2012 Resolutions

[marsupial]

I'm taking up smoking. It's time.

Drunk Tank is a great resource:

http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showth...k+tank+smoking

[LA Ute]

Hey, isn't that Lindsay Lohan?!

I'm surprised you can't tell us just by the shade of toenail polish she's wearing.

[Blueintheface]

I reached my 2011 weight loss goal of 30 lbs lost (I actually lost 41 between July 25th and Dec 31st ) but I have a ways to go yet.

My 40th birthday is this year and I'd like to have an additional 40 lbs off by May and the rest off by year's end.

[old_gregg]

I reached my 2011 weight loss goal of 30 lbs lost (I actually lost 41 between July 25th and Dec 31st ) but I have a ways to go yet.

My 40th birthday is this year and I'd like to have an additional 40 lbs off by May and the rest off by year's end.

holy crap. that's a lot of weight gone. good for you, man.

[Donuthole]

I feel pretty good about my fitness and strength, and I intend to continue with the daily workouts. My cycling and running speeds are fairly good, at least for a guy in his 60th (gulp) year. But after talking about 2012 goals with our trainer, I came up with only one, and it's as simple as it is challenging (for me): I want to be able to bend over and, with legs straight, touch the floor with my fingertips. I'm sure many here can do that, and that it seems like an easy goal for most, but I can't remember ever being able to do that, certainly not at anytime in adulthood. Despite being pretty fit, I'm incredibly stiff, and not in a good way.

I question whether, after 50+ years of stiffness and petrification, I'm even capable of such flexibility, but I am advised that with a daily stretching routine, I can overcome of rigidity.

If anyone has tips for increasing flexibility that don't involve breaking any bones, please pass them along.

I have a tip--spend an entire day roofing a house. Last spring my brother, brothers in law, and dad all re-shingled my parents' roof in a day. Essentially 7am to 8pm, finishing up under some spotlights. By the time I got down off the roof, I could bend over and touch the floor with my palms. I wish I had taken a picture. FTR, I am not a flexible dude.

[TripletDaddy]

I have a tip--spend an entire day roofing a house. Last spring my brother, brothers in law, and dad all re-shingled my parents' roof in a day. Essentially 7am to 8pm, finishing up under some spotlights. By the time I got down off the roof, I could bend over and touch the floor with my palms. I wish I had taken a picture. FTR, I am not a flexible dude.

cant argue with the science here.

[LA Ute]

I reached my 2011 weight loss goal of 30 lbs lost (I actually lost 41 between July 25th and Dec 31st ) but I have a ways to go yet.

My 40th birthday is this year and I'd like to have an additional 40 lbs off by May and the rest off by year's end.

[lambdacoug]

I reached my 2011 weight loss goal of 30 lbs lost (I actually lost 41 between July 25th and Dec 31st ) but I have a ways to go yet.

My 40th birthday is this year and I'd like to have an additional 40 lbs off by May and the rest off by year's end.

Congratulations on the weight lost!

[Green Monstah]

Heavy lifting. I'm more flexible now than I ever was as a teenager or 20 something and the only change is that I workout hard and with heavy weights now. I try to stretch, but don't do it very often.

Im certainly no health and fitness expert, but this cant be sound advice.

[LA Ute]

Im certainly no health and fitness expert, but this cant be sound advice.

I was about 44 when I had my knee scoped for a torn meniscus. I asked my orthopedist what would cause something like that. He asked me what my activities were, and I said I did aerobic walking for 45 minutes a day 5-6 days a week, did lots of hiking and played basketball a few times a month. "So if I am in shape, why did this happen?"

He was kind and gentle in his response, and said I probably jumped off a wall or played basketball without warming up gradually. That led to a discussion about how as we age, our cartilage becomes less flexible. His advice was to stretch regularly to maintain as much flexibility as possible, and not to do strenuous things on impulse without thinking about it first. (Like most of us, I had a 22 year-old mind in a 44 year-old body.) So I've tried to do that. For example, sliding while playing softball became a thing of the past. When I started Pilates about 4 years ago, I was a lot less flexible than I am now. Progress was gradual. It takes constant maintenance. Just part of getting older.

[TripletDaddy]

I was about 44 when I had my knee scoped for a torn meniscus. I asked my orthopedist what would cause something like that. He asked me what my activities were, and I said I did aerobic walking for 45 minutes a day 5-6 days a week, did lots of hiking and played basketball a few times a month. "So if I am in shape, why did this happen?"

He was kind and gentle in his response, and said I probably jumped off a wall or played basketball without warming up gradually. That led to a discussion about how as we age, our cartilage becomes less flexible. His advice was to stretch regularly to maintain as much flexibility as possible, and not to do strenuous things on impulse without thinking about it first. (Like most of us, I had a 22 year-old mind in a 44 year-old body.) So I've tried to do that. For example, sliding while playing softball became a thing of the past. When I started Pilates about 4 years ago, I was a lot less flexible than I am now. Progress was gradual. It takes constant maintenance. Just part of getting older.

You were walking as exercise at age 44? Is that common? I'm still a few years away from that but how depressing.

[LA Ute]

You were walking as exercise at age 44? Is that common? I'm still a few years away from that but how depressing.

Yep. If you were a student of my posts you'd know that in my 30s I was diagnosed with early degenerative arthritis in my hips. I had to give up running and so I switched to low-impact aerobic walking. 23 years later I've had no further deterioration. Try to keep up, amigo.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Aerobic-Walking-Cardiovascular-Exercise-Overweight/dp/0394754409/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325825042&sr=1-2"]Amazon.com: Aerobic Walking : The Best and Safest Weight Loss and Cardiovascular Exercise for Everyone Overweight or Out of Shape (9780394754406): Casey Meyers: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51O6iWUgajL.@@AMEPARAM@@51O6iWUgajL[/ame]

This is the book that taught me how. You might want to pick one up now so you'll be ready.

[TripletDaddy]

Forgive me for not knowing that about your hips. My bad. I guess you have an excuse to be acting like a geriatric at 44. I always associate walking with old people that get up at 5am to walk around inside the mall before the stores open. That sounds like a tough diagnosis. Is it hereditary? I don't think I've heard of that before in someone in their 40s.

My goal this winter is to improve my form on moguls. I skied hard on Monday and was definitely tired at the end of the day but I think I'm still a ways off from having to slap on my cotton sweatpants and walk aerobically up and down the street.

[LA Ute]

Forgive me for not knowing that about your hips. My bad. I guess you have an excuse to be acting like a geriatric at 44. I always associate walking with old people that get up at 5am to walk around inside the mall before the stores open. That sounds like a tough diagnosis. Is it hereditary? I don't think I've heard of that before in someone in their 40s.

My goal this winter is to improve my form on moguls. I skied hard on Monday and was definitely tired at the end of the day but I think I'm still a ways off from having to slap on my cotton sweatpants and walk aerobically up and down the street.

I forgive you. Once again. But we're getting closer to that 70 x 7 number.

The ortho thinks I had a sub-clinical (undetected) injury in my teens, probably playing football. It showed up years later after lots of running. The key was to find a low-impact exercise. Aerobic walking (the kind done in the Olympics) was what I settled on. It is a very good aerobic/cardio exercise and is as close to running as I can get - outdoors, covers lots of ground, etc. I've never worn sweatpants while doing it, moran. The only different gear I wear are shoes that are slightly different from running shoes.

Now you know.

[kccougar]

You were walking as exercise at age 44? Is that common? I'm still a few years away from that but how depressing.

Heaven forbid. Once you give up and start walking it's only a few years before you end up pulling away on an elliptical machine.