ReThinking Exercise at Age 60

Agreed that variability probably increases as we get older. I'm on a big club with lots of people of all ages and the 55+ people have a wide range of what works.

I will say that the marathoners do seem to have less success than the shorter distance people. Marathon training and running isn't normal - it does too much damage. As a 60 year old the damage can be severe.

But sure there are 60+ people on the team who do Boston and NYC every year and are doing great. So who knows. Find your own way.

I don’t think inactivity after 60 is the answer. I have one “rest day” when I walk 2.5 miles on the treadmill. I can’t run track intervals anymore because I’ll blow out a calf muscle or hamstring but I’m running 4 days and cycling 2 days.

+1.

I had some solid training and racing in my 40s and even early 50s. but somewhere at around 53, there was a big drop, then after a knee injury, another drop. Now, i don't think i will ever run beyond 8 miles ever again. But, i've also been running for almost 40 years now. So people who started later will likely have more time to actually train.

I'm glad you posted that. I got an extra year, but slowed down at least 30 seconds per mile between ages 61 and 62. Normal? :(

Like I asked "fisky," do you use TRT, HRT, DHEA or anything like that? What about nutrition - any special diet you adhere to? And how about dietary supplements?

How do you work out twice a day at your age? As I mentioned in my earlier post, I'm 65 with orthopedic issues & can barely work out once a day! 😖

There was a time back in my twenties when I worked out before my work day (office job) and then 3 evenings a week I was taking Tae Kwon Do classes. In fact, was beating me up & I had to eventually stop after one year falling short of obtaining my goal of achieving a black belt.

So, I can't imagine a 60 plus person - subject to the consequences of the age spurt study - doing two-a-day workouts?

65 now, taper week is the only week I actually feel good without those daily aches and pains..
but I'm too scared to stop working out, mostly bike and swim and weights though. I can't do daily runs anymore, everything breaks down, from motivation to mobility..
ran a trail race last weekend, 16 miles and 3000ft of elevation. At the finish I stopped with hands on knees and said to no-one in particular, “I may never walk again”. Everyone cracked up.. but it was only the truth, took until today to walk normally.

Here's Standford's Michael Snyder - the lead author of that shocking & sobering age spurd study! 😯

spoke to a young doctor recently at my niece's wedding, she is a gerontologist (specializes in us old folks), said exactly that - gotta keep moving. when you stop, things go bad fast..

60y old here, started running competitively in junior high, and never stopped training. I quite racing in my 30's, as it always lead to injuries. I love running, really love it, but as the years go by, you HAVE TO ADJUST. I run most days, 30-40 minutes, and as hard as my body will allow on many. I run almost exclusively on grass and dirt trials, and when I go to the track (more this year than the last 20 combined) I have the luxury of a cinder track (who cares at this age if I'm not optimizing my 200m times!). Days off are critical, and I come back from them feeling tremendous, but I also make sure to not overdo it on any one day, and always feel good the next day. I'm an academic trained in physiology and disease mitigation, and have literally written (successful) books on this topic, and daily movement is absolutely critical to healthy aging, there is no doubt about this. So keep running, but remember you aren't 20 anymore, scale it back and enjoy!

I'm 68, did not really start running till I was in mid 50s. Live in Michigan and ran an average of 1100 miles per season...not much in the winter, mostly played hockey with other old guys a few days a week,

Basically stopped running in 2021 and felt great for about a year. By late 2023 I'd gained about 25-30 pounds and started feeling lazy and sluggish. Got moving again doing a slow buildup and started to have a bit of foot and ortho pain.....Switched to a bike most days and stationary bike on crappy days, Back down to about 180 pounds at 6ft tall and mostly feel pretty good. Still run some, maybe 1-2 times a week for 5-7 miles at about a 9:30 to 10:00 pace.

I think the key is learning the "sweet spot" that your body can tolerate without making yourself feel like crap all the time.

Oh. if you switch to biking, try real hard not to crash....that can end everything real quick!

I used to compete against the field, but now as an older runner, I compete against myself.

By that I mean that I have to focus very sepcifically on the signals my body is sending, adjust accordingly, and do so immediately and constantly.

I like how a theme is emerging about variablility, and I find that to be very true, which reinforces the need to be receptive to what flies and what is limiting and detrimental.

And the margins for error are smaller and even the easy runs come with a lot more effort.

I guess this has become an exercise in adaptation, and that is key. As a point of comparison, up until my early sixties, I was always satisfied just as long as I was showing improvement, like in PRs, increasing mileage, beating some competitors, etc. Flat out - that whole concept is laughable to me now. Just laughable.

Now it is much more about maintaining.

One begs to ask how technology and our understanding of nutrition nowadays would have impacted our current running ability/health.

have to say this too: A lot of this is mental.

if we do the same training every year for 20 years, we will burn out and feel bad.

doesnt' matter what age we are. if we burn out for that reason at 25 we think it's the training. if we burn out for that reason at 60 we think it's our age.

Shake it up. Do different things. Each year get a different training book and follow it. Train for the mile, then cross country. Your brain needs to feel new things as well as your body.

GotitAllWrong, you mentioned arthritis. Take a look at your diet; just cutting down on sugar and dairy helped me there. OK, so most of my arthritis is in my hands (I'm a cartoonist) - but a bit in the hip. Fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, proper protein. Just watch the sugar and booze.
I just ran a marathon Sunday, age 68. The only problem I had; the second half of the course was pretty hilly. Slowed my roll a bit. Other than that, all good.

The amount of exercise activity necessary to live healthy and long life is very small. This woman definitely enjoys the benefit of her genes. For someone who isn’t as lucky genetically, modest exercise during younger years suffices to reach the point of diminishing returns. That point itself changes with age until simply moving about and keeping yourself busy is sufficient exercise.

OK, full disclosure. We're talking 35mpw, 5 days running (only one day "hard" per week), two days rest. At this stage, I ain't complainin' --

I suspect that you did not adjust your workout program to fit your age but instead continued the same program as if you were still in your '20s. You have to adjust your program as you get older. The body takes longer to recover when you're older. Sensible exercise for your age. Not all in all the time regardless.

Had total right knee replacement {robotic} in April and I am running 5.4 miles a day five or six days a week along with cycling 20 to 45 minutes a day, usually 20 minutes cycles after my run.

Very grateful to be running again