*Blog post by Ann Edwards of EliteSports.com
How Exercise Changes as You Get Older?
Exercise is vital for enjoying a healthy routine. This is not just limited to a balanced diet and a quality lifestyle but also the fitness routine that you have and the conscious effort you make for staying healthy. In most cases when you start an extensive exercise routine this will be limited to some high-impact workouts that can either be good for boosting your metabolism or are good for weight loss and calorie burn. However, if your goal is to stay healthy for a long time these fast pace workouts and exercises can only be effective to a certain extent. You also need to make sure that as you start to work out, you cannot just skip the simple details. Instead, you have to make a fitness timeline where you can monitor your progress over time. This is not just limited to simple workouts like cardio or weight lifting but includes workouts that are not very intense but good for health.
How do Exercises Change With Aging?
As you start to age the choice of your workouts should change as well. In old age, you cannot look for crash courses or weight loss programs instead your goal should be to select a workout plan that fits your requirements. This can consist of fixing the eating routine, getting into the low-impact workout that is good for chronic pains, and fixing blood circulation. Old age is not about reaching new fitness goals but rather it is more about fixing things and healing faster. Loss of cells, hair issues, and skin issues are also very common in old age so with a good workout routine your goal should be to fix all these issues rather than gaining weight or losing weight. Another very important thing is to not limit the workout instead, you have to find simple exercises.
Weight loss workout for old age
In case you are obese and you are at high risk of cardio disease it is a high chance for you to lose weight. However, most of the workouts are high-intensity and they require you to put in extra effort just to make it to the minimum. The goal here is that you need to assemble a workout routine that will have only cardio. This can include walking, swimming, crunches, pushups, etc. These workouts require less effort but they are intense enough to help you lose weight. Also, you need to mix it up with other things like warm-up stretches. Your stretches need to be dynamic so you will not be at risk of injury.
With the help of this article, we will look at some of the most common old age issues and how they can be addressed with exercise. We will also look at some of the basic differences that you will feel in your workout routine as you get older and finally we will dig deeper into the basic exercises that might be good for people at a young age but not good for older people.
Low-impact workout for old age
Low-impact workouts mean yoga, Pilate, or Tai chi. These workouts are very good for healing because they are good for the long term. You will notice that with yoga poses your body movement will be much more effortless and it will not require any extra workout. Also, you will not get tired easily and by the end of the session, it will have a very calming and relaxing effect on your body. Another thing about old age is that it requires extra care so harsh workouts like lifting too much weight or getting competitive might result in injury as well.
Chronic pain workout for old age
Chronic pains are pretty common in old age. As you age you will notice that muscles become loose and bones become thinner and weaker so eventually this impacts your movement. For this reason, you need a workout that will help you heal but also helps you gain back the flexibility that is required for effortless movement. In most cases, people stick to workouts that are high-intensity because they feel it can help them lose weight. However, they might burn more calories but their muscles will not be healthy. Instead in old age, you need to have low-impact workouts that can help you gain back your flexibility so you can get rid of chronic pains as well.
Endurance workout for old age
Endurance means you will have to work your body hard enough that it can maintain a high tolerance level. With the help of a good endurance workout you will be able to strengthen your body and also you will notice that where other people will get tired right away, you will not get tired easily. Most young people associate endurance workout with weight lifting usually works for them. However in old age, you cannot rely on intense workouts like weight lifting so instead, you need to choose a simple but impactful workout routine. This can include cardio-based HIIT training that is low impact but offers a better and stronger workout routine. Swimming, yoga, running or martial arts training will be very helpful for endurance building in old age.
Bottom Line
To sum it all up, it all comes down to the workout routine and the level of fitness you have. If you have never worked out before or you are obese so you want to get into workouts, you should stick to the basic no-equipment cardio this will help you lose weight and burn the extra fat that you might have noticed around the liver and the stomach area. On the contrary, if you are fit and you just want to work on your fitness in general your goal should be to maintain the same fitness and rely on low-impact workouts especially that can help with body flexibility. Apart from this, workouts that are considered fun activities like martial arts swimming, or just playing sports are also recommended for old age.
*Ann Edwards is the fully qualified personal trainer from Elite sports. She has been helping people in the
field of bodybuilding and fitness from more than a decade. Her career in nutrition and physical therapy
has made her a fine addition for our team.