My gym holds an Ultimate Fitness Challenge twice a year. I’ve done it a few times over the years. The first time the challenge was held, the age groups were a bit different, so I was in with all women 40 and older. I came in dead last. The age brackets changed after that and now I compete in the 50 and Over challenge. After the first challenge, I trained like crazy and came in first though the age range had changed by then. Still, it felt great to win.  I also compare my time with what others do in their age bracket. Even though the weights or reps are slightly different, I think time is a good measure.

Diane from our podcast is in such great shape that she moves down an age level and participates in the 30 to 49 group. I haven’t gotten there yet but maybe I should try that.

I won last fall’s challenge too but that was because nobody else participated. Don’t get me wrong, I did a good job but still, there was no competition from women in my age group.  After that challenge, one of the women at the gym said that I inspired her and that she would join the competition. She participated this time and found that it was really hard to do the whole challenge. Even though she had trained, she hadn’t necessarily trained to move from one activity to the next. I told her my story, of being last and then training and getting better so I hope she’ll do it again.

The spring challenge was held this past Saturday. I was reluctant to sign up because I’d been sick this spring and I’ve been dealing with problems with my Achilles tendon and felt unprepared. Others convinced me to do it again, so I registered for the challenge.

I’m happy to say that I did it and was only 19 seconds slower than last fall when I was in much better training shape.  I felt proud of that because I really thought I’d not do well.

Ultimate Fitness Challenge Exercise List

Interested in what we did? Here’s a list of the exercises and the weights or reps for my category of women 50 and Over:

• 

  Starting Line

  Run 400 meters. The secret to this is not to burn yourself out running.

• Dumbbell Farmer’s Carry: 80 yards with 25 pound dumbbells (one in each hand so total of 50 pounds)
  

  Farmer’s Carry

• Push press: 35 pound bar and 20 reps
  

  Push Press

• Deadlift: 35 pound bar and 20 reps
• Sandbag squats: 40 pound sandbag that you have to get onto your shoulders and do 15 squats.
  

  Sandbag Squat

• Lateral burpees: 15 reps. Really, these are hellish.
  

  Lateral Burpees

• Tire Flips: 5 flips. It’s probably obvious that the tire is heavy.
  

  Tire Flip

• Prowler Push: This is a sled that you push. Push it for 80 yards with 70 pounds of plates added to it.
  

  Prowler Push

• Medicine Ball Slam & Throw: 20 pound ball for 80 yards.
  

  Medicine Ball Slam & Throw

• Sprint: 120 yards shuttle

I did it in 12 minutes 21 seconds, which was not too much slower than last fall’s time.

Why I Participate

These competitions are a lot of fun and it’s great to see the people I know from the gym putting their skills to the test. It really gets exciting when outsiders join us. You don’t have to be a gym member to participate. It’s great when some others join in.

One thing I like about this challenge is that it’s a combination of both cardio and strength. Some of the trainers do a lot of weight lifting but not so much cardio and they’re wiped out at the end. Of course, just getting the sandbag from the ground to your shoulders is a challenge if you don’t do strength training.

The benefit of doing a competition like this is that I get to see how I’m doing with my workouts. It’s certainly motivational to be registered for it and to know that others are going to be watching.

Sometimes I feel weird because there are lots of women over 50 at my gym but there’s only one or two competitors each time. I wish more would sign up for it. On the other hand, I feel like a bad a$$ when I walk back into the locker room with my prize money in my hand.

It’s the end of the day. Your work is over. You’ve done your workout. You maybe even have all of your steps. Time to relax. What do you do? First, turn off the TV and then consider some of these ideas. Here’s a list of fun things to do. Many of these can be done alone or with a friend or family member.

Fun Things to Do

Go to a movie.

Read a book.

Color in an adult coloring book.

Read poetry.

Write poetry.

Read a magazine or a blog.

Meditate.

Make a cup of tea and enjoy a piece of dark chocolate. Savor it.

Knit or crochet. I like to make dish cloths. Fast, easy, and make good presents.

Go for a stroll in your neighborhood or a park.

Write a short story.

Ride your bike.

Go on a hike.

Call a friend just to chat.

Write a screenplay.

Learn to draw.

Paint a picture.

Make bead jewelry.

Play some lively music and dance.

Take up gardening. Spend an evening planting or weeding.

Check out local events at your library or community center.

Attend a free concert in the area.

Join a meet up group.

Go to a wine tasting.

Have a beer at a local brewery.

Take a cooking class.

Organize a closet or a drawer.

Write a letter. Yes, a handwritten note and then put in an envelope with a stamp and mail it.

Take a course.

Listen to an audio book or podcast. Pick a subject you don’t normally listen to.

Print photos from your phone or send the photos online to a local drug store for printing. Pick them up the next day and then put them in a photo album or in a frame.

Grab a camera and take pictures of your neighborhood.

Make a photo book.

Write in a journal.

Play music or learn to play an instrument.

Have a spa night at home: soak in a tub or soak your feet and then give yourself a mani-pedi.

Enjoy Yourself

Give yourself a facial.

Create a list of all the things you still want to do with your life.

Get a massage.

Learn reiki and use it on yourself.

Work on your family tree.

Attend a yoga class.

Attend a religious service.

Go to bed early.

Please feel free to comment on which of these sound good to you or add to the list with your own ideas of fun things to do.

There’s lots of talk about people dieting, losing weight, and then gaining the weight back. There was the Biggest Loser study that was released last year that I think made a lot of people feel like why should they bother trying to be a healthy weight. But, I think we can ignore the Biggest Loser because most of us (all of us?) are not losing weight by starving ourselves and working out at a high intensity for 8 hours each day. So, we lose weight more slowly and I think that means we can manage to maintain weight loss.

Also, even if you don’t lose weight, for most of us, it’s a reasonable goal not to gain weight.

So how do we maintain our current weight?

1. Have a plan. You lost weight by planning what you ate and how you exercised. When you’ve reached that long-awaited goal, you still need a plan. One thing we all know by the time we’re in our 50’s is that the unexpected happens more often than we might like. If you know how you eat and behave while maintaining your weight, it helps when the those unexpected events occur.
2. Continue to eat in a healthy fashion. Hopefully, you didn’t lose weight by following some restrictive diet that you can’t wait to abandon. People often lose weight and then say “hey, I can go off my diet” and resume their old eating habits. What got you overweight is pretty much guaranteed to get you back to where you were. So you have to continue to pay attention to what you eat.
3. Exercise Often. It’s difficult to lose weight through exercise but you can use exercise to help you maintain your weight. You want to maintain or increase your muscle to help keep your metabolism working properly. I think you can do what you like but make sure you’re challenging yourself. So, you need to do more than just stroll about your neighborhood, though I confess I like strolling about my neighborhood. You just have to add in something a bit more challenging.
4. Pay attention to your weight. Chris just posted about her habit of weighing herself every day. You need to understand that your weight will fluctuate but if you start to gain, you need to focus on your goals. I think people do this through using the scale or trying on a particular item of clothing (like those small jeans you bought to celebrate your weight loss!) Give yourself a range and don’t fret if you’re within that range. It’s when the weight begins to creep over it that you need to act.
5. Find some friends or group to help you maintain your weight. Having a workout partner can make exercising easier to do. Friends with similar goals can make it easier to maintain your eating habits. Ask for help when you need it. We all need help at different times. I find that brainstorming with others on solutions to their challenges often helps me with mine. Don’t forget to look to your family for support. There’s perhaps a husband or significant other who can participate with you. Sometimes an adult child is a great help.

I’m sure there are other good strategies for maintaining weight loss. Share what works for you. That’s part of supporting each other, isn’t it?