Advice please on increasing my exercise (muscles, pushups, legs, arms)

[golfgod]

I decided a couple of months ago that I'd gotten a bit soft and started doing some light exercise. I also cut down my total caloric intake and I definitely feel better, but I think maybe I should be doing a bit more in the exercise area. Here's what I'm doing now:

I ski about 3 weeks every winter, I ski hard, mostly Black and double black trails.
I play golf 5-6 times a week in warm weather, which depends on how severe our winters are. I live in the front range of CO so it was in the 70s yesterday and a high of 43 today. I walk when I golf so it's about 5 1/2 miles per 18 holes.
I do push ups in reps of 25, at least 1 per day, usually 3.
I do toe touches in reps of 25, same count.
I do alternating toe touches in reps of 20, same thing.
I do trunk twisters in reps of 25, usually 3 per day.

I have a bad ankle so running is out. Any ideas.
I'm 61 years old, 6'1" and weigh what I weighed when I got out of boot camp at 18-185#.

Thanks in advance.

golfgod

[ogre]

Hi Golfgod. Great to read that you've picked up your exercise. One suggestion I would make would be to check with a doctor, if you have not done so already, to find out whether any other exercises besides running would not be recommended because of the ankle.

I'm going to assume that you would plan on using a minimum of equipment for exercising. If I'm wrong about that, and you would consider buying some exercise machines and the like, feel free to let people here know, becuase there would then be additional possibilities. One piece of equipment I would strongly recommend purchasing would be several pairs of dumbbells in various weights.

To start by keeping things simple, since you are doing pushups it would be good to maintain the balance in your upper body muscles by also doing some kind of pulling motion against resistance. One possibility would be to invest in a chinning bar and to do pullups, but these are difficult, and may be an exercise you would not want to do right away, if at all, if you are just getting back into exercising. Perhaps a more suitable exercise would be bent-over rowing. This can put a strain on the lower back, if you simply bend forward at the waist and pull the weight up to your chest from below. I would recommend exercising with one hand at a time. Stand next to a sturdy bench or table, with the side you are not exercising being closest to the table. Keep your feet about shoulder width, with your knees slightly bent, in the position where you feel your legs providing good stable support. Bend forward at the waist and brace your free hand on the table. With your back straight, focusing on making sure not to twist your upper body, hold a dumbbell in the hand on the side away from the table, let it dangle below with your arm straight, and then pull the weight up to your chest, and lower it back to the starting position. That's one rep. If you feel as if you are getting a good workout with 25 pushups, you might want to experiment with different weights on the dumbbells, to find a weight where you can do 25 repititions in a set and feel as if you are getting some good exertion.

You may also want to work the muscles across the tops of the shoulders as well. A couple of good exercises for this area would be upright rowing with dumbbells, and/or jacknife pushups.

Two more calisthenic/strength exercises I would recommend would be alternating abdominal curls, and knee bends (aka squats). For the ab curls, lie on your back in a bent-knee situp position. Rest your right hand on your right shoulder, left hand on left shoulder, with your elbows pointed toward your knees. While keeping your right foot on the floor, bring your left knee up toward your chest, while smoothly, steadily twisting your torso up and to the left so that your right elbow points toward your left knee. Return to the starting position, and then twist your left elbow up toward your right knee. Repeat this as many times as you need to for a good workout.

Do knee bends smoothly and fairly slowly. It's best not to bob straight up and down, but to sit back some as you go down, as far back as you can go comfortably without feeling as if you will lose your balance. Using this kind of form takes strain off of your knees, and uses primarily the muscles in your thighs and rear end, large muscles which can handle the exertion better than the knees. You might find before long that you can do a lot of reps of knee bends. To keep your total reps down to something like the number of pushups you do, you might try holding a dumbbell in each hand, with your hands hanging loosely at your sides.

For aerobic/cardio exercise, one simple and effective exercise would be to add to the walking you do when playing golf, by taking brisk walks around your neighborhood. Though it's fine to push the pace fairly hard once you've gradually worked up your level of conditioning, you don't need to push really hard for a good workout. Just a good brisk walk, with your arms and legs moving loosely and comfortably, can get you breathing pretty deeply. It's my understanding that in the area where you live, after snow falls, it usually melts fairly quickly. In that case, there is no reason you can't get outside for some fresh air and exercise with brisk walks during the winter. Whatever the season, if walking on pavement aggravates your ankle, you might want to try walking on a golf course, or on athletic fields if there is a high school nearby.

If you have access to a pool, swimming is a great exercise. It's also a good activity for you to consider, since it would take weight off of your ankle.

A few general guidelines:

Push yourself, but not too hard. It's best to up your level of exertion gradually over time, so you avoid injury. Think in terms of long-term steady progress, exercising in the manner of the tortoise rather than the hare.

Regarding strength exercises, you said you do your present routine of calisthenics every day. It's best to take a day off between strength exercises, to give the muscle tissue time to rest and rebuild. It sounds as if you are currently doing some of the exercises you may have done back in boot camp. I believe I've read that even the military now recognizes the importance of rest between bouts of strength exercises, and has the troops doing the more intense calisthenics, like pushups, only three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It would be a good idea to give yourself this kind of spacing with pushups, plus any of the other strength exercises I suggested which you might begin doing.

Speaking of rest days, it's usually a good idea to allow at least one day a week when you do no exercise of any sort.

Those are a few suggestions for a good, simple basic fitness regimen. Feel free to ask questions about any of this, or if you are considering using exercise equipment. Once again, congratulations on increasing your physical activity, and best wishes for continuing to enjoy these benefits.

[Crustedfilth]

I'd throw in some weight training. It will help your golf game too.

[broadbill]

how about cycling? Excellent aerobic exercise and low impact.