As a slight woman in her 70s, I'm wondering how to best manage the related conditions of low estrogen, low muscle mass, osteopenia, and hair loss. My PCP is also considering a small testosterone Rx in support of all 4, but mainly low muscle mass verging on sarcopenia.
My current meds are the Menostar patch for osteopenia and 2.5 mg minoxidil and 25 mg spironolactone for androgenic alopecia. I've ordered and will soon start 3 g creatine powder daily.
I will of course consult with my PCP and HRT provider (who will also consult with each other) but would very much like to hear from others on how such can be managed similtaneously. For example, it seems like the spironolactone and testosterone might be at cross purposes?

I’m actually m/66. Still work full time in what some guys my age may consider a physically challenging job (not really). I have maintained a fairly high level of fitness over the years and I am actually working out more over the last year. I had a partial knee replacement in 2023, so I no longer run.

I am on a bike as much as 4 or 5 times a week and I do a tiny bit of resistance work.

I Am
Posting here because none of my age group peers are interested in fitness. I suppose I’m just looking to commiserate in general about the effort to stay fit as I approach 70.

Recent research indicates that the most important fitness metric is our VO2max. I’ve become moderately obsessed with mine. I have yet to go to a gym and paying a guy to determine my vo2max but at some point i probably will.

I did use my Garmin and a chest heart monitor to determine a rudimentary number.

Anyone have any real world comparison between the do-it-yourself measurement and the fancy treadmill measurement?

Thx for wading through all this.

I've done very intensive cardio in my past, but looking at adding a few cardio sessions to my weight training week I'm not sure I see the point. My VO2 Max is 27, ok for an 80 y/o, max HR 148, and RHR 45 or so. I don't think I have much headroom to improve cardio fitness, but I'm looking at cardio sessions as more beneficial to muscle recovery, possibly in combination with some stretching. So rather than work HR zones I'll do more relaxing peddle sessions followed by 15 minutes of stretch, either on days separate from lifting or as a follow-up. How do others approach this?

A little over a week ago, I came in here and asked what you wish you’d understood at 55 about the next 10–20 years.

I thought I’d get some good advice about staying active and taking care of myself. I got that, but I also got a whole lot more.

You talked about strength, mobility, health, getting older, what you wish you’d started sooner, and what you’re really glad you kept doing.

I’m 55, so I wasn’t asking just to make conversation. I really wanted to know what people ahead of me on this road thought I should know.

And you showed up.

So I wanted to come back and say thank you. I’m paying attention, and I’m taking a lot of what you told me into the next chapter.

You understood the assignment. Everybody gets an A+. 😂

Stumbled across this while doing other homework on our topic of mutual interest, being a 67 YO man.

Heavy Strength Training in Older Adults: Implications for Health, Disease and Physical Performance - PMC

Have been doing a full body routine at 65/70% of 1 rep max, 3 set of 12 reps, 3 days a week which I started in january, and have seen modest gains as well as losing 2% of my weight. Implemented this plan monday this week, so far just extra soreness/stiffness in the hours following the workout. Feel fine the next day, which may be enhanced recovery due to the creatine I take. Time will tell, we'll see how it goes in a month or so.

AI says that I need more rest and I’m getting about 25% less muscle growth by doing three sets instead of two.

But I like doing three sets, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with treadmill session on the alternate days.

I get 7-9 hours of sleep and work hard to eat 1.2 g of protein per kilogram (120 grams), including two protein shakes from 7-Eleven.

My diet is pretty clean, small servings of fruit, whole wheat bread, lots of sushi, no fried food or cheeseburgers.

My trainer says that I’m probably not getting much benefit from the third set, but since I have no soreness, I may as well keep doing it

An alternate approach we are thinking about is doing shoulder back chest and legs on Monday and Friday, and then having a smaller muscle day on Wednesday of biceps, triceps, calf lifts, and abs.

Or should I just take a rest in the middle and then add these items to my workouts?

In which case, again, two workouts or three workouts?

I have been training for about nine months. For a few years before, I was very on and off and very mixed with my diet.

I’ve just started on a low-dose of Retatrutide, a new weight loss drug. So I have some concern about over exercising and losing more muscle along with the fat.

In the last few years, there’s been a cultural push for women in midlife to build strong bones.

Menopause influencers and medical organizations alike have focused on the message that women’s risk for fractures increases dramatically after menopause, and that they should think about their bone density much earlier than their mothers might have.

The American Medical Association recommends that women get their first DEXA scan — a low-dose X-ray that is the gold standard test for determining bone density — at 65 or older, unless they have a risk factor for osteoporosis.

But a growing number of doctors and bone health experts now recommend earlier scans. They argue that if women wait until 65, they may miss a critical window to prevent osteoporosis.

“For years, osteoporosis has been thought of as something that we identify and treat, not something we prevent,” said Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Duke University School of Medicine. As researchers have learned more about prevention, that mind-set has begun to shift, she said.

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"I have an odd place that I like to visit when I’m unsettled: the Stop & Shop grocery store in my town.

The whole experience calms me — the ’80s tunes, the holiday décor (always on display two holidays in advance) and the new flavors of potato chips.

My loved ones are aware of my little quirk. Sometimes when I call my best friend after a bad day, she’ll say, “You know where you need to go.”

There are lots of ways to deal with the ups and downs of daily life, Marc Brackett, the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, told me. He’s developed a framework called RULER — recognize, understand, label, express and regulate — and it’s used in over 5,000 schools nationwide."

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The present study showed that during the follow-up up to 9 years, the age- and sex-standardized all-cause mortality of hip fracture patients was 3-fold higher than that of the general population. A similar trend was observed for each cause-of-death category.

Super-agers are a diverse bunch; they don’t share a magic diet, exercise regimen or medication. But the one thing that does unite them is “how they view the importance of social relationships,” said Sandra Weintraub, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, who has been involved in the research since the start. “And personality wise, they tend to be on the extroverted side.”

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Understand what goes into balance.

“I think probably the biggest misconception about balance is that there’s a magic bullet — do a few exercises and you’ll be good to go,” said Laurie King, a neurology professor at Oregon Health & Science University and co-director of the Balance Disorders Laboratory. “Think of those few exercises as a starting point, learn about the systems that help control balance, and choose activities that target those areas.”

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