When you’re younger, you can race after staying up all night or snowboarding and eating Doritos. But as we age, fitness has a broader impact, boosting energy levels, preventing injury, and sharpening our minds.
cause of aging muscle losing mass, bone density becomes thinner and joints stiffer, affecting balance, coordination and strength.At the same time, hormonal changes and persistence low level inflammation can set the stage chronic disease Cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc.
And change will start sooner than you think.muscles begin to contract our thirties The downward spiral continues into middle age, losing 25% of maximum mass by age 60.
But there is hope: you can exercise Stall Muscle loss, cognitive decline, fatigue. “It’s never too late to start exercising, and it’s never too early,” said Chanda Dutta, a gerontologist at the National Institute on Aging.
However, you can’t start deadlifting 150 pounds at the gym. Start slow, experiment, and gradually increase the intensity.
Experts suggest trying exercises that target one or more of the following: 4 categories Flexibility, balance, endurance, and strength all decline with age. Maintaining function across these areas can help you avoid injury and disability and stay active and independent longer.
Brian Feeley, M.D., chief of sports medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said there is no magic bullet for aging. Try out the movements.
Lower body strength: squats and stairs.
During exercise, “when you’re tired, injuries happen and your muscles can’t react as quickly,” Dr. Feeley said. Squats help prevent this fatigue by strengthening the large muscles of the lower body while working multiple joints at once. This will improve your balance and coordination as well as your overall endurance.
Dr. Feeley suggests doing three sets of 10 to 15 squats four times a week. To further challenge your balance, place one or both feet on a pillow. Or, to focus on strength, squat while holding free weights. Start close to your chest or stretch forward to further strengthen your core.
If you hate squats but want to strengthen the same muscle groups, try climb the stairsis adaptable for different fitness levelssaid Dr Maria Fiatarone Singh, a geriatrician at the University of Sydney. Start by walking up and down stairs, then progress to sprinting and wearing ankle weights.
If you have more difficulty, climb the stairs on one or both feet, grasping the handrails as needed for safety. “Hopping is a movement that powers the hip and knee extensor muscles,” says Dr. Fiataronesin. If you are pressed for time, change to high intensity exercise where he does 4 minutes of high intensity exercise 4 times a week and he rests 3 minutes between exercises.
Can’t you spare that much time? “Even four minutes four days a week can significantly improve your aerobic capacity,” says Phiatalon Singh, Ph.D.
Get your heart rate up: Take a Nordic walk.
As a cross-country ski enthusiast, Dr. Michael Schaefer, a rehabilitation physician at University Hospital in Cleveland, loves Nordic walking. No snow needed.
“Nordic walking is unique. Aerobic You’re not only using the major muscle groups in your legs and hips, but also your core, shoulders and arms,” Dr. Schaefer said.of regimen Lowers blood pressure and improves the body’s use of oxygen. It also strengthens your ankles and loads your vestibular system (the sensory system in your inner ear that enhances balance and coordination) when traversing hills or uneven ground.
“Start with 15 to 20 minutes three times a week and practice for up to an hour,” advised Dr. Schaefer.
Basic movements – walking, using poles to propel the movement – can take some getting used to, online video or your local nordic walking group you can start. The key is to swing your arm as if it were a clock pendulum, keep your elbow relatively straight, the pole behind you, and step your opposite leg forward.
Gillian Stewart, program director for Nordic Walking UK, recommended purchasing Nordic walking poles. In a pinch, Dr. Schaefer said, “regular walking poles would work,” but ski poles didn’t.
Work your upper body: Try hanging out.
If kinesiologist Katie Bowman gets her way, everyone’s New Year’s resolutions will include a trip across the monkey jungle gym. “It’s a very primitive move and uses all these parts of her upper body.”.”
hanging from horizontal bar It develops grip strength and shoulder mobility, strengthens the core and stretches the upper body from the chest to the spine and forearms.
As with any exercise, it’s best to proceed slowly. Start by hanging from the bar with your feet propped on a box or chair so that muscles that aren’t used to carrying a load can withstand some strain, and from there proceed to active his hangs. Now retract your shoulder blades and pull down (as if you were about to start a pullup). Tighten your core and arms, and keep your hands shoulder-width apart. .
Swing slightly back and forth or right to left to further work your core and spine. Or mix and match grips to highlight different muscles. For example, an underhand grip loads the biceps more than an overhand he grip, which works the lats.
No fancy equipment needed to hang. Bowman said hanging station Install it in your home with the $20 Entryway Chin Up Bar with a Small Footprint. She said she noticed a “dramatic” increase in her upper body and her grip strength since wearing them. Reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular mortalityEven a little goes a long way.
“Frequent short hang-ups throughout the day are the best way to make progress,” says Bowman. Once she’s comfortable with 1-minute hangs, she recommends that she do 8 to 10 hangs, with 1-hour breaks in between. These cuts also give the skin on your hands time to adapt.
Strengthen your core and hips: Use sliders.
Working in an office or desk puts a lot of strain on your hip flexors, the muscles that help you bend your knees toward your hips, just by sitting. stabilize the spineAlso, slouching forward at your desk shortens your chest muscles and lengthens your back muscles, text neckwhich is the tension and weakness of the muscles in the neck, shoulders and upper back.
To combat this, Los Angeles mobility specialist Nicole Sciacca recommends that climbers slider — a small disk (or Paper plate).Training on unstable roads will increase Strength You need to engage your core, especially your diaphragm, transversus abdominis, and pelvic floor to maintain position.
“This is great because it demands that everything along the front of your body be strong while you sleep at your desk or in your car,” said Sciacca.
If you’re new to upper body and core exercises, Ms. Sciacca recommends holding a simple plank for 30 seconds. Once you’re comfortable, place your feet on the sliders, assume the same position, and stabilize your body.
To progress, move one leg under your body until your knee reaches your chest. Slide that foot back while the other foot is in. Keep your core strong and your back straight while alternating legs for 8 reps. Or, if you’re more prepared, try timing 60 seconds. Variations include knees in and out at the same time, and sweeping the legs in a jumping jack move.
Increase flexibility: foam rolls.
Tara Calaf, a physical therapist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, considers the fascia (the system of connective tissue that wraps muscles and organs) to be the Cinderella of orthopedic medicine. For years, this tissue, studded with sensory nerves, looked like a sheath on the outside of the muscle or inside the muscle, and was struggled to keep it inconspicuous, ignored, and minimized.
However, research in the last decade has shown that the fascial tissue A key component of the musculoskeletal system systemAs we age, the flexibility and elasticity of the fascia decreases, contribute to Back pain, stiffness, limited range of motion.
Dr. Khalaf, who is also a professor in the Orthopedic Physical Therapy Clinical Residency Program at Stanford University, said one solution is foam rolling. improve flexibilityBest of all, the basic moves are simple and time efficient. Typical areas to roll include your calves, thighs, and back. Experiment and see which exercises work best for you.
workout schedule to get started
Now weave all the threads together — the aim is minimal 5 days in a week of exercise. Dr. Feeley recommends mixing and matching exercises that address his four dimensions of fitness, but note that the components can be rearranged depending on what you like or want to improve. .
First day:
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squat/stairs
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foam rolling
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nordic walking
the 2nd day:
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climbers
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Hang-up
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nordic walking
Third day:
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squat/stairs
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foam rolling
4th day:
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climbers
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foam rolling
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nordic walking
