Physical Fitness is a MUST!

[farmerboy]

Every morning when i awake i do about 1000 pushups, 2500 jumping jacks, 8 to 900 sit-ups and run about 20 miles. And that's just to limber up for when i start to exercise.

[BGutzman]

My goal is to have legs that function until Im 80..... No more PT.....

[C0untZer0]

Again...

Water aerobics...

[briandg]

Water aerobics are out. All I have to swim in is the speedo I wore as a teenager.

[farmerboy]

If you could still wear it, you probably wouldn't be able to see it!

[Japle]

I frequently see older vets doing physical therapy at the base gym, recovering from knee or hip replacement. They're always fat and obviously haven't been in shape since they left active duty. Their joints failed after years of carrying too much weight all day, every day.

I can remember seeing just one person in really good shape who'd had joint surgery. She was a serious, 50+ year old competitive body builder. She'd had a torn rotator cuff, caused by bone spurs in her shoulder, not by the stress of exercise.

[MLeake]

BGutzman, have you ever considered Tai Chi? Hard to injure yourself at Tai Chi, yet it has proven benefits: balance, flexibility, weight control, strength; even indications that it (and other physical activities that stress balance and coordination) can help fend off Alzheimer's.

PT doesn't have to be high impact, or even medium impact, to be beneficial.

[Skadoosh]

Interesting option! Tai Chi is something I had not considered.

[MLeake]

Skadoosh, one other nice thing about Tai Chi - a lot of its moves are derived from fighting techniques. A guy I used to train with in Fayetteville, NC, is a Tai Chi sifu, and he could take a lot of their slo-mo moves and apply them very neatly in an aikido setting. Some of the step and balance moves work wonderfully when used for a sweep, for instance.

And you might not believe the sweat you can work up, keeping balance while moving slowly. In fact, moving quickly will often mask poor balance points, while moving slowly will expose each as it occurs.

Slow is hard - but not high impact.

[farmerboy]

I was gonna get into yoga once but hurt my back. Trying to get onto the floor.

[SPEMack618]

Hell, I'm 23 and have had knee surgery(jumping out the back of a Bradley) and my back gets stiff some times(UH-60 had to make a hard landing in the Sandbox) and I still go jogging every morning, and nearly maxed out my last PT test.

Running away is a good skill to have for a foot soldier.

[BGutzman]

BGutzman, have you ever considered Tai Chi? Hard to injure yourself at Tai Chi, yet it has proven benefits: balance, flexibility, weight control, strength; even indications that it (and other physical activities that stress balance and coordination) can help fend off Alzheimer's.

PT doesn't have to be high impact, or even medium impact, to be beneficial.

That is actually a good idea and something I might like. thanks!

[to.what.end]

Close quarters combat coupled with crossfit is a good combo for daily physical training with self defense related applications. The CQC has the benefit of a quick "push off" defense then an opportunity to draw if need be. Crossfit is a 10-15 minute daily exercise routine designed to get your body use to using quick explosive power.

[MikeNice81]

Arrogant stupid fool. Life happened, age happened. You can forestall the aging process, but you cannot prevent it.

Tell that to my mom's step dad. At 75 he could still haul feed, lay brick, and turn a wrench with the best of them. He never was much of a runner though.

One of the last things I remember seeing him do was lift a Chevy 350 Turbo transmission from the floor, carry it across his three bay garage and set it on the counter. That same day I saw him load a classic VW Beetle motor on the back of a truck. He did it with no help. (He wouldn't let me help because I had a fever. He was more scared of my germs than the work.)

He was stronger than most men half his age when cancer and a stroke took him at 77. Getting old doesn't mean getting put on the shelf. Over working and over exertion are what do you in. Well, that combined with cigarettes and a bad diet.

[Stevie-Ray]

Hard to injure yourself at Tai Chi, yet it has proven benefits: balance, flexibility, weight control, strength; even indications that it (and other physical activities that stress balance and coordination) can help fend off Alzheimer's.

I fully intend to take up Tai Chi when I move, if I can find a place that teaches it. I've always wanted to and now that I'm in my 50s, it's even more important.

[Onward Allusion]

^^^
Tai Chi is probably one of the best forms of low impact exercise. It develops muscle and balance and believe it or not is also a form of martial art if practiced correctly. I took it for a couple of years and it really exercises muscles you don't normally use. If you practice it, do it in the martial art form and not the dance form. Ever do a kick or a partial one leg squat in extreme slow motion? Try that with the 108 moves...you'll have long lean muscles in no time. One of the things that Tai Chi lacks is it doesn't exercise your mid section and core too well. You'll have to stick to traditional calisthenics for that.

[Stronghold Training]

Crossfit is the answer. This is the best form of FUNCTIONAL fitness training around. Google it and go down to your local CF place and try it. Do something hard!!!

www.strongholdarms.com

[Master Blaster 2]

Bring it up when you are 60....

[MLeake]

Stronghold Training, while crossfit is excellent training, it also has a high injury rate among military age males; I don't think it's a good idea, let alone an easy sell, for middle-aged and older guys who aren't already in stellar shape.

Those people who would benefit from crossfit are guys (and girls) who already have relatively rigorous exercise programs going.

[MikeNice81]

I see a lot of Cross Fit, P90X, and Insanity guys get hurt. It is very rigorous and should only be attempted by those in good shape to start with. Even in great shape it is not something that should be done more than four times a week. You should also transition to something else about every eight weeks to twelve weeks to lower your chances of repetitive stress injuries.

From the American Council on Exercise

Due to the intensity and explosive muscle action of the exercises in a CrossFit workout, there are many benefits for the average exercise enthusiast; however, the intensity of the exercises which deliver the benefits could also increase the risk of injury if not done correctly. Before beginning a CrossFit program, work with a personal trainer to learn how to perform the movements required for the workout. An individual should first develop necessary joint mobility (especially at the ankles, hips and shoulders) as well as joint stability (particularly in the core region) to learn how to effectively perform hip hinge, squat, pushing, pulling and rotating movements. The explosive and plyometric exercises in a CrossFit workout require rapid lengthening and shortening of muscles so if a participant does not take the time to develop the necessary flexibility and movement skills first, the joints might not allow a full range-of-motion which could affect muscle tissue and cause an injury.

Also From ACE

CrossFit workouts are not for the weak at heart, and as some individuals reported when interviewed, the workouts “will wreck you.” While this raises significant concern with respect to technique and injury, it is important to recognize that they do value the importance of safety and this message is evident on their Web site and throughout their training manuals. However, they also acknowledge that in life, individuals face situations that push beyond the limits of appropriate overload where some sacrifices to technique must be made to accomplish the task at hand. They recognize the fact that danger lies in flawed mechanics, but their belief is that flawed technique is the key to making corrections. While this is certainly true for certain aspects of life, I must debate this point when training and designing programs to prepare for life’s challenges. A coach should not attempt to correct poor technique under conditions of high fatigue and load as this only promotes injury.

CrossFit has devoted significant time and energy to educating their coaches. Their CrossFit Level 1™ certificate offers a basic introduction to the fundamentals of CrossFit, and a cursory overview of movement mechanics, while the CrossFit Coach's Prep Course™ is an intermediate-level seminar building upon many of the foundational concepts and movements introduced in the Level 1 Course. While both appear remedial when one considers the nature and risk of the exercises performed,

Be careful when starting any new excercise program. Also be realistic about your abilities. Programs like P90X, Crossfit, and Rush Fit are good programs. They are considerred advanced programs though. It is best for the average person to consult with a trainer before begining any of them.

For an absolute beginer I usually recomend trying Kathy Smith's "Project You" or getting Mark Lauren's book "You Are Your Own Gym." Joining a gym and working with a personal trainer is the best starting point. However, not everybody can afford $35 a month and $40 an hour for a trainer.

[JerryM]

My objection is the word "MUST." Some can't and so forget it as as "must."
Each of us should stay as fit as reasonable, but to think everyone of us can fight off an attacker without a weapon or a lot of help is nonsense.
Jerry

[MLeake]

JerryM, the point is that ANY increase in fitness can help, in all sorts of ways. And without meaning to attack any individual, I have to say the following:

I have been to over two dozen countries as either a Navy officer or a defense contractor. It is generally easy to pick out Americans. They are fat, and they don't walk anywhere, but they are tall and have good teeth. Generally speaking, they are often oblivious to or in denial over their lack of fitness.

You say some people just can't exercise. I call those people "quadriplegics."

I had a female friend in college who worked out, despite debilitating MS. On days when she could not walk, she would train on machines and let them guide the motion, but she had no give-up in her.

Problem she then had was she looked healthy, so people thought she was pulling a scam when she parked in handicapped spaces, or that she was drunk when she swayed while walking.

But she made the most of what she had.

[brickeyee]

I had a female friend in college who worked out, despite debilitating MS. On days when she could not walk, she would train on machines and let them guide the motion, but she had no give-up in her.

About 50% of people with MS are not able to walk after 15 years.

[MLeake]

Re: MS, true, it sucks. My friend's thinking was on the lines of:

1. Vanity - she could (and did) still look good.

2. Mobility - she would keep it as long as she could.

3. Optimism - if they could ever discover a cure for her nervous system, she would have less muscular atrophy to overcome.

Another example that leaps to mind is my former senior aikido sensei (then a godan, but I think he is now rokyudan) in Orlando. In his 70's, suffers from myasthenia gravis, yet as of a few years ago was still leading a large dojo and traveling the US to conduct seminars. Might still be, but I haven't seen him for a few years.

Again, it's easier to make excuses; it's even easier to convince oneself that something isn't worth the effort - defensive mechanism so the ego doesn't have to consider that it might be lazy.

[Stevie-Ray]

I had a female friend in college who worked out, despite debilitating MS. On days when she could not walk, she would train on machines and let them guide the motion, but she had no give-up in her.

Problem she then had was she looked healthy, so people thought she was pulling a scam when she parked in handicapped spaces, or that she was drunk when she swayed while walking.

The thing with MS is that there is generally remission, and during such it is as though there is no disease. These are definitely the times MS sufferers need to catch up on their exercise. I wish that were true of RA, which my wife suffers from. She has had NO remission in the entire 31 years she has had it. Steady destruction of her joints has cost her 9 replacement surgeries, and there is virtually no such thing as exercise in her vocabulary. Yet she is not a quadraplegic. Yet.