60+ minutes of exercise per day to maintain weight after age 50

[Melalvai]

I have an opinion, which I will entirely fail to support by offering any facts, that one's activity level BEFORE age 50 may have as much to do with fitness as your activity level AFTER age 50. If you are already exercising 420 min/week, it'll be easier not to drop to a poor fitness level if/when age-related metabolic changes kick in.

By the way a bunch of people around here are doing one mile a day Thanksgiving through Christmas. It was a suggestion in Runner's World, the idea being that if you go out for a mile, you're likely to go further, and even if you don't, it's still a mile. Depending on their fitness level some of them are doing a mile walk, or 10 min walk, or 10 min run, etc. But it's daily, whatever you choose.

[malkin]

It was a suggestion in Runner's World, the idea being that if you go out for a mile, you're likely to go further, and even if you don't, it's still a mile.

In for a dime, in for a dollar.
I do the same with practicing piano. If I sit down at all, I know I will do more than just a little.
(Of course it usually works the same way with drinking beer too.)

[jobob]

If I sit down at all, I know I will do more than just a little.
(Of course it usually works the same way with drinking beer too.)

[Slowspoke]

Ugh, it's pitch dark, my husband is snoring in front of the fire and here I am reading at the computer. Meanwhile my bike is in the basement, shackled to a trainer and beckoning for my company. I could shut teh basement door and snooze or walk down those steps. Stay tuned! 60 minutes a day sounds crazy to me right now! LOL

[emily_in_nc]

Ugh, it's pitch dark, my husband is snoring in front of the fire and here I am reading at the computer. Meanwhile my bike is in the basement, shackled to a trainer and beckoning for my company. I could shut teh basement door and snooze or walk down those steps. Stay tuned! 60 minutes a day sounds crazy to me right now! LOL

60 minutes on a trainer is pretty much purgatory, I think. I think the longest I ever managed was around 52 minutes, and that was hard.

One thing that was so nice about the neighborhood my DH and I lived in before moving down here is that there were street lights, sidewalks, and hills. Even in the dark of winter, we could take our dog out for a long and hilly walk after dinnertime and get a good workout in.

[Veronica]

60 minutes on a trainer is pretty much purgatory, I think. I think the longest I ever managed was around 52 minutes, and that was hard.

Spinervals and good background music make it more bearable for me. I did a three hour video - once - when I was training for double centuries. And I've done a 2.5 hour combination of two videos. I actually kinda like doing a hard 45 - 60 minute video on the trainer. Yeah, I'm weird.

Veronica

[Selkie]

Agree w/Veronica about Spinervals and music making it more bearable. Unfortunately, some of my favorite Spinervals are the older ones that don't offer the "music off" selection so I can't listen to my own music. I've done Tough Love (3 hrs) straight through multiple times out of mule-headedness, and once, was able to knock out the 5 hour Hardcore 100. Once was enough for that one. ;-) I've now started mixing other workouts with my Spinervals and swimming, i.e., Ilaria Montaganani's Powerstrike/Athletica DVDs and recently, getting back into step workout DVDs. I've found that it's easy for my quads/glutes in my lazy leg to let the left leg carry the workload while cycling, but weight bearing exercising, particularly stepping, makes it more difficult for the right leg/glutes to let the stronger side do most of the work. Plus, I have always loved step workouts and Powerstrike. Variety is the key, as is doing what you enjoy.
Months away from turning 50, I find that I need a lot more recovery time after a hard workout. Saturday and Sunday naps are becoming the highlight of my week.

[jobob]

By the way a bunch of people around here are doing one mile a day Thanksgiving through Christmas. It was a suggestion in Runner's World, the idea being that if you go out for a mile, you're likely to go further, and even if you don't, it's still a mile. Depending on their fitness level some of them are doing a mile walk, or 10 min walk, or 10 min run, etc. But it's daily, whatever you choose.

That's kind of what DH and I are doing now, although not quite so deliberately.

We both drifted away from cycling, and the pounds were coming back on at an astonishing rate so a couple of weeks ago we started walking. We're very fortunate to live w/in 1/4 mile or so of the Alameda Creek Trail, a very nice MUT that leads to Coyote Hills Parks by the SF Bay with lots of flat & hilly trails, so we have a great resource literally in our backyard. And there are lots of other great hiking trails within a very short drive that we're starting to discover after having lived out here for, oh, a couple of decades ...

So we're trying something new. We've been heading out together for 3-6 mile walks roughly every other day, and I'm really enjoying getting to know places that I used to zoom by (heh heh) on my bike, and tromping up steep dirt trails that I was never inclined to ride up & enjoying the lovely views when I get up there. We've been doing this together because DH and I have both needed to get moving, although I have no qualms about heading out on my own on the days he wants to ride his bike instead.

Meanwhile my bikes glare at me ... I reassure them that this is just a break, I'll start cycling again sooner or later ... maybe.

Anyhow, I like that idea of committing to doing (in my case, walking) at least a mile a day every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas, Melalvai. It's an attainable goal and would motivate me to get me off my butt. So thanks for that!