Mobility Routines / Exercise / Range of Motion Exercises

[CDNPolar]

Would love to start this topic of conversation and not only for the 55+ but anyone who is interested to participate in the discussion.

 

I am so shocked at the number of people that I cruise with on Ocean or River Cruises, that struggle just getting on and off the busses.  These folks are not only almost incapable of mounting these stairs, they are panting out of breath when they do reach the top of 4 or 5 stairs.  I constantly see people opt not to go past the first bench and miss the best of the tour because they are incapable of walking more than a few minutes.

 

I am NOT calling people out here that have real physical and health issues, and I am not suggesting that they should not be on a cruise ship or trying to participate in an excursion.

 

What I would love for this thread is to share what exercise routines you engage in to ensure that you can maximize your mobility and be able to participate fully in the activities that we pay so much money for....

 

I am a firm believer that we have to take control of our mobility, range of motion, and loss of muscle mass while we age.  We tend to be very sedentary in our lifestyles (in general) and then we are faced with a 10 day cruise that almost kills us from the activity levels required.

 

How do we combat this and stay in shape longer?

 

 

 

 

[CDNPolar]

My personal daily routine is:

 

• Morning fast walk - 45 minutes
• Evening fast walk - 45 minutes
• Daily strength with dumbbells 10lb to 30lb - alternating arms, legs, etc. giving rest periods
• Daily range of motion exercises and stretching
• Squats and hip mobility exercises

 

 

[shipgeeks]

I taught fitness classes for 35 years, then mid-semester 2020 those classes ceased to be.  I stayed in touch with my students by producing a daily fitness blog....but I did so sitting down for hours at a time. Yes, my fitness declined and is still not as it should be.

A basic independence thing I always recommend is standing from a seated position without using hands.  Doing so multiple times makes it a useful exercise.

Climbing stairs is something that if not done, can be lost forever.  I learned this reality at my parents' retirement home.

Posture is important for comfort, ease, appearance.  Stretching can be helpful.  Tech neck is not a good thing.

Balance is a good skill, and especially so on a moving ship!  Daily practice helps.

Stamina and strength can be maintained by finding activities that you enjoy enough to do them regularly.  Sports, dancing, walking....

[Mary229]

I am a walker daily, an extended guided yoga session 3  times a week, lift lightweights  a few times a week for maintaining muscle tone and generally have an active lifestyle.   I had to fill in for a fitness instructor at the senior center for a month and I spent much of the time on balancing exercises.  Balance is very important in giving people confidence to move throughout their day and as was stated earlier of you  don’t use it you lose it.  It is generally overlooked. 
 

I don’t think strenuous exercise is needed for health.  On a cruise my sea day routine is a brisk early walk on the promenade of about 5000 steps then off to the gym where I do some light weight training accompanied with a workout on the strength machines (total 20 minutes). I then do as much balance as possible depending on the sea conditions followed by abs and yoga.  I then go to the sauna , hot tubs and if the pools are not overwhelmed I will swim a few gentle laps. All in all sea day routine is 90 minutes to 2 hours.  If it is a particularly quiet day I will do an afternoon stretch in my room and perhaps an evening stroll on the promenade.

 

port days are travel focused😉

[CDNPolar]

9 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I am a walker daily, an extended guided yoga session 3  times a week, lift lightweights  a few times a week for maintaining muscle tone and generally have an active lifestyle.   I had to fill in for a fitness instructor at the senior center for a month and I spent much of the time on balancing exercises.  Balance is very important in giving people confidence to move throughout their day and as was stated earlier of you  don’t use it you lose it.  It is generally overlooked. 
 

I don’t think strenuous exercise is needed for health.  On a cruise my sea day routine is a brisk early walk on the promenade of about 5000 steps then off to the gym where I do some light weight training accompanied with a workout on the strength machines (total 20 minutes). I then do as much balance as possible depending on the sea conditions followed by abs and yoga.  I then go to the sauna , hot tubs and if the pools are not overwhelmed I will swim a few gentle laps. All in all sea day routine is 90 minutes to 2 hours.  If it is a particularly quiet day I will do an afternoon stretch in my room and perhaps an evening stroll on the promenade.

 

port days are travel focused😉

 

What a great routine.

 

I do however admit that I am loyal to my routines at home, but often fail to keep any system going when I am on a ship.  However, that aside, we walk and walk and walk when we are in a port.  We will go back ashore and walk and investigate the city for hours if time permits.

 

I think that once on board, we tend to pack our time with so much activity that I just forget about the exercise.

 

Now, for some reason, on an Ocean ship I will walk on the walking/running track, but don't feel that calling on the River ships.  Don't know why.

[Etta1213]

On 8/29/2023 at 4:38 AM, CDNPolar said:

My personal daily routine is:

 

• Morning fast walk - 45 minutes
• Evening fast walk - 45 minutes
• Daily strength with dumbbells 10lb to 30lb - alternating arms, legs, etc. giving rest periods
• Daily range of motion exercises and stretching
• Squats and hip mobility exercises

 

 

Wow!

[CDNPolar]

On 9/18/2023 at 8:31 PM, Etta1213 said:

Wow!

 

Haha...  I am doing everything I can to not be the guy that cannot do stairs, walk, and enjoy travel and life in general.  Also recent studies show that the more sedentary you are, the higher risk you have of dementia.  

[Mary229]

7 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Haha...  I am doing everything I can to not be the guy that cannot do stairs, walk, and enjoy travel and life in general.  Also recent studies show that the more sedentary you are, the higher risk you have of dementia.  

Exactly.  When I sub-teach exercise classes I start out by saying this is not about what you see in the mirror this is about weathering any health storm that may come your way.  A fit person recovers quicker and has more agility and more endurance.  Not endurance to run a marathon but endurance to haul suitcases through airports and agility to climb into a tender boat😉

[CDNPolar]

On 9/20/2023 at 1:32 PM, Mary229 said:

Exactly.  When I sub-teach exercise classes I start out by saying this is not about what you see in the mirror this is about weathering any health storm that may come your way.  A fit person recovers quicker and has more agility and more endurance.  Not endurance to run a marathon but endurance to haul suitcases through airports and agility to climb into a tender boat😉

Exactly - the hauling suitcases is one thing for sure.  How many times have we been forced to pick up our rolly bag carryon and carry it down jetway stairs instead of a connected jetway.  How many times has an escalator been down and we have had to carry bags down or up stairs.  

 

All of this can be a workout in itself.

[SFRiA]

I (65 yr old male) take 2 Pilates Reformer classes/week and work out at our gym 3 other times per week and walks our neighborhood 4x week.

My wife (62 yrs old) dances in a Senior Dance group and also takes Pilates classes 2x/week, walks and walks with me.

We always take the stairs when on-board a ship (never the elevator), and don't have a problem getting in and out of tenders, onto docks or on board busses. In fact, we don't really like getting on the excursions where you're on a bus with a group of others. We much prefer to walk into town and do our own thing after researching the things to do in those towns.

Edited February 22 by SFRiA

[CDNPolar]

10 hours ago, SFRiA said:

I (65 yr old male) take 2 Pilates Reformer classes/week and work out at our gym 3 other times per week and walks our neighborhood 4x week.

My wife (62 yrs old) dances in a Senior Dance group and also takes Pilates classes 2x/week, walks and walks with me.

We always take the stairs when on-board a ship (never the elevator), and don't have a problem getting in and out of tenders, onto docks or on board busses. In fact, we don't really like getting on the excursions where you're on a bus with a group of others. We much prefer to walk into town and do our own thing after researching the things to do in those towns.

 

Keep moving.  Just keep moving.

 

I watched my aging mother go from an agile active individual to someone who struggled with 2 or 3 stairs at the front door.  She lived on one level for so many years and never did the stairs again.  She took escalators or elevators instead.

 

Keep moving.

 

I live in a three level townhome and probably move from basement to second floor at least 10 times a day.  I walk 45 minutes to an hour each day as a minimum.

 

You have to keep moving.  Good on you both!

[MacMadame]

On 8/29/2023 at 3:36 AM, shipgeeks said:

A basic independence thing I always recommend is standing from a seated position without using hands.  Doing so multiple times makes it a useful exercise.

I don't do it as an exercise but as a test of my fitness. So far, so good... 😄 

I have friends in their 70s and even 80s who still train for triathlons or long-distance cycling/running events so I am comparing myself to some really fit people. It can be discouraging especially when I compare myself to when I was at my fittest (in my 50s). I was slowing down in my 60s even before the pandemic screwed up my routines.

 

Right now I walk my dog for 30-60 minutes most days, swim 1-2 times a week, and ride my bike 1-2 times a week. Starting next week, I'm on a program through my triathlon club and will be adding strength training back in and gradually ramping up the other stuff and changing walking to running. 🤞

[calliopecruiser]

I do some floor Pilates exercises and stretches that I learned years ago (I still take a twice weekly private Pilates class, but use equipment these days rather than floor stuff).  Thoracic rotations, Psoas activations, and a variation  of a "Figure 4" stretch with my feet on a wall.  OK, sometimes I can't do it against the wall until I've done it with my feet on the ground first a few times to stretch my Piriformis enough.  I prefer to do them in the gym if there's a decent amount of floor space available, but I can do them in my cabin as well. 

I also walk the stairs if it's 2 flights (sometimes 3) rather than take the lift.  I'm there to relax, not do chores (i.e. exercises), so I do just enough to maintain. 

[lenquixote66]

On 2/23/2024 at 2:54 PM, MacMadame said:

I don't do it as an exercise but as a test of my fitness. So far, so good... 😄 

I have friends in their 70s and even 80s who still train for triathlons or long-distance cycling/running events so I am comparing myself to some really fit people. It can be discouraging especially when I compare myself to when I was at my fittest (in my 50s). I was slowing down in my 60s even before the pandemic screwed up my routines.

 

Right now I walk my dog for 30-60 minutes most days, swim 1-2 times a week, and ride my bike 1-2 times a week. Starting next week, I'm on a program through my triathlon club and will be adding strength training back in and gradually ramping up the other stuff and changing walking to running. 🤞

I had an aunt who at age 99 won a Senior Olympics race in San Diego.

[MacMadame]

52 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I had an aunt who at age 99 won a Senior Olympics race in San Diego.

That's awesome! I plan to live that long so ... goals! 😄 

[Clonmelgal]

I have always been overweight and we worried about the indulgences of a cruise. We always take the stairs and love walking around the decks, one mile before or after each meal. We own a farm and keep busy, two active dogs see to that. I just started taking yoga flow classes, mostly for flexibility and balance. Last cruise I didn't gain a pound, walked as much as possible, especially on Excursions. 

[CDNPolar]

I think that cruises bring the challenge of being faced with so much food.

We have often discussed if we were to take a world cruise, what would happen to our waistline?  

 

We try to keep to our regular eating schedule, type of foods, and quantity of food when on a ship.  You have to exercise restraint - in my opinion.  We try to anyway.

[KansasTexan]

At 63 years old, I participate in CrossFit classes 4X/week. The classes combine endurance/interval work and weightlifting. Weightlifting is my favorite thing to do and I've never had an issue with my suitcases. (If I pack it, I carry it.) I walk my dog at least 30 minutes daily and try to make walking or hiking part of every vacation. This summer, I drove from Louisiana to Washington state and back to Kansas and hiked in some amazing places. Looking forward to my Alaska cruise in October. I've booked a climbing/rappelling excursion.

[GoHuskies!]

Hi everyone.  I thought that it may be of some value to you 55+ youngsters what our routines are, at my age of 86 and my wife at 85.  We’ve always been active—daily gym for me and water aerobics for my wife, which we still do.  I do 30 minutes on a stationary bike followed by some upper body weight machines, while my wife is in the pool for an hour.

 

I have been a musician nearly all my life—play brass instruments, which has kept my breathing and lung health excellent.  I was in a Navy Band for several years.  Still playing in three big bands, rehearsing twice a week.  All my friends who play still have lungs of a thirty-year-old, as do I.  But within the past four years my balance has deteriorated to the point where I must have some support in order to keep from falling.  I’m a cabinetmaker and work in my shop a lot, but need to be within reach of something stationary to keep balance.  I had never fallen before six months ago and now I have had six falls, fortunately with no injuries.  This is not a strength issue; I can stand for some length of time without problems, and walk as long as I have balance support—that means a rollator constantly at my side now.  I don’t lean on it, just use it for balance.

 

My wife has none of the balance problem that I have, fortunately.  She is in excellent health (as am I) and continues to do the outdoor yard work that I used to do, plus normal household work.  Many of our friends and neighbors have some regular household help come in, but she refuses.  I think that’s part of the reason she’s in good shape.

 

Another admonition for everyone is to keep your weight in check.  I have been overweight by 20 pounds much of my adult life, but since I retired I have worked to lose that and now (still fighting it) am at my reasonable weight.  My wife had put on some pounds but over a couple of years really worked on that—via Jenny Craig—and now stays within her reasonable weight too.  Way too many people seem to just let themselves go, especially since what you see on TV seems to encourage largeness and weight gain.

 

There will be a point in a year or two when I will get a motorized wheelchair (a folding model for travel) so that I can continue to go longer distances when touring in other countries, but in the meantime my rollator is working fine.  That is, as long as I continue working out daily at the gym.

[calliopecruiser]

9 hours ago, GoHuskies! said:

Another admonition for everyone is to keep your weight in check.

Ha, that's the assumption that my weight has ever been in check.  I haven't been a "normal" weight since I was, well, born. 

[shipgeeks]

GoHuskies, I found your post quite interesting.  Your mention of being a brass musician reminded me of the times I had concert seating behind a band or orchestra, and noticing the posture of the musicians, particularly the brass, who usually leaned back rather awkwardly; not what a posture specialist would ever recommend!  I know our local hospital network has a department specifically for musicians.  I've seen evidence of work they do with violinists who develop neck and shoulder issues.

I'm wondering if your positions while doing cabinetry are contributing to your balance issues.  If you are constantly in an awkward position, and using your muscles, it can be an extra strain.

On the positive side, I'm glad you mentioned the great lung capacity you and your colleagues have. That's a wonderful health asset!

Finally, I highly recommend PT for balance concerns. A year or so ago my balance deteriorated greatly, and my neurologist recommended PT as well as meds prescribed by a rheumatologist. I will never know for sure, but I believe the PT, which I continue to do every day, has played a greater part in my return to near-normalcy than the meds.