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Why At 64 I Prioritize Strength Training Over Aerobic Training

August 22, 2021 By John Leave a Comment

*This post about why at 64 I prioritize strength training over aerobic training is a bit long, but, because of the nature of the subject, it needed to be comprehensive.

Why At 64 I Prioritize Strength Training Over Aerobic Training

Maybe you’ve visited your MD recently for your annual physical. She points out to you that the “couch potato” lifestyle you adhere to is not the best medicine for aging well. So she suggests that maybe you should consider doing some exercise.

Or maybe you’re reaching middle age and realize you’re not in the best of shape. Climbing those stairs are definitely not as easy as they were 10 years ago. You know you have to do something to improve your health.

So, you consider putting on the trainers and going for a jog around the neighborhood. 

After all, isn’t that what you do to get fit? Aerobic training is the way to go, right?

But how much aerobic training should you do? Is a 20 – 30 minute walk five days a week sufficient or should you do some higher intensity training like cycling?

Screeching Halt!!

Let’s back up. Let me ask you this question. If you’re getting to middle age, is aerobic training even the best exercise for you? 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Fitness, Wellness

Can Starting An Exercise Program In Your 50s Help You Live Longer?

April 23, 2021 By John Leave a Comment

exercise 50s live long

Okay, so you’ve reached middle age. You enjoy your time reclining comfortably on your couch after a hard day’s work. Perhaps tonight you’re watching a show on TV featuring trim athletic people scampering around, and you suddenly let out a sigh.

You remember back 20 or 30 thirty years ago when you yourself were in good shape. Maybe you played soccer or lifted weights or ran 10 Ks. You were fast. You were strong. You were agile. But that was in the past. Now you’ve consigned yourself to being a couch potato extraordinaire.

“What’s the use of remembering the glory days anyway?” you muse. “That was then. This is now.”

But wait a minute. While you may never again be able to look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby (though if you worked really hard you’d be amazed what a proper diet and exercise can do for your physique, even at 60), you still may be able to recapture most of the health benefits you lost by not exercising for 30 years.

That’s right! If you start doing moderate to vigorous exercise every day, right now, you can reap almost the same benefits of longevity as someone who at your age has been exercising their whole life.

It sounds too good to be true, right? But it’s true!

Check out this recently published study.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Fitness, Wellness

How We’re Staying Healthy At 64: Barbara and John’s Diet And Exercise Strategy

December 15, 2020 By John Leave a Comment

healthy at 64

As Beatles lovers, Barbara and I have sometimes laughed about what it would be like when we turned sixty-four. If you’re a Beatles fan, you know why.

Their song When I’m Sixty-Four is a story about a young man wondering if the love of his life will still cherish him when he’s sixty-four. The man recognizes that growing older changes you. He sings,

“When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a Valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine.”

Then he laments,

“Will you still need me
Will you still feed me
When I’m sixty-four”

Well, at sixty-four, Barbara and I still need each other, and we still feed each other. And, as you can see from her recipes, I get fed pretty good. 

As far as the negative effects of aging go, we’re not experiencing a lot of downside to being sixty-four. We’re both stronger, healthier, and have more vitality than we had 20 years ago.

However, health officials are constantly reminding us that there is a downside to being 64. We’re told that because of our age, we’re close to that “high risk” category for catching “bad things”. You know what I mean.

That may be so. But it’s not really a major concern for us. Here’s why.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Fitness, Wellness

Our Strategies For Getting Healthier And Stronger at 63

November 23, 2019 By John Leave a Comment

Barbara and I are quickly approaching our 63rd birthdays. November for me and December for her. And now, even though we are kind of “senior citizens”, we are healthier, stronger, more agile, and trimmer than we’ve been since our thirties.

To be honest, I feel the best I have since I was 32 years old. For me, that’s especially significant because I suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome for about 25 years. But, thankfully, I’ve overcome that and now I have enough energy to strength train and enjoy life.

As for Barbara, well, she looks “mahvelous”. And her energy levels are amazing. Take a look at her Instagram page here. At 63 years old, she deadlifts, squats, overhead presses, and bench presses every week. And after lifting, she heads to the kitchen to whip up one of those awesome recipes she features here on the blog.

Neither of us takes any prescription meds and we look forward to aging as an adventure to share together instead of something to be feared.

Now, I’m not saying that we never wake up with some assorted aches and pains. We do. But most times it’s related to that heavy weight lifting session we had the evening before. Barbara is always quick to remind me that, “It’s a good pain.” She’s right, of course.

In this post, I’d like to share with you what we’re currently doing to stay fit and trim. Our strategies are pretty much the same but in different degrees.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Fitness, Wellness

How To Start Strength Training If You’re Over 45 Years Old

February 2, 2019 By John Leave a Comment

I recently received a call from my sister asking me for some suggestions on what kind of weight bench she should buy.

Being the inquisitive fellow that I am, I asked, “What in the world do you want a weight bench for?”

“Really, don’t know what a weight bench is used for?” she answered.

Touché. I deserved that. Wiseguy older brothers deserve to be knocked down a peg or two.

What my sister was really asking me though, was how she, a mature woman, should go about getting stronger.

In my last post, I explained why everyone over 45 years old must strength train. In today’s post, I’ll introduce you to a strength program that is guaranteed to improve your muscle mass and make you stronger.

And here’s the icing on top of the cake.

It’s uncomplicated, time efficient, inexpensive, can be started at any age, can be done at home, doesn’t require prior experience, and has delivered amazing results for thousands of people. Even for those in their nineties. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fitness, Wellness

If You’re Over 40 Years Old And Want To Live a Healthier Longer Life You Should Strength Train: Here’s why

January 21, 2019 By John Leave a Comment

Everyone wants to find a fountain of youth. But it’s only a myth, right? However, what if I told you there is something you can do that’s scientifically proven to help you live a longer, healthier life? And, it’s safe, effective, efficient, inexpensive, and only takes about 30 – 40 minutes three times a week.

Oh, and you can start doing it no matter how old you are! Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it! 

But it’s not. At 62 years old, I’ve done it, and it works. It’s called strength training. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fitness, Wellness

10 Ways I Protect My Back So I Can Barbell Train At 61 Years Old

December 17, 2018 By John Leave a Comment

Recently, I was speaking with my bank officer, Angelo, and noticed that he had a muscular build that suggested that he lifted weights. I asked if he did, and he replied that he had indeed lifted a lot in college. But then he let out a sigh and said, “Now that I have a bad back I wouldn’t think about lifting anything heavier than my 2-year-old son.”

He went on to tell me about how his back went out, and his wife had to call an ambulance because he couldn’t get off the floor. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fitness, Wellness Tagged With: BACK PAIN, BARBELL TRAINING, FITNESS, HEALTH, PROTECT BACK, wellness

The 10 Most Important Strategies I Used To Beat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Part 2

November 12, 2018 By John 3 Comments

The 10 Most Important Strategies I Used To Beat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Part 2 - Gluten Free Homestead #chronicfatiguesyndrome #health #wellness #fitness #keto #glutnefree

For part one of this series click here.

I’m writing this post from my new home office in Raleigh, North Carolina. My family and I are almost finished moving in, and so far we’re absolutely loving Raleigh. The new home we’re renting is magnificent, the area is beautiful, and Raleigh has so many activities to enjoy.

Over the weekend I finished setting up my home gym. That meant I was finally able to get back to pulling some decent weight. I deadlifted 250 lbs x 4 at 158 lbs body weight. Since I hadn’t deadlifted since August 4, that wasn’t too bad. And more importantly, following my workout I experienced no signs of severe fatigue associated with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fitness, Wellness Tagged With: CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME

The 10 Most Important Strategies I Used To Beat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Part 1

October 29, 2018 By John Leave a Comment

chronic fatigue syndrome

I did it! I beat CFS! After suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) for 28 years, I believe I’m finally healed. I know, I should be a little cautious about saying that because when a person with CFS starts feeling better, the crushing fatigue usually rushes right back upon them.

However, for a year now, I haven’t experienced the debilitating fatigue peculiar to CFS, and I haven’t suffered from any of the many symptoms associated with it. During the last year, I’ve strength trained 5 days a week, power walked most days, engaged in some high-intensity training, and moved my family to another state while experiencing no downtime because of fatigue. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fitness, Wellness Tagged With: CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME

One Scientifically Proven Way To Reverse The Aging Process

August 20, 2018 By John Leave a Comment

I remember when I was 15 years old thinking to myself, “If I live to be 65 years old, that means I’ll be around for 50 more years. Wow, that’s a long time!” When you were 15, 50 years seemed like forever, didn’t it?

We’ve all had these kinds of thoughts when we were young. Our bodies were strong and vital and we thought we’d never grow old. But years sneak up on us, don’t they?

At 40, you start to notice that you don’t recover from exercise like you used to. The aches and pains that disappeared after a few days now linger for months.

At 50, you realize that your body has definitely seen better days. Fifty-five brings a medicine cabinet that is starting to get populated with prescription meds for what our society calls lifestyle diseases. You know what they are: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and even heart disease.

At 60, aging starts to become a concern. Maybe you notice it’s a little bit of a struggle getting up the stairs, maybe at times you forget where you put your car keys, maybe you hesitate to pick up your grandkids because your back isn’t as strong as it was 20 years ago.

Wow, isn’t this all kind of depressing? Is the best we have to look forward to a continuous descent into ever worsening physical decline? I mean, is a walker or a wheelchair or the assistance from a stranger just to go to the bathroom what we’re destined for?

No! It doesn’t have to be. In this post, I’m going to show you that it’s scientifically and empirically proven that we can delay the aging process or even, possibly, make our bodies young again. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fitness, Wellness Tagged With: ANTI-AGING STRATEGIES, FITNESS, HEALTH, HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING, LONGEVITY, RESISTANCE TRAINING, REVERSE AGING, SARCOPENIA, STARTING STRENGTH, strength training, wellness

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Hi! I’m John. Welcome to the Progressing Pilgrim. I’m 64 years young and I’ve created this blog to share the health, fitness and spiritual strategies that have turned my life around. If you’re looking to become a healthier (physically and spiritually) version of yourself you’ve come to the right place. Eat Well. Lift Heavy. Oh, I also produce historical videos! Soli Deo Gloria! Read more…

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