Fitness After 50

If there's a magic pill for staying youthful, it may be one that's hard to swallow: exercise. Daily doses of exercise have been proven to thwart a number of aging factors -- stress, obesity, heart disease, diabetes -- and the longer you're physically active, the less you'll notice getting older. But how that looks and feels will vary from decade to decade as your lifestyle and unique biology play out. All the changes your body undergoes during each phase of life require altering your approach to exercise, especially when you reach 50 years of age. So if you’re 50+ and still exercise the way you did when you were 30, you may need to adjust your routine. Changing how you work out over 50 will prove to get you better results with weight loss, muscle tone, flexibility, muscular strength, balance, and bone density, so you can live life on your own terms when you are 80!

The 50s

Let's face it: a 50-year-old body isn't the same as a 20-year-old one. You may not be able to do the same things, recovery from exercise gets harder in this decade, and joint pain becomes more likely. But exercise is key to your independence and a good quality of life as you age. So what do you need to think about to be healthy without hurting yourself? Lower-impact exercise (with less jumping and pounding). Yoga is a great addition to your strength routines. Focus on your core to prevent your shoulders from hunching forward and your back from aching.

The 60s

"We now know that a decline in strength and fitness isn't entirely a natural consequence of the aging process but is also due to lack of use. We need to push ourselves physically no matter how old we are -- we just may need to alter the activity," says Marilyn Moffat, Ph.D., a professor of physical therapy at New York University. As you age, making sure you are strength training becomes even more important so you stay strong and independent. And stretching and balance exercises are absolute musts. If you don't stretch now, "by the time you're in your 80s, your joints will have lost their flexibility."”

The 70s

Seventy years of age and older can still benefit from strength training! In fact, you need it even more to maintain independence as you age. Excercises like squats, for example translate directly into your everyday life! You need to stay strong so you can get out of chairs, your car, and even the commode.

It can be hard to tackle fitness as we age. If you’re feeling the effects of aging physically - it’s never too late to start. The trainers at both Success Studio North and Success Studio Ivy are trained to know what you should do as you age to set you up for success. If you are stuck working out in the wrong fitness decade, book a strategy session and we’ll help you get started where you need to be so you can get the results you want.