Working Out When You're Over 50

You Need Exercise Now More Than Ever

Let’s face it: A 50- or 60-year-old body isn’t the same as a 20-year-old one. You won’t be able to do the same things – nor should you. But exercise is key to maintaining your independence and enjoying a good quality of life as you age. So, what should you consider to stay healthy without hurting yourself?

What Exercise Does

As you age, you lose muscle mass, but exercise can help you rebuild it. Muscles burn more calories than fat, even when you’re at rest, helping to offset your slowing metabolism. Exercise can prevent, delay, and even improve serious illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, and osteoporosis. It also helps keep your brain sharp and lifts your mood.

Types of Exercise

Regardless of age, everyone needs different kinds of exercise. Cardio or aerobic exercise gets your heart rate up and makes you breathe harder, which builds endurance and burns calories. Strength or weight training keeps your muscles primed for action. Flexibility exercises help you stay limber, allowing a full range of movement and preventing injury. Balance training becomes crucial after 50 to prevent falls and maintain an active lifestyle.

Choose the Right Activities

Low-impact exercises, with less jumping and pounding, are gentler on your joints. Some activities provide more than one type of exercise, giving you better value for your workout. Choose exercises you enjoy! Your doctor or physical therapist can suggest ways to adapt sports and exercises or offer alternatives based on any medical conditions you have.

Walking

Simple and effective! Walking builds stamina, strengthens lower body muscles, and helps fight against bone diseases like osteoporosis. It’s easy to fit into your day, and you can do it alone or make it social. At a moderate pace, you’ll still be able to chat with a friend while getting a workout.

Jogging

If you prefer to sweat a bit more, try jogging to elevate your heart rate. Take it slow and steady, wear the right shoes, and incorporate walking breaks. Soft surfaces, such as a track or grass, can reduce impact on your joints. Stretching and strengthening your calves and hips can help reduce the risk of injuries.

Dancing

 

Any kind of dancing – ballroom, line dancing, square dancing, or even aerobics-based dance classes like Zumba and Jazzercise – is beneficial. Dancing improves endurance, strengthens muscles, and enhances balance. It burns a lot of calories and gets you moving in all directions. Research shows that learning new moves is also great for your brain. Plus, it’s so much fun, you might not even notice you’re working out!

Golfing

Much of the benefit of golf comes from walking – a typical round covers more than 10,000 steps, or about 5 miles. Your swing involves your whole body and requires good balance and focus. Carrying or pulling your clubs adds to the workout, but even using a cart still provides some exercise, fresh air, and stress relief.

Cycling

It's terrific when you have stiff or sore joints because your legs don't have to support your weight. The action gets your blood moving and builds muscles on both the front and back of your legs and hips. You use your abs for balance and your arms and shoulders to steer. Because there's resistance, you're strengthening your bones, too. Specially designed bike frames and saddles can make riding safer and easier for various health issues.

Tennis

Racquet sports, including tennis, squash, and badminton, may be particularly good at keeping you alive longer and lowering your chance of dying from heart disease. Playing tennis 2 or 3 times a week is linked to better stamina and reaction times, lower body fat, and higher "good" HDL cholesterol. It builds bones, especially in your arm, lower back, and neck. Play doubles for a less intense, more social workout.

Strength Training

Muscle loss is one of the main reasons people feel less energetic as they get older. When you lift weights, work out on machines, use resistance bands, or do exercises with your own body weight (like push-ups and sit-ups), you build strength, muscle mass, and flexibility. It'll make things like carrying groceries and climbing stairs easier. You can join a gym, but you don't have to. Digging and shoveling in the garden counts, too!

Swimming

You can exercise for longer in the water than on land. There's no weight putting stress on your joints (and making them hurt), and the water offers resistance to build muscles and bones. Swimming laps burns calories and works your heart like jogging and cycling, yet you're not likely to overheat. The moisture helps people with asthma breathe. Water-based exercise improves the mindset of people with fibromyalgia.

Yoga

Actively holding a series of poses will stretch and strengthen your muscles, as well as the tendons and ligaments that hold your bones together. Mindful breathing makes it a kind of meditation, too. Yoga can help lower your heart rate and blood pressure and relieve anxiety and depression. Check out different styles and classes to match your level of fitness and what appeals to you.

Tai Chi

This quiet exercise is sometimes called "moving meditation." You move your body slowly and gently, flowing from one position to the next, while you breathe deeply. Not only is it good for balance, but it can also improve bone and heart health. It may help ease pain and stiffness from arthritis. It might even help you sleep better.

How Much?

You should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate cardio activity per week if you're in good health. It’s best to spread this out over three or more days, with each session lasting a minimum of 10 minutes. Additionally, spend time at least twice a week working on the muscles in your legs, hips, back, abs, chest, shoulders, and arms.

Generally, the more you exercise, the more benefits you'll experience. And remember, anything is better than nothing!