As we age, there is a need to be active because muscle mass is significantly decreased and exercise helps us to regain it. The 50 and above age group needs to move as it not only helps to keep the brain sharp, it could also prevent and control illnesses like heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis.
Fitness professionals are unanimous in saying that walking is the simplest and most effective form of exercise for us nearing antiquity and what we all need are durable and comfortable sneakers, sweat pants or shorts and sweat absorbing shirts. Walking is an aerobic activity that burns calories and elevates our heart rate, makes us breathe harder thus improving our endurance. It strengthens muscles in our lower bodies and helps us fight bone diseases.
Without knowing it, dancing is fun way of exercising especially if we do it with our spouses, partners, close family and friends. Just be very careful with the partner thing as it could endanger our existence, if you get what I mean. It doesn’t matter what kind of dance we’re doing, whether we’re graceful or clumsy because we move in all directions. Especially if we dance for at least an hour, it gives us more endurance, improves our balance and yes, it also tones our muscles. Dancing makes us limber as it is a kind of flexibility exercise because of the full range of movements. Just don’t dance and drink as alcohol has a high calorie and sugar content. I know of relatives who are in their late 70s and 80s very much active because they regularly go dancing.
These are low impact exercises and it is best for us 50-somethings and I would suppose that majority of us enjoy long walks and some dancing. It is gentler on our joints as there is less jumping and pounding.
We mentioned above of muscle loss as we age and if we’re up to it, and of course with our doctor’s consent, we can slowly start with strength training. With toned muscles, our bones get stronger, helps our balance and coordination. More muscles help us burn more calories even when idle. We don’t need equipment as we can do it using our body weight. Push ups and pull ups are good muscle builders but remember, our muscles need a full day’s rest to recover before we do our next workout. It is always best to warm up as cold muscles are prone to injury. 10 minutes of simple calisthenics will do the job.
But there are times when we do want to lift weights and fitness experts always advise us to take it slow and easy so our aging bodies can get used to it. They say to start with the dumbbell or barbell bar without the weight plates to perfect our form, then gradually add the plates as we progress and always check form. We should be able to do 8 to 12 repetitions comfortably. We’re having too much weight on the bar if we break form.
And too much weight could hamper breathing, making us more prone to hernia. Experts tells us not to hold our breath when lifting weights. To improve performance, they tell us to breathe out as we lift weights, breathe in when lowering it.
It is very beneficial if we train all major muscle groups – legs, core and upper body. Fitness trainers would alternate working out the upper body and lower body muscle groups or do full body workouts three times weekly. It would be awkward to see ourselves like Cartoon Network’s Johnny Bravo, he with muscled upper body but with skinny legs.
For us people in the 50 and above category, it is always a good idea to do things in moderation. We can never do the things we did 30 years ago and there’s no point in testing and challenging fate.