How To Exercise As You Age

It is never too late to start exercising but most of us, unless actively involved in sport, don’t really bother until we see or feel the signs that our bodies are deteriorating.  Research shows that men and women lose more than five pounds of muscle every decade of life due to disuse (Evans and Rosenberg 1992).  So, if you gain an average of 10 pounds a decade while losing 5 pounds in muscle mass, you are gaining 15 pounds of fat every decade.

All that fat has great negative impacts on your heart health, your metabolism, your endurance, and your ability to turn it around.

So it is simply not good enough to think that a weekend round of golf, an hour of tennis, or a brisk walk to the office each morning will keep a trim body.  Everyone needs to retain muscle mass through strength training.  No matter how you feel about resistance bands, dumbbells, or weight machines, building muscle provides overall tone, increased metabolism, maintained or improved bone density, more energy, and overall better health.

How do some people seem to stay young and fit while others seemingly age faster than their years?

Genes does play a role, but a large part of staying young is the determination not to let age get the best of them.  If you haven’t started a good exercise regime by your early thirties, it is going to be increasingly difficult to retain good body health and vitality.

But it is never too late to start!  Whether you are playing catch up or are still young and want to stay that way, build and follow a good exercise program with some emphasis on muscle building and strength improvement.  If you are already in your fifties, sixties, or seventies and haven’t been exercising, be sure to take it slow and pay attention to how you feel during your training.

The determination to do something about your health is the first step.  Now, devise your own training program or take the advice of a qualified professional and get started.

Most importantly, create a training program that you can stick to and have the tenacity to keep it up regularly.  Use your common sense of when to move up to higher levels of activity and you progress and enjoy the results!


Your 30s

● You will begin to lose muscle tone and gain fat.

● Start strength or resistance training and work up to fairly intensive aerobic activities to maintain overall health.


Your 40s

● Your hormone levels begin to decrease and the effects of being sedentary in your thirties will start to accelerate.

< class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">● A combination of aerobic and strength training (e.g. circuit training) is essential.

● Start doing some stretching exercises regularly.

● Simply using the stairs instead of the elevator and walking to shops instead of driving can help towards the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.


Your 50s

● Women’s bone density can drop rapidly in the years immediately following menopause.

● This is the time for major weight gain due to hormonal changes and loss of muscle mass, especially around the middle area.

● Stomach exercise should be a regular part of your exercise regime.

● Swimming is a good choice for those who suffer from arthritis as the water will take the pressure away from your joints.


Your 60s +

● It is never too late to start even if you have lived a sedentary life.

● Take it more easily than you would have done in your earlier days.

● Walking, swimming gentle stretching are all recommended.