I just seen this Dmoates, appologise. Keep the body in motion that's all that's important.

To MichaelS and Bob50: Thanks for the advice. You are both on target - age 74 this coming Thursday and with some dings and dents in my armor DBs are not he way to go, and thank yous to both you guys f0r pointing that out. I've got bands and rubber cables and that, Greg Mangan's book and SF will see me through. MichaelS, you caught me - I'm the Stckman - years of hockey (and lifting/training) were my first love. So I'll get my hockey jones off the TV and my workouts with SR, contrctions and cables. Thnks again guys.

That's all that is important. If it works for You that's great. Good advice.

Agree, Michael. But if we have chronic problems with our joints/spine, it would be better to avoid their overloading with weightlifting or any external resistance. At least for me, it works.

Yes they are good too Bob. I think all exercise types are good. I'm a firm believer that it's not the exercise that causes injuries. It's the practioner himself. Whether it's bad form, to much weight, or whatever. That's why I asked if anyone used dumbbells and what they did with them. Nothing wrong with any type of exercise in my opinion. It's all in what you like.

Ddmoates

DVR/VTR/co-contraction exercises are really effective for older people . These exercise are safe for our joints and spine but allow us to gain strength and muscle mass needed for our regular life and self defense. However, these exercises require deeper coordination of our mind and body to get real positive results. This coordination also has own great benefits. So, I agree with Michael that dumbells is not the best choice if you have some joint problems. Try DVR/VTR.

Dmoates correct me if I'm wrong, you're Stickman from the old board? If I'm wrong I appologise. For you I would not recommend DBs unless they were light, like 5-10 lbs. Don't take that as a knock. I personally believe light dumbbells with higher reps would help some people's shoulders.

I'm no doctor so ask your doctor first. Honestly, I use rubber cables to rehab my separated shoulder. Another thing that helped was hanging from a bar everyday. Also you have isometrics. So there is always more than one way to skin a cat.

Greg, been thinking about getting a pair of DBs. Haven't so far, becaue of bad left shoulder, but what with shoulder feeling better ... who knows? Nothing heavy, maybe an adjustable DB w/plates up to 45 lbs. One of my "greatest" lifting moments came s a sknny 150 lbs.high school senior when I pressed a 90 lb. DB overhead righthanded and an 85 pounder overhead with my left. Not strict, big time lean, but still - they were overhead. Had soft spot for DBs in he 56 years ever since.

I still have an adjustable pair up to 65 pounds and an adjustable bench. Occasionally I'll do a few workouts, intending to work out a few weeks with them, but it doesn't last long. I always go back to the bodyweight and self resistance. That is just me though. I always goe back to the story of Steve Reeves using a 50 lb pair to train for his movies in Europe. I think I always go back because I can do more conditioning with bodyweight and self-resistance.