’t remember how my left leg is supposed to work. It’s weird.

[DCW]

Pre-Covid, I attended community rec exercise classes. Some of the ladies were 70+. They all could drag out the large exercise mats from the closet and get down on the floor and get up unassisted. All live independently and drive to class. Truly my younger classmates and myself see them as role models and what regular exercise can do for you later in life.

Be the change you want to see...Everyone here is a role model to someone. Guarantee your exercising shows everyone what is possible and changing the mindset of what older looks and feels like.

[Jennifer R]

I'm 67 and not quite 1/2, and still exercise in some form seven days most weeks. I'm healthy except for mild asthma, well treated hypothyroidism (since I was 19!) and significant arthritis. I've had to cut back on upper body strength training this year after an accident in May that left me needing a shoulder replacement--waiting for a date now.

Our gym is closed, so I'm walking/hiking both outside and inside, doing dance cardio and some step. Regular step and tall box stuff is a no no for me after it aggravated hip bursitis this year and left me in pain for several months. It's finally subsiding after PT and MRIs to make sure something worse wasn't going on. I feel very lucky to access to heated outdoor pools and do water aerobics and shoulder rehab exercises there three times a week. I miss my heavier weights for LB work; I'd been using the ones at the community gym after I gave away my weights when we moved from HI. Who knew they'd be worth their weight in gold now!

I remain flexible and have a daily stretch/yoga routine. The physical therapists were quite amazed at my endurance and flexibility. I keep going with UB stuff to keep the shoulder from stiffening and keep the muscles built up so they will heal better after surgery.

I am amazed at the people younger than I am with no joint issues who can't get up and down off the floor. that's definitely use it or lose it, I try to do it every day.

[Jammin]

60 yo here. A mere 5 years ago I was telling my 65 year old friend that just because she couldn't jog around the park didn't mean that I couldn't. I could! And now I've gone thru menopause and had a hip replacement after a fall in the shower. Told I have severe osteoporosis. Yuck! When I first get up out of my chair after sitting for a while, I'm so stiff. I hate it. Spiritually I feel 20 but physically I just feel so much older.

But, I'm naturally rebellious and I'm not going down without a fight. I had no fight during meno but I'm so over it now. So, I'm starting to lift weights again. Loving it. I toyed with the idea of endurance weights but I'm loving the heavy weights. I don't care about how I look in a swimsuit. I don't care how my butt looks. I don't care that I don't look younger. I do want to lose weight but not for the same reason I did 10 years ago. I want to be strong. I want to stand without making noises. I do not want to fall ever again. So, yoga and planks plus weights and walking...still can't run.

[yogapam]

I am 63 and I exercise pretty much every day. I love variety, I like to string short workouts together.....Essentrics (which I teach once or twice a week), Barre3 (have a streaming subscription), yoga, & cardio (walking, rebounding, low impact workouts).

I miss going to live yoga & barre classes, not ready to take that chance yet although studios are open & Covid cases remain very low in my area.

I used to run but had to give that up because of cranky knees & nagging PF. I also have some lumbar disc degeneration and mild osteopenia, but I am still pretty flexible, have good balance, and can get up off the floor with ease. I love that I can run around the playground with my granddaughters.

[warriorprincess]

I'm 61 and so far haven't had to make any compromises to my workout routine. My face looks old, and its weird that people are starting to treat me as old, because I don't feel any different than I did two decades ago.

[monterey vidiot]

I'm 74. My knees are arthritic and my days of sitting on my heels are over. But I'm doing okay and am so far not needing knee replacement. Still working out at home. I'm revisiting 21 Day Fix currently. I follow Kat to avoid jumping and jogging. Still can do things like think, see, and drive.

[Terri1222]

I will chime in here also. I just turned 61 and still do a workout every morning whether it be dance, walking, weights, Pilates or yoga. I stopped doing high impact cardio years ago and don’t miss it a bit.

I do have a great role model though....my mom is 90 and either takes a daily walk outside or does a dance routine from YouTube. 😁