How many close or over 40 had to....

R

Reese777

Cathlete
...totally change how you do things with exercise? I've read that some people respond better to weights than cardio, and others have said that the closer they got to the big 40 the more cardio doesn't seem to "do the trick" anymore. I have to admit that I lean more toward cardio - especially when i want the scale to go down.

:(
 
(whimper...wail)

Please don't say that...(haha)....that's where I'm falling off the wagon with right now. Dang it. I feel like I can't eat ANYTHING! :(
 
At 44 my body was letting me know that it was time to mix things up so I did something that I never thought I'd do, I started running. It was hard at first but we love challenge right?!;-) Adding running to my regime freshened up everything and greatly improved my level of fitness. Now more than ever I have to keep my body guessing to stay in good shape and agree with Catherine, I have to watch what I put in my mouth or the pounds come quickly. Having said that, I'm almost 46 and can still get the scale down pretty quick if I eat clean and bump up the cardio.

Take Care
Laurie:)
 
I know it's the diet where I'm dropping the ball. I'm just the opposite of you because I've always been a runner...well, except for the past year...:( I feel like a cow.
 
I am definitely noticing a decrease in muscularity, I am foreseeing a future of a lot of heavy weight lifting, and shorter bursts of high heart rate but hopefully not high impact cardio. I am leaning towards spinning, currently.
Jen
 
Reese..I have to say I agree completely with Catherine, is is ALL about eating clean. I have run for about 30 years and even that gets tough! I am 48 and have gained some weight and lost some definition in the last 2 years, and I still exercise like crazy. I also know if I just clean up my diet, and drink more water (like I have been) I can get some weight off. I have also changed things around without much success (less cardio, more weights and vice versa) I know for me it will always be cardio (and clean eating) that gets off the weight but definitely as we age, weights will help keep you toned, defined and those bones strong, so you still need both..IMO...:)
 
And I have found that I can do cardio until the cows come home and it will make no changes to my body at all, no weight loss, no change in body composition. What does change my body composition is less cardio, more weights and as heavy as possible. So, no more than 3 cardio sessions a week and at least three substantial weight training sessions for me, split sessions. This keeps my body feeling energized, lean, powerful, more muscularly dense and gives me upper body definition that balances out the entire look of my body, i.e. shoulders get wider, makes hips much leaner and arms look good.

On the other hand, the leanest I ever get is during backpacking trips in the Summer to the mountains where the heavy pack and constant up and down hill movement makes me lose more body fat and reveals leg muscle and ab definition like nothing else. I think it has to do with also the fact that on these trips the fat content of our food is very low and there isn't much else to drink except water and I sleep for longer periods of time than I ever do at home.

My normal weight is around 128-130 pounds at 5' 8": after a backpacking trip my weight is down to 124 pounds and lowered abdominal and hip fat.

I am 42 now and am discovering definitely that what you used to do will not necessarily work as you get older and you need to revise your program to include what you like to do (hiking, running) in addition to what your body now needs (heavy weights). I choose not to give up my occasional cookie session and daily chocolate so I accept that I will weigh a standard 130 rather than the 124. But hey, life is about more than simply being lean: it's about finding that happy balance, for you, between what you feel you should do and what brings you pleasure.



Clare
 
I have seen women of 40-ish achieve dramatic results from just walking. These are women who have led sedentary live with unbalanced diets. It depends I think on what it takes to shock the system. As these women's bodies adapt, they then need to start working harder at exercise and watching what they eat or they plateau or even regress.

I used to be a cardio junkie from my mid teens. I could get away with quite a bit eating-wise as long as I did intense cardio. In my twenties I did resistance training with ankle weights and tiny pink dumbbells.

By the time I hit my mid thirties this no longer worked. I discovered Cathe style weight workouts. I have found that two things help me the most (I am 40 now):
a. Weight training gym-style (at home or the gym)
b. Eating cleaner than before

Cardio definitely helps me, but if I am busy, I do not regress as long as I am weight training 3 times a week (really hitting the gym hard) and eating carefully.

This makes sense to me if you consider that we lose muscle mass as we age. The less the muscle we have, the lower our metabolism, because we need less calories. When a person loses muscle and continues to eat the same way they did in the past, they will find body-fat % will increase. Body parts start looking jiggly because of the muscle loss and fat gain.
 
My only issue with age is the body parts aren't as forgiving as they used to be. I can still do Cardio but i have to watch the impact level.
 
I hear you loud and clear. I used to run 8-10 miles a day when I was in the Army and now I can hardly run 2 without my plantar troubles acting up. Oh to be 20 again, eh?
 
I agree that it is all about clean eating. I can exercise for hours, but until I adjust ( don't you like that word?) my eating I won't lose. And now for me it is also not about high impact! I can also get good results by walking. But I also enjoy the variety that I can do now. I am fan of stepping.
Ellen
 
At age 47 the #1 factor BY FAR for me is a healthy food choices with out over doing the portions and the starches.

The tie for #2 is heavy upper body/ moderate lower body weights and running 3 days per week. (Running probably helped me because i didn't try it until I was 45 years old.)



[font color=lime green][font size +1]Judy "Likes2bfit"



***Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly plants. Michael Pollan[/font]

http://img109.mytextgraphics.com/myrainbowtext/2008/01/24/c07d67f3a8d2bfed065f377ce1494b6c.gif
 
I didn't start working out seriously until I was 37. I am now 46 and find that constantly changing my workouts help to keep the weight off. I'm also finding that as the years go on so does the need to work more intensely. I guess I'm trying to make up for lost time. :) I just started running and I love it. My abs are more defined and my legs are trimming down. The challenge is wonderful. I have my first 5K race next month and I can't wait.

Of course, as everyone has stated, diet is extremely important. I don't eat out that much and stay away from the junk as much as possible. This has really helped overall. I feel better when I eat better. My 40's have been fantastic!!
 
Just piping in to say, I can totally relate! I have enlisted the help of a trainer who works with fitness competitors for guidance (its a 12-week program)because I needed the discipline in my diet again.

My diet has always been healthy, but I have found it harder and harder to get leaner as the years fly by-I am 41 now. So I am on a program right now that includes 7 little meals, protein heavy, 4 days of lifting and 6 days of cardio, done in the am and pm.
I started this past Saturday and have lost 4 pounds (water weight) so far, which is good, but it has also shown me how important cleaning up my diet is. The trick will be taking my new habits and making them permanent ones after the program is over.
And ditto on the achy body parts, my knees are takin' it now, my new hip is fine though!:p
I think its great how so many of you have figured out what works for your particular body type, it takes alot of work to do that.;)
 
I am so pleased to see all the responders who started running in their 30's and 40's since I'm just now thinking of starting myself.

You all are terrific encouragement!
 
I'm 42 and hit a plateau with losing weight. It wasn't until I changed my rotation and starting do less cardio and heavy weights. I think that it was the change in my w/o that got me through the plateau and clean eating.
 
>ALL about eating clean. I have run for about 30 years and even
>that gets tough! I am 48 and have gained some weight and lost
>some definition in the last 2 years, and I still exercise like
>crazy. I also know if I just clean up my diet, and drink more
>water (like I have been) I can get some weight off. I have
>also changed things around without much success (less cardio,
>more weights and vice versa) I know for me it will always be
>cardio (and clean eating) that gets off the weight but
>definitely as we age, weights will help keep you toned,
>defined and those bones strong, so you still need
>both..IMO...:)

Carole, I think you and I are twins that were seperated at birth. I could have written that exact post, word for word ;-)

Sarah
 
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