Post your daily exercise routine

Exercise & Fitness Exercise & Fitness: Chat / Discussions
641

Cycling and walking briskly for miles are my forms of exercise. I wouldn’t be able to run due to breaking a kneecap into 3 bits over 30 years ago. It rarely hurts now but I’m sure pounding the knee joint by running wouldn’t be good for it. Also, a cancer operation (done at about the same time I broke my kneecap) left my stomach muscles cut almost across the entire width of my middle, so I mustn’t do anything that puts too much strain on that. Already got a small belly button hernia from ignoring the fact I was nearly cut in half and stitched back up again.

However (I’m pleased to say there is a however) despite that, I’m very fit these days. I’m sure I’d do fine in a ‘brisk walking’ contest. I can keep the pace up for miles. Also the same with cycling. I still do a few rides a week of ten miles at a time and can do them at a pace that belies my age (72). I wonder if I could still do the 57 miles I did 20 years ago (Camberley, Surrey to Southsea, Hampshire). Hmm …maybe not.

This brings me to the leg muscles. Like most walkers and cyclists, the leg and backside muscles aren’t big but they are quite strong. In fact, being good at walking and cycling requires a body to be a bit on the skinny side.

I got the mickey taken out of me for being skinny and asthmatic when I was growing up but the asthma cleared up and being skinny has paid off at this end of life. I’m a lot fitter and more energetic than many of my age …and even some who are quite a bit younger than me. I know this won’t last forever but we do what we do while we can.

All in all, cycling is good for all leg muscles. Walking at a pace is I think what keeps the bum in shape …plus both forms of exercise are good for the respiratory organs of course. My muscles are not big but perhaps rather well-shaped. :slight_smile: Well, as much as they can be for a 72 year-old bloke anyway.

642

Interesting, Floydy, thank you for the elaboration. I would like to add more leg work to my week, but because surfing and running are so important to me, I live in fear of blowing out a knee. As such, I’m curious what others are doing in regards to finding that fine line between building muscle and not causing injury.

Mart, I am just amazed by your fitness level at 72, and am encouraged by your success cycling and fast walking. There are a surprising number of people who have chimed in on this thread about coming back from injury and illness - only to become more fit than most people their age - and your story is very impressive.

While we know all the happy benefits of trying to stay fit, the combination of physical and mental fortitude that it takes to come back from illness and injury puts us nose-to-nose with younger generations and particularly - our younger selves :lol:. I am taking your advice and that of others and getting on that bike more often.

Recovery day today - went to an evening baseball game. Fun to watch someone else working out those muscles for a change.

643

Today’s exercise will consist of a walk to and from the hospital (Mrs Mart has an appointment). This is a round trip of 5.5 miles. I hope it doesn’t rain.

A 10 mile bike ride this afternoon …if it doesn’t rain. I’m a ‘fair weather only’ exerciser. :slight_smile:

644

You are wise to be cautious about overdoing any kind of weight-bearing exercises, Surfermom, especially those which affect the joints in the legs. The upper body suffers more with muscle damage than tendon and bone wear, but then again, the back is usually the first to be affected injury-wise.

I’ve been thinking too about packing in leg extensions, because of my knee damage. A more sensible option is to reduce the weight on this exercise, but still do some light work as the inner quad muscles still need some exercise that leg presses won’t fulfil. So perhaps three short sets of 10-12 with a ‘just-manageable’ weight should suffice. :slight_smile:

645

Walking is a great way to limber up and shake off those sitting down blues. Keeps the circulation going fine. And a 10-mile bike ride is just brilliant, Mart. Hats off to you for doing that…if it doesn’t rain of course!:cool:

646

A typically average weekday session for me today, especially for a Monday when I’m always a bit whacked from my Sunday night return back to work.
I stuck with some ‘push’ exercises, rather than a full upper body which would have been rushed. All went fine with some moderate improvement from last week’s session.

Monday 14/8/17

DB press, 15° bench:
10x20’s
8x24’s
8x26’s
8x28’s
4x32’s
*Last time I only managed 20kg lifts on these, which was abysmal at the time. But I was rather rusty. Soon got back into it.

Shoulder press:
5x70
5x80
3x90
4x90
*Nice, steady 90 max again there.

Single DB raise, flat bench:
33x50
31x50
23x50
13x50
*Total of 100 reps. Hits the triceps very nicely.

Smith push press, 15°, c/g:
10x40
10x40
10x40
4x50
*I normally do these on a flat bench because the incline aches my back somewhat causing slight pain. My solution was to inset the foam bar cushion between the bench and my back which solved the problem.

Tricep extensions:
12x50
12x65
12x75
6x80
*Powering down that stack today!

Ab crunch:
20x50
15x60
10x70
40x40
*Increased the reps on this today, plus a good blast of high reps to finish.

Time: 1 hour.

Happy with that and back into my stride I think, which is more than can be said for my knees where the arthritis (or whatever it is) suddenly spread down to my lower right leg last night causing me to limp around in great pain. I have no idea why this happened, but I’ll have to monitor the situation and maybe get back to the doc’s if it gets any worse. It’s very strange because so far today (touch wood, I’ve been fine):confused2:

As most of you may have noticed on another thread, on Thursday this week my wife will be going into hospital for a major operation. She has been complaining for some time about pains in her lower abdomen and a couple of weeks ago found out that she has a cancerous tumour in her womb area and is being sent in for a hysterectomy. This will involve removing said womb, falopian tubes, uterus and all that goes with it. She will be very poorly for a few weeks afterwards and depending on the success of the operation (or not) she may need chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which hopefully will not be the case. We’re all very worried about her and I’ll be taking some time off work to be there with her all the time as she won’t be able to do anything around the house. My gym work will be the lowest of my priorities.

Thanks for reading.

647

I have an admission to make. I did the 5.5 mile walk but not the 10 mile bike ride.

We have some friends who are away for a few weeks. They said I can go to their large allotment and help myself to the fruit and veg. they grow there.

I cycled there but it is only a couple of miles away. Mind you, cycling back with the saddlebag and panniers stuffed with fruit and veg. must count for something. A bit like running with back pack on perhaps. :slight_smile:

648

All credit to you anyway Mart for even getting your bike out. I was a very keen cyclist all my life but mine’s been gathering dust for three years now!

649

I Hope Mrs Floydy’s operation is successful and makes a full recovery Floydy. Send her my best wishes…

650

I quickly came in to mention how the exercise had gone and failed to read your entire post Floydy. I hope your good lady recovers quickly and that no further treatment will be necessary.

All the best to both of you.

651

Mart, the great thing about years of routines, like your cycling and walking, is that a day out of sync is not only well-earned, it’s good for the soul. It sounds like a bit of adventure which trumps a dedicated workout any day of the week. One of my favorite ways to shop is to take my bike with my basket or panniers. It makes me think strategically about what I am buying.

Oh, and pass some of those veggies, please :mrgreen:

Floydy, I have been adding some spinning classes to my routine, but alas, I can’t give up the running or the surfing. They are about as necessary as breathing for me! I think the cycling will help me build muscle without the risk of injury that some of the leg machines could cause. As you have mentioned…reps over weight is my mantra looking forward. I hope this leg issue is only a minor setback.

So after a spinning class this morning, my daughter and I were thwarted by thunderstorms to do any surfing, so that left me crossing my fingers all day for an opportunity to run. Sure enough, the rain moved on and while the roads cleared off, the clouds kept the beachgoers at bay leaving this long open beach road for six miles of peaceful huffing and puffing.

652

Thanks very much guys, let’s hope it all goes well:cool:

653

I seem to exercise less and less and think about it more and more. I’m tired and totally lack motivation

654

Oh, I know, noolsg. It is really hard to start when you’ve been away and you have so many personal responsibilities. The first day I ran after a bit of surgery was 160 m…and had anyone seen me, they would have shaken their heads in pity. Even so, I wrote it down and considered it a victory because I did it, and I began to reward myself with little presents like a long hot bubble bath, each time I went up a notch. You will find that the more exercise you do, the less tired you will feel in as little as a few weeks. Is there something we can do to help you dive back in?

655

I’ve decided that I’m not doing enough short fast runs but I don’t want to interfere with my usual longer distance runs. So on the days that I don’t normally run I shall just do a one mile faster paced run and this morning was the first of those…

After running so fast that on occasions my legs couldn’t keep up and I almost stumbled, then there was the incident with the woman reversing her car out of her drive onto the main road, to which I almost ended up in the passenger seat…
And despite the lung bursting, leg trembling sprint on the last four hundred metres, I remained standing (almost) as I entered my drive…

This mornings effort came out at just under nine and a half minutes for the mile…Embarrassing!..:-(… I’ve managed to run a mile in seven minutes in the past and kept it up for 26 miles on several marathons…

But at the end of the day (which it nearly was) I suppose it wasn’t bad for a 67 year old bloke after two Heart Attacks…:cool:…Talk about nine lives…:-D:-D:-D

656

Bob, you’re an inspiration to anyone who is a runner, or is considering going out to pound the roads, never mind younger people. And at 67 too!:cool:

Is there a park nearby you could run around bud, it sounds rather precarious dodging oncoming driveway cars and the like?

I do like the idea of you splitting things up by doing a few short runs also. Keeps the legs shocked and eager for more, which also keeps the old ticker in check too with changing the routine.

Keep it going matey:cool:

657

Today I woke up with a slight twinge in the middle of my back for some reason thus avoiding any niggle-prone back work, which was on the cards originally. No matter, I decided to give the arm boulders a real good thrashing instead. An hour on the biceps sounded like a good idea…

People of the OFF, please ignore my sometimes-too-macho speak. These training sessions are posted into a bodybuilding forum which I’ve participated in for years, where this kind of chat is the name of the game:026:

Wednesday 16/8/17

DB Hammer curls, seated, alt:
10x14
10x16

SUPERSET:
E-Z bar preacher curls, low pull, c/g / Standing DB curls, alt. (across chest):
10x30 / 6x12
10x30 / 6x12
10x30 / 6x12
10x30 / 6x12
10x30 / 6x12
*New combination this superset, so it was a bit trial and error with the weight to use – I didn’t want to go too heavy and blow it by not fulfilling the required five sets. In the end it was just about right but it really tested the biceps and I was struggling to curl on the final preacher set with the guns screaming for mercy then only just managing the last couple of reps and even unable to hook the bar back into place on the apparatus, thus it landing on the floor and making a hell of a racket. Everyone looking at me like I’m some kind of ‘bro-pro’ or something lol!:cool2:

DB Concentration curl, seated, alt:
6x16
6x16
6x16

SUPERSET:
Tricep extensions / 20kg BB curls:
20x40 / 20x20
20x50 / 20x20
16x60 / 20x20
12x70 / 20x20
8x80 / 20x20
*Notice today I was going up the stack instead of sticking with a certain weight, ending up with 80kg extensions. Good to get the triceps into play today too.
This superset has become a regular feature as it’s so practical to carry out. Seated on the tricep stack machine then straight at it with the 20kg barbell in front of me. Very minimal rest.

E-Z preacher curl, low pull, c/g:
5x40
5x40
5x40
5x45
10x28
*Second time today on this exercise, but on its own and with a heavier weight. Took the sets really slow, concentrating intrinsically on the full range of movement of the extended bicep pulling up to maximum contraction at the shoulder and holding for a few seconds, then slowly lowering the bar to rest. Biceps looking madly well pumped by now, alien-like.:101:

Bicep machine curls, alt:
12x30

Had enough, arms utterly wasted!

Time: 1hr. 5mins.

Absolutely loved all that, it felt like a session from the days of old when I would throw caution to the wind and just rack on them thar weights like there’s no tomorrow.

Quick four hours at work tonight, leaving at 2am then some authorised absence to look after the missus for almost three weeks. The time off will do me good too actually. I’ve no idea when I’ll be able to visit the gym again, as everything now depends on my wife’s operation, when she is released from hospital and her subsequent recovery. Obviously, I’ll be ‘allowed’ to nip out occasionally, but whatever and whenever my wife needs help for the next few weeks, I’ll at least be there to support her.

Thanks for reading:)

658

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/olympics/runner-smiley-emoticon.gif

659

No worries, while you may speak in macho terms, I “hear” it in a lilting voice with images of daisies and buttercups floating through the air. :mrgreen:

Remarkable workout, Floydy; you’ll be back at the gym in no time. Your family has my sincerest thoughts for your wife’s successful and speedy recovery. Please keep us posted.

660

Haha! Yes, I think you can tell I don’t speak like Rambo all the time, Surfermom

I’m sure I’ll be able to leave the carer side of me ocasionally too. I’m sure everything will work out fine.

I’ll certainly keep you all posted. Thanks, appreciated☺