Sam Bauman: New exercise routine is something to look forward to

Seniors who read this space already have a modest knowledge of my regular and faithful morning workout schedule — 90 minutes or so of running in place, weight lifting, wearing weights on my ankles and so on.

The routine is a gift from several expert helpers who put it together over the years. But as time aged me, I got more and more bored with it. Searching for something to add and different I came across the concept of aerobic exercise, which can be contrasted with anaerobic exercise, of which strength training and short-distance running are examples. Aerobic is where one does continuous exercise for a set period of time — no breaks, no slowing down.

My apartment includes an exercise room (I’m the only one who ever uses it) with stationary bike, stair steppers and a treadmill. So I started the aero routine, 10 minutes at first then up to 20 minutes, rotating from one machine to another. I tried reading the newspaper while doing this but that was too clumsy. So I just pedal away or walk the treadmill and use the stair steppers.

I’m lucky the exercise room is just a 150-foot-long corridor from my apartment. I do the aero four times a week, using a shorter version of my old routine with it. At first it was work but the longer I run the more fun and satisfying it becomes. I actually enjoy the 20 minutes, something I can’t say for the old system.

I asked a pro trainer at the new “Create” gym on Carson Street if 20 minutes was enough to be meaningful. “How old are you?” he asked. I fessed up to 88 and he said, “Does it hurt?”

“Nope,” I replied.

“Well, just keep doing it all. Why do you do it?” “I want to be able to continue to ski.”

Some seniors may want to try the aerobic system.

“Passengers” film sci-fi for seniors

Editor’s note: Information in the following movie review is from http://www.edmovieguide.com/movies/passengers/118486/.

Seniors who have patience and time for sci-fi films may well enjoy the movie ”Passengers,” playing at Carson City’s Galaxy cinema. Two stars head the cast — Jennifer Lawrence in classic cameo beauty, and Chris Pratt of square-jaw fame. Not a lot of other actors involved, but there’s plenty of computer generated images.

The Starship Avalon is a giant spaceship on a 120-year voyage to a distant planet known as Homestead Colony. On board are 5,259 people, suspended in time in sleep capsules. A malfunction and a hibernation pod opens 90 years early, leaving a single passenger, Jim Preston (Pratt), the only one awake on the ship.

What’s going on is the Avalon took damage crossing an asteroid field, which caused Jim’s pod to short-circuit, waking him 90 years early.

But not completely alone: The ship’s lounge features a cheery robot bartender who’s named Arthur and played with charm by Michael Sheen.

I’d like to offer a brief digression here to point out none of this makes a lick of sense.

When Jim is at a low ebb, he happens to gaze into the pod of one of his fellow passengers and sees a pretty blonde named Aurora Lane (Lawrence). Ever more convinced Aurora is his dream girl, Jim agonizes over whether or not he should wake her. Jim eventually does so. At first, Jim conceals what he did from Aurora, and the two begin to fall in love.

“Passengers” ultimately does little with its initial premise.

Sam Bauman writes about senior affairs, among other things, for the Nevada Appeal.