Articles on Fitness | Topic: fitness
by Haley Frederick
Once many people reach the age of 50, they begin to believe that they are too old or frail to exercise. But staying active as we age directly leads to the living of a fuller life. Most importantly, recent studies indicate that it is never too late to begin taking care of you. In taking your first step towards an exercise routine, remember that it is never too late and you are never too old to begin. But starting slow with your fitness program means that even before embarking on any training program, it is worthwhile to first have a complete medical check up. Such an appointment is especially important if you have been sedentary for a period of time, or have current injuries and/or hereditary medical conditions.
Starting slow also means beginning with moderate levels of exercise of short duration. A meandering, ten minute walk is a simple form of such exercise. Depending on your fitness level, that walk may be lengthened to 15 minutes, or you can walk in one direction for 10 minutes, stop to rest, and then return to your original starting point. If you find that feel you are capable of more, try to resist doing too much that first time so that you do not become so sore or tired that the next day leaves you feeling you cannot duplicate the walk. Taking time between such exercise also allows you to see how your body feels after time has passed. You can always take another short walk later in the day if you still feel up to the task.
Thirty minutes of modest exercise should however become the goal. But one needn't start there nor does the thirty minutes all have to come at one time. If you have been inactive for a lengthy period of time, it may take several weeks before you feel comfortable with a thirty minute walk at one time. Because as we age, there are many bodily changes associated with that process. Aging leads to a decrease in muscle strength, respiratory capacity, metabolic rate, muscle flexibility and physical reaction times. Aging also brings on a higher risk of osteoporosis, especially for menopausal women. Our inability to move our legs quickly due to shortened connective tissues leads to a reduced length of stride, as well as a decrease in stability and mobility. In addition, our sense of pain sensitivity often becomes impaired, sometimes making us unaware when we exert too much pressure on a vulnerable joint.
Regular exercise is deemed to prevent as much as 50 % of these possible functional declines. The benefits from physical activity come in many forms, both physical and psychological. Regular physical activity slows the ageing process and increases both your stamina and energy.
Consistent exercise increases the efficiency of your heart and lungs and produces improvements muscle tone, endurance and strength. Regular activity prevents joints, tendons, and ligaments stiffening up leading to greater range of movement. Regular workouts decreases blood pressure, both systolic and diastolic, and also decreases the resting heart rate. Among the psychological benefits of exercise are improved self-image, and confidence, along with decreased stress and tension levels.
In considering your activities, three categories to examine are flexibility, aerobic training and weight training. As you begin your exercise routine, spend a great deal of time on increasing your flexibility right form the outset. In fact, for the very sedentary, a few weeks of such training should precede any real aerobic or weight training. Flexibility is extremely important as it keeps our muscles from becoming short and tight, two factors that can lead to injury. Working to improve your range of movement will make it much easier for you to perform simple everyday tasks.
| Bit of History |
Making a logging-road in the Maine woods is called “swamping” it, and they who do the work are called “swampers.” I now perceived the fitness of the term. This was the most perfectly swamped of all the roads I ever saw. Nature must have coöperated with art here.
| —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) |
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As you begin your exercise routine, always do some type of warm-up and stretching activity? Beginning with some simple mobility exercises to help lubricate your joints be sure to pay attention to every area of your body, starting with your feet and working your to shoulders and neck area. Be sure to not force any movements and stop if you begin to feel any pain.
After working on basic flexibility begin with some type of aerobic activity. The simplest is to take walks at a comfortable pace. Be sure to do your work outs in short bouts at first, beginning slowly and for short blocks of time. The critical component is to remind yourself that you are about to begin an exercise routine that will continue for the rest of your life.
Another good form of aerobic activity is aqua aerobics, an activity that is highly suitable for the newly motivated and much easier for people who are overweight. The buoyancy of the water will help support your body weight all the while allowing a full range of both movement and exercises to be performed. The water itself can be used as resistance to help even do some modest strength training.
As you begin your aerobic workouts, strive for activity 3 –5 times per week, working out for a period of 20 – 60 minutes. However, always make sure that you are staying within your physical limits. Ultimately you should never be out of breath, but both your heart and breathing rates should increase. The simplest way to determine if your pace level is appropriate is to see if you can converse normally - if you have trouble speaking you are simply going too fast.
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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Sedentary Seniors Start Slow in your new Fitness Program" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by HealthExerciseSports.com. |
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