Tai Chi or other types of gentle exercise

[TeeDee]

However during the week from Monday to Friday I have little opportunity to do much other exercise. I do a few strength style exercises like sit-ups and pull-ups in the middle of the week but as I age my body is starting to tell me that this kind of intense exercise is not ideal for my joints and that I would be better off doing some other kind of gentler mid-week exercise routine going forward. My girlfriend thinks that just going for a walk would be good and she is probably right. I was considering trying Tai Chi during the week as that is supposed to be good for the joints and general all round health and fitness.

Tricep extensions with a dumbbell in the gym using too heavy a weight and with fast, jerking movements instead of slow, smooth controlled movements.

It was many years ago and I was young and dumb.

Warm up a bit first. Start with gentle exercises like touching my elbows to my opposite knees, touching toes and doing bird dogs. Then progressing to doing some sit-ups, press-ups, and chin-ups. One set of each.

The weekend Horsey stuff sounds like ideal GPP general conditioning stuff - so really good.



With ref to the bodyweight stuff - One set maybe the actual issue.

I think its coming to the body as a bit of a midweek shock and 1 set per week is going to come out the blue as for the rest of the week you are deconditioned to it. As its only one set every 7 days.

There isn't enough volume or intensity to generate adaptation over the course of a week to be repeated with advancement the next week. ( IMO )



Leaving an exercise like bodyweight cals and doing one set isn't ideal - ( neither is blasting an exercise to the max all the time. )

As you say you are doing pullups and sit ups at home I am assuming you've a pull up bar at home.

Lets say as an example your max 1 set effort is 10 reps - all in - no extra in the tank ( with good form ) and that's an RPE of 10.

So try doing pullups Monday - Wednesday - Friday - 3 sets of 4 reps with a few minutes in between - as this becomes the norm for the next month - try adding an additional rep - so 3 sets of 5 reps.
Then 3 sets of 6 reps , etc etc

Same with sit ups - build up some sub maximal ( IE not full intensity ) efforts over multiple sets.


HTH

 

[TLM]

You could try eccentric muscle exercises, the simple explanation is that the muscle is extending while being under load. It is in many places said to be gentler than concentric or shortening exercise if done with comparable loads. Some movements are easy like pushups but some like pullups require some extra arrangement or just using your legs when going up on a low bar.

Tai Chi aerobic exercises are not bad if one starts from low level or has trouble with joints.

 

[TeeDee]

You could try eccentric muscle exercises, the simple explanation is that the muscle is extending while being under load. It is in many places said to be gentler than concentric or shortening exercise if done with comparable loads. Some movements are easy like pushups but some like pullups require some extra arrangement or just using your legs when going up on a low bar.

Think you may have that the wrong way around.

 

[Stew]

Think you may have that the wrong way around.

The problem is it does depend. Either can be more 'gentle', depending on your metric.

Personally I think people need to be mindful of where they get their advice from.

 

[TLM]

Think you may have that the wrong way around.

???? this is the way it seems to be shown just about everywhere.

 

[HillBill]

I got the impression that you had to imagine the effort rather than just observe.

At the weekends I get plenty of exercise. Lots of walking, pushing heavy wheelbarrows uphills, moving heavy 75Ah leisure batteries around for electric fences, bashing in wooden fence posts, sawing branches off hedges, trimming foliage and nettles by hand using shears, raking up horse poo from the fields and throwing it into hedges etc. It all feels like good healthy natural kind of exercise.

However during the week from Monday to Friday I have little opportunity to do much other exercise. I do a few strength style exercises like sit-ups and pull-ups in the middle of the week but as I age my body is starting to tell me that this kind of intense exercise is not ideal for my joints and that I would be better off doing some other kind of gentler mid-week exercise routine going forward. My girlfriend thinks that just going for a walk would be good and she is probably right. I was considering trying Tai Chi during the week as that is supposed to be good for the joints and general all round health and fitness.

Has anyone here tried Tai Chi or do you do it regularly?

Alternatively what are your thoughts or suggestions for a more gentle mid-week exercise routine which is a little less intense than doing pull-ups and sit-ups?

Ever met a weak house wife? You know the sort....Does the dishes, cooks, cleans, raises kids, kicks your bottom when you don't do what you're told...? Emulate that... Cos those buggers live forever. and at 90 years old would beat you both in an arm wrestle and and a full on fight. Even if you were in your 30's! Ever argue with your mum? Dare argue with your grandma?

I call my Mum 'battle axe' for a reason, shes in her 70s.

In short, lots of work, constantly...but doesn't have to be heavy work... just keep moving, just keep plodding on. Eat healthy...Use your lungs, keep the heart pumping and your muscles moving.