Getting off the couch

[podex101]

After leaving the military on 2006, I have tried to stay in shape because of my grand-kids and just because the human body needs to be active.
I am 58 years old and I have PTSD, high cholesterol and I cannot sleep.
I was prescribed Amitriptyline for sleep, it had two serious side effects; better than Viagra (but it would knock you out and sleep for a bout 6 hours straight) and the second one was that the morning after I was a total ass-hole.
I was also prescribed Zoloft for my PTSD, so between being an ass-hole and feeling like a zombie it was a no brainer and decided to quit both.
My daily routine was; Wake up, go to work, come home, work out to the point of exhaustion, eat, go to sleep at about 11pm, wake up at 2:30am, read a book or watch the news, go back to sleep at 4;30am, wake up at 5:30am to make coffee and start my day.
I had been to a few doctors asking for treatment for my sleep but all of them were more interested in prescribing me hard core drugs to make me sleep at night. I agreed to get them but never took them. I have a full closet of medications.
The only constant element throughout my sleeping and PTSD struggles was the physical training. I was divorced from my unfaithful first wife and remarried to a very intelligent and amazing new young wife 20 years apart.
Several years ago, my young wife told me about the sleeping benefits of THC.
Now I smoke CBD pens at night (small amounts), sometimes I have an edible and I can sleep for 5 hours straight. Not even getting up to pee.
PTSD dealing factor after CBD....... It makes me more tolerable towards people. I avoid people, I don't like people outside my inner circle which consist of my family and two friends with the same issues I have. Both friends have been to combat, both friends understand what those experiences do to the mind and body. Their wives also understand and help us along the way to recovery and acceptance.
Still I am doing the physical training I was taught in the US Army and understand that your body can do more.
I am retired and driving my young wife crazy as I stay at home 24/7.

I started doing CrossFit about 7 years ago. In all of my travels I have been able to meet people with the same mentality towards physical training (PT) and as such adapt the concepts to my old body.

My yearly culmination of physical success is on Memorial Day; I do The Murph under an hour.
I workout 3-4 times a week not to time limits nor the amount of repetitions, I set goals in calories burnt.
Thanks to an Apple Watch I can track the amount of calories burnt.
Easy day consists of 300 calories.
Hard day (once every two weeks) consists on burning 800 calories. A few weeks ago I was able to push myself for 85+ minutes to 900 calories.

I am going to be posting my workouts if any of you decide to try it out.

JUST FREAKING MOVE!!!!!

If you just started, go for a mile walk three times this week, then the following week you do a mile and add five push ups after 1/4 of a mile, then you add more easy stuff like touching your toes, like mountain climbers, etc.

JUST FREAKING MOVE.

Thanks again for letting me vent.

RC.

[mitch96]

1. "JUST FREAKING MOVE" Amen to that, As my old man said....

You have to bop till you drop... Gym rat,work out feind all my life. No so much as sports but resistance training and running. At my age things are a lot slower. My body is beat up and things don't go to plan. Roto Scoliosis and a few herniated disks now have me walking instead of running. I have an inversion table that helps stretch and align the spine.
Still go to the gym (I'm 73) but take it easy. I've done Yoga and stretching exercises most of my life and watch what I eat. I feel better when I mostly eat vegetables and have been eating that way for 50 yrs. If it ain't broke don't fix it, right?..
I'm always "tweaking" the work outs and diet.
I applaud you for your perseverance and grit to make things work for you.
We will never be what we use to be but we can be the best we are RIGHT NOW❗️
m

[mitch96]

2. BTW welcome to the crew. Good bunch. Some you love some you don't and they all mean well.nt

[Beatlelvr]

3. Thank you so much for this!

I'm 70 (god, that was hard to write) and was an avid walker and hiker. Did jazzercise 3 times a week. Lately all that went away while caring for eldery mother. And the local YMCA was closed which didn't help either. Lately my leg muscles are starting to atrophe or something. We have full time caregiver now so I have no excuses but OMG it's hard to get started. Just got a nice long yoga mat from Amazon (I'm 5-10) and found a morning stretch routine online.
Recently traveled to Europe. A 75 yr old man in the group does a 30 min stretch routine every morning and you should have seen him going up and down the roads to castles and around the lakes we visited.
I'm convinced! It's the getting started and committing to a routine that's the hardest for me. Going to start also with low impact class at Y.

[multigraincracker]

5. That 'keep moving' is the trick.

I retired 20 years ago and I now run 3 or 4 times a week. 4 to 8 miles, not record breaking, but steady. Got a pacemaker a year ago and have kept it up and even going faster now.
Had a couple of friends my age that retired early too, but laid around and watched tv. They are all dead now.
Put on the head phones and get into the zone. Best thing for depression. I was in the hospital for a breakdown, 30 years ago. All of the meds I was on back then gave me tremors I still have. Now I just keep moving.
Best of luck to you. Welcome aboard.

I was smoking 2 puffs before bedtime. Now I boil a very small bud and then make herbal tea with the water and found that helps with the sleep.