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I’m 60+ and can tell you overtraining is easily possible at any age. It leads to injuries, fatigue and dropped performance levels.
Overtraining with weights (and doing too many push-ups) has caused a shoulder issue that is a real pain to deal with and makes my sleeping difficult at times.
I’ve been working out since my twenties and am more flexible now than I was then. People generally think I am in my 40’s. I do a variety of exercises like barre, yoga, fusion, pilates and weights. I usually do 1-2 hours per day. If I feel tired, I skip working out or do restorative or kundalini yoga which are refreshing.
Exercise keeps you young, but it needs to be done intelligently. Our body is a machine, if you don’t take care of it properly it’s going to break down.
I’m 60+ and can tell you overtraining is easily possible at any age. It leads to injuries, fatigue and dropped performance levels.
Overtraining with weights (and doing too many push-ups) has caused a shoulder issue that is a real pain to deal with and makes my sleeping difficult at times...
Both my wife and I have developed shoulder issues in our 60's. Hers she attributes to yoga, mine most likely from tennis. The rotator cuff is problematic for us old folks, perhaps inevitable even for those who aren't so active.
Perhaps your shoulder injury is different since pushups don't seem to trouble mine. I don't do many (can't) and do them grasping dumbbells to avoid aggravating another chronic injury, my left wrist.
I'm 61 now. I still run three times a week (most weeks) at 3 - 5 miles a run. My goal is 12 miles a week. I've gone from ~8 minutes a mile in my 20s/30s to 9 per mile in my 40s/50s, and now my goal is to beat a 10 minute mile average over the length of my run. I did my first outside run of the year Sunday and hit 10.01 minutes a mile for 3 miles. Not a bad start. Back to the treadmill for now though. My son is trying to talk me into a half marathon this summer, but I think I'll stick with my plan of a 10K. That is still a bit of a stretch for me, and the run he wants to do is at 7,000 feet (Rim Run at Crater Lake NP). I live at just over 3,000 feet, he lives at 6,000 feet, so not as much of an altitude change for him.
Anyway, injuries happen. Rest and physical therapy get me back on the road, where I ease my way back up to my regular mileage. I try to combat them by doing yoga once or twice a week for strength and most importantly flexibility. I've never been a fan of weight lifting, but do lift weights on Saturday mornings to keep some muscle tone. Just various weight machine stations. I see various "old" men that seem to lose their butts as they age. Those muscles just seem to disappear on them. I'd like to keep my muscles, mobility and activity till the end.
Such an individual decision about our capabilities to exercise in our "wisdom years."
Some keep going forever and others wear out joints or have injured body parts and must curtail what they can do.
But given that, it's best, imho, to do something active on a regular basis to keep from rusting out.
Balance is especially important to keep from falling.
I know a local 93 year old man who had a heart attack in his late 70s. He and his wife started walking 2-4 miles a day. He's still doing it and has had no more heart attacks. Sure, he's slowed up and walks with a cane now but he's still going--and his mind is sharp. I want to be like him.
I'm 61 now. I still run three times a week (most weeks) at 3 - 5 miles a run. My goal is 12 miles a week. I've gone from ~8 minutes a mile in my 20s/30s to 9 per mile in my 40s/50s, and now my goal is to beat a 10 minute mile average over the length of my run. I did my first outside run of the year Sunday and hit 10.01 minutes a mile for 3 miles. Not a bad start. Back to the treadmill for now though. My son is trying to talk me into a half marathon this summer, but I think I'll stick with my plan of a 10K. That is still a bit of a stretch for me, and the run he wants to do is at 7,000 feet (Rim Run at Crater Lake NP). I live at just over 3,000 feet, he lives at 6,000 feet, so not as much of an altitude change for him.
Anyway, injuries happen. Rest and physical therapy get me back on the road, where I ease my way back up to my regular mileage. I try to combat them by doing yoga once or twice a week for strength and most importantly flexibility. I've never been a fan of weight lifting, but do lift weights on Saturday mornings to keep some muscle tone. Just various weight machine stations. I see various "old" men that seem to lose their butts as they age. Those muscles just seem to disappear on them. I'd like to keep my muscles, mobility and activity till the end.
I like your plan to stick with the 10K.
Altitude is definitely a consideration. It’s probably a bigger factor the older we get. A trail run at 4,000 feet in Hawaii really wipes me out, even with a relatively slow pace. It’s the uphill portion that’s a killer. Uphill in general is getting tougher for me.
I could almost do 8 1/2 minute mile in flat races a couple years ago around age 61. Now? No way at age 64. Definitely slowing down. I’m recently recovering from a hamstring injury, learning the hard way that they take awhile to heal.
The old man flat butt syndrome! I’ve noticed that too in our local club locker room. Too be avoided at all costs.
Getting into the Senior Olympics at 59 -- faster in the 800 and 1500 than I've been in years -- but I realize it's a relatively limited window before the natural aging process slows me down and adds to my recovery needs.
In general, the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week. This can be divided into daily sessions of at least 10 minutes in length.
That is a dumb recommendation. You need at least 60 minutes a day. You should never have a "rest" day, you just need to change what your core exercise consists of.
That is a dumb recommendation. You need at least 60 minutes a day. You should never have a "rest" day, you just need to change what your core exercise consists of.
I disagree. Rest days are very important, especially when you get older. The muscles and the nervous system both need time to recover. Working out every day just sets you up for injuries even if you do a different routine each day.
I disagree. Rest days are very important, especially when you get older. The muscles and the nervous system both need time to recover. Working out every day just sets you up for injuries even if you do a different routine each day.
Unless you are very, very careful about being "active" and still being at rest.
I use a heart rate monitor to gauge that. After decades of using a heart rate monitor in my cardio (since the years I was an avid road cyclist), I know what "exercise" looks like to my heart. I may get on the elliptical or go for a walk on a "rest" day, but I keep my heartrate well below the "exercise" level.
And I don't do anything other than that very light cardio on a "rest" day.
I disagree. Rest days are very important, especially when you get older. The muscles and the nervous system both need time to recover. Working out every day just sets you up for injuries even if you do a different routine each day.
I completely disagree. I'm 56, maybe there will be a point when I will need a "rest" day, but so far I don't.
I lift weights and do cardio 6 days a week, 2x a day. Cardio morning (1 hour), weights evening (2 hours). On the 7th day I don't rest, I bike, walk for hours, swim etc. But I avoid the gym, that's enough to reset my nervous system.
Your body is not meant to rest. Do you think hunter and gatherers rest? No. They need to move everyday. The more you move the more energy you have. The more you rest the more you're tired.
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