Look After Your Legs

[NoisySnail]

I was in a cafe today and over heard an elderly woman talking to younger friends about getting older. She said the best advice she could give is to look after your legs as they are so important for mobility. But annoyingly she did not explain what she meant by this, and I could hardly ask!

So does anyone know how we can look after our legs?

@NoisySnail squats and split squats - bodyweight, pistol (assisted if you need) barbell squats, kettlebell squats, using the smith machine, belt squat if your gym has one

walking lunges - either body weight or weighted with dumbbells, barbell or a weight bag

leg extension machine is mega for developing quad strength

progressive overload is key, basically making sure you are consistently over time increasing the weight, or the number of reps - you can also achieve this by slowing down the whole movement

but make sure you are also working your glutes as dominant quads with lazy glutes can cause back issues over time

For me I would interpret this as taking care of your knees! Building up the strength around your knees to help with stability and reduce injury risk. A visit to a good physiotherapist will give you some super simple exercises to keep your knees in tip top condition!

How is that helpful?
There are always people fitter than you at any age.

You can start doing in a sitting squat. Sit down on dining chair with your bum sticking out. And get up . 3 sets of 10 if you can. Slow controlled movement.
Build up to not touching the chair. And removing the chair once you are confident. You can look online but this should help strengthen your quads if they are very weak.
After you can progress to single.leg ones, etc. Look up lower body and streghning exercises.

Not everyone at a gym is ultra fit
I have fibro, sciatica, arthritis, hashimotos thyroiditis, parathyroid disease which leeches my bones of calcium and a bowl problem that causes malabsorption of vitamins/minerals....... But not attending isn't an option either
Age 30 I had to walk with the aid of a walking stick and could barely make it across the length of a room
I was absolutely miserable and constantly in pain
I asked for a physio referral and ended up with two. One for knees and one for ankles
Hypermobility had my ankles falling inwards taking my knees with it causing multiple issues so I ended up with orthotics.
You know what helped alongside physio?
Building up the muscles in my legs and butt to help support my joints and take some of the pressure off
I'm prescribed pain meds, I take them before I go and then several times afterwards because yes it hurts but over time the pain on rest days (I just walk on rest days) is a lot lower level so I can cope
I sat in the cafe today next to the tables of 15 of the older gym clientele who moved better than I did in my 30's who were prescribed the gym (my council has a move more initiative linked to physio's) and have turned round their mobility and pain by attending the gym 2 or 3 times a week

If you book with a council gym (private ones might be the same) they can help you sort a programme of exercises specific to your needs, ours will change the programme monthly based on how you ability changes, they were great with getting me going and now for developing my lifting and have been fantastic with my 18 year old too who has cerebral palsy along with other disabilities

Book to see your GP and see if they have a referral scheme to help you

I'm nearly 67 now. I look on things as well... "what can I do without help"

I moved a small dining room table from the dining room out the patio doors onto the patio by myself. Rocked and pushed then lifted it. No problem.

I shop when out walking. I carry up to ten or more kilos of stuff (I use the suitcase weigher thinngy to check if it's particularly heavy to me) in a backpack no problem.

I dig the borders, rake them, plant flowers without using a kneeler, I just bend over. No backaches YET...

I walk at least 4 mostly 6 km per day except Sunday, with the full backpack on the way home.

I have no arthritic joints at all. (YET). I am very fortunate, so I use what I have. Gyms, squats and anything like that is not for me. I get so bored I'd give up after ten seconds.

What I do is not really planned, it is just part of my daily routine and I don't really think of it as exercise either. I probably should do more, but it'll do for now. Oh and even with a DS loo I go up and down the stairs 90% of the time, unless it is a VERY urgent call of nature lol.

I still can't figure out how to get up off the bloody floor without using my hands. WTAF! How...... I'm baffled. If you tell me I have to do contortions forget it. I'll use the alert on my phone if injured, otherwise I'll use my flipping hands OK?

@quizzys sit cross legged on the floor, then push yourself up with your legs.

I can do it both sides, am 48. It is quite hard tho !

I'm an adult social worker, and I work out of a rehab centre. Regaining and retaining mobility is my literal day job!

I recommend:

Plank for core stability - start on elbows and knees, or hands and knees and work up. Start with 10seconds, and work up.

Core stability is so important for so much, balance, pelvic floor, back strength etc. you don't need to start off with full plank for 3 minutes, just anything you can do. It will also help with sciatica.

If doing a plank is beyond you, then stand straight, tuck your bum in and tense your abdominals then purse your lips and blow out like you are blowing up a balloon. Ideally actually buy some balloons and use those- the force is greater and strengthens the core muscles more.

Reverse lunges to build leg strength and knee mobility - hold onto a chair if you need to, and again, do what you can and work up.

2 to 4 times daily get up off your knees or bottom without using your hands. If you can't do that yet, then do it off a chair. If you can't yet do that try using one hand, then a finger and build up.

Use stairs wherever possible and walk when possible. Get some weights you can walk with as well.

I also recommend working on hip flexors - Google a few exercises.

Increase your mobility, muscle mass and bone density if you can, and do your very best to retain it if you can't.

Yoga and Pilates is where you need your start. There's a guy on YouTube called Travis Elliot who does a gentle style of yoga suitable for all ages.

Such a helpful thread, thanks all.

Amazing thread. Glad to see I'm not the only one with newly moisturised legs and feet this evening 😅

It’s the same as saying don’t work out for your summer body work out for your old lady body

I can get off the floor without using my hands but only with uncrossed legs. Crossed seems impossible!

2 to 4 times daily get up off your knees or bottom without using your hands A good tip is always to sit down on the floor when you put shoes on as it forces you to get up and down.

Should you balance on one foot with shoes on or off?

She should also have added - AND feet.
The first major loss in elderly life is loss of your driving licence.
The second - by far the biggest loss - is loss of self-mobility.
And falls are the biggest killer for the elderly.
Keep your weight normal - or the stress on your joints will put you straight into a wheelchair. And trust me the frustrations of not going to be able to go to the toilet or shower or dress easily, will be day-in, day-out frustrations.
People are far happier if they can use a walker rather than straight-to-wheelchair.
AND ALSO look after your feet.
Wear proper comfortable shoes or go bare-footed where possible.
You don't want bunions or twisted toes, because they affect balance.
You don't need to go to extremes - just keep a normal weight and stay active. Don't wear out your joints.
If you like a weekly swim, personally I don't, but so much the better.
But if you don't use it, you lose it. Stay active and walking. Every single day.

Dynamic mobility not just strength is really helpful for legs and knees. Exercises with a mini trampoline or exercises with a gym ball all help to increase range of movement and balance as well as strength.

I do my feet every night before bed
Foot cream, hand cream, light off
Podiatrist said I had no hard skin and looked very disappointed she was "EVERY night?!"

This is so true. A couple of years ago my mum used to pride herself on how fit and active she was, it was really important to her. Then she picked up what was originally quite a minor knee injury. Quit her walking group. Didn’t do the exercises the physio gave her. Now she can’t even stand straight, her lower body is completely twisted because she has avoided putting any weight on the injured knee for so long. And I can’t see what will change to improve it for her. She’s convinced she needs surgery, but I don’t think she realises how long the recovery time would be, and that she’d need to do some kind of physio there as well for it to work. It’s very sad to watch, but quite frustrating as well.

I didn't know that. Good tip.

Look up hergardengym on Instagram, amazing woman in her 60s with loads of tips and info. I love her!

How do you do this? I’m getting worried about my knees. I’m in pretty good shape, eat healthily, keep my weight down, etc, but my knees are causing me discomfort, even pain - especially at night. They make a sort of crunching sound as I walk upstairs as well. I often go for jogs, but nothing dramatic - just a gentle couple of miles. I’m 47.

No contortions. If you're sitting on the floor, roll your weight onto your knees. Then put one foot on the floor, put your weight on it, then the other, and you're standing. No hands.

I can't do that thing of standing directly from cross-legged. That takes real power and my ankles are too weak.

If you need strong ankles that explains why I can not do it. I broke my ankle and gad several bad sprains. Even though I did lots of physio my ankle has never been that strong.