s/o Woe is me,,aging and something to help

I'm 54 as well and have been walking more everyday. My "desk job" was starting to take its toll on me and I could feel it. My 76 year old Mom is passionate about walking a minimum of 3 miles a day. She says the walking and eating 3 (protein filled) meals a day are what keep her healthy. 3 weeks ago I started adding Collagen to my daily smoothie. This stuff is magic! My hair and nails are growing like weeds. My very dry skin is improving without the use of lotions. (I can't use lotions due to allergies.) I haven't consistently added strength training yet. But I have tried Pilates and I loved it. It has been on my mind to start that up again. Find what you enjoy so you can stick to it!

My husband is a personal trainer and most of his clients come from the 50+ age range. He has 7 that are 80+. Some have goals of just getting up and down to play with their grandkids, but several others have summited some pretty incredible mountains and taken bike rides across the US. A client that comes to the house was just trying to recover from hip surgery so she could spend two weeks in Italy with the fam and keep up. My husband also spends hours each week keeping updated with the latest methods. All of his clients that I have met rave about the difference it has made for them.

I have been doing strength training for the last six months. Before that, I had just been doing yoga.

My DD is a certified trainer, so she writes me workouts to do. She had me do max tests at the beginning and then redo them every couple of months. That is just to see where to start from, I never actually lift my max.

And when I say lift, it's not like the ones in the gym lifting to get big.

I use the dumbbells up to 12.5 lbs, medicine balls up to 10, and the kettlebells up to 20lbs.

I also do a few machine lifts as well, nothing crazy.

She also has me incorporating core strength exercises and balance exercises into my routines because core strength, balance, and flexibility are extremely important as we age.

Here is an example of one of my workouts from last week, it took me roughly an hour to do it all:

Lateral machine 6min @3.0 level

Torso rotation machine:
(3 x 15LR) 50/55/60

Machine Tricep press 15 ea @ 30, 35, 40

Machine row 15@ 25, 30, 35

Superset:
Reverse lunges
(3 x 8 LR)
5, 7.5, 10 lb dumbbells
Gorilla rows
(3 x 8 LR)
5/7.5/10 lb dumbbells

Glute Bridge
(2 x 12)
bodyweight

Trampoline ballet squats with overhead press
3 x 12
8/10/10 lb medicine ball

Yoga:
Warrior poses I&II
Revolved side angle
Revolved triangle
Half moon
Hamstring stretch
Low Hamstring stretch
Pigeon pose
Sphinx
Cobra
Frog
Child's pose
Birddog crunches 10
Kneeling side toe touches (10x each side)
Bent knee leg lift 10
Fire hydrants 10
Child's pose
Push to downward dog
Walk the dog 10x
Straight leg raises from DD (10x each side)
Walk the dog 10x
Sumo squat
*repeat other side

I'm also 54 - I bought a Peloton during the pandemic in 2020 and have been getting more into the strength classes they offer and going heavier on the weights. I also have read the articles and want to not end up like my mother, who was bedridden for the final years of her life.

Yes, I started strength training at the beginning of the year. It's been baby steps but I am feeling like it has helped. I am surprised at how much I enjoy it! I am 59 and there is so much I still want to do in my life. I have been walking every day and really watching my nutrition. I just wish I had started sooner.

I swear my goal is constantly to add more strength training to my routine.
I do some, but I need to do more…it is amazing what a difference it makes.

So I asked ChatGPT the other day how do I get the best bikini body - and it gave me such a long list of what I need to incorporate into my exercise routine lol - I was like ugh….the two biggest things I need to add are HIIT and strength training.
I’m going to Spain in the summer when it will be HOT and I want to look hot in my black bikini lol. #goals

Totally agree. I fell out of my exercise routine when I had Covid last month and then with everything *waves arms around wildly* I just haven't gotten back to it. Soon. I've also felt the Covid exhaustion has lasted much longer this time around than the last time I had it.

This is a great forum for BW fitness: www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/

I took up bungee fit in February 2022. I go one day a week for a 45 minute tabata style work out. I burn 300-400 calories.

Recently I’ve been helping my dd rehab a bad ankle sprain from falling off the balance beam. We’ve been walking 3 miles Saturday and 3 miles Sunday at the lake by our house. This past Sunday I went alone and did 4 miles.

My goal is to get 3 days a week of exercise. Walking, bungee, wakeboarding, whatever. Just get moving. I want to lose the menopause middle I’ve got starting. I’m fairly fit but need to tone it up.

Thank you!!!!

Thanks! I’ve been doing weight work and fitness training since I was 15 (the dawn of aerobics) - 45 years ago. I know what to do and how to do it. 😀 I have 5-pound weights and can’t do enough reps to make that the best route to building strength. 

I’m not sure you understand the breadth and depth of my surgeries, but trust me when I say that I am doing all that I can right now to rebuild my upper body strength.  Double mastectomies aren’t for sissies. Especially when followed by botched reconstruction. 

I am an elementary school teacher. I am 5’8” and weigh 135 pounds. I routinely get 10+K steps per day. I am active, not overweight, and eat a healthy diet. 

You asked a question in your OP about strength training and I answered. I didn’t think that this thread would be to tell posters that what they were doing was wrong or not enough. If you aren’t experienced in training mastectomy survivors, maybe this isn’t your wheelhouse. I wish that I hadn’t responded. 

I am so lucky to have a free gym at my office that rivals the nice paid gyms in the area (without all the people LOL).
I'm slowly getting back into building my upper body strength. I recently had frozen shoulder surgery after not being able to lift my arm for a year. My arms used to be so great, but after a years of not using that arm, my definition is gone! Right now I'm at 3 pounds on shoulder presses, but I'm hoping to bump up soon. My 51yo body just doesn't recover as fast as my 30yo body did!