My exercise program towards the end of year 60

Current exercise guidelines are more demanding that the “12 minutes a day, 3 times a week” standard of my youth ...

For substantial health benefits, adults should do at least 150 minutes ... to 300 minutes ... a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes ... to 150 minutes ... a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity...

… Additional health benefits are gained by engaging in physical activity beyond the equivalent of 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week.

… Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity and that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week

I’ll be 60 in 10 weeks. This is how, as a genetically ungifted athlete, I approach those recommendations between May and October

Sunday: 3-4 hour road bike ride, not counting lunch. If weather is bad then CrossFit St Paul. I’ve been enjoying CFSP for more than 6 years now. Often 9 holes of walking golf with #1 son.

Monday: CrossFit, usually with my teen daughter, followed by sets of sit-ups and dubs (120 and 80+)

Tuesday:  Mountain biking 1 hr at Battle Creek, River Bottoms, Leb or Carver. St Paul JCC with Emily and #2 son, weights and running — whatever I’m not doing at CrossFit. Usually Bench, SLR, and working on components of a Bar Muscle Up.

Wednesday: CrossFit, with the daughter, sit-ups and dubs.

Thursday: CrossFit (daughter) and the J with Emily and #2 son. Some light weights and sauna.

Friday: CrossFit, sit-ups and dubs.

Saturday: Rest day! Nothing scheduled but often kinetic anyway.

From October-April I do JMS Hockey on Friday nights, CrossFit on Sunday, and Nordic skiing when conditions allow. This year I’m planning to add winter mountain bike trail rides.

Because I once had a quite bad back I do a set of 9 stretches every morning and 20 weighted roman chair reps each night — but those go fast. I do dumbbell curls during phone meetings and before bed because of that muscle-up project.

I’d love to be able to also bike commute to work, but my current job is a remarkably bad fit for bike commuting.

On a good week I do at least 600 minutes of moderate to high intensity exercise. It keeps me more or less balanced and able to work. I didn’t start out doing 600 minutes a week, it just built gradually over the years. The older I get the more important exercise is, and the more time I need to spend on it. It helps that I’m quite good at amateur injury rehab.

Current medical wisdom is that exercise won’t control weight, but I think that depends on how much exercise one does. In the winter I am more careful, but in the summer I sometimes need to add extra food to maintain my weight.