Targeting specific flabby areas?

[bobthebuilder]

"At our age running is out"

I'm not sure who said the above.

My missis helps run the local couch to 5k courses. They've had lots in their 60s and two (a male and female) in their 70s complete the course by doing a 5k parkrun.

They say if you can walk 1 mile, you can do a c25k course.

They start very gentle - just a little bit of running with more walking - and build from there.

At the other end of the scale we've some superb older runners in their 60s at our running club; very fast; sub 40 min 10k for one, sub 1.30 for a half for the other. And we've an 80-something who still runs marathons.

So maybe if you're in your 90s you're too old?

I’m a conscientious objector when it comes to running. I’ve never really enjoyed distance running and did it because I had to. A couple of I’ve done serious (for me) running programs to hit half marathons but it just doesn’t really float my boat. Now I rarely run because the consequence is planta fasciitiis amd it isn’t worth the hastle. My limit is a 5km beach run one a week.

On the other hand, I know some seriously committed mature distance runners who got into running in their 50s or beyond who love
It.

IMHO you’re never too old to run, cycle, swim etc etc; just find one you enjoy, that engages you and doesn’t hurt too much.

 

[AsterixTG]

You could try my approach.

I started growing a punishment moustache with the aim being i would shave it off when I got down to fighting weight of 16'8

That was about 5 months ago. I now look like fat Asterix

**** you! It's my glands!

 

[Whey_Aye_Banzai]

Now I rarely run because the consequence is planta fasciitiis amd it isn’t worth the hastle.

I was troubled with plantar for about a year. Then I heard a podcast where a tri-athelete, Mark Sissions reckoned that stretching the soleus (part of the calf muscle) for two minutes at a time (which I had to build upto) sorted his plantar faciitis out in a few weeks.

It took about that length of time for me too and it's not troubled me since.

 

[Electromagnetic]

I agree with you about the quality of carbs. I also think that our individual metabolisms play a huge part too. Some people handle carbs better than others, but as we get older (and put on weight) our metabolisms change and we handle carbs less well.

As evidenced by the apparent increase in numbers of people using "free from" foods. Modern wheat grains differ from the grains that humans got used to for thousands of years. Refined white flour and sugar are prevalent in cakes, scones, biscuits, etc but "wheat intolerance" is broad brush that doesn't seem to consider the use of spelt and old varieties of wheat grains. Bread never used to contain soya but it does now. Some people may have issues due to soya.

I don't think that the latest, biggest, studies show that fats of any kind are bad for you. The Lancet published a huge study that covered thousands of people, from 18 different countries, that went on for several years. Wait, I'll dig it out:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)32252-3/abstract

View attachment 352844

Thanks for that.

Saturates vary in relative goodness. I limit my intake of hard fats. I don't set a limit on saturates that are non-solid at room temperature. Unfortunately traffic light schemes though very useful, do not discriminate between them.

I have encountered people on the carb free diet. They may be slim but they didn't look a bundle of laughs. Humans are omnivores. Learning from the past makes sense but a lot of these experiments in discarding significant food groups have no significant history and so we can only say that some people seem to benefit in the short term.

That would be down to the function of the pyloric sphincter. Liquids are passed into the small intestine faster than solids, and carbs are dumped quickest, allowing blood sugar spikes. Proteins and fats are the last to be let through.

Why the Chinese takeaway leaves you hungry soonest should now be obvious.

Best case to keep blood sugars level is to consume fats and proteins first, then fiber, then carbs (if any). Protein stimulates the release of glucagon, managing the insulin response, fats as preferred energy source. Fiber next will entrap the glucose from all sources including any carbs allowing for slow release on it's course through the rest of the alimentary canal, keeping blood sugar level moderated.

Thanks for that insightful post. What you say makes sense when considering a systemic approach for these general food groups. Complex carbs don't produce the same glucose spikes of refined and simple carbs. I know that some people eat meat and carbs separately. This has some precedent when considering hunting and gathering and the different digestion processes for meat and carbs, as I understand it. High protein breads and snacks seem popular now but Indians have been making chipatis from ground chick peas for thousands of years.

 

[bobthebuilder]

I was troubled with plantar for about a year. Then I heard a podcast where a tri-athelete, Mark Sissions reckoned that stretching the soleus (part of the calf muscle) for two minutes at a time (which I had to build upto) sorted his plantar faciitis out in a few weeks.

It took about that length of time for me too and it's not troubled me since.

First time I suffered I was still serving with easy access to free physio. They sorted it with deep massage and ultrasound on the soleus. Didn’t suffer for years.

Then it flared up again; came back from a beach run unable to put my foot down. Took six months of stretching and massage to shift it. Then it flared whilst I was warming up for a session by skipping and took the best part of a year to fully disappear.

I think the root cause for me is where I live. Hills are impossible to avoid (unless I run on the beach) and they are very steep.

I’ve concluded it isn’t worth it for me. I’d think differently if I had ever really enjoyed running. I’d rather get on my bike and hit the hills!

 

[Grey_Mafia65]

I have always hated running, only ever did it whilst serving because I had to. After about 10 years of virtually no phys, I got into spinning about 13 years ago and got quite addicted, with great results. Then I ruptured my ACL and as well as any high impact activity being out the window, it took years for my hamstring and quads to regain enough strength to push a pedal with anything more than slight resistance on it. With weight training I was able to build it up again and started spin classes again 3 years ago. I eventually felt confident enough to start doing some aerobic, high impact, classes last year, even started considering doing the couch to 5k thing .... and I've damaged the cartilage in my right knee
Having an arthroscopy next week, I'm not expecting to do much more than walking until after New Year, although I will still go to the gym as I've got an upper body weight training regime worked out.

 

[Cutaway]

and I've damaged the cartilage in my right knee
Having an arthroscopy next week, I'm not expecting to do much more than walking until after New Year, although I will still go to the gym as I've got an upper body weight training regime worked out.

You'll be fine, the new treatments for carpet burn are amazing.

 

[Electromagnetic]

You'll be fine, the new treatments for carpet burn are amazing.

Sounds a bit rash...

 

[Whey_Aye_Banzai]

I eventually felt confident enough to start doing some aerobic, high impact, classes last year,

Our gym runs them and you get a right beasting, but I've only done it the once. I run a lot of miles and lift a lot of weights, but they were just too high intensity for too long, I felt, for a bloke knocking on the door of 50.

I do high intensity interval workouts - sprints - but I keep the sessions short; stuff like a few miles warm up then an all out 6 x 100 meters, or 8 to 10 x 12 second sprints up hill, all with good recovery between, but as soon as I feel the 'drop off' where my performance deteriorates, I warm down and finish.