What do people think about this? I know so many people my age who have had knee and hip replacements and all of them were very sporty. My friend was a great hurdler and competed for the county, she also played tennis to a high level and she has been in agony for 5 years but has finally had back op 2 years ago and a new hip at Christmas.
I try and take a brisk walk as often as I can and feel that’s enough for my body right now. I played a lot of hockey until I was in my mid twenties until babies came along and then I never had time to get back into it. i also loved swimming but never competitively.
When my late Father retired he went for a good, 2 mile walk most days. He used to meet 2 women he knew who were about his age. They were jogging/running and used to call to him that he needed to run not walk and walking was no benefit. They both died in their late 60s from heart attacks and he lived to 86!!
I agree, what’s wrong with a good walk? need the extra excursion, aim up hill…
Dancing beat my body up and I don’t think running would do my joints any good at all. Swimming is great though as there is little to no impact. Keep your tennis though, not coordinated enough for that
Most people at our age and doctors would probably tell you to do what you like most and have no physical problem doing. Any exercise is better than none.
I’d agree that swimming is just a comfortable sport that doesn’t hurt and might remove back pain and the like but as Lucy said there’s little impact on your physical fitness. Tennis is great if your body allows you to play it without getting injured. So it comes down to walking and running.
Having been a competitive swimmer when I was a teen and a competitive tennis player almost throughout my professional life, I have come to realise that running and walking are those activities almost everyone can do at a mature age, in particular walking. At 67 I’m still running twice a week but know that my days as a jogger are counted which will leave walking for me as cardio training. I also do exercises every other day. If you could get yourself to do some muscle training to prepare for walking, it would be ideal.
Walking is less risky than running and if you use walking sticks for some brisk phases within your walk, it’s an activity with a physical impact. It just takes more time than a 30 minute run. Many people like it and enjoy doing it together. There’s less of a risk of overstraining your body as runners tend to.
Do as your father did. He knew why.
Anyone who is doing anything past sixty should be encouraged and feel good about what they are doing. If you choose what you enjoy you will stick with it. If you don’t absolutely love it, you won’t. As much as I deeply (ha, pun) admire it, I wouldn’t stick with swimming through a lunar cycle . You should hear the grief I get about surfing at my age. Why, I wonder?
The one thing I know is that when I put on a few pounds and was unable to exercise during this lockdown and a recent health scare, my joints and back felt every bit of it . I am fighting my way back, one less carb at a time.
The most agile older people I ever saw were in a garden club. Even in their seventies and eighties, they were up and down squatting, twisting, bending, and walking briskly without effort. I was astounded. I made a commitment to myself that I would pick up a trowel and garden gloves the minute my running and surfing days are over.
All I can say (or write) is that I’m now seventy one and have been an ultra runner for over 40 years. I have suffered two heart attacks and struggled back to the life I love…Out on the roads and wild places pounding out the miles through rain and shine. I have never had a moments trouble with my joints, but my heart has provided me with a few challenges. Even after having an ICD fitted I am working my way back to fitness, walking at least five miles every day, and now incorporating short bursts of jogging. Running saved my life according to the cardiologists who treated me, and they all agreed that had I not been a runner, the heart attacks would probably have been fatal.
Flowerpower
Me too can’t bear being cold .
I go was.king twice a month with a walking group they are lovely people and mungo loves it we usisally walk between 4 and 6 miles.
You can laugh but I struggle to touch my toes these days. Not so long ago I could bend forwards, touch my toes and then lay my palms flat on the floor!
That Specsavers ad for hearing aids just came on TV with the silver haired man dancing away in his front room. They say dancing is good exercise too.
If I was laughing, it was at my own ability to follow any kind of physical fitness regime. I have tried to make myself do such things in the past, but I now know myself well enough to not even bother considering it.
I think swimming is the best exercise as it’s an all round exercise with no pressure on our joints. I believe walking is really good too. I did read running long distance heightens the risk of heart attacks but there are conflicting reports out there so who knows. I do know I’m a knock kneed knackered old nosebag that can’t run for toffee LOL. I think maybe someone who is unfit and overweight and running could cause joint damage or even heart trouble, that would make sense
. You should hear the grief I get about surfing at my age. Why, I wonder?
. I am fighting my way back, one less carb at a time.
