u/Pluto-Based-Alien

It is harder to keep in shape as we get older. I am sixty. One thing I notice is how much my maximum running speed has deteriorated.

We are told that some high-intensity exercise (HIIT) is very good for the cardiovascular system. My version of this is to do some sprint relays two or three times a week, but calling my rather feeble efforts "sprinting" is to say too much of them.  

Decades ago, when I ran fast I could feel real power in my legs and I zipped around like a greyhound. These days, I feel like an old racehorse that's due for the knacker's yard. Still, I continue. Got to keep up that battle with entropy.

Damn, I hate entropy. 😄

This was an eye-opener for me. The article is about the rise of "birthday tyrants" who insist on absurdly complex and extended birthday celebrations which their guests have to attend and pay a lot of money for.

How about this for Main Character Syndrome:

Lauren has witnessed first-hand how quickly a birthday can breed a tyrant. One of her friendships is hanging by a thread after an old schoolmate berated her for announcing she was pregnant during their “birthday month”.  🙄

Scene: the Crucifixion. Jesus speaks to a thief hanging next to him:

1. "Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."

(The thief will be in paradise that same day.)

Or:

2. "Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise."

(When the thief will be in paradise is not clear.)

Me: "Huh, typical loose and lazy language. We need to clear this up right now!"

There's actually quite a bit of theology hanging on this difference in the comma placement, which varies according to the translation used.

This is not the most sophisticated use, granted. But it helps me a lot.

I have been putting together physical routines of various kinds. For example, I ask Gemini to put together a beginner-friendly yoga routine, and it does so. Then I ask it for a second routine using different poses but the same prompt parameters, and it does that too. Then a third routine. In this way, I get three good routines I can alternate between.

In the prompt I ask for full instructions, the anatomy affected, why a pose is included in the routine, mistakes and bad form pointers to avoid and variations to make the pose easier and more difficult. Gemini provides all this.

I have done this for beginner, post-beginner and intermediate yoga routines and bodyweight routines. It has also provided specific routines for hip mobility and core strength.

I have tried out the various routines provided, and I am happy with them all. That's the test, right? The instructions make sense, the anatomy is correct, the difficulty levels are consistent and so on. All this from just the free version. I don't use any special paid tier or subscription model.

I've had this app for only a few days. I use it with my newly-acquired Fit 5 watch.

Looking at the app information, I see that it generates hundreds of megabytes of data. What is this exactly? I've only got three workouts logged on the app. This is not cache data.

Initially, I thought this data might be left over after the firmware update of the new watch. So I deleted the app data (330mb) and logged in with a clean restart.

Just a couple of days later, I find that the app data has gone right back up again and is now at 358mb.

This data increases every day and I don't know how to limit it or what it is. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

At 60, I find rucking (walking with a weighted pack) to be an ideal form of exercise. It combines cardio with loading.

I used to do a lot of running in previous decades, but now my priorities have changed. Muscles loss is now a main concern, and rucking maintains this better, along with bone density. It also has lower injury rates than running.

Running is good, of course. But all the really good distance runners are skinny for a reason. A lot of upper body muscle is just dead weight when running, and so it tends to disappear when running a lot. That's fine when relatively young, but I can see the drawbacks of that for someone my age.

Rucking is not expensive either. Although there are special rucksacks and weight plates for the dedicated, it's easy to improvise. I just have an ordinary hiking day pack. Into that I put a few large stones, wrapped in a plastic bag. The bag is wrapped up in a thick towel. That's it!

What amount of weight to use? It's recommended to start with 10% of body weight, then — after some time to let the body adapt — to go up to 15% or so. Too much heavy loading, especially at first, could lead to injuries such as tendonitis. The body has to get used to the load.

I add to the exercise by using a couple of Nordic walking poles. Rucking + Nordic is the best whole-body exercise I have ever come across. I supplement it with stretching, some bodyweight exercises and some weights.

As for where to walk, I have woodland trails near where I live and so I use those. I make a point of including uphill and downhill sections on my daily rucking walk, for maximum variety in intensity.

There is a subreddit r/rucking, for those who want to find out more. If you're looking for a low-injury form of exercise suitable for seniors, this is something you could well consider.