“Fitness is an essential part of being tactical.” Those aren’t my words – they’re the words of my shooting instructor, Jeff Gonzales at the Range Austin, and part of how he introduces his weekend long pistol classes.
Now, keep in mind that Jeff himself is an avid Crossfitter who can probably crush a handful of Brazil nuts barehanded. I am not that person. I am not Ramona Carla, Pauline Nordin, or Jillian Michaels. I’m just a 50-year-old, 137 lb. woman whose level of fitness has ranged from “pretty good” to “nearly dead” over my lifetime. Right now I’m coming back from “nearly dead” after ending up in an African hospital in July and not being allowed to exercise at all for three months afterward.
I’ve probably started or re-started fitness regimes 25 times in my life due to various illnesses and injuries, so I’m writing this as an everyday person who has often had to “begin again” when it comes to fitness, and didn’t even understand what “tactical” meant until fairly recently (apparently these days it refers to anything you do that isn’t standing still on a flat range, but please correct me if I’m wrong about that).
I think of fitness as being a combination of movement habits, diet, and mental attitude. When you haven’t been fit in a long time, doing anything that doesn’t hurt you is a perfect way to start. It can be something like a combination of walking, a gentle exercise class like yoga, swimming or water exercise, or a beginner dance class.
The big thing is to start small and try to do whatever it is regularly, a couple to three times a week. I’m a Feldenkrais teacher, so I’ve often used Feldenkrais as a way to rehabilitate from injuries and after having major surgery, since it involves small, gentle movements that free up your joints and increase your movement options.
I also just enjoy putting on music I like and dancing, which has actually been shown to increase strength and flexibility as well as being fun. Fun should be a part of fitness – it shouldn’t all be grunt work and pain.
Then, once you get into the habit of doing something regularly, it’s time to add strength. Even something as simple as a medicine or inflatable exercise ball that you can get at Academy gives you lots of options, and YouTube is an amazing resource for all kinds of workout routines from light to challenging.
For me, getting my core and back strength up is one of the big things I have to work on to stabilize my spine, prevent back injury, and help me with my shooting posture, especially when shouldering a rifle. I find that as a woman I also need to work on shoulder and grip strength to support firing hundreds of rounds in training courses without fatiguing out. Dance helps with things like unconventional shooting positions, quick transitions, and moving through space with a loaded weapon.
For core and back, I do a very, very modified version of either the program featured alongside the article “Core Myths” in the New York Times.
Both of these are pretty challenging programs, but what I’ve found is that even doing a small part of them even a couple of times a week yields massive results. Both of these have been studied pretty extensively and proven to stabilize your back, unlike a lot of abdominal-only focused programs that can actually damage your back.
I also like the TRX for strength training for core, legs, and upper body. There’s some evidence that suggests that body weight/resistance training exercise gets slightly better results than weights once you’re past 50. It’s amazing the kind of mileage you can get out of a simple system of conjoined straps. There are dozens of good TRX sequences on YouTube that you can access for free. And if weights are what you like, go for it. Both are great.
Then, there’s getting your heart rate up. Swimming, dancing, and a bit of running are all favorites here. It’s good to mix it up once in a while and do something different, too, at least for me.
Diet is probably the hardest part of fitness because you have to be consistent about it in order to get results. It just never works to eat a good diet for a week or two and then fall off. Right now I’m trying a simple approach: I buy all my food at Sprouts. It has to be real food so no junky stuff or sweets. Basic stuff: meat, vegetables, fruit and fruit juice, whole grain pasta and bread; simple foods like what we all used to eat growing up before the food industry started churning out things like turkey chipotle-flavored Doritos or whatever.
It’s been proven that having access to bad food is a huge factor in eating bad food, i.e., if it’s in front of humans we will usually eat it. I believe this is not because we are horrible, weak-willed beings, but because we are descended from about 200,000 years’ worth of hunter/gatherer DNA.
Hunter/gatherers MUST eat what’s available right when it’s available, because it sure isn’t going to be there later if you don’t. Another animal will probably take it from you. At least, that’s my theory right now.
So shopping at a place that only sells reasonably good food cuts down on those tempting, non-real food impulse buys simply because they’re not there to buy in the first place. Out of sight, out of mind so to speak. Let those other animals take those jumbo bags of flaming hot Cheetos home.
In doing research on older (as in over 70) athletes and their daily routines, I found that one thing they all had in common was that they took a daily anti-inflammatory supplement of some kind. Many of them take Zyflamend, so I added that to my vitamin regimen. It’s easier to prevent inflammation from working out than it is to bring it down after it happens, I’ve found, and all these athletes can’t be wrong, so I’m trying it out.
Obviously there’s a ton of detailed fitness and diet information out there these days, content created by professionals that’s easy to find. The big thing with fitness is that it doesn’t have to be an elite or expensive thing. It’s really more a matter of making some time to do a few things, making that time a habit, and keeping it fun for yourself. I’ve known many fit people in my life who never saw the inside of a gym or took a Roomba class. It can be done.
What do you do for fitness at every level of ability?
“Tactical” just means involving tactics, and tactics are just any strategy put in action to win or beat something. It’s that simple, and is fairly broad. Narrowing it down to only good and effective strategies makes the definition more acute though.
“Tactical” means rails. You aren’t tactical until you can mount scopes and flashlights on yourself.
@Barn
I read somewhere that taping 38 Hi Point pistols to yourself is like Level 4 armor, only better because you can pull them off and use them in a crisis.
Liberty would penetrate that!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr6h44Pu4sM
I thought it meant sewing MOLLE straps onto everything… backpacks, wallets, ice chests, beverage koozies, etc.
🤠
Fitness is very important. Because of my age and a lifetime of abusing my body running is right out for me. I go for walks. 6 miles a day. And I do a light weight workout 3 days a week. I have a decent bicycle.
But there’s more to fitness than the gym. Be active. I go to the archery range. I hunt. I crab. I try to get outdoors as often as I can.
But I have no illusions. I’m in my 60’s. Any 60+ yo that tells you they were still as good as when they were in their twenties is delusional or was a pathetic 20 something.
That’s why God inspired Sam Colt and Saint John The Browning. So us old farts didn’t have to live in fear of the predators out there.
Shit man, by 34 I already know I’m not what I was at 23. Life and particularly old injuries start to take their toll.
Just wait another 20 years, Strych. 6 months ago, took a tumble on my road bike. Onto soft *grass* for cripe’s sake.
Cracked ribs. Again…
**Owch**
The injury itself is bad enough. But the older you get, the longer the recovery.
Yeah, I’m finding that out.
Whoopie! The downhill slide accelerates…
If I was fit, I wouldn’t need to carry a gun. Now over 60 and spending 10 hours a day with my rear firmly planted in a chair, being fit is an ancient memory. Each of us follows his own path to decrepitude, but after too many injuries and too many years, the slope is too slippery to climb back up.
I’m with you on your comment!
Getting old is not for sissies!
I’m old, frail and sometimes a bit grumpy.
When younger I would bounce if falling down.
Now would likely break. So far the count is ankle break 3 times, hip break 1 time, shoulder 1 once, too high up could not have a cast, had to wear a sling.
And all the while having my own Pet Sitting Business.
After 10 years now retired, after many months of “no pet sit days off” Loved being my own boss but really enjoy retirement now
I pack a handgun every day and have one within a arm’s reach, when at home, car carry.
Got my LTC when started the business.
Crime is down, crazy is up
Havig joined the over 60 club several months ago it was an eye opener. I don’t eat as much as I did 10 to 15 years ago. I work out 2 to 3 times a week at Krav/Kali and a lot better for it. Mentally I am still 30 in my head I have to adjust to the amount of time it takes to recover from pulled muscles and sprains. So far 60 has been great and one of my training partners has me beat by several months. We still scare the hell out of the kids(20 somethings) in class with us. I refuse to fade away gracefully. I plan to go out kicking and screaming. I will agree with the author that the TRX is a great system to train for strength and flexibility. My favorite is a heavy bag. Am I in better shape than I was in my 20’s? Mostly yes, with the absence of youth. The workouts hurt a little more but overall I am better for them.
The reason you scare the hell out of the 20 somethings is that they’re having the aggression trained out of them. When we were young we were taught to fight. Coaches in schools allowed us to settle our differences with boxing gloves. Every school I went to had that rope in the gym/multi purpose room that went to the ceiling. We were expected to climb it.
We were taught to compete, to fight, to win. Kids hunted. Those days are mostly gone now. Our under 35s are more girl than man these days.
As an OFWG, i agree whole-heartedly about fitness.
Unfortunately, turns out all the things i did as a younger man are tough on your body.
As JWM said, knowing your are not at your peak is a key realization.
Being able to overcome a tight situation with strength and vigor is not an option.
Having a plan and knowing when to shoot is much more critical.
So.. i know i cant out–run you. Cant move fast enough to fight off two opponents. A gun sounds like one of the best options.
Sounds like you are writing about me. Unfortunately the damage to various joints over the years makes rigorous workouts a thing of the past. A simple “active lifestyle” spotted with days of manual labor and adequate recovery time are about as close to a workout as I can sustain anymore. The key is to know your limits and train to your strengths I guess.
Applies to me too. I’ve trained as a dancer for 30+ years. Some of my joints are probably those of a 70 year old due to the sustained impacts and damage.
It does seem that changing up what you do so nothing gets too rote and just in general staying active does most of what a person needs. It’s being inactive/sedentary that will really take you down fast. Even so though one can come back from that if it’s done wisely.
I hear ya.
Kickboxing is tough on joints and everything else ….who knew? ….LOL
Having jobs climbing ladders and lifting loads with my arms had me in great shape back in the day but tooks it toll on shoulders and back.
If you live long enough …somethings gonna kill you….
It’s an important part of staying alive. I ask this all the time like I ask why people don’t think about their security until something happens to them or near them. Why not take care of yourself? It’s a minimal investment of time for maximum payoff. Don’t want to be crippled and weak popping 30 pills a day when you’re 80? Eat 80% less shit and lift, jump, run. Anyone can find half an hour a day and we all have bodyweight to lift and roads to run on.
@Shire
I work with a lot of folks over 70 as a Feldenkrais teacher. The ones who are the strongest and fittest are the ones who started taking it seriously at about my age, 50. It takes time to change habits and build up strength, but boy does it make a difference after 10 – 20 years of doing so.
I remember one of my clients, who’s 84 now, telling me that the eye opener was one day in her mid 50s when she realized she couldn’t get off the floor or go up a flight of stairs without being completely out of breath. She had never been much of a person for exercise, but decided to start and got her husband into it too. It was pretty amazing watching both of them bounce back after major surgeries – they recovered in LESS time than some of my clients who are 45 years younger than they are. Drove it home how it’s not a waste to try – the real payoff might be 20 years from now!
In my mid 30’s, I took a look at my parents in their 60’s, and realized I needed to make some changes. I don’t want diabetes. I don’t want heart disease. I don’t want TIA’s etc.
I started biking and dropped about twenty-five pounds. Then at the age of 38, I bought a cheap 300# barbell set at a local sporting goods store, and set it up in my basement. For the last six years, I’ve consistently lifted 3-5 times a week, including pushups, pullups, and chinups.
It is strange how I’ve come to love weightlifting. I strongly recommend most people start doing it.
I also bike, jump rope, and take walks with my wife and our dog.
I’m also a hard core gardener, so we eat a ton of fruit and vegetables. One of my theories about nutrition is this: “If I grow it myself, it is good for us”.
At 44, I’m far stronger than I’ve ever been.
@After
That’s awesome! I’d like to get into some weights. Every piece of research I’ve read on it says it’s good for you. In the past I’ve gotten injured with weights so it might just be a matter of getting a good trainer and working with that person for a bit in order to get the proper technique.
I’ve seen people fit at 85 and unfit at 30. It makes a difference when you start earlier but starting later still works for people.
And yea. In the paleo community which is the closest to the way I eat, they always say, The only way to truly eat healthy is to grow and cook it yourself.
Ah health/fitness. One of the few things these days you can’t simply purchase over the internet.
I keep waiting for Amazon to come out with the bionic DIY joint replacement kit, but not looking too promising during my lifetime.
No kidding. If I could replace my knees maybe I’d start running again.
For now it’s a bicycle or swimming for cardio because my knees just can’t do the repeated, constant impact of running.
@Strych
They are working on growing cartilage in the lab to do replacements of worn cartilage without having to take out the whole joint. Not available yet, but it’s in the works.
I’ve had clients who are getting injections of this new stuff, some kind of collagen that puts the cushion back into the joint. They say it works pretty well for them, and these clients are not people who are fit or healthy – they smoke and don’t really exercise. I might look into it if the old left knee really starts grinding down. Hell, if people are injecting this stuff into their faces, surely it’s OK to put it somewhere where it would actually be useful.
I used to refer people to a sports kinesiologist who was also a good friend. He worked with a lot of professional athletes and dancers. He said the key with running is to do just a little bit of it. Like up to 5 miles a week was OK, but not more, and even doing a mile or less 2-3 times a week was still good. To a certain point, running actually strengthens the stabilizing muscles and tendons around the knee and kind of “lifts” the joint and protects it. Too much though and it starts to go the other way.
He also taught me how to run properly to minimize impact. Basically you have to run the same way you would barefoot – lightly, no heavy heel strike, the right shoes, and building up just a little bit at a time. Learning proper technique made a world of difference. I’m a slow as hell runner, but I can get a mile out of myself on a good day with proper shoes and technique.
For me it’s not an issue. I do fine with swimming and riding a bike.
They wanted to replace my right knee when I was 19 or so. Physical therapy, walking with a cane for a year plus and a ton of glucosomine fixed that knee up well enough that I’ve made it another 14 or so years without much problem.
It also doesn’t help that I hate running. I’d rather swim a couple miles than run 1/2 a mile. Can I run a mile? Sure. I can do quite a few actually. I just don’t like doing it because I find it boring and if I do it a few days over the course of a week my knee doesn’t like it so much either. Docs have told me to avoid running as an exercise/hobby/whatever or get my knees replaced before I start running on a regular basis because after awhile I’ll have bone on bone wear (again).
So I just get my cardio elsewhere.
Generic excuse for why I’m out of shape here. Delusional explanation about how I’ll practice shooting instead of exercising therefore I don’t need to exercise here.
I’ve long felt that if the Taliban, ISIS, et al wanted to get important information out of me, all they’d have to do is stand me up in front of an exercise bicycle and give me a choice.
I am active, mostly working out in the gym, and go on regular family walks or bike rides with my kids. I’m 39, and I am as strong as I was when I was in my mid 20s because I’ve never stopped lifting weights. For the 10 years before this year I averaged 11 weight lifting sessions per month. It was enough to keep me somewhat strong and somewhat muscular, but no one would mistake me for a bodybuilder. But, I looked better than nearly all of my peers in their late 20s/early to mid 30s. In my early 20s I probably averaged 16+ times per month or more (didn’t keep track back then) and was very strong for my weight, and in great shape. Last year I decided to up my game again and for the past year I’ve averaged 19 weight lifting sessions per month. My strength and size went up but it takes time and patience. I don’t have any aches or pains or a bad back or anything, although at my age I’m more prone to weight lifting injuries compared to 15 years ago, esp since I lift 19 times a month. I don’t do heavy deadlifts or squatting, for the sake of my back at nearly 40. I will do moderately heavy dead lifts (up to about 40% more than my body weight at times, usually 30% more and rep 8-ish times per set). In Sept. I benched 300 lbs, at a body weight of 192 lbs and ~14-15% bodyfat (I’m 5’10”). Anyway, yeah, being in shape is important to me. Diet wise- I eat a lot of calories, but make sure to get vegetables and fruit every day. I eat foods like cheeseburgers and pizza that are high in fat but don’t eat much sugar, as I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. I recently also started reducing my dairy intake somewhat. That’s about it.
I’m FAR stronger now at 44 than I ever was in my 20s.
I was pretty sedentary and didn’t lift as a young man. I was quite weak. I bought a barbell set six years ago, and got serious about the basic compound lifts (dead,squat,bench,overhead press). I’ve also added chinups, pullups, and pushups to my weight routine. Today was chin up day, and I did 100 of them (spread out over seven sets).
“When in doubt, spread them out and about those gains you’ll start to shout!”
-Soccer coach of mine back in the day.
Be careful. You sound like me eight years ago – right before I tore up my shoulder doing incline dumbbell presses. I tore my labrum and biceps. It took two years for me to be fully functional again. I still workout 5 times a week but I have had to shift my focus a bit. No more heavy benching, shoulder presses, or swimming. I do a lot of body weight work, interval cardio, and yoga. Last weekend, I ran a personal best half marathon (despite being in my mid-40’s). As far as training for the fight goes, I can still hit the heavy bag, practice with a training knife, and shoot.
disagree. that’s why we have guns, its the great equalizer. no different than saying you MUST train so often with your firearm. gets disproven DAILY.
Can’t run since a foot injury. But I discovered I had *zero* pain riding my road bike. That’s now my primary exercise-cardio platform. About 80 miles a week, over 4 sessions, not particularly fast riding, but able to keep it up most of the 20 miles.
I have discovered the times I have been out of shape, were when I have been the least happy, more depressed. Just being active is a mood elevator…
@Geoff
I used to get so down on myself every time something happened that got me off my fitness routine. I see that happen with my clients too, a good streak then something happens, an injury or illness or life event, and we all start smashing ourselves around the ears for falling off the wagon.
The time I spent in the Kalahari was pretty eye opening. Those people have very little food (the downside of being hunter gatherers, you only eat when you bag an animal a lot of the time), no medical care at all. I expected the lifespan to be short. Instead I met all of these healthy and thriving people in their 70s and 80s who walk many kilometers a day, seem to have no memory loss whatsoever, and pretty much spend all their time running around in an environment full of super dangerous animals and weather until either something happens or they die of natural causes/old age.
Hell, one of the healers I studied with had killed a rogue zebra who was threatening his family with nothing but a homemade bush knife about a year before I met him. He’s got to be early 80s if he’s a day. It was all kind of jaw dropping.
It was out there that I realized how resilient our species really is if we can just plug into it. The key is just keep going somehow. However we can!!!
58 year old retired USAF enlisted here. I never stopped in my pursuit of fitness, although most folks don’t know it.
My personal philosophy is we spend boatloads of money on cars, boats, GUNS (ahem) but scrimp on fitness equipment?!
While a top of the line treadmill may run north of $5,000.00 they’re typically worth every penny…if you use them.
I just received a mid-range treadmill as a warranty replacement. I’ve already discovered a safety flaw and have submitted a report to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Here’s a link to my advice on why you may wish to buy your own treadmill and how to decide which one:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1lTrMn8prgE
I’m in sad shape and about to turn 65. Various and sundry injuries from a lifetime of lifting huge weights and especially working as an antique dealer. It’s hard to lift heavy furniture and giant marble statues safely. I was riding a bike quite often 2 years ago until I got hit by a truck(90% my fault). I think I was hurt more than I thought. You do what you can do. I ran around with a 29″waist 35 years ago and had a pulse in the low 50’s. I plan on rejoining a healthclub and do more. I’ve eliminated sugar lately so that’s a start. At least I’m a good shot!😄
@Water
Might sound weird but I feel a lot safer riding a motorcycle than I ever did a bicycle because I’m always essentially in a bag of protective gear. I had SO many bicycle accidents as a kid, with some of them resulting in pretty serious injuries. Nobody knew about or wore protective gear or helmets back then!
Fitness is over rated. When Elaine D is pushing 70 years old and is a feeble old woman, maybe she’ll look back on what she’s written and realize the implicit ageism in what she’s posted today. It’s still true God didn’t make people equal. Col. Colt did.
When you get older you realize that you’ve got a target on your back for every young punk who’s looking for an easy victim. For some of us, fitness is the ability to thumb back the hammer on a trusty 38 special and the strength to aim and fire in single action mode.
@Senior
All due respect to you sir and please don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way.
I know a lot more about being bullied and harassed and threatened than most men here do. I’m a Vietnamese American who grew up during the years the Vietnam War was at its worst.
Defending yourself when you are elderly is hard. I work with clients over 70 all of the time . Know what else is hard? Defending yourself when you are 6 with a gang of kids coming after you every single day at school, week after week and year after year, and no one to help you.
I am going to do everything in my power to not be feeble. As I have done my whole life. It makes a difference to try. I see it every day.
Then try to recognize and work to overcome your implicit ageism. You do know what implicit ageism is don’t you?
Tying guns to fitness implicitly says if you’re old or weak or unfit, then guns aren’ for you. And this is true regardless of your vietnamanize heritage or the number of 70 year old individuals you may work with.
Your posting is steeped in arrogant ageism. Vietnam is a time and place I’m more than just a little familar with.
Like it’s been said before, God didn’t make people equal, Col. Colt did.
@Senior
You have your opinion. I have mine. Mine is that if you CAN get more fit, it is worth it to try to do that, and that opinion has been backed up by numerous experiences of working with older people and also every single firearms instructor I have worked with, almost all of whom are older than me.
You do what’s right for you, no one is stopping you. I wrote the article for people interested in fitness. You’re not, that’s fine. I personally am not going to give up on it.
Snowflakes everywhere. If you wanna push this “everything is an ‘ism’ against me” nonsense I suggest you go to the CNN message boards with all the other cry baby SJWs.
We get it, getting old sucks, but it’s not ageism to say that old people are weak and need to exercise and train to keep up. You are weak, of the mind and body by the sounds of it. Instead of complaining about it why don’t you do something to fix it?
Senior gun owner –
Your comments sound pretty whiny to me. We should all take reasonable steps towards improving our health. We should eat well, and stay active to the extent we can.
I’m pretty sure Elaine won’t be frail at 70, and I don’t intend to be either.
Don’t give me any of your SJW “ageism micro-aggresion” crap.
Ya’all work to hard. Elaine D. Try Tai Chi. I’m going in for my 3d back fusion. My work out is 20 min./day of tai chi and about 10 min. of inversion. Tai Chi is used to aid balance and mobility. My PT guy recommended I try it. Get instruction, in person is great, but there are DVDs that are very good. Tai Chi is good for older people, all the way up to swords and serious work for MA type people. Weight is becoming my issue. Can’t take much around my waist. I liked that shoulder holster you showed awhile back, re-post the brand, please?
@Dave
Tai Chi is awesome. It builds a lot of strength if you practice it regularly. I find it a bit hard on my knees and back because of the slightly tucked under pelvis position. A friend recently suggested trying Qi gong as a somewhat better alternative.
If you mean the cross draw one from the other day, that was a Deep Conceal holster, those are here:
http://www.deepconceal.com/shoulder-holsters/
A lot of folks don’t like cross draw holsters or ones that ride high but as long as you practice with it, it is a lot better than not carrying at all.
My only complaint would be buying anything from Academy. They suck.
@New
I find they’re OK for the cheap stuff. Like yoga blocks and medicine balls and inflatable exercise balls. I tend to stick to pretty simple equipment tho.
Academy are the good guys. Decent fitness equipment and good selection of ammo.
Now Dicks on the other hand can go the way of Gander Mtn.
I guess I’m old school. I try to run twice a week, swim once a week, bike once a week and lift weights twice a week.. It doesn’t actually take up 6 days. I may double up lifting weights with running, biking or swimming.
Either way, its a good way to not get injured if you are old like me. (50 years). It works well enough that I was able to do a half ironman triathlon for the first time this year, without any specific training plan. It was just something I was able to do.
The other thing I do is look for opportunities to exercise whenever its “free” with respect to time. If I’m walking my kids to school or taking my dog for a hike, its with a 40 lb pack on my back. 40 extra lbs turns almost anything into a workout.
And being able to hump 40 lbs all day is a useful thing if the feces ever hits the fan.
@Don
Yep! “Take your daily routine and add a weighted backpack” is one of the simple ways people can gain more fitness. I’ve known some people who were into rucking, both for the physicality of it and the team building, and they loved it. Used to be a mostly military or ex military thing, but seems like a lot of civilians are getting into it these days too.
I get up at 0400 5 days a week and hit it before work. At 53 there are good days and bad days but no matter what I do what I can. If all I have is some yoga stretches and walking then that’s what it is. Other days I’m pushing 305 on the deadlift and 220 on farmers walk for 200 yds with 6 stops.
Just be the best you can be at all times. They don’t take days off so neither do we.
@Mio
Truly spoken.
As someone who works with people who have all kinds of challenges I am constantly reminded that I have all of my limbs and teeth and that I can try harder.
I have clients with cancer who exercise 3-5 times a week.
I know people with cerebral palsy in wheelchairs who take dance classes.
I have clients 35 years older than me who are as strong as I am.
I also have my Vietnamese family, who is never shy to let me know that they won the war malnourished with no tactical gear whatsoever.
Keeps me honest!
I run with my dog nearly every day, year around. in Iowa that takes some dedication and sometimes means tracking new “powder” on the bike path. We’re about the same “age”, I’m 66 and she’s 10. (She is aging better than me, at least as far as the grey hair is concerned.). We run a 5 1/2 stretch on a paved old railroad diagonal through farmland with no houses and only 2 gravel road intersections. Dog gets to point pheasants, rabbits, deer, coyotes, whatever and I get to enjoy the out of doors. We even caught an old barred rock rooster to give to a farmer pal one day and flushed up a peacock for a while until he moved on. Never seem to know what you’ll find there.
During summer we run my cabin’s half-mile log trail path to a quiet tar road for essentially the same distance. Deer, coon, skunks, grouse, injun dogs at the end of the trail, most fun for the dog is bringing back painted turtles when they’re out looking to lay eggs in June.
For some reason I have always been able to run without pain. Hard surface, distances between 5-8 miles daily, no real trqining. Right now we’re averaging 8 min miles, no real stress, sometimes faster. This is the 3rd pooch over 35 years I’ve run with and it keeps me going. There’s some Alzheimer’s on my mother’s side of the family and doing this, along with remaining in my symphony chair may help me stave it off. 5 siblings are OK so far in that regard. I also still ski Colorado a few weeks every winter, still on the stuff I did in my late 20s. Those bumps in the trees at Steamboat are about as good as it gets.
I don’t watch much TV and hardly any that is current- radio, mostly, but not during the running. No social media unless this and a trumpet blog are considered such. My advice, not that anyone would give a rip, is to start on some sort of daily routine doing anything that gets you moving. Off the couch and plan for some sort of daily activity each day. Once you get started you will likely look forward to it so long as you don’t over-do at the beginning. I beleive that being and staying in decent physical condition provides me with many options in life that a lot of my couch potato colleague don’t have. The primary one is that I am able to participate rather than be a spectator.
Gentle yoga 1x/week
active yoga 1x/week
steady state cardio followed by heavy&slow weights 2x/week
explosive weights 1x/week
fitness is an important part of being healthy.
your gun is an important part of self defense.
your gun can keep you healthy.
“Fitness is an essential part of being tactical.”
I’m precisely as tactical as this old lady: https://fox8.com/2017/10/31/elderly-arkansas-woman-shoots-kills-19-year-old-who-broke-into-home/
Or this old man: https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/i-just-fired-one-84-year-old-man-shoots-kills-home-intruder/660608350
Or the rest of the multitude of people who defend themselves with firearms every year.
Tactical training is fine, if you don’t mind being scammed. Hey, people, you ain’t storming Fallujah any time soon, m’kay?
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