Pentagenarians & Beyond: 11/03/2024

Sorry for the plethora of posts today ... but I just wanted to add that getting old SUCKS. I mean, SUCKS. And I'm not even really all that old yet. Sigh. (ETA - I'm not talking about my foot)

Cathy - Ugh. You went through a torn Achilles twice? Now that is tough! Ahem ... shame on you for letting your tires get so bad. :)
 
I had another doctor’s appointment today, so no workout. This was a follow up with my primary care doctor after he prescribed a statin. I mentioned before that I was resisting this, but my LDL was still high. I started the statin about 6 weeks ago and I had labs today. I will see if my numbers change. This problem is related to my thyroid condition.

Shannon, I did chair cardio a couple of years ago after I injured my knee. Chris Freytag’s gethealthyu site has chair cardio and I found it to be very effective. I did seated upper body also. Chris has both free and premium content, but the chair cardio is free.

Judy, great job with the 10x10 Peloton workout. Rock‘m Sock’m and Rev’d Up Rumble are my favorites from Cathe’s kickboxing workouts.

Valerie, great job with Rev’d Up Rumble. I hope that your surgery goes well.

Diane Sue, great job with Killer Legs Bonus Barre and CDorner upper body stretch. I wondered if the tornadoes affected you.

Cathy, nice job with Live Advanced Step Choreography, STS Standing Metabolic Core, and Mobility 1. Good luck with your tires.
 
Back to say, it went Ok. I have to be quiet today but can do "normal" things tomorrow. have a recheck at the clinic early. have a clear plastic guard taped over my eye so I can read, watch TV etc. I will take it off later today but put it back on to sleep because its the side I like to sleep on. I pre cooked some things so I dont even have to cook although I easily would be able to. I can see reasonably well thru the surgery eye immediately but its a little uncomfortable. feels like something in my eye, like an eyelash. no actual pain thru the whole thing.

Shannon, yes getting old sucks, now that you mention it! biking is more forgiving and I rely on it more than I used to. spin bike, road bike, mt bike. I used to be a runner and a hiker and a xc skier but the knees and feet dont appreciate those activities as much anymore. I can still hike but I cant do 15- 20 miles a day in rough mountainous terrain. gotta be more careful and forgiving about how you stay active and rotate activities.

cathy tires wear out sometimes even if they dont have a lot of mileage. the rubber ages and leaks around the rims too. besides its a huge safety issue. always watching for that tire light to come on must be getting old.
 
Today was an active rest day. I did 45 minutes of Yin Yoga. We spent most of the day working on our office.

Valerie-Great job with Rev'd up Rumble. I’m glad that your surgery went ok. I agree about biking being more forgiving as we age. I can’t even come close to running the way I did when I was in my 30’s, but I can still do a lot on the Peloton bike and am probably pretty close to what I was doing in spinning classes over 20 years ago.

Shannon- I was a little sore this morning. I had planned on doing cardio but I decided a rest day would be better. Chair cardio sounds like a good thing to do.

Cathy-Nice job with Live Advanced Step Choreography, STS 2 Standing Metabolic Core and Mobility 1. That sounds like a great combination of workouts.

Carolyn-I hope your lab results are good. I like some of Chris Freytag’s workouts. I think I tried the chair cardio when I was having trouble with my low back.

Diane Sue-Great job with Killer Legs Bonus Barre and CDorner stretch.
 
I did Raw yoga stretch,14 minutes, followed with back pod, and exercises with it and did CDorner Mobility stretch from today skipping the meditation that was 10 minutes. This was 44 minutes. Total time was 58 minutes. Maybe tomorrow I will get in some cardio or something doable.

Shannon, I am sorry about the foot. There are usually some work arounds that you can do. I am not liking holding off on the upper body work. Kelly Coffey has some seated workouts on her channel, but you have to subscribe to her Raw channel. Chair boxing can really get the heart rate up. She has seated weight workouts for upper body. I am not enjoying working around my ribs right now.

Cathy, nice job on Cathe Live Advanced Step Choreography today along with STS 2 Standing metabolic Core standing and mobility. My tire gauge goes off every time there is a significant weather change. It rained a bit more last night. Today the sun finally came back out. It also feels like fall now. Temperatures dropped.

Carolyn, I hope that you can get the problem straightened out with the thyroid and readings. When I took a statin that doctor said was the most tolerated I got sores in the back of my throat and swelling. I stopped and retried thinking it was something else and after the 3rd time I quit taking it. I told the doctor I was not taking it.

Judy, nice job on 45 minutes of yin yoga today.

Valerie, good job on Revv'd Up & Rumble yesterday. I am glad the procedure went well.
 
Hello, ladies. Happy Hump Day. Well, chair cardio was an interesting experience … I don’t foresee it becoming my new fitness craze, LOL. The workout I chose was about 25 minutes. Then I did my basic stretching for about 20 minutes.

Well, I guess I should explain a little about my “aging sucks” post. My doctor’s office called with the results from my fasting blood work I had during my annual checkup last week. Nothing major, but it’s just so frustrating. For some unknown reason, I am low in Vitamin D. How is that even possible? I am out in the sunshine a LOT. And I eat fortified foods like milk and yogurt. Of course I googled it, and lo and behold … as we get older, our bodies don’t convert it to the usable form as effectively. That’s the only thing I can find, because I’m not taking any of the meds listed that could interfere with it. And then my LDL cholesterol is creeping up, as well (It’s still in the “good” range). I’m a vegetarian. I eat a healthy diet. Maybe too much dairy? Okay, fine, I’ll cut out cheese and butter, and go to non-fat milk and yogurt. But WHY, when things have been fine for so long? AGE and MENOPAUSE. Good old Google tells me women’s cholesterol really starts climbing after that lovely point in our lives. Blah.

Carolyn – I feel for you about the LDL, and I’m sorry you have thyroid problems. I didn’t know that. I hope you can get everything balanced out. Thanks for the info about Chris Freytag. I’ll check it out.

Valerie – I’m glad your cataract surgery went well. Take it easy – I’m pretty sure the healing will happen quickly. My dad had both eyes done several years ago and had no problems. Of course he’s not as active as you are, so he didn’t have any trouble resting.

Judy – Good idea about doing Yin Yoga. I’m sure your body appreciated it, and it probably helped to prevent soreness.

Diane – Yes, you have really had to make a lot of adjustments because of your ribs. But you are definitely doing the right thing, and I’m very glad your ribs are getting better. Is there anything you can do to help prevent the costochondritis from coming back?

Judy and Valerie – Question about bikes. You both say they really keep you going. Can you share any advice about selecting a spin bike, and pros and cons about riding? In the past, I’ve had an elliptical and a treadmill. The elliptical gave me some excellent workouts, but I did not like the way my toes went numb all the time. It’s a common problem because of the way the pedals are angled. So I won’t buy one again. The treadmill was a big monster that went up to 40% incline – talk about some serious hills! But I won’t be able to run on one, just walk. I had to use a treadmill this summer when I was living with my grandmother in California. Joining a gym was my only option for exercise. I can tell you that walking on a treadmill bored me to tears. So if I get a machine, I feel like a cycle is my only option. I’m hesitant, though, because I have this thing against sitting for exercise .
 
Shannon-I currently have a Peloton bike and I really like it. I don't really see a lot of cons, it's a great workout and you can make it as hard or easy as you want. Peloton now lets you watch Netflix and other streaming channels on the bike screen so you can do that too if you prefer. I prefer the classes but it's nice to have an option to watch something else. If you go with a regular spin bike, Cathe's rides are awesome. I did hers a lot before I got the Peloton. Also, YouTube has a lot of indoor bike workouts that you can do.
 
This morning I did KCM’s Cardio Quick Fix, workout one. That was 26 minutes, 179 calories burned, average heart rate 130, and maximum heart rate 169.

The WW topic this week was ”focus on what you can control”, a timely topic that applies to all areas of life. You may have heard of circles of control where you identify things that you have more control over, those that you have some control over, and those items that you have no control over. It was the perfect discussion for me.

I just got my lab results in myChart this morning and my cholesterol levels are all within the normal range now. I have hypothyroidism which was diagnosed over 30 years ago. I take medication and my numbers are good with that. Unfortunately the condition can cause high cholesterol levels. I try to eat a healthy whole food diet. I’ve learned that my body doesn’t do well with food additives and highly processed foods. WW has helped a lot with that over the years.

Shannon, Chris Freytag has talked about managing menopause quite a bit in her newsletters lately. Her site has some good content.

Have a wonderful day everyone.
 
Shannon we have a Le Monde spin bike. have had it for probably 12-15 years. I think it was about $1300 then and was the only spin bike we could find in local stores at that time. its very well made and held up well. the electronics on it are meh. it has a screen for time, rpms, etc. our exercise room has a TV & dvd player. I have Cathe's spin workouts but haven't used them much lately . I always watch something. we have a treadmill and elliptical for decades. I usually watch a DVD not exercise related, like one of the Great Courses. I cant work out to music. never could. will not wear any ear bud things. I need to watch something or am be "bored to tears", just like you said. I dont like standing up to spin anymore. I often split a workout so 15 min on the bike, 15 on the elliptical, or some other combo. I get postural ( back) fatigue and breaking up the cardio helps. I used a lot of cathe workouts until last yr when I had big back surgery. felt too much bending and twisting was involved in most. Rev'd up rumble is the first one I've done in a long time. Im going to try to work back into some of them this winter with some modifying . I like outdoor riding better than indoor and can do that much longer.

I used to be a vegetarian but now include chicken and a little fish. I dont take any meds. chol, LDL and HDL are fine and didnt budge with menopause. sometimes it's just genetics. my husband eats mostly what I eat and his values are both crummy. he was completely unable to take statins. tried many of them, at lesser doses and simply cant tolerate them. so he watches his diet exercises a lot and lives with it. his family all seem to have similar elevated lipid values but nobody has cardiovascular issues. none of them could tolerate statins either. not even taking it once a week. I keep our diet low fat. he eats more simple carbs than I do. he eats a lot of sweet things and cereal. I dont. he gets a lot more exercise too. supposedly eggs dont elevate cholesterol but his goes up if he eats eggs often. so we dont. we are closer to Mediterranean diet than anything else. I have lost weight since menopause which might have helped. I'm not skinny but compared to the average 76 year old I'm small.
 
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Today I did CDorner Tabata workout doing the suggested modifications till the last tabata which was all plank moves. I just skipped forward to the cool down, this was 28 minutes, 135 calories. Some fun rock music on this one. I followed with CDorner mobility challenge day 18 chest and shoulders, 13 minutes, 20 calories. I also did the Back Pod and therapy moves suggested. I have read so much stuff on costochondritis. I am hoping I am ready to do more when the new Cathe workouts come. I am hoping to loosen up the hinging of the back that attaches to the front and strengthen the upper back and front of the neck as suggested. My doctor said if something triggers it, find something else to do. I read dips and bench press are a big trigger. One person said that deadlifts triggers theirs. How long it takes to get relief depends on how long it has been going on and how much needs to be done to loosen up and get back the mobility. Some need the addition of PT and/or massage along with home treatment and stretching.


I have a spin bike. Not an expensive one. It is a Schwinn that I got off of an Amazon sale. I used to use it more often. I think it is partly less often because I have my equipment spread between two rooms and that is the room that has the least space. I use it with Cathe, or sometimes with Kelly Coffey on her Raw channel Ripped and Ride workouts that mixes up strength and cardio. It is less boring for me that way.
 
Hello, everyone. Yesterday a did a seated and kneeling upper body workout. It felt much more like a workout than the chair cardio . It was actually quite challenging. I also did Abs #2 from Ripped with HIIT, but I subbed side crunches when she did side planks at the end. Then I took my dog to the vet to get a nail trim. She was long overdue.

Judy – I don’t think I’m up for something as fancy as a Peloton. I’d never use all the bells and whistles. I used to have Cathe’s rides and I used them with my elliptical. I also used Cardio Coach, may Sean’s soul rest in peace. Those were awesome.

Carolyn – I love the WW topic of the week. It sounds like something I could use too. I’m glad your cholesterol levels are in the normal range now. That’s great news. Thanks for telling me about Chris Freytag. I will definitely check her out.

Valerie – Wow, your spin bike sure has held up very well! I’m not concerned about electronics. I just want something I can pedal and that has a good range of resistance levels. I can’t wear earbuds either, but since I’m the only one in my house, I can crank the music as loud as I want. Why did you have back surgery? That must have been scary.

My dad is disabled because of malpractice at the VA. He went in for what was supposed to be an overnight stay to have a bone spur removed from one of the vertebrae in his neck. When he woke up, he couldn’t move. He was hospitalized for weeks. Finally regained some movement. Ends up that the VA did not actually have the proper means to monitor that surgery, and Dad’s spinal cord lost blood flow. The VA covered it up, and my parents didn’t find out the real reason for about four years. Then they fought for nearly 10 years to get compensation. They finally won. All by themselves, no lawyer or anything. Oh, and let’s see – my brother was paralyzed when he was in his 20s in a motocross accident. And my mom is currently recovering from a compressed vertebra after a bad fall. So you know, back problems run rampant in our family.

Diane – you are doing a great job of digging into the costochondritis issue. I can totally see how dips could trigger it. I know you’ll work your way through to recovery.
 
This morning I did P 30 Perfect Pump Upper Body. My time was 41 minutes with 145 calories burned, average heart rate 111, and maximum heart rate 141. Today is another day that I have several things scheduled. I try to manage my appointments better, but sometimes it doesn’t work. At least it’s not medical appointments.

Valerie, it’s good that you don’t have cholesterol problems. Our diet is more Mediterranean too. Chicken, fish, vegetables, beans, whole grains, olive oil, etc. My husband’s cholesterol is fine. He was always super healthy and fit until he developed Parkinson’s disease.

Diane Sue, great job with CDorner Tabata workout, mobility, and the back pod.

Shannon, I’m glad that you found a chair workout that you liked. Kneeling upper body work is harder. Cathe has some kneeling upper body work in STS 2.0. I didn’t choose that option! My spin bike is Spinner brand similar to the ones that Cathe had in her gym ( I didn’t know that when I bought mine). I‘ve had it 14 years but I don’t use it much anymore. My husband uses it more than I do. That’s terrible about your father and the VA. My husband is retired military, but he doesn’t get his healthcare through the VA. Your family certainly has had some challenges.

Hello to Cathy and Judy.
 
Our spin bike is not fancy but was more well made than the $300 ones at Walmart etc. we live near a very urban area but very little choice on spin bikes then. exercise equipment stores come and go quickly. we got this at what was the Precor store at the time, a well known brand of exercise equipment in the PNW. it has had no problems and both DH and I use it. we picked it up at the store, didnt have to order it.. Costco has had spin bikes before around the holidays. it will be interesting to see how much the peloton one sells for there. our le monde one is smooth and quiet, easy to adjust resistance and height and angles of seat and handlebars. I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

I had no issues until my 70's. I developed scoliosis. needed a 3 level fusion a year ago october. my legs are slightly different length but it wasnt a problem.... until it was. it was a very big surgery. It is likely related to generally very bad osteoarthritis that runs in my family and definitely a problem for me. I have a lot of hardware in my lower back now. I keep on moving.
that is an awful family history you have with back issues! terrible about your father. and your brother.

we did a park walk this morning for 2 hours with our neighbors. my eye is feeling normal already, not noticing much difference. my cataract problem was not severe, but no reason to wait until you are half blind to do it. other eye is about a month off due to thanksgiving being in there delaying things.
 
Yesterday I did a 30-minute Peloton ride and today I did 50 minutes of Peloton rides.

Carolyn-Great job with KCM’s Cardio Quick Fix, workout one and P 30 Perfect Pump Upper Body. That’s good that your cholesterol numbers have gone down. I’m in a similar situation as you, my husband has never had high cholesterol but mine tends to be higher.

Diane Sue-Great job with CDorner Tabata workout, mobility, and the back pod and therapy moves.

Shannon-that sounds like a good chair workout. I remember Cardio Coach and Sean.
I’m so sorry about what your father went through at the VA and about all the other challenges that your family has been through.

Valerie-Nice job with your park walk.

Hi to Cathy
 
Today I did Raw Barre#1, 36 minutes, 103 calories followed by STS 2.0 chair yoga, 21 minutes, 27 calories. I wore 2 1/2 # ankle weights since that is what Kelly wore. I also did the back pod work and foam rolled a bit at the end. It is late and I have looked at your posts. I will be back tomorrow. My husband has been of and we have been out and taking care of some things around the house. Got my car back from the body shop today. I will try to get back tomorrow. I spent some time yesterday with my brother on the phone. He had knee replacement surgery yesterday. He lives in Florida and is the one that lost his wife last November. I check up on him often.
 
No workout Wednesday as I had to go get tires, then shopped Thursday. This morning I did the cardio premix for Cardio and Weights, and then LITE Body Weight and Bands. Derek took my car to my parents to leave it for the weekend as he's taking the train to Chicago with his fiancé, her Mom and Grandma for her 21st birthday weekend. He's considering himself the babysitter since he doesn't drink.

Shannon it wasn't the Achilles, is was a connecting fiber so bad, but not as bad, and once each leg. It was so crazy because I'd been attending sporting events for most of my life, and had run up and down lots of bleachers so to have that happen twice in a year was just so bizarre. Good that you are finding ways to keep exercising. Vitamin D and B12 are the only things I take. I've been vegan since '88, and don't have any issues, though everyone in my family parents/siblings do. DH is more of a junk food vegan and does have some issues. Boys grew up vegan, Nick still is, Derek likes real cheese, though that's the extent of it with him. That's horrible about your Dad's problems. I used to work in the permanent and total disability section of Workers Comp here, and people who had been declared P&T by judges, had to apply multiple times to get their federal disability money. When people told us they'd been denied, we just told them keep applying till you get it, they basically rejected everyone initially.

Diane Sue, great job with Raw yoga stretch, Mobility, CDorner Tabata, Mobility Challenge, Raw Barre#1 and STS 2 Chair Yoga.

Valerie glad your surgery went well!

Carolyn great job with KCM’s Cardio Quick Fix and P 30 Perfect Pump Upper Body.
 
Hi, ladies. Happy Friday. I’m ready for the long weekend – we get Monday off since it’s Veterans’ Day. Well, yesterday I decided that my foot is just fine. Yes, yes, I know. It hasn’t even been a week. But oh well. I did Ripped with HIIT – Low Impact HIIT, 1&2 combined premix. No problems at all. It bothered my arthritic toe a bit, mostly because we are going through a weather change, but that’s no big deal. I guess the visit to the doc was a waste of time and money.

Thanks, everyone for your sympathy about the family situation.

It sure would be nice if this HRT would finally kick in and stop these bloody hot flashes …

Carolyn – Your husband is very wise not to use the VA for his health care. I wish my dad didn’t. Perfect Pump upper is a great workout! Good job. I hope you got all your scheduling issues worked out.

Valerie – Ah, I’m so sorry about your back surgery and the scoliosis that led to it. I’m sure it was hard to get moving once you were able, but you are very wise to keep pushing (but not too hard). I know people who don’t, and man, the old saying “use it or lose it” happens fast! I’m very happy that your eye is already feeling normal.

Judy – Great work on the Peloton rides. You sure put in the miles.

Diane – That must be nice to get those things done around the house, but even better to work with your husband. He works at night, right? That’s a tough schedule. Good job on the barre workout. I just can’t get into barre.

Cathy – Is the Body Weight and Bands really hard on the shoulders? Seems that’s what I heard. I thought about getting it, but that scared me off. Well, I’m glad your injuries weren’t the actual Achilles, but I’m sure it still took a while to heal. That’s so cool that your whole family is vegan (or in Derek’s case, vegetarian). I tried going vegan but was always hungry. Maybe it was just a mental thing, since I love dairy so much.
 
Today I did P 30 Perfect Pump Lower Body and the Extended Stretch. My time was 43 minutes with 159 calories burned, average heart rate 111, and maximum heart rate 135.

Valerie, the park walk with your neighbors sounds nice.

Judy, great job with the Peloton rides.

Diane Sue, great job with Raw Barre #1, and STS 2.0 Chair Yoga.

Cathy, great job with Cardio and Weights cardio only, and Body Weight and Bands. I’m glad that you got the tires. It’s best to be safe.

Shannon, great job with RWH Low Impact HiiT both workouts. With the exception of the early years of military service when we lived on base, we always used Tricare with civilian facilities for medical care during active duty and retirement. Now we have Tricare for Life which works with Medicare.
 
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We rode the trail this morning, 15 miles in an hour and 15 minutes. I have no issue at all riding outdoors for this long but indoor on a spin bike, a half hour is about the maxt..... even watching something interesting. my bike is light with dropped handlebars and somehow that position has always been good for me. my new lens is good. I upgraded from the standard one medicare covers. I get the other eye done first week in december with a lens that will make reading easier. right now I am still healing but its decent vision. its my dominant eye. I am seeing very little difference from pre surgery. sort of a good/bad thing. I wont need correction for distance vision. my own eyes had improved. right now I can go with no correction on my other eye or with a contact lens in. it doesn't make much difference. the lens upgrade is expensive. this is a one time thing so I hope it was worth it. I dont want to need glasses for anything and have a decent chance of achieving it.

I have been sloppy "mostly vegetarian" forever. I like dairy and eggs so not vegan. I am Ok with chicken to a great degree because it helps with options for eating out. even if fettucine alfredo is 'vegetarian", I dont see it as healthy! we eat lots of vegies, fruit, whole grains , beans, with chicken as a side. it used to be very hard to travel, eat out, visit friends. you can see the panic in their eyes when you say "vegetarian". (OMG what will I make) you can be a junk eater and still be vegetarian. DH's lipid levels improved when we reduced fat.

Shannon its a real motivator after a big surgery to get up and moving. I was only in the hospital for one day after surgery. they make sure you are moving before you go home. its up you to KEEP moving. I pushed pretty hard and got back to normal quickly while following the rules to keep safe.
 
This morning I did CDorner Step # 363 "Taylor Swift" 34 minutes, 164 calories, heart rate 129/166, 2,999 steps. I also did Perfect 30 Perfect Flow Mobility Basics, 35 minutes, 59 calories. Total time 69 minutes, 223 calories. I considered some light arm work today, but my ribs around the chest area were hurting last night. Not sure if the barre caused it or the tabata the day before since I did the inch worm move. I also did the back pod after I was done today. Ran out of time to add some more of the therapy moves. My husband gets up and I need to get him dinner in the afternoon before he leaves for work. The change to weekends keeps throwing my usual way of doing things. I will get things organized again soon I hope. It is raining here again.

Cathy, nice work on Cardio and Weights, I keep forgetting that I want to pull that workout out again and do the cardio premix. I looked at the Body Weight and Bands, but if I remember right that would affect my ribs so I will wait.

Shannon, I am glad that you got through Ripped With Hiit, Low Impact Hiit with no problems. I was having problems with toes and my arthritis, but they gave me a steroid injection so now they are not giving me a problem. That was terrible, what happened to your dad. When I was a child and my dad was stationed in England, they often took us to a British doctor rather than to the military doctors.
I tried vegetarian light (ate eggs sometimes), and still have cookbooks around. I found I started losing muscle definition even though I was lifting heavy all of the time. My doctor said I need to eat over 1800 calories for my height. I try, but I am really not hungry when it gets late at night and I realize I am still short 400 0r more calories. I sometimes throw in a piece of sprouted grain bread and nut butter before I go to bed. I am supposed to eat more protein. My doctor said my proteins are low. I went from vegetarian to Paleo. I found I need to lower some of the fat and watch which kind. I think I eat more of a mediterranean diet. I eat a lot of salmon and tuna. I eat sprouted grain or seed bread and usually purchase in a thin sliced bread if possible.
Personally, I think unless a person has a health issue with certain foods, pretty much all food groups are good except heavy salted and sugar products. Mainly eat real food, not processed junk.

Carolyn, nice work on Perfect Pump Lower Body and extended stretch.

Valerie, good job on the trail ride this morning. For some reason I thought that you were getting cataracts removed. Did you get laser correction? I got laser surgery as a two step process and had perfect vision for a lot of years. Then I guess age made my sight go a bit. I see 20/20 with glasses now. It was so nice not needing glasses. I hope you heal and see well.

Judy, nice work on the 30 minute peloton ride Wednesday and the 50 minute peloton ride yesterday.
 
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