Better With Age
Who says you should be exercising less and becoming fitness as you age?
It’s never too late to get fit and active and adopt a healthy workout routine.
More people over 50 are getting into or remaining involved in fitness and exercise and for good reason. Whether you’re in your 20s, 40s, 60s, or somewhere else along the spectrum, fitness is for you and living a physically active life for, well...life, is completely doable and critical for your health, wellness and happiness.
You may be in your prime in your 20s and early 30s hormonal and metabolically but here’s the great fact....
Whether you were very active in the first quarter of your life, have gone in and out of sport and exercise, or have never really spent much time exercising, you WILL reap positive benefits by starting, restarting and continuing to exercise and workout.
There are so many different benefits and perks to exercising at various ages and with varying exercise experience.
The greatest factor playing a role in our loss of vitality, age-related loss of muscle mass, and diminishing wellness and fitness, and increased susceptibility to injury and illness is falling into a less active way of living as we age.
After age 30, you begin to lose as much as 3% to 5% per decade. ... Less muscle means greater weakness and less mobility, both of which may increase your risk of falls and fractures.
What too many people don’t realize is that you can limit, slow, (maybe even stop to some degree) and prevent this muscle loss as you age. By maintaining and building muscle mass you’re metabolism will also function better, you’ll be able to do more without fatiguing, and you can avoid injuries and chronic pain.
All it takes is you incorporating the following regularly...:
• Strength and Weight Training especially weight bearing exercise
• Leisure time physical activity including walking and movement plus stretching and flexibility
We have no one to blame but ourselves in most of these cases. Just because you’re getting older does NOT mean you should be less active and fit. But only 1 in 4 people between 65 and 74 regularly exercise.
So it’s not aging that makes us prone to having problems as we get older. It’s inactivity.
We have the power to remain fit and active, prioritize exercise and working out, walking, moving and taking care of our bodies.
Exercise and fitness has all these amazing benefits:
Increases lifespan
Ease symptoms of chronic conditions
Maintain strength and balance
Prevent falls
Reduce risk of heart attack and stroke
Maintain and improve bone density
Reduces risk of dimentia, memory, and other brain and mental health conditions
Prevent or delay disease
Boosted confidence and independence Weight management
Improved mood
Incresed energy and stamina
Better sleep and relaxation
Healthy joints, muscle, and skin
Boost sex drive, improve libido
The best part, the benefits of exercise and working out increase even if you’re brand new to exercise such as adding years to your lifespan or seeing body change and fat loss! In fact, some individuals may actually see quicker results (increased muscle mass, decreased weight and fat) if they’re new to training versus seasoned athletes!
Stop waiting until your life gets easier.
Start shifting your mindset to seek various ways to stay fit, moving, active, and exercising to maintain your metabolism, muscle and wellbeing.
Have you fallen off the exercise wagon and aren’t currently partaking in regular exercise? No need to worry! It’s time to just start and decide to begin with taking an action no matter how small and insignificant it may feel.
Make your goal be consistency...
.
For example, choose 3-4 days to show up to the gym and do a 30 minute total body workout each week for a month until it becomes routine and habit. Then start adjusting the details and length of your workout. Simply showing up is a huge start.
Another way to get started? Commit to taking a walk at a set time each day. Schedule it in, then act and follow through. Whether you get out for 10 minutes or 60 minutes simply stepping outside to initiate the act is going to curb the intertia you may be having.
Of course, you can hire a trainer or coach which serves as accountability and an ongoing appointment to yourself and someone else to keep you on track. Plus, an expert to help you with the what and how of exercise and fitness, which may feel very overwhelming if you’ve not worked out in a while or at all.
There are various options for getting the accountability and support you need. One on one personal training is great, but it adds up. A popular and ever growing alternative to 1-1 PT is Group Training. GT is different from group fitness as the groups are smaller, focus remains on individual group needs, and you get more..training versus a fitness routine led by the instructor doing it with you at the front of class.
Group Training allows you to train at prime times and save money in your wallet versus 1-1 personal training.
Another alternative which is time and cost effective and self-directed is online coaching programs. One on one is going to get you a lot more personal time with your coach, individual direction, and ongoing check ins for accountability.
Group Coaching and Online Subscription Memberships are the rage though. They offer the perks of coaching and training at your fingertips, group community support, and variable amounts of time with the coach/trainer. You may also choose to add on more 1-1 time on an ‘a la carte’ basis as you need as well.
Online programs let you lead the way and give you the no excuses, just empowerment feel to reach your goals and do it anywhere.
Rachel