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

[malkin]

... weeding is practically a seated meditation.

Maybe for the civilized part of the yard, but out in my wild back yard, weeding can be more like MMA or cage wrestling.

"Heavy housework" must mean moving furniture and dragging the vacuum cleaner up the stairs.

[OakLeaf]

Yeah, whatev', but the couple of activities we all do, walking a 20-minute pace or cruising/coasting <10 mph on a bicycle (I'm assuming they mean flat pavement or they'd have said so) - none of that raises our HRs over about 90 bpm (50% of max, 180% of resting), right? So wear a HRM doing your ADLs. I'm thinking the only people who aren't getting that much activity either are the kind of people who get home from their desk job and collapse in front of the TV for the rest of the night ... or the ones who are injured/sick/disabled and really would like to be doing more if they could.

[goldfinch]

I think the biking 10mph is misleading to us. That would be pretty speedy for my spouse and for my sister and would get their heart rates up about equivalent to a brisk walk. It also probably does not assume a lightweight road bike either.

[Crankin]

I agree, Goldfinch.
I can only take about 45 minutes on the trainer. Most of the Cyclo-Core programs I've done over the past 4 years are about that long. Of course, there's no video, just a list of the drills. I use my own music. A few are an hour. I also have a really good interval workout that is 30 minutes long, that I got, from all places, Runner's World magazine. That's my favorite. I sweat more than anything else and it's over with quickly. During the winter, I tend to do one trainer workout and one spin class a week. Any other aerobic stuff I do depends on my schedule and if there is snow for nordic skiing/snowshoeing. I feel as if I work as much in 45 minutes on the trainer than in an hour ride outside, maybe even more. I'm not doing drills outside, just riding up hills. Since, I maintain my weight this way, I think intensity trumps time for me. And i am working out 5-6 days a week.

[jobob]

I think the biking 10mph is misleading to us. That would be pretty speedy for my spouse and for my sister and would get their heart rates up about equivalent to a brisk walk. It also probably does not assume a lightweight road bike either.

Of course. Common sense has to come into play here, most of us here probably know what constitutes moderate activity for us as individuals, and what kind of activity is necessary to elevate our heart rates enough to be worthwhile. These guidelines are likely meant for sedentary people to give them some ideas.

[OakLeaf]

But I don't think walking 3 mph is misleading to any of us. Most of us do at least a little walking with people who are mostly sedentary, don't we? A 20-minute mile isn't a leisurely stroll, but it's not exactly brisk, either. It's just kind of a "normal" walking pace that most people would use to get from one place to another when they aren't in a particular hurry. And they aren't talking about how high we need to elevate our HRs to get cardio fitness. They're only talking about maintaining weight after menopause. And I maintain, as many other studies have found before, that a reasonable "suite" of ADLs is all one needs to do that.

[PamNY]

They're only talking about maintaining weight after menopause. And I maintain, as many other studies have found before, that a reasonable "suite" of ADLs is all one needs to do that.

I'm inclined to agree. I have very few friends who are overweight -- of course, they may have gained a bit after age 50; I haven't interrogated them. But most people I know don't look heavy at all to me.

I'm convinced that being largely car-free in NYC is the reason I haven't experienced (or seen much of) mid-life weight gain.

[emily_in_nc]

I'm convinced that being largely car-free in NYC is the reason I haven't experienced (or seen much of) mid-life weight gain.

Very good point, Pam. My mom lived in Manhattan car-free from her early 40s to early 50s and kept the weight off fine. She walked all the time. Once she moved back to North Carolina and to a car-based, suburban lifestyle, the pounds started coming on rather quickly, and she's never been able to get them off -- she's 78 now. She also quit smoking around the same time, which was certainly part of it, but the change from an active lifestyle to a much more sedentary one was obviously a major factor.