[Outcast_Searcher]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('GoghGoner', 'I') am planning to go out and run 4 hours today. I would like to do it 4 times a week but seldom get it done. I also focus on hiking a lot while running but I do run 100 miles at a time. I don't think there is any consensus that running is bad for your knees. I feel the more you exercise the better connected you are. I do think one of the greatest obstacles our civilization faces is the quantity and quality of citizens. Health care is a major issue since folks are not taking care of their bodies.

[C8]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'S')ounds like a lot of folks here could get behind this book.

Go Wild
Free Your Body and Mind From the Afflictions of Civilization

We’ve seen a great a rise in diabetes, asthma, obesity, and other “diseases of civilization” during the past century. In Go Wild, John J. Ratey, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Richard Manning, a journalist, trace the roots of such problems much further back, to the dawn of agriculture. Before that, they argue, evolution brought hunter-gatherers into fine, healthy attunement with their natural environs; afterward, Homo sapiens became more sedentary, and we began to eat things (especially starches and sugars) that wreaked havoc on our bodies. “We are designed to be wild,” they proclaim, “and by living tamely we make ourselves sick and unhappy.”

[C8]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('evilgenius', '
')The worst part about the gym used to be the price, but working out at a gym is cheap now. All that contract stuff has gone out the window. I just pay monthly. You do get some potential constrictions. Unlike the bike path, where sometimes you have to slow for traffic but if you are going a long distance those slow downs average to a very small part of your workout, the gym comes with competition for certain pieces of equipment. There's never competition for the elliptical machines that I like so much. The treadmills get filled up sometimes.

[Shaved Monkey]

I judge what to do by the lives of old people.
See who's body is battered and what they did and dont do it
See who is living a good, happy, healthy life well into old age and ask them what they did and do more of that.

obviously you cant change genetics or bad luck

[SeaGypsy]

That's it Shaved. I quit glassblowing in 2000, though I had cracked $300 an hour doing it, because I watched it kill my father & no amount of money was worth 7 years of debilitating illness & death in physical agony. I quit arts altogether in 2007, because I can't stand the wankerism in the sector. Went into palliative care, which I learmed looking after dad, was earning twice what I am now, but the politics & emotional roller coaster felt as dangerous as blowing glass. Last few years mostly logistics, mostly truck driving & heavy vehicle operation based systems, preferably with some skilled labour component. Lack of stress, enough $ but not too much- seems to be just as basic to longevity as diet.

I will never forget a couple of Eumundi gals in their 80's completely kicking my arse picking ginger 20 years ago. They didn't need to say much, just lovely old farm girls.

[Shaved Monkey]

Heres a good one for the time poor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEc7QFc5vIQ

[WildRose]

C8, I am one of those who was inspired by the fitness movement of the '70s. I started running then (I was 15), at night, with my dog, in my bare feet, as I didn't have running shoes. It was summertime in central Alberta, and I got a job and finally bought myself a pair of decent shoes. It was difficult at first but after a few months I could manage a couple miles without stopping, and a year later was running a few miles, picked up my pace. I always had a dog to run with, which provided a quiet companionship that I loved. My best running buddy was a black Labrador retriever that lived to be 17; man, that dog loved to run. After a few years I added swimming laps for fitness, took a stroke improvement class when I was in tech school and alternated running and swimming.

Fast forward, I am 58 years old now, and reaping the benefits of an active life. My work has always been sedentary (same work for 35 years), and I make a point of getting out to walk, hike, and go to a local gym. Have done this all my life. My kids got me a FitBit for my birthday last year and a FitBook for entering workouts, meals, journaling, etc. It's been fun; I like challenging myself and aim for lots of days with 20,000 steps or more. I'm getting close to my ideal weight and find writing down what I eat very helpful. I'm about 98% vegetarian but have a sweet tooth that I've worked really hard to get under control. At the gym I work out on the treadmill, elliptical, do strength exercises and stretching. Walking dogs is still central in my life and I hope to do this into my 80's. During the week I'm alone with the dogs but on weekends, family members join us. Am heading out for a walk right away, there is a windchill of -16 Celsius and it's not as cold as it has been, but I love the fresh air and the change of scenery. Then I can come home and start my paid work, work a few hours, have a gym workout, finish my work hours later.

I very much believe that people are better off if they stay physically active as much as possible. It makes things like helping someone move or sod their lawn a lot easier. It gives me energy. I know there are no guarantees in life regarding health as my work is in the health field. People can be struck by all sorts of illnesses even when they've done their best by their bodies. I just know that I want to keep moving, actually planning on adding the swimming again soon. For anyone who is just considering becoming more physically active after a long hiatus, I'd suggest starting modestly, gradually build up your stamina, stretch often, give yourself pats on the back. The "glow" you develop and the energy you feel will keep you going back for more.

[Newfie]

Just looked at my iPhone. Seems like I walk about 2 miles a day. Kinda hard to do laps on a 44' boat.

But I climb 9 flights. My guess is that's about half of reality, maybe a third, as I rarely keep my iPhone on me in the boat. Lots and lots of going up and down the companionway ladder.

[Rod_Cloutier]

Wow, I envy the healthy boomers here.

I'm 46 and I am in terrible health. I don't presently think I'll live past about age 57.

In the last week I experienced a reaction from my monthly vitamin B12 shot, because I have anemia. Since then I contracted a severe sinus infection, which I still have a week later. On Wednesday at 2 AM, I had to be rushed by ambulance to the hospital because I was in such severe pain, I actually thought 'I'm going to die', it was a 7mm kidney stone instead. So I'm home sick now, doped up of morphine, and muscle relaxants to help my body pass the kidney stone, and I still have the sinus cold.

Physically, I'm the stereotype couch potato. I work in an office job, and the only exercise I get is the walk from the house to the car, the car to the office, the office to the car, and the car to my computer couch. The weather here sucks in winter, there was a blizzard today with -40 temps so it is too cold to go outside.

In addition, to the anemia, kidney issue (this isn't my first stone), I also have chronic anxiety, severe asthma, and to top it all off Asperger syndrome. Love what you have, nothing lasts.

[SeaGypsy]

Chronic anxiety & athsma would both improve if you built up a fitness regime, anything is better than nothing. Wild Rose, C8 (nice to have the women leading a conversation), are giving excellent advice. Getting started after a long period of not is the hardest part. The rewards start to flow within days & weeks. Me couldn't work in an office, tried once 30+ years ago & absolutely hated it, particularly how it felt. Never again. I would rather pick up watermelons all day, or ten thousand other things I can think of.

[evilgenius]

I think diet is important along with exercise. I eat a lot of the same thing all the time. What I eat is good for me, but that would bore most people in a way they can't stand. I do my own cooking, so I can change things up as I please, but most of the same basic ingredients, give or take, are in everything I eat. Speaking of boredom, I really don't compete with other people. I do compete with myself. I enjoy watching what other people can do. If I can lift more or go harder I may congratulate myself under my breath, but I usually won't think less of those people, unless they want it that way with their attitude. In fact, competing with myself may not be the right way to put it either. I should say that I enjoy the problem solving that comes with improving at the gym. Too much self-competition can lead to depression, if you start not being able to out do yourself. And you don't want to hurt yourself either. Don't throw yourself at it when the secret is in your mind. The problem is keeping motivated. You might find yourself inspired by whatever it was that helped you set your goals, but inspiration is not motivation. You have to find little things about the process of working out that re-energize you, like solving those little problems. It helps not to set your goals in stone as well. If you can change those as you go along that will help. For example, you may discover that endurance at something is better for you than strength. You may seek a combination of those, in like manner, that you weren't aware you could possess before.

[Shaved Monkey]

I just had my first blood test in over a decade.
I was a bit concerned.
Blood pressure is good
According to their program 5% chance of a heart attack
Doctor said keep doing what your doing.

[SeaGypsy]

I got in the pool last weekend & sprinted a few 50 meter laps, same times as at my peak when I was 15, 35 years ago- 35 seconds. I can also butterfly 50 meters in about 40 seconds, I couldn't butterfly 50 meters when I was 15, the job I'm in now has massively increased my upper body strength.