Lifting for Life

 I'm going to start writing again.  At the beginning of the year I wrote a couple of blogs; but before that it was literally 9 years ago, crazy.  I've decided that I'm going to get going again and write about Lifting for Life at 63 and beyond.  Lifting is a passion and as I age it becomes more of a passion that I want to share with others.  If at anytime you have a question, you can dm me a @mamaregalbuto on instagram. 

In the above photo, I am showing very slow and precise movement because I've been dealing with a couple injuries.  First was my shoulder (maybe rotator cuff)?  Next came pulled rib muscles because of my shoulder injury.  If you've ever pulled a rib muscle, you know how painful it is.  And finally my neck, which is connected to it all.  I have a bad neck because of 4 rear end collisions; so it doesn't take much for me to have a serious bad neck. My shoulder pain started September 11th and got seriously worse and  painful by the 12th and 13th.  Then, with lots of advil it started to feel better.  Dealing with the pain that I had on the 12th; I was sure that I was headed for surgery.  I didn't do anything specific but I do think it was lifting my very tall, 50 lb standard poodle in and out of the car; basically wear and tear at 63.  

So, shoulder, ribs and neck...shit.  For me, not working out is not an option.  So into the garage (gym) I go where I stood and stared at the weights.  This was going to be tough, because almost everything requires lifting with your arms; even if you aren't working out your arms or not.  Now, luckily I have several machines that can isolate without the need to lift with my arm.  Hmmmmm???????

Okay, so quads it was.  I have a good leg extension machine and I could do some body weight and light weight squats with little impact to my arm.  Since my injury at it's worse, I have only missed a handful of workouts.  The first couple of days I was actually out of state, so it was a natural weight break.  Once home, I hit the gym on the second day.  It's not easy but if I made the choice to sit and wait; wait for my arm, ribs and neck to heal completely; my head would fall to pieces.  It's not good for my mental health not to workout.  Lifting is not an option for me, it's a lifestyle. 

My shoulder has been the fastest to heal.  It's not done yet and I still have to be very careful but it's coming along. I truly believe that working out helps me to heal faster.  So much so, I looked it up and found it to be true.  Makes sense.  I also used red light therapy so not sure if that helped as well.  

• Tissue Healing - Additionally, weightlifting can promote the healing of injured tissues. When an individual engages in resistance training, it can increase blood flow to the affected area, which can deliver oxygen and nutrients to the injured tissues. This increased blood flow can also help to remove waste products from the area, which can aid in the healing process.

credit:  www.weightlifting.org 

I love working out, I love being strong and as we age, being strong is even more important than ever before.  I'll let you know how it goes.  I'm stubborn, so I will win this battle.   😉

Lifting around an injury

                                                    This is my knee.

Last fall while landscaping, I made a very stupid mistake.  I stepped up too high with my right leg to get up onto the slope at the side of our yard.  I didn't do it correctly.  My leg was too high to engage any muscles and the brunt of the lift went all to my knee (I know better).  I felt it and I heard it but disregarded it and continued to work (me in a nutshell).  But the weeks and months ahead were plagued with knee pain.  I've had my fair share of injuries; do a lot of stuff, your going to get hurt sometimes.  

But at 62, an injury takes a whole lot longer to heal, if it will heal.  So I'm probably about 6 months out from the high step up and it's still bugging me.  It is not a debilitating injury but it is most definitely bugging me bigtime.  So I decided to finally go the Orthopaedic specialist to see what was going on. I wanted to know if there was something seriously wrong or if this was something I just have to be patient with. 

Almost all of my injuries have happened when I was doing activities other than lifting.  Skiing, playing on a floating inflatable water park, landscaping, kicking things etc.  Over the years I've had to deal with many different injuries; some very serious and long term.  

Not working out is not an option for me; not even when I have a serious injury.  So, this mean a lot of focus on engaging the right muscles around the injury without further damaging it.  This one is a weird injury for me; I've had two serious knee injuries before this one and this one is tough.  Basically I have damaged my patellar and quadricep tendons.  I over stretched and paid the price.  So bending my knee is what bothers me.  

I am going to go to physical therapy, hopefully they can do something.  But I'm doing a lot of stretching, careful stretching and lifting around it.  Not easy but I will not stop lifting because I don't want my knee to be weak.  I am also wearing a knee brace when I knee to be sure that my knee doesn't give out on me.  Being commited to remaining strong is very important as we get older.  Muscle atrophy is a very real thing; and injuries can really put a wrench into your workouts if you let them.  

Nope, not stopping.

62 - still lifting

                                                                       Back workout

Well, it's been a minute...over 8 years to be exact.  I guess I was MIA for a while, but I'm back and still lifting.  I will be 63 this year and I am working out harder than I ever had.  As we age it is even more important to get started working out or keep working out if you already work out.  It can seem daunting, I know.  Going to the gym can be very intimidating; but, it's one of those things, ya just gotta be comitted to getting and staying strong.  You can totally start working out at home; you don't have to go to a gym at all.  If you are determined, get off that couch and get started.  It just takes will and determination.  

There are a lot of things to consider if you are interested in starting to work out in your 50s or 60s.  You have to be careful, very careful, start slow and focus on form.  I would highly recommend workout bands to start.  If you've never worked out before; they are a great way to get started.  But you have to start moving and lifting if you want to even maintain the muscle that you have.  

It's a fact, as we age, we lose muscle mass which is called sarcopenia and can start as early as your 30s.  There are  many things that happen when you start losing muscle mass but the biggest thing is lack of ability to move safely.  If you live a sedentary life, you will be losing muscle on a daily basis.  This leaves your joints to fend on their own; which often means injury.  If you don't have muscles to help you move on your day to day; you most definitely risk injuring yourself.  

You don't want to fall.  Falling is one of the worst things that happens to many people as they age.  Without muscles to help you move safely; your risk of falling goes way up. If you want to be sure footed, able to lift things (even groceries) and do the things that you've loved to do all your life, get strong and stay strong.  

I've added a couple of things to my workouts in the last year or so that are fairly a new focus for me.  Core and balance exercises are a big part of my daily workouts now.  Decreased muscle and balance make it difficult to have solid stability when moving around and that is where your risk of falling comes from.  Want a strong core? Want to be able to walk around with confidence?  Work your core and your balance and your gonna be a rockstar.  

Each and every muscle in your body helps to move you around safely.  So we need to work them all.  The old saying "use it or lose it" is so very true.  Now up off that couch and let's go. 

Glad to be back.  I'll be posting lots more.