What do we want from our fitness program? Aerobic exercises that help us maintain cardio-vascular fitness, staving off heart disease, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are important at our age. If treadmill is not suitable for your knees and ankles, then a cross trainer will be a good substitute. It does not put stress on the knees or ankles. I use the cross trainer for 15 minutes, three times a week. I keep a constant speed of 172 steps per minute, but it is always good to start at a lower pace and adjust to your comfort level. A good gauge is to see if you are out of breath  as you do the exercise. Slow down if you are running out of breath. You can also adjust the resistance level to suit your pace. 

Many people over 60 believe that it’s just too late to start on a structured workout program, but if that’s what you’d like to do, do it. The more muscle strength you have, the easier it will be to complete all the daily activities that you need to sustain your lifestyle, so strength training will have a huge payoff. I use a pair of 0.5kg dumbells to exercise my arm muscles, lifting about 20 times. As I used to suffer from spondylosis, I use the same dumbells to lift upwards and back also about 20 times stretching my head backwards. I used to have spurs on my neck vertebrae some five years ago, but a physiotherapist I saw, recommended a few neck muscle exercises that seem to have resolved my spondolysis completely. Additionally I do a short routine on the Reflex-O machine that also helps to estrengthen the neck and shoulder muscles.

 My final round of exercises are for the backbone muscles  and tummy trim. I do 60 situps in three rounds. 

 The whole routine takes about 30 to 40 minutes and I work up a reasonable amount of sweat.

As I do this regime 3 times a week, I try to do some cycling around the estate on the other days, especially if I have to buy some small groceries from the neighborhood store. I try not to strain and it is purely a relaxed exercise just to keep the bicycle in working order. Once in a while, if a friend invites me to join him in the Buangkok/Punggol Cycling Track, I do take the opportunity to enjoy the ride, though it can be quite tiring.

I hope all who are in my age range will find this encouraging and it would be a pleasure to share experiences. I look forward to your comments.