One of the hardest parts of aging is trying to lose fat, tone up, and reshape your body. If you didn’t maintain an active and healthy lifestyle in your younger years, then you’ll feel more difficult, especially considering that lose 3 to 5% of muscle mass every 10 years after you turn 30. This makes it incredibly important for you to start strength trainingbecause building and preserving muscle is the key to not only aging well, but also reshaping your body.
Cardio is important for heart health and has its place as part of an active lifestyle, but if you want reshape your body, you have to be resistance training. If you’re over 60 And you already strength train regularly, here are two trainer-approved tricks you can incorporate into your routine to reshape your body. Read on to learn more, then check out The 6 Best Exercises for Strong, Toned Arms in 2022, Says a Trainer.
It’s important to note that as you age, your training should be slightly modified to reflect your training age. If you’re 60 or older, taking care of your joint health becomes more crucial than ever. This means working in higher rep ranges and choosing exercises that are joint-friendly and create good muscle tension.
A great way to make your muscles work harder is to combine a compound movement with an isolation exercise that targets almost the same muscles. Below are a couple of examples.
Related: The 5 best-kept secrets to losing weight after 60, says a trainer
Begin this exercise with the weights at your shoulders, palms facing each other. Keeping her core engaged and glutes engaged, she raises the dumbbells, flexing her shoulders and triceps at the top. Lower the weight under control before performing another rep. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
Grab a pair of dumbbells and stand with your chest up and your head slightly tilted back. She begins the movement by lifting both dumbbells to her side, just where his arms are parallel to the floor. Flex the sides of your shoulders at the top, then lower the weight under control. As you lower the dumbbells, keep tension in your shoulders the entire time. Do 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions.
Another trick to make your body work harder to burn more calories and build more muscle is to include partial reps after you’re done with your set. Once you’ve finished all the prescribed reps in your exercise, return to the bottom of the movement and pulse up and down for a few reps. This will get those muscles burning, get your heart rate up, and burn some extra calories! Two examples are shown below.
Related: 3 exercises that have been shown to change the shape of your body, says an exercise expert
Start by holding a dumbbell close to your chest. Keeping your chest up and core engaged, push your hips back and squat down until your quads are parallel to the ground. Drive through your heels and hips to come back up, flexing your quads and glutes to finish. Once you’ve finished 10 reps, go back down and do 5 partial reps. You will want to complete 3 sets of 10 reps + 5 partials.
Take the attachment on a seated row machine and place your feet firmly on the foot pad. Pull the handle out and then fully straighten your legs. Keeping your chest up, drive your elbows toward your hips, squeezing your back and lats hard to finish. Straighten your arms fully and give your shoulder blades a good stretch before doing another rep.
On your last rep, go back just ¼ of the way and do 5 shoulder blade squeezes to finish. Do 3 sets of 10 reps + 5 partials.
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