Tag Archives: Workouts

Exercise: “Shelter In Place” Home Circuit Workouts For Older Adults (WSJ)

From a Wall Street Journal article (March 21, 2020):

As we age, our balance declines, says Dani Johnson, a physical therapist with the Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Living Program in Rochester, Minn. Implementing balance exercises as simple as standing on one leg as you brush your teeth can help prevent falls. Getting a daily dose of cardio can boost the immune system.

This at-home circuit routine will get your heart rate up while also challenging strength and balance. Perform the circuit three times. Walk up and down steps or march in place for two to three minutes between sets. To up the effort, she suggests adding dumbbells or improvising with cans or tube socks filled with coins or rice.

Chair squats

Stand in front of a chair with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees, lowering your hips back, keeping weight in your heels and your chest upright. Start by sitting into the chair and standing back up 10 to 12 times. If this is easy, hover above the chair then return to standing.

 

 

Counter push-ups

Image result for incline push up at home gif animationPlace your hands on the edge of a counter, just beyond shoulder-width apart. Lower into a push-up then press back up. Repeat 10 to 12 times. For more of a challenge, walk your feet farther away from the counter.

Chair triceps dips

Sit upright in a chair with your hands on the armrests, elbows bent at 90 degrees. Straighten your arms, lifting your body off the chair. Hold briefly. Then lower yourself down. Use your legs to balance. Repeat 10 to 12 times.

Calf raises

Begin in a standing position. Rise up onto your toes, hold briefly, then lower back down. Repeat 10 to 12 times. Place one or both hands on a table or chair for more support. For an added challenge, perform on one leg at a time.

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Boomers Fitness: 63-Year Old Arizona Runner Hits Trail With His Dogs (WSJ)

From a Wall Street Journal online article:

Wall Street Journal This Marathoner Is A Dog's Best Friend Dec 1 2019Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, he is out before dawn for a 1.5- to two-hour run with Abby and Finn on one of the many trails accessible from Tucson along the Catalina Highway. The dogs are disciplined enough to run off-leash in a pack with him. The farthest he has taken Abby is a 13-mile, three-hour run. “She came home quite tired, as did I,” he says. When training for a marathon or longer distances, he adds a solo run on Wednesdays. He’ll run up to 23 miles on a network of paths in Tucson called the Loop.

Mr. McLean has had Achilles tendon problems as the result of tight calf muscles, and says he stretches for 15 minutes every night and before his morning run.

Like many marathoners, John McLean trains with running buddies. But if he isn’t keeping pace, he gets barked out. Mr. McLean is a dog-lover who logs miles with four-legged friends, both his own and rescues.

For years Mr. McLean, 63, ran solo. He and his wife, Barbara McLean, live in Arizona. They worked in the aerospace industry and travel made it tough to look after a dog. The day after Mr. McLean retired in 2014, he came home with Abby, a 10-week-old Chocolate Labrador.

To read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-marathoner-is-a-dogs-best-friend-11575201674