At 86 years old, Jane Fonda is no longer doing any of the 80’s workouts that made her name. But that doesn’t mean she’s stopped her workout. “Slowly, you’ll find that’s the most effective word,” Fonda told Julia Louis-Dreyfus. was her guest smarter than me podcast. “Do similar movements, but slower and with a lighter weight.”
It would be wise to follow Fonda’s lead and adjust your approach to physical activity depending on your age. But you don’t have to wait until you’re in your 80s, and you shouldn’t. Instead, consider recalibrating to around 55.
“I think we have to come to terms with the fact that we are. to grow old And our bodies are changing. It’s no use blaming yourself for something like that.” Joan PaganoThe New York City-based exercise physiologist and personal trainer with 35 years of experience in the field told Fortune. “You have to say, ‘I don’t have the same body shape as I did when I was 30, but I want to look the best I can.’ Try to find what’s good about your body.”
To do that, “we need to think about modifying the program to make it both effective and safe,” she says. And, she added, women “have to deal with the fact that we’re starting to lose that magical superpower in our bodies, protective estrogen.”
Kinesiologist and trainer Dan Ritchie (co-founder) saw the need to change his fitness program as he got older. Functional Aging Research Institute, an Indiana-based fitness facility and trainer certification program. “Twenty years ago, we saw a huge shift in our population. The largest population in U.S. history was starting to turn 60… So we looked at what the fitness industry was doing, and… It was woefully unprepared,” Richie tells Luck. “This generation wants to age better than their parents and grandparents. Now, if you’re 70, you may not even consider yourself a senior yet.”
But that doesn’t mean you should continue training without doing anything: “Our main goal is we want to help you improve your movement, improve your balance and reduce your risk of injury,” he says.
Below, Pagano and Ritchie talk about what to keep in mind. exercise As you get older.
Be open to change and mix it up.
“People tend to settle into routines that are comfortable for them, and that’s natural,” says Ritchie. “But if you don’t constantly change your routine, your body will quickly adapt to it and it will no longer be effective.”
Pagano, 78, sticks to the following combinations: strength training, we recommend a balanced core work, stretching, and run-walk program. She often worked one-on-one with clients (which included Caroline Kennedy and her mother, Jackie Onassis, who wanted to get stronger for equestrianism). She’s doing the job.
“Strength training, aerobic exercise, stretch These are three aspects of a comprehensive fitness program,” she says.
“There are different ways to do that,” Ritchie says. “You can use a band to move the resistance, pneumatic equipmentHowever, in order for bones to grow and maintain density, the muscular system must be stressed. ”
When it comes to cardio, Pagano advises doing more intense intervals. This doesn’t have to be a full-blown HIIT class, but instead can be an approach to high-intensity training. walking program. For example, instead of walking for 30 minutes five days a week, he divides it into three minutes at a moderate pace and three minutes at a faster pace or jogging, and does it five times in a row.
But no matter what your routine, she warns against bumping into anything. “You need to warm up, protect your joints, train with proper form, and develop a progressive program that steps you through strength training. Please strictly adhere to the precautionary measures.
Ritchie adheres to what he calls a functional approach, which is based on what clients want to be able to do in their daily lives. “It doesn’t make sense to me to have someone who loves hiking and tennis do athlete prep training for the NFL Combine,” he says. “Instead, think about the activities you want to do well and design your program around that. One 55-year-old might say, ‘I want to compete in track and field,’ and the other might say, ‘I want to compete in track and field.’ You might want to be able to do that.” at the playground with your granddaughter. Their goals are different. ”
Some people may be motivated by vanity, he says. “If it’s really important, we need to address the nutritional content, because I think people make a big mistake of thinking, ‘If I exercise, it’s going to help me get back to the shape I was in when I was 30.’ It really oversells fitness products’ ability. ” Also necessary: food, sleep, and managing stress well. These are all important because your body composition and hormones change as you age. This includes men who experience change a little later in life than women.
Finally, Ritchie says that if you continue to do the same routine for years, you risk avoiding “progressive overload,” in which you overload your system in a good way because you’re continually stimulating it to adapt. says. “If all you’re doing is a treadmill and strength training machines, how can he expect results in 10 years?” he says. Instead, it’s important to try “new games, new challenges, new dance steps, and exercises to go with his program.”
Be aware of your personal risks and be your own advocate
The details of a balanced routine should be determined based on your personal health risks and concerns. “If I’m at risk for heart disease, what do I need from aerobic exercise? Am I stretching enough? What’s going on with my bones? Look at those areas and customize your routine and do some assessment. “Find a professional who can help you,” advises Pagano. “Once you’ve identified your goals and considered your medical history, that’s a good start.” She adds that women should aim for a baseline bone density scan at age 50.
“In particular, when a woman loses estrogen in the five to seven years after menopause, she can lose 2 to 3 percent of her bone density per year, which means she loses 21 percent of her skeleton,” she says. says. “And strength training… provenRepeat over and over again to maintain and even restore bone density. ”
Pagano advises finding support for your workouts after undergoing a thorough physical assessment and choosing your instructor or trainer wisely. “Ask them: ‘What’s your background? What certifications do you have? Have you ever worked with older women or women with osteoporosis?’ Among younger athletes, Some people don’t show empathy and push it, but you have to respect your body’s wisdom.
Certain movements are not advisable for women with osteoporosis, for example, twisting, clenching, or completely bending. So it’s important for her to know her specific risks, Pagano said, adding that there are many fixes for any problem as long as she moves slowly, and that she doesn’t want to completely avoid her fear of injury. Emphasize not abandoning the movement.
“To move forward, we need to arrest the aging process, but we need to do it in a safe way, understanding our own limitations and the development of heart disease that estrogen deficiency can cause,” she says. . . “You have to know your risk factors.”
But the bottom line is, as Fonda advised on the Louis-Dreyfus podcast, “Keep working out. You’ve got to stay strong.”
Workout and fitness details:
This story was originally Fortune.com
