I watched this interesting hour long video.
I wonder what some of you more medically aware folks think of it.

I find it particularly interesting because I’m at that interesting stage of life where its time to accept that middle age thing and fully bury the last of the superman echos.
What I mean is I held on for a bunch of years to where I could keep up during a day of for-real physical work {that style work ended a two years ago} with the 20/30ish crowd,
by shear will and spirit, well and being fit, working smart. 
But, that’s over for me.  I’m still fit, but it’s a tenuous fit, and if I don’t continue to adapt, and proceed with caution I could snap it in a careless moment.  I can still put in a full day building something, but it’s at my pace, and small jobs where there’s none of that competition pressure.
{I have had periods of my back going out so appreciate how thin that line is.}
So all this stuff has a renewed interest for me. . .

Horizon - The Truth About Exercise (BBC, 2012)
Like many, Michael Mosley want to get fitter and healthier but can’t face hours on the treadmill or trips to the gym. Help may be at hand.

He uncovers the surprising new research which suggests many of us could benefit from just three minutes of high intensity exercise a week.

He discovers the hidden power of simple activities like walking and fidgeting, and finds out why some of us don’t respond to exercise at all

Using himself as a guinea pig, Michael uncovers the surprising new research about exercise, that has the power to make us all live longer and healthier lives.

ok, as for this video, any opinions ?

Oh, and if any folks out there can link me to dietary stuff regarding that transition from a “active-adult” diet to one more aware of the aging body {57 pretty soon} that’s one I’d really like to learn more about.

I love ya CC. But lifestyle is a choice at any age - assuming your health is good. Fitness and health are different things. I see way too many healthy people who are unfit.

I’m 59 and am competing in 4 triathlons this summer. Just yesterday morning I ran a 5K FOR COLON CANCER. I run a 5K in about 28 minutes, which is not great by any means but I always leave many much younger people far behind me. Oh, and after the 5K I swam a mile in the very pool that LANCE ARMSTRONG swam in later.

If someone is healthy and they don’t exercise, it is their choice. But age should not be a factor if one is healthy - it is nothing more than a lame ass excuse.

I was never into non-productive physical activity although I did enjoy backpacking and walking, however, after a moderate heart attack about twelve years ago, I started going to the local YMCA to use the treadmill and exercise machines.  I’ve been going “religiously” three times a week ever since then and at 81 I still feel pretty damned good.  However, after a bout with a nasty cold and bronchitis a few months ago when I skipped working out for a few weeks, it’s amazing how quickly my fitness, especially muscular, dropped.  I’m building back and figure I’ll be up to my former level in two or three more weeks. 

Occam

It sucks getting old doesn’t it

I’m in my 50’s too and I do a lot of work around the house.. carpentry.. landscaping..big masonry jobs.. and virtually everything on the honey do list. I can still do that stuff but over the past 10 years I’ve noticed I definitely have to pace myself much more than i did in my 20’s and I have set reasonable goals for each days work. A little Ibuprofen at the end of the day helps too.

Staying in shape and keeping your weight under control helps but nothing can overcome the fact that older bodies are different than younger ones. They ligaments, tendons, and muscles of an older person just aren’t as supple as a younger person. They will tend to tear more easily. Sometimes it can be a large tear but much more commonly there can be smaller tears. Those tears don’t heal as quickly when you get older either. In addition muscles don’t recover as quickly which is why those of us over 50 often feel stiff for a few days after a day of heavy labor.

On the positive side, the older you get, the more kids and grandkids you have to do all that stuff for you

I do a lot of walking, but I prefer a treadmill personally, because then I can do more than just listen to an iPod.

CC, I only watched a few minutes of the video, but I can say “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”

Just as with the perpetual motion machines and cold fusion, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Now excuse my while I go exercise on my elliptical.

Thanks for the nice comments.  I had a bit of heightened awareness there, having just come home after five days of hanging out at a hospital with my lady who was {XXXXXXXXXXXX {too much into… sorry} .  We’re home and she’s on the mend, but I figure it’s one of those reality checks, that’s best not ignored.
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DarronS - 30 April 2012 05:20 AM

CC, I only watched a few minutes of the video,

Yea, in a way I was sorry I mentioned the video, the whole thing was kinda lame.

DarronS - 30 April 2012 05:20 AM

but I can say “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”

But, but I just want to sit on my ass and drink beer and plink away at this computer. 
Fortunately, for my body, I’ve got work and chores and jobs and walks with the Mis’ess
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Occam. - 29 April 2012 10:51 AM

However, after a bout with a nasty cold and bronchitis a few months ago when I skipped working out for a few weeks, it’s amazing how quickly my fitness, especially muscular, dropped.  I’m building back and figure I’ll be up to my former level in two or three more weeks. 

Occam

There’s a good warning, us it or lose it
Specially for young folks: if you don’t develop a healthy body in your youth, teens and early adulthood, you’ll always being doing catch up, with time moving faster, than the attaining of fitness.
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macgyver - 29 April 2012 03:02 PM

It sucks getting old doesn’t it

I’m in my 50’s too and I do a lot of work around the house.. carpentry.. landscaping..big masonry jobs.. and virtually everything on the honey do list. I can still do that stuff but over the past 10 years I’ve noticed I definitely have to pace myself much more than i did in my 20’s and I have set reasonable goals for each days work. A little Ibuprofen at the end of the day helps too.

Staying in shape and keeping your weight under control helps but nothing can overcome the fact that older bodies are different than younger ones. They ligaments, tendons, and muscles of an older person just aren’t as supple as a younger person. They will tend to tear more easily. Sometimes it can be a large tear but much more commonly there can be smaller tears. Those tears don’t heal as quickly when you get older either. In addition muscles don’t recover as quickly which is why those of us over 50 often feel stiff for a few days after a day of heavy labor.

Ain’t it the truth.  That’s what I really meant in the opening post - that I can still work, but I sure couldn’t keep up with a serious production crew anymore.

macgyver - 29 April 2012 03:02 PM

On the positive side, the older you get, the more kids and grandkids you have to do all that stuff for you

WAIT, how’s that work,    they do stuff for you… and I though they just needed money. {just kidding}
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Traveler, running 5K in your undies (hope they had a fun print pattern), and then having Lance Armstrong swim in your bath water, sounds like a great weekend. 

I’ve left the serious running behind because it just beats up my knees too much.  But, I do a fair amount of walking, and I continue a sort of minimalist diet.
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Yup, Mriana the walking is good, I like having a book on tape, go twice as fast twice as far listening to a good story.

In Toronto on our classical music radio station (Classical 96.3FM) we have this program called The Zoomer Report, where they bombard us throughout the day with pearls of wisdom on how to remain healthy. They are all based on correlation studies and they drive me absolutely crazy. It goes like this: “Studies have shown that people who own dogs live on average 2 years longer. Get a dog!”

I am not going to try to sound like a complete fool and say that I remain skeptical about exercise having positive health benefits, but all these advices drive me absolutely crazy. Until they get serious about these “studies” and start controlling for genetic influence, I’ll keep paying as much attention to them as I do to the chocolate-vs.-glass-of-wine-per-day pseudoscientific BS.

citizenschallenge.pm - 30 April 2012 07:04 AM

they do stuff for you… and I though they just needed money. {just kidding}
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They do need money. That’s how you get them to do stuff for you LOL.  They become very motivated when they need to fill the gas tank.

George - 30 April 2012 07:28 AM

In Toronto on our classical music radio station (Classical 96.3FM) we have this program called The Zoomer Report, where they bombard us throughout the day with pearls of wisdom on how to remain healthy. They are all based on correlation studies and they drive me absolutely crazy. It goes like this: “Studies have shown that people who own dogs live on average 2 years longer. Get a dog!”

I am not going to try to sound like a complete fool and say that I remain skeptical about exercise having positive health benefits, but all these advices drive me absolutely crazy. Until they get serious about these “studies” and start controlling for genetic influence, I’ll keep paying as much attention to them as I do to the chocolate-vs.-glass-of-wine-per-day pseudoscientific BS.

Sounds like the John Tesh show they run around here. He calls it “intelligence for your life” and he does exactly the same thing. I’m still waiting for the Intelligence part to kick in.

I’ve been pretty active most of my lif,e though my no means a high end competitive athlete. I took up martial arts at 40 and got my blackbelt at 45. I was able to keep up with the teens and 20-somethings in the group most of the time, but there was no doubt it was alot harder than when I was that age myself. And I did take a LOT longer to rcover from injuries. After dislocating my shoulder, I scaled back from the intense sparring and full contact stuff and stick to forms and lower impact activities.

I think it is possible to stay fit as you age, and there’s good avidence that regular exercise delays the onset of age-associated disability. But anyone who says age doesn’t matter or that our physical abilities don’t decline as we age is selling a pipe dream. And let’s not forget that there’s a fair bit of genetics and luck involved in what different people are capable of at different ages, and that as comforting as it might be, the notion that by doing everything “right” we can totally control our health is an illusion.

citizenschallenge.pm - 30 April 2012 07:04 AM

Traveler, running 5K in your undies (hope they had a fun print pattern), and then having Lance Armstrong swim in your bath water, sounds like a great weekend. 

I’ve left the serious running behind because it just beats up my knees too much.  But, I do a fair amount of walking, and I continue a sort of minimalist diet.

I don’t see a 5K as serious running, but I appreciate the fact that you want to care for your joints. I’m not a heel-striker so my joints don’t take it too badly when I run.
And fortunately genetics gave me some pretty good equipment. I don’t even have any pesky hair to catch the wind and slow me down (although my ears stick out).   

I choose to do triathlons because they are not boring like, for example, marathons. Also, swimming and biking are great low-impact events.
I have noticed that the triathletes I hang with are better looking than the couch potatoes I used to hang with. 

I don’t know which way you’re leaning, George, with the quote,

I’ll keep paying as much attention to them as I do to the chocolate-vs.-glass-of-wine-per-day pseudoscientific BS.

but using the wonders of answering scientific questions with a personal experience, if they are criticizing chocolate and a glass of wine per day, they are nuts because I love chocolate and I’ve been having a glass of wine a day for many years and I’m still alive so they must work.

Occam

I can definitely feel age creeping up on me! For many years an annual rite of spring for me has been to clear away brush and weeds from about 1/3 acre hillside behind my house with a brush cutter (weed eater with a brush blade attached.)  It takes about half a day because the land is severely sloping and uneven and the footing is generally not good. Twenty years ago I could do this and feel no ill effects later. Yesterday I did it and today my arms and back are so sore that I considered staying home from work. My whole body aches. And I’m in decent shape but my job is sedentary. Guess I need to exercise more.

Occam,

The real questions of importance here are: Do you own a dog and do you like yogurt (preferably the Balkan-style one)?