Training/working out at 64

I am amused by this song: I am 64. And no, being 64 is not the end of the world. But I am in uncharted territory (living what I’ve never lived before). And yes, the old-timer remind me: “it gets worse.”

Today’s walk was instructive:

Yes, it warmed up to 86 F, 57 percent humidity (error in the meme)

Now the walk did NOT start off well. I was 16 minutes at the turn off of Moss (just over 1 mile) and I was feeling some left glute/hip tightness at Dozer (just over 2 miles. I gave some thought to just turning around and going home; instead I stretched and continued. I was glad that I did.

Oh, there is some glute soreness and yes, it is lumbar related. It happens. And I WAS fatigued, just a bit. How I could tell: the tightness..my getting irrationally irritated by cars and bicycles (none of which were bad, AT ALL..and yes, I kept my irritation to myself since it was MY problem, not theirs).

But here is where experience came in: instead of angrily pressing the pace, I just relaxed, tried to focus on pelvic tilt and angle (I have stenosis due to spondylolisthesis) and focused on the mechanics of walking. And the pace picked up a bit. I walked to the driveway of the old marina and turned around; going out I stayed on the sidewalk of Water Street until the Gateway building (to avoid the Farmer’s Market foot traffic) and on the way back, I walked along the seawall, and made some other adjustments. The return trip took 1:03 and that was net uphill and done in hotter temperatures; the down trip took 1:06.

So, while I was not pleased with my lack of speed, it was not much of an effort, and I did have tough walks on last Saturday (Steamboat 4 in 43:44 plus 4 more miles), Tuesday (15K at 14:44) and Thursday (“fast 4 on the track”). I have to pay attention to cumulative stress.

And this leads to the topic of this post: working out while older. I’ll list some things just off of the top of my head:

1. Chronic conditions. I have to be careful here. On one hand, NO ONE my age is not going to have aches and pains. My past areas: knees, shoulder, lumbar. They WILL act up from time to time. Pain that is highly localized and does NOT go away with warm is way I pay attention to. I rarely take pain pills; I haven’t since my bout with COVID in the winter of 2023. I also have to modify exercises, delete others. Part of the reason I film a few sets is to see if I am aggravating some condition of mine.
2. Body responses Yes, my walking times ARE slower and the weight I can lift is lighter. There is nothing I can do about that. But I can pay attention to things like “I don’t do well in heat so I should back off of my normal pace” or “this stretch/exercise works well for this condition” and I can make it a point to do extra physical therapy for specific things. I do have some concerns about my balance (balance forward) and so I’ll have to practice yoga tree poses and the like. I have to take just a bit more time between sets in lifting, OR do fewer sets if time is tight.
3. Load management I have less capacity for volume. So; I have to make choices. It seems that I can handle two strenuous walks per week (distance with some intensity and higher speeds), and perhaps two medium walks (slightly longer at a slow pace or shorter at a faster pace), and two heavy (by my standards) press workouts per week. The off days have to be easier.
4. Testing my limits Deadlift: probably a bad idea as when one tries for a max, the form breaks down a bit. I cannot afford that. Bench: every once in a while is ok, but I have to watch the shoulders. Pull ups: my pull ups have a slight kip to them but trying too many leads to form breakdowns which leads to radiating pain. Walking: take it easy on the races; do them once in a while with a bit of faster walking once a week. Distance: build up gradually. I feel it if I build up too quickly.
5. Overall life stress This is a tough one. There was a time when I went the hardest when things like work stress were the greatest. That doesn’t work anymore. I have to leave something in the tank for my job. I’ll have to one of my tough walks on the weekend, and limit my tougher sessions to the weekend, juggling them around football games in the fall (I am NOT giving those up).
6. Keeping perspective. I sometimes get encouraging comments on my Youtube videos…that would be appropriate were I a 24 year old just starting out. But I am not that; I am on a downward trajectory and I am working to retard the slide as best I can; to slow the rate of my decline. Decline I will. Local races: well, I have to remember that 2 years ago, I was doing 1-2 mile walks. That I can do them at all is something to be grateful for. But the reality I will be finishing with the elderly, the injured and the overweight. The days of finishing with the “hard bodies” is long gone. I still remember 1985-1986. I was at my strongest; I worked up to a 300-310 bench press. I weight about 230 lb (45 more than I weigh now) and decided to do a local 5K (on the campus of St. Edwards University). I routinely ran 2-4 miles per day. My time: 23:15, or a 7:30 pace. My trying to run that pace now would be a complete joke. Yes, my waist was 4-6 inches wider than it is now. I have to remember that when I get discouraged by not being able to stay up with someone who does not look in good shape.