I Retired In August - Put On 22 lbs Since & Am Considering Joining A Health Club.....

[global1]

I was wondering if anyone here joined 'SilverSneakers' and am looking for a review of that and suggestions as to what health/fitness center I should join. Any comments would be appreciated. My goals are weight loss to get back to my ideal weight of 148 lbs & conditioning as I noticed I've been huffing & puffing just doing simple chores.

[Cartoonist]

1. My gym

I also retired and gained weight. With all that time on my hands, I found it easy to join a local fitness club and work out every day.

The one closest to me turned out to be the cheapest. You don't need much, and you certainly don't need a lot of frills.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Agreed. Daily walking and watching what I eat (like a hawk)

helped me to lose weight.

[Jane Austin]

3. The YMCAs here in Austin

are terrific.

Pools, steam room, sauna, classes, babysitting while you work out, coffee bar, and every kind of machine and weights.

There are people of every income level, every color, every age, and every fitness level.

I love the great mix of people.

[safeinOhio]

4. I hate gyms. I always get sick.

Intermitten fast and slow 3 to 4 mile jogs have been the ticket for me. Retired 17 years ago and now weigh what I did in high school.

If you join a gym, get a big box of rubber gloves and change em often, or don't touch anything.

[enough]

5. Membership at the YMCA is free with Silver Sneakers.

You have full access to the Y, all their facilities and activities. Swimming, Zumba, weight training, yoga, exercise classes, stationary bikes and treadmills, etc. Also a friendly, diverse and positive community. Whatever fitness level you have there are all kinds of choices and you’ll find things you like.

[3Hotdogs]

6. What part of medicare sponsors S.S.?

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Mine is through my Advantage plan

[3Hotdogs]

7. Watch the "eating out of boredom" factor in weight gain.

[FailureToCommunicate]

8. I agree with above reccommdations about a YMCA gym, or any gym, if you need that

additional motivation, community, or range of equipment. For me the secret has been what's called interval training, also called HIIT. It basically means alternating whatever exercise you're doing (jogging, running, aerobic, from mild (the 'rest' portion) to intense (as in out of breath) for say thirty seconds mild, thirty seconds intense. You get lots more benefit than a 'steady state' workout and in less time. Mainly, the intense portion kicks up your heart rate and creates a whole cascade of benefits for muscles, joints and overall health.

Oh, and I move the cookies to some high cupboard and forget about 'em most days.

Good luck.

-FTC

[IcyPeas]

10. SS is for 65 and over, I believe...

so I am not quite eligible. But I wish there were more exercise classes geared towards us Baby Boomers. I like low-impact aerobics. too many current classes are just too hard for me and too loud and too choreographed and hard. I am surprised no one has catered to the baby boom generation. There is yoga, but sometimes you want to move a bit more. I used to love aerobic classes back in the 80s.

[catchnrelease]

11. Check your local rec and parks offerings

Last edited Sat Jan 12, 2019, 02:10 AM - Edit history (1)

I have been using classes via the Long Beach rec and parks or park and rec, whatever it is, lol. They offer multiple senior classes. I go to a 'Gentile Yoga' and 'Senior Fitness'. Both instructors stress that we are to modify and adapt to what we are able to do and not compete with others.

In the Sr Fitness class, it is good music, from The Beatles to salsa style, all over the place. We do about 15 mins of easy hand weights, half hour of aerobics and another 15min of stretching on the floor. The woman that stands in front of me is 90! And another friend in there is in her early 80s. I think the average age must be mid to late 60s. I have low back and knee issues and can do all of it. I love the class. Maybe you can find something like that.

ETA: If you can find classes like this, and you don't like the routines, feel it's too hard etc. Try another class if offered. The first class I went to had a good instructor who eventually retired and we got a new one. She is a nice person but I HATED her workouts. She was way too fast, liked to do what she called 'flash mob' routines. Ugh, all these different choreographed steps and you could never keep up with her. And she never stopped talking during the workouts--counting each step, whoo!!, just chattering away. It drove me nuts. So I found my current class at another senior center through the city and it's awesome. (The only bad days are when the flash mob instructor subs for our regular woman, lol)

[catchnrelease]

12. I just joined it this week

I retired in 2010 and am in the same boat. I was very active in my job when working and knew I'd put on weight after I retired. For awhile I stayed fairly active and lost the initial pounds I put on after a couple years. Then, no surprise, the weight started coming back and at this point I'm horrified by how much I weigh and how much muscle mass I've lost. I'm 'only' 68 and hate how out of shape I am.

Even though I have been taking a senior aerobics class twice a week, it hasn't been enough to get me back to where I want to be. I got the info from my retirement system and medicare both about silver sneakers and thought I'd try it. So this past Tues I went in to the local YMCA and asked for an orientation/tour and the place offers everything as someone else mentioned. I was actually impressed by how nice it is. Weds I had an 'evaluation' which was just talking to a young woman that looked like she is 12, but of course much older. She just took notes as to what my goals are and physical limitations I have etc. She showed me how to work the treadmill and exercise bike which is what I wanted to start with and said when I'm ready I can talk to any of the trainers to move up to the other machines if I want to.

They offer all kinds of classes as well--senior aerobics, yoga, swimming etc etc. There are also gym events like 'pickle ball' which I have heard before is very fun but I don't think my knees would take it. (It looks like tennis with giant ping pong paddles!) I believe you can also get personal attention if desired.

My understanding is the silver sneakers can be used at more than one place at a time. Eg-there is a 24 Hour Fitness place right around the corner from me and I think I could also go there as well as the Y. I chose the Y as I thought it might be less busy than the 24hr place. I've been lucky so far that the hours I've gone I had no problem getting to use the machines I wanted. I suspect that after work hours it could be busier.

So far I've gone Weds, Thurs and today for an hour each, using just the bike and treadmill. I am really happy with the place so far. I just go in, swipe my card, go to the machine, work out and leave, no hassles, no trainer hovering over me--great! There are lots of trainer people around though, if you need help. The treadmills, bikes, ellipticals all have touch screen panels that are the same so it's easy to learn how to do it on one and it works for all, at least at my facility. I used my kindle set on the screen to read as I walked/pedaled. You can also watch tv on the panel.

I told my husband that as I was on the (recumbent) bike which is by a wall of windows, I could see the people coming into the place and it was really interesting to see the range of physiques. Lots of very fit people, many overweight and out of shape like me, lots of elders, even a man with a walker and a young woman in a wheelchair that is a double amputee! So there is definitely something for everyone. And it costs nothing! Hope this helps.