Life after 50

[luisHK]

T. If you have a simple and cohesive routine that encompasses pulling and pushing movements for upper body in the horizontal and vertical plane, and pushing for the legs, you will be off to a good start. Keep it simple, keep it brief and give it all you got if your doctor gives you the go-ahead. (But ease into it, and make sure you get the movements right.) You'll like the challenge, and true challenge is never boring. Also, relatively brief workouts won't be off-putting, so you won't dread the next one. You'll look forward to it. This I know.

Completely agree with this, and if coaches are anything in HK like the ones I see in Shenzhen, avoid them (from what i read they are not any better in HK)
Besides seldom looking like they seriously train (a few do) many seem to follow a similar routine where they have a moaning beginner trainee do several sets of the same exercise. If the coach has you squat on the first day until you are tired, than squat again after a couple of minutes rest, forcing some squats while you are cringing in pain, than this for a couple of extra sets, it is very likely you will be very sore the next few days and won't want to go training. Not sure why they love working like this, I see a coach sometimes having beginners do several sets of a whole bunch of exercises for the same muscle group. I 've followed this particular coach for at least a couple of years and never seen one of his student make sizeable progress (tthere are more serious gyms around, although the best athletes appear to be neither trainee nor coaches there).

Much better go for a full body workout with compound movements, 1 working set for exercise ime works more than fine upon getting back to teh gym (FF might link to studies to back it up) and you won't be that sore.
Watch out for squat upon beginning, it's possibly the most useful exercise but overdo it upon getting back to the gym and the soreness will put you off - I would stop your single working set a bit before failure, at the very least a couple of reps if you are just starting again.
Besides compound movements like squat and deadlifts are great but if you are not familiar with them, you will need some basic coaching, or at least have someone check up the form. It's not that difficult to do them wrong and hurt oneself, short or long term - maybe even hurt oneself when doing them mostly right, but it's probably more likely when working heavy.

And sure get a blood test, in some european countries doctors are not to up to date with TRT, especially general practioners, and put patients on antidepressors without even checking their test levels, yet there is a long litany of issues linked to low test, and feeling depressed is one of them. Also beeing overweight and sedentary seems to hurt test levels. Your levels might be quite fine, but it is a sensible complement to a health check up around your age.

 

[luisHK]

give it all you got if your doctor gives you the go-ahead.

I might have some reservations on that part though, some doctors seem to have an aversion for weightlifitng, although it should be better as long as you don't tell them you plan to lift heavy. I'd definetely wouldn't wait to get a doctor approval to go to the gym (but than I've spent too long in a place where doctors sound like janitors dressing in a white blouse, when I end up meeting one I often think they come up with worst bullshit than the fitness coaches...they wouldn't be able to work as a doctor in Europe that's for sure)
Doctors in HK are much better , but they migth still have strong feelings against heavy weights, i've seen that back home as well.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

Much better go for a full body workout with compound movements, 1 working set for exercise ime works more than fine upon getting back to teh gym (FF might link to studies to back it up)

*Sigh*

I've already linked sooo many studies. I'll do it again with a few if anyone asks, including the ones that conclude that single joint exercises add no value to multi-joint exercises. But I think I've already bored everyone to tears with this stuff here. (For now.)

And sure get a blood test, in some european countries doctors are not to up to date with TRT, especially general practioners, and put patients on antidepressors without even checking their test levels, yet there is a long litany of issues linked to low test, and feeling depressed is one of them. Also beeing overweight and sedentary seems to hurt test levels. Your levels might be quite fine, but it is a sensible complement to a health check up around your age.

I agree about the health check-up, but I, personally, would turn to pharmaceuticals only as a very last resort after every other avenue has already been exhausted. Just a personal bias.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

I might have some reservations on that part though, some doctors seem to have an aversion for weightlifitng, although it should be better as long as you don't tell them you plan to lift heavy. I'd definetely wouldn't wait to get a doctor approval to go to the gym (but than I've spent too long in a place where doctors sound like janitors dressing in a white blouse, when I end up meeting one I often think they come up with worst bullshit than the fitness coaches...they wouldn't be able to work as a doctor in Europe that's for sure)
Doctors in HK are much better , but they migth still have strong feelings against heavy weights, i've seen that back home as well.

Interesting. During regular physicals, I've always told my doctors (they rotate at the clinic I attend) that I work out and that I go to the very limit of my capability. Not once have I been told to ease up or back off.

As an aside, I don't know how necessary it is to lift heavy. But I do know it is most efficient to lift hard. There is a distinction. For example, I used to do pull ups and parallel bar chest dips with a fair amount of weight to failure. But for some months now, I've done both exercises without weights, at a considerably slower pace and for more reps. When I was younger, I always favored heavier weights with lower reps, in the 6 to 8 rep range, with a preference for 6. That lasted for a fairly long time, although I slowly raised the lower limit to about 8 over the years.

So it's a bit curious that I presently do up to about double the reps for some exercises and enjoy it at least as much. You'd think doing the first few reps would be stupidly easy, but if you slow it down enough it starts to get challenging quickly enough. I work to make every rep "count" rather than look to get a certain rep count. Plus, since I'm only doing one set for each exercise now, the higher reps make up for some volume and mechanical work, TUL, and all that. And the point of failure, I found, is just about as taxing. In fact, the higher rep count feels more metabolically taxing.

What I like about resistance training (and even HIIT), as compared to, say, steady-state cardio, is that the exertions (sets) are intense and brief. That's why I used to like fairly lower rep sets for a long time. But the higher reps now give me...drama. It becomes an epic struggle to take each set slowly to its very limit. I may have to get a cape.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

some doctors seem to have an aversion for weightlifitng

Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention. I'd avoid them.

 

[CaptainObvious]

I might have some reservations on that part though, some doctors seem to have an aversion for weightlifitng, although it should be better as long as you don't tell them you plan to lift heavy. I'd definetely wouldn't wait to get a doctor approval to go to the gym (but than I've spent too long in a place where doctors sound like janitors dressing in a white blouse, when I end up meeting one I often think they come up with worst bullshit than the fitness coaches...they wouldn't be able to work as a doctor in Europe that's for sure)
Doctors in HK are much better , but they migth still have strong feelings against heavy weights, i've seen that back home as well.

Thankfully my cardiologist is a weight lifting gym rat. Wouldn't exactly call him a bodybuilder, but he's defiantly fit. He gave me some very good advice on eating right, mineral and vitamin supplementation as well when I was undergoing my original treatments for heart arrhythmia.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

he's defiantly fit

 

[CaptainObvious]

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Spell check fails me again. LOL

 

[DallasCowboysFan]

. I clearly feel my body is going through a transformation, I feel fatigued, tired, have sleep issues, sweat a lot, my legs are in pain day and night no matter I exercise or walk or not. Made me completely give up on any exercises or gym for 2 years straight now. My bone density dexa scan came out pretty bad 2 years ago, early signs of osteoporosis. But nothing I was recommended or tried helps.

I know I am sub 50 and may not fit the old geezer category but I certainly feel like it. Tips, advice? I tried standing desks, hourly breaks from sitting, different chairs. My wife is Japanese and cooks very healthy food each day. Zero medications, no substance abuse, zero alcohol, and yet I feel I will check out of life soon.

Back and legs are killing me and sleepless nights don't add to my comfort levels either.

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Have you tried yoga? There are thousands of videos on YT. It's a low impact form of exercise using your body as resistance. You don't need a gym membership, only a yoga mat (or even a blanket to start with) and a little motivation. I follow Yoga with Adriene, 5MN followers on YT. You could even do it with your wife at home. And keep each other motivated.

I have been doing it for 2+ years but it only took me about 30 days to feel the results.
I feel like I have gotten stronger, but I am much more limber.

Qigong and Tai Chi might be something else to consider. I try a little Qigong (chee-gong) from time to time in addition to the yoga I do daily. But I have never caught on to Tai Chi, even though it is very popular in Asia.

Good Luck.

 

[GRULSTMRNN]

Thank you, though to be honest I am not a believer in either Chinese/traditional medicine nor yoga. In many ways I already stretch in similar ways than yoga without the esoteric stuff. I am a firm believer in the actual doing of exercises that logically connect cause and effect. I fail to see that logical link with taichi or yoga. Most of my friends who are yoga desciples and eat vegan don't look nor behave any healthier than those friends who don't but otherwise live a balanced healthy lifestyle. For me all this new age stuff is a fad. But I stress that this is how I feel about it, I don't judge anyone else.

I mentioned that it's not the motivation that is lacking in me, it is the conviction from seeing that despite me doing exercises it does not improve my health condition in my legs. Obviously I am either doing the exercises wrong or do wrong exercises or there is a yet undiscovered condition that needs medical attention. That is why I look for advice and at different suggestions.

But thanks for the suggestions and ideas. The stretching component of yoga is something I see value in and something that I already practice.

Have you tried yoga? There are thousands of videos on YT. It's a low impact form of exercise using your body as resistance. You don't need a gym membership, only a yoga mat (or even a blanket to start with) and a little motivation. I follow Yoga with Adriene, 5MN followers on YT. You could even do it with your wife at home. And keep each other motivated.

I have been doing it for 2+ years but it only took me about 30 days to feel the results.
I feel like I have gotten stronger, but I am much more limber.

Qigong and Tai Chi might be something else to consider. I try a little Qigong (chee-gong) from time to time in addition to the yoga I do daily. But I have never caught on to Tai Chi, even though it is very popular in Asia.

Good Luck.