Increased stamina needed

November 13, 2020 5:29 AM

If all goes well, I have roughly 3 months to increase my physical and mental stamina and energy level before a new grandchild is born. Help me improve my condition.

I am a 60-something woman who is, if anything, underweight. Have always had negligible upper-body strength and am losing muscle mass at an alarming rate. I walk nearly every day and aim for 4 kilometres/2.5 miles and sometimes hit it and sometimes don't. Complicating factor: ADHD and a pandemic, so no gyms for me.

How I can best ramp up my exercise and stamina efforts over the next 12 weeks so I don't collapse when I need to care for two active preschoolers as their parents tend to a newborn? What should I focus on and in what order? (Please note: When a pharmacist tells me to take a pill three times a day, I ask them to write down the specific hours I should take it because that sounds too vague to me.)

You are not my doctor nor personal trainer nor therapist but if you have gone from being someone who does not move that much or had low energy and shifted to someone who moved more and/or has more energy and more stamina, please share how you did it. Thanks!

posted by Bella Donna to Health & Fitness (13 answers total)

1. You're walking enough that you could easily move into a Couch to 5K beginners' running programme. There are apps and podcasts out there that will literally tell you when to run and when to walk so you don't have to do anything except follow instructions. You do it three times a week, which you could diarise. I work for an organisation that supports people to do C25K among other things, and our biggest participation group is women of middle age and above, so don't be intimidated by the skinny lycra dudes out there.

That would improve your cardio and general stamina without you having to get tangled up in any complicated instructions - just go outside, headphones in, press play, and do what you're told. It'll also start to work on your strength, and IME will also improve your mental resilience and focus.

2. If you wanted to add in some more strength work for your upper body, you could get Body By You, which is a strength programme that you do at home, designed for women so has a lower entry level and more gradual progression than a lot of strength programmes. You don't need any weights or kit - just a towel or belt, and a sturdy door handle. There are sheets you can print out and you just write down how many of each exercise you do each time. When you reach the max, you switch up to a slightly harder version of the same exercise. Takes about 20 minutes, 3 times a week.

3. Alternatively to either of those, you could choose one of Yoga With Adriene's monthly video playlists - there'll be a workout for each day of the month and you just... do it. You won't be able to do some of the moves and that's fine, it's very unmacho and unpressured. Yoga will improve your strength and cardio fitness, and had the bonus that it'll also improve your flexibility, which I think is important with little kids - makes it easier to be able to sit on the floor, get up and down, be climbed all over without pulling a weird muscle in your back etc.
posted by penguin pie at 5:44 AM on November 13, 2020 [9 favorites]

Seconding Body by You (and the SecondsPro app on my iPhone) and Yoga with Adriene.
posted by Hypatia at 5:57 AM on November 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

I have been doing GMB bodyweight exercise programs at home since I stopped going to the gym for the pandemic — their intro program is called Elements, and takes eight weeks, and might be appropriate for you.

The program is sort of a combination of stretching and clambering around on the floor in awkward positions, and I’d expect you to feel as if you were doing everything very badly, that’s certainly how I feel (I’m 48, and fairly fit but really inflexible). But there’s very good video guidance, and I would bet that making your best effort to approximate the motions would pay off in strength and mobility. Message me if you want me to burble on about the details at greater length.
posted by LizardBreath at 5:58 AM on November 13, 2020 [2 favorites]

The pandemic going on this makes this difficult, but my old boss was about your age, about your build. When she decided to get in shape for her grandkids, she hired a personal trainer that she still works with now, like 5 years later. She is super fit and flexible, and she can keep up with the kids no problem. She even started weightlifting for fun. Of course YMMV but in this case I wouldn't hesitate to consult a professional if you can afford it.
posted by possibilityleft at 6:12 AM on November 13, 2020 [3 favorites]

Try pilates! It is bodyweight and mat-based so you can do it easily at home. Its great for building strength and my back/posture are better than ever.

I was really depressed and medication did not agree with me, and getting into pilates a few years ago helped me slowly get back into shape. But I'm like you... I needed to be told exactly what to do and when to do it. I found an online, free pilates program that was completely organized so I didn't have to think at all. Every day of the week is organized with a playlist on youtube, about 40 minutes. Your ADHD may even appreciate that its 4 x 10 minute videos with lots of different movements. PM me and I'd be happy to share further details.
posted by dazedandconfused at 7:18 AM on November 13, 2020 [3 favorites]

How's your nutrition? Are you getting enough calories? Good levels of protein and fat? Those will keep your energy more stable without crashes.
posted by Bebo at 9:15 AM on November 13, 2020 [4 favorites]

My mom will be 80 in about 2 months. She used to be a regular power-walker but that was decades ago. About six months ago, she decided she was going to start walking again in the morning, and over the summer I helped her get a treadmill on Amazon and she LOVES IT -- she was concerned that when the weather started getting bad/rainy days/dark mornings she wouldn't get her exercise in, but on our weekly chats she tells me she's just doing the treadmill now and can go for like 30 minutes at a stretch at about 2.5 mph, and is getting in upwards of 8000 steps a day (she uses a fitbit and a cheapo pedometer and walks first thing in the morning, right after she gets up, but she's always been an early riser/morning person, and also sometimes does 10-15 minutes in the afternoon while listening to music on her phone). My last visit with her was about a month and a half ago and definitely seemed like she had a lot more energy than she used to.

Edited to add: she's told me that her blood pressure has gone down and she feels a lot better than she did before she started the walking regimen.
posted by jabes at 9:40 AM on November 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm a 61-year-old woman and I walk a heck of a lot, but a few weeks ago I started Couch to 5K again (after not running for a few years). I'm 7 weeks in and from a start of 1-minute interval runs with 90 minutes walking in between in Week 1, I'm now running (well, jogging, not very quickly, but both feet leave the ground) for 25 minutes at a stretch, and my stamina and fitness has increased immeasurably.

I know this because, just before I started running again I had massive difficulty walking up a very steep hill to the point where I to stop and rest and catch my breath, my heart pounding out of my chest. A couple of weeks ago, I walked up an equally steep hill while being able to talk and wasn't out of breath at the top.

I'd tried Cto5K apps before and hated them - the awful synth music, the cheesy motivational cheerleading - so very irritating. But I found an app called Just Run. It is absolutely brilliant. I can listen to my own music or podcasts and the app just comes in with the prompts on when to start warming up, when to run, when to walk, when you're half-way through so turn round, and when to cool down. I know I wouldn't have carried on with this without this app. I feel so much fitter and that's after only seven weeks.
posted by essexjan at 11:16 AM on November 13, 2020 [9 favorites]

I also popped in to recommend you try Pilates. I work 1:1 with a personal trainer who uses 90% Pilates and I love it, love it, love it. She is very specific so it works well for my ADHD brain, and she comes to my house so I have to be extremely accountable. (We remain distanced and wear masks.) Since I started doing Pilates, the amount of energy I feel on a daily basis has increased so much that I feel like a new person. It is amazing.
posted by fairlynearlyready at 1:14 PM on November 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

1-minute interval runs with 90 minutes walking in between in Week 1

That'd be 90 seconds walking between runs in Week 1.
posted by essexjan at 1:44 PM on November 13, 2020 [2 favorites]

I recently bought a fitness tracker and started jogging in front of the TV nightly. I use an iOS app called RunIntervals. You can set it for a run time and a walk time. That's all it does. Personally, I jog and rest, but I've found it helpful. I was not able to find a C25K app I liked. I also like that I can stop when I need to, whereas I'd feel guilty stopping in the middle of a C25K session (yes, I'm weird). I bought a yoga mat at 5 Below so have a bit more cushioning under my feet.

2nd the diet question. My regular breakfast is a prepared Premire protein shake. It's the brand that my bariatric program recommended. It is pretty inoffensive as far as taste. I prefer the Cookies and Cream over the Chocolate because it has a thicker mouthfeel to it. But the flavor is the same. I also drink the Vanilla. I tried a sample of the Caramel and found it too sweet. There are also Banana, Strawberry and Peach flavors but I haven't tried them.

If you have a 5 Below near you, they have a small exercise section with things like small weights, yoga stuff, etc. I bought 2 dice. 1 that has a body weight exercise and 1 that has a yoga pose to do. I've not started to use them, but I do have plans to roll them each night and do that one exercise/pose.

There are also various 7 minute workout type apps out there. I was using one (Carrot Fitness) but found I had to modify too many of the exercises and the snark (which I love in the other Carrot apps) was a bit too triggering.

My brother uses resistance bands (in addition to his crazy weight lifting) and I'm thinking about getting some light ones. I have some from PT, but they don't offer a ton of resistance.

I don't know if things like sticker charts motivate you, but I find habit trackers helpful. The one I use for iOS is Focus Habit. Totally free. Does what it says on the tin. No ads. I think there is a way to send a few bucks to the programmer(s).

Mentally? I've been journaling since the first of the year using Day One (iOS). There is a free tier, but for me, I wanted to be able to record stuff, so I sprung for the subscription. Recently, I added a gratitude journal and a journal tracking my jogging/daily step count.
posted by kathrynm at 2:53 PM on November 13, 2020 [3 favorites]

Two toddlers would stress even the most fit granny. Is there a trusted assistant you could hire to assist you? My daughter, who has a 4, 6, and 7 year olds finally agreed to hire someone after I (another granny) told her I could not be available 5 days a week to watch the littlest one while she supervised on-line school for the older two. She balked because of Covid, but did find someone who lives with her parents and was as meticulous about safety as my daughter. She was quite reluctant out-source any aspect of care, but it has really worked out well.

This young woman, who was otherwise out of work - she was an event planner - has morphed into a dependable household assistant. It might be a bit of work to find a person you and your daughter or son and their spouse agree to have contact with, but it might end up being someone who can continue to occasionally care for the older kids while their parents tend to their newborn. And it will certainly benefit you to have back-up. Congratulations on your new grandchild!
posted by citygirl at 5:36 PM on November 13, 2020 [3 favorites]

Hi Bella Donna,

The suggestions above about walking, yoga, and general fitness are great. Congrats on keeping up your walking routine; that in itself does wonders for physical and mental health!

Losing muscle mass is totally normal after the age of 30, and it tends to accelerate as we age. It's almost easier to notice if you're not overweight, too; but you're in a good spot, already being pretty active. Know that you CAN still build strength, endurance, and flexibility.

Since you're going to be dealing with young kids and that's usually pretty physical, AND because I always recommend this to female clients and students to stay healthy and injury-free: Strength training is where it's at. Cardio is vital, yes, and flexibility is also important; but without resistance training, neither one is nearly as effective at preventing injury, maintaining balance and alignment, increasing strength and endurance, and feeling (and looking) strong and healthy. (Given everything you've described, you will very likely NOT "bulk up", which is something a lot of women tell me they're worried about. Everyone is different, but trust me when I say that the vast majority of us won't -- we just get toned and stronger!)

So, they key here is to balance your cardio, flexibility, and resistance training. I'll lay out some suggestions about the "what" and then about the "how" with a possible schedule. As you note, I don't know you or your fitness level, but if any of this sounds good and you feel up to it, it's a pretty reasonable place to start from.

----The "What":
CARDIO - Sounds like you've got the cardio down; walking is great. If you get a wild hair and want to ride a bike or do anything else that gets your heart rate up, awesome. Variety is good for the body; it prevents overuse injuries, keeps your nervous system ready for the unexpected, and helps beat boredom.
FLEXIBILITY - Again, yoga is a great option here. The YouTube channel mentioned above is great; there are also lots of teachers out there with free videos and low-cost Zoom classes. Because of the mind-body aspect and the wide variety of poses, yoga is probably the most efficient way to develop flexibility. It's also excellent for balance and recovery.
RESISTANCE TRAINING - The suggestions above are good. I've also been out of the gym for most of this year because of the pandemic, so I got a couple sets of dumbbells (you can order these in a wide range of weights; I think they start around 2.5 lbs) and subscribed to a site called Beachbody, which has a lot of different programs to work with. There are also lots of bodyweight exercises; you don't even need weights for a lot of the routines to get fitter. The instructors are legit and don't promote bad form (or bad judgment). You can also just look up "body weight workout" or similar on YouTube or other sites, and you'll find plenty of lists and diagrams to choose from. It takes a minute at first, but once you understand a given exercise, you've got it. So it's worth the time to learn good form for yourself.

So, given those variables, here's a possible schedule:

Monday: Walk (usual distance)
Tuesday: Strength train upper body (30 -45 minutes)
Wednesday: Yoga (30-60 minutes)
Thursday: Walk (usual distance)
Friday: Strength train lower body (30-45 minutes)
Saturday: Walk or rest (depending how you feel)
Sunday: Yoga or rest (depending how you feel)

As you go on, you might walk longer, or slowly up your time with the strength training and yoga. You probably don't need to max out at any more than an hour a day. If you get to where you're able to do an hour every day, that's when you can up the intensity (another convo!).

It's totally fine to repeat specific workouts, but again, it's really good to mix it up. This will take some homework at first -- you've got to find a few upper body workouts, for example, so you don't have to do the same one every week (although doing the same one every week will certainly work well for a few months, until your body gets used to it) -- but just keep track of what you find, and then switch the particulars in and out of your usual schedule.

Diet is a huge factor here, too. Whatever you do, make sure to get enough protein, carbs, and fat from the most "real-food" sources you can. Your energy needs will probably go up, so you might be hungrier. Don't skimp on the food. You'll be burning more and building a body that burns more, so eat the healthy stuff and let it do its thang. Also: do NOT skimp on the carbs! The latest science tells us that low-carb is NOT a good idea for women; we actually tend to hang on to fat and store more when we're not eating enough carbs. It doesn't feel great energy-wise, either. (I can personally attest to this.)

Hope at least some of this helps! Congrats on your new grandchild. All your grandkids are lucky to have such an active and involved grandma. :)

cheers :)
posted by Orlando_Vita at 7:53 PM on November 26, 2020