Best workout for a senior

I'm 63 and contemplating on what kind of workout to do in order to tone my muscles and my belly which is starting to bulge. I don't believe that it is the age which is causing the belly to have a sagging look. Maybe I need a harder workout than my basic workout now of 25 push up aside from the stretching and bending. Any suggestion?

Senior workout, as most workouts, should be supervised. Nothing like joining a gym that offers personal training service so that you have an adequate plan for your age and health.

Thanks for the advice but what I'm looking at is a non professional type of workout that can be done at home. To be frank, I don't have the time ang money for the gym. This morning I had 30 push ups and I feel that I can do more although I am not forcing myself. After the push ups, I use the hand grip exerciser. Just a simple workout in the morning seems not enough for me.

I see. So, if you're not going to get a personal trainer, the best advice I can give you is to start slowly and increase on that, too much at the same time can damage some muscles.

I'm nearly 70 and about 4 years ago I was sent home to die because all of my organs were pretty much shot and drowning in liquid and as a side note I had absolutely no muscle tone.

The OP asks for advice but advice is something I do not give but what I can do is write what I personally did and now do. If that helps, so be it.
Sit ups and push ups were nearly impossible because I didn't have any air but I did whatever I could do. I also bought a 15 lb. dumbbell and did as many sets of sitting bicep curls as I could every night. Slowly, I advanced and I did more because I could do more. I bought more weights as soon as I could afford them and USED them. I now have a full blown home gym in a room that was once a spare bedroom.

The most important thing I did was to start eating right. At first, I was warned not to go over 29 ounces of protein A DAY (and 32 ounces of water) because I couldn't process ammonia properly but as I started getting more active and saw I was actually losing the belly fat and water weight and building some muscle tone I slowly advanced and within about 4 months I was up to 200 grams of protein with no ill effects. Now, my diet along with my supplemental intake including things that go with the aging territory like taking natural aromatase blockers and such is a daily thing and frankly, I don't know what I was doing taking in so much garbage and calling if food prior to getting sick.
I could go on from a day to day, month to month perspective but for now, the rest is history and you can see the results from my bio.

The thing is, if your nutrition isn't right, nothing is right. Whether you're predisposed genetically for muscle mass or not, if you do not eat right you can spend a thousand hours working out and the results will be so small it really isn't worth the time. That's not advice, it's fact.

Secondly, I am not sure how it is in the Philippines, but most health insurance policies in the U.S. have some sort of advantage plan whereby seniors can get a gym membership all in the name of prevention.
There are three things I found at the gym besides a bunch of equipment.
1. I watched other people and the ones who looked serious about what they were doing, I copied them. One professional body builder was especially helpful even though he is a lot younger than me, and would answer any question I had. He told me later that he saw that I wasn't playing so he didn't mind being grilled for answers.
2. Whether they are or not, the feeling that people are watching seems to be an aid to will power. When I do not feel like going the distance, I will anyway because I do have an ego.
3. Mirrors are there for a good reason. They are veritable time machines. When I have a good pump going and flex in front of a mirror, I can see the future. Whatever the pump is showing is what I will be normally in about 8 to 10 weeks if I keep doing whatever I am doing at the present. It's another ego booster.

Bottom line is whether you're a senior or a kid, the name of the game is the same. Commitment. I'm committed to not only being healthy but being in the best health and look healthier than I ever have. I set daily, weekly and monthly goals and I'm not a happy camper until I reach those goals.

Hopefully something I wrote makes a little sense and is helpful. if not, again, so be it.

Really helpful and motivational Bob!

Alexandoy said:

Thanks for the advice but what I'm looking at is a non professional type of workout that can be done at home. To be frank, I don't have the time ang money for the gym. This morning I had 30 push ups and I feel that I can do more although I am not forcing myself. After the push ups, I use the hand grip exerciser. Just a simple workout in the morning seems not enough for me.

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I would say to concentrate on Bodyweight Exercises like the Push-up which you are already doing.
Body Weight Squats, or if you have some small Dumbbells, you could toss them in for Goblet Squats.
You can do Dips off the end of a Chair.
You can buy a Pull-up Bar that locks into a Doorway for $20 to $30, then you can do Pull-ups.

Then you need to do some Core Work.
So Planks are good, and there's many Variations.
Stomach Vacuums, you can Google on how to do them ~ they are Old School, and when done Properly really work.
You could also buy a Yoga Mat ($5 to $10 online), and do some Bridges or tons of other Floor Work........................... JP
P.S.
You don't need a Gym to get into shape.

And there's Tons of different HIIT routines that you can do.
8 Rounds of 20 Seconds all out, followed by 10 Seconds Rest, to start.
You can start with 3 rounds if 8 are too many.

KaiGold said:

Really helpful and motivational Bob!

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Pretty much, reading stuff like Rob wrote just makes me confirm how working out is important.

Alexandoy said:

Thanks for the advice but what I'm looking at is a non professional type of workout that can be done at home. To be frank, I don't have the time ang money for the gym. This morning I had 30 push ups and I feel that I can do more although I am not forcing myself. After the push ups, I use the hand grip exerciser. Just a simple workout in the morning seems not enough for me.

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Thats because you are not taxing your body beyond what it is normally used to. Adaptation will not happen unless you put your body through stress with bouts of recovery. Your tummy is bulging as you fet older because you have no muscle mass and a low BMR which is the perfect RX to get fat.

Oldschool said:

Thats because you are not taxing your body beyond what it is normally used to. Adaptation will not happen unless you put your body through stress with bouts of recovery. Your tummy is bulging as you fet older because you have no muscle mass and a low BMR which is the perfect RX to get fat.

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Thank you for your "disturbing" comment, lol (joke). You may be right that I am not taxing my body because I am being careful. I have known some cases where a senior suffered a heart attack or even a stroke for excessive workout. I am admitting that I am an old man and so I cannot do strenuous exercise anymore. I have been doing 35 push ups in the morning for 2 or 3 months now and that includes the use of the hand grip exerciser not to mention the basic warm up of stretching and bending.

That's the thing, we need to be careful when working out, and for that we need to have working out knowledge, which many don't because we are not used to work out.

Alexandoy said:

Oldschool said:

Thats because you are not taxing your body beyond what it is normally used to. Adaptation will not happen unless you put your body through stress with bouts of recovery. Your tummy is bulging as you fet older because you have no muscle mass and a low BMR which is the perfect RX to get fat.

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Thank you for your "disturbing" comment, lol (joke). You may be right that I am not taxing my body because I am being careful. I have known some cases where a senior suffered a heart attack or even a stroke for excessive workout. I am admitting that I am an old man and so I cannot do strenuous exercise anymore. I have been doing 35 push ups in the morning for 2 or 3 months now and that includes the use of the hand grip exerciser not to mention the basic warm up of stretching and bending.

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Cardiovascular events among pre screened individuals are rare. If you are asymptomatic for cardiovascular, renal or metabolic decease then you are safe to participate in moderate exercise (40-59% HRR) and if you are sedentary (less than 30min of exercise at least 3 days/week for the past 3mo) then you would be wise to start at light intensity (30-39% HRR).
Exercise becomes paramount as we get older to maintain health (cardiovasular, blood pressure, lower LDL cholesterol, stable blood sugar, balance/agility, weight management, bone health to name a few).
A good personal trainer can gelp you if you dont have the knowledge to build an exercise prescription.
Good luck.

First of all, you should have it at the back of your mind that workouts is useless if you are not eating well and healthy food, also you have to live a healthy lifestyle. Stop smoking and alcoholic beverages if you are into any of these vices. It's only when you observe these things that you will start getting the best results from working out.

Getting old means that you can't engage in tough exercise drills anymore but there are few minor ones which you can fully participate in and get the same results. Engaging in running is a very good example, stretching, squats and light crunches to help work on your stomach.

Heatman said:

Getting old means that you can't engage in tough exercise drills anymore but there are few minor ones which you can fully participate in and get the same results. Engaging in running is a very good example, stretching, squats and light crunches to help work on your stomach.

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This is incorrect.
Physiology is physiology.
Muscular and aerobic adaptations will occur at any age if the overload principle is applied.
Older adults can achieve muscular and cardiovasular gains comparable to younger adults.
Being older doesnt mean you have to stop vigorous exercise.

Oldschool said:

Heatman said:

Getting old means that you can't engage in tough exercise drills anymore but there are few minor ones which you can fully participate in and get the same results. Engaging in running is a very good example, stretching, squats and light crunches to help work on your stomach.

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This is incorrect.
Physiology is physiology.
Muscular and aerobic adaptations will occur at any age if the overload principle is applied.
Older adults can achieve muscular and cardiovasular gains comparable to younger adults.
Being older doesnt mean you have to stop vigorous exercise.

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You have a good point and I understand what you are trying to say but it's obvious that you didn't grasp exactly where I was driving at by saying being old means that you have to limit the kind workouts drills which you can participate in. Maybe it was because I didn't quote the post where the particular age range I was referring to was mentioned. At the age of 63 years old, are you telling me the you can actually actively participate in a vigorous exercise which includes heavy weight lifting?

Yes.
I do it 5-7x a week.
30min treamill @70% HRR
30min resistance training @80-90% of 1RM.
Im past 63yrs old.

Oldschool said:

Yes.
I do it 5-7x a week.
30min treamill @70% HRR
30min resistance training @80-90% of 1RM.
Im past 63yrs old.

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Alright, I'm impressed to hear that you are past 63 years and still able to engage in vigorous exercise without having health setbacks. Maybe your body has adjusted and adapted to the drills but you should have in mind that not everyone has the same kind of body and inner strength to keep up with such pace in working out. So maybe the poster's case is a different one.

A good exercise for older adults is swimming, which some call the world's most perfect exercise - this exercise is great for older people, because it puts minimal stress on your bones and joints, which is good for people that have arthritis or osteoporosis.

Folk Artist said:

A good exercise for older adults is swimming, which some call the world's most perfect exercise - this exercise is great for older people, because it puts minimal stress on your bones and joints, which is good for people that have arthritis or osteoporosis.

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Well, to sum it all up, mostly fitness exercises should be the best drills for an elder and also exercises that helps them to stretch out their bones and body because they do get lots of cramps as a result of old age.