I can’t stress enough how important exercise is to your overall fitness and well-being. You always hear how critical it is to be physically fit. But do you often hear that when workouts seem like too much, it may be time to cut back or change things up a bit? As you approach age 60, leading a healthy, active lifestyle becomes more important than ever. The reason for this is that as you get older, lose muscle mass. Also, your metabolism drops, as does your daily fitness, if you’re not doing anything to maintain it properly. that’s why both strength training and performing regular cardiovascular exercises are essential. However, there are unhealthy training habits you may be doing in your 60s that need to be stopped or re-evaluated.
Going back a bit, if you’re not even close to 60 and don’t have aggressive cardio and strength training, I recommend starting as soon as possible. It’s important to develop healthy exercise habits, establish a strong foundation, and maintain a healthy routine as you age. It’s never too late to start a solid training regimen. Where to start? Well that’s simple. Just start slowly with two or three full body exercises. strength training weekly. Mix daily walks and cardio every other day of the week, and you’ll be on your way to a healthy lifestyle.
If you are in your 40s or 50s and have been active for a while, congratulations! Just as a warning, you may have some unhealthy exercise habits that you should consider giving up as you approach your 60s. Here are these unhealthy training habits, along with the modifications you need to make to your routine. And then be sure to check out The 6 Best Exercises for Strong, Toned Arms in 2022, Says a Trainer.
The older you get, the more important joint health and flexibility become. If you decide to skip warming up and stretching before workouts or physical activity, don’t. Doing so can increase your chance of injury.
I highly recommend taking 5-10 minutes before your training sessions to perform a series of mobility exercises and it stretches to open up your hips, upper back, and shoulders. This will prepare you to be ready to perform your exercises safely.
Related: Accelerate Belly Fat Loss at 50 With These Exercises, Trainer Says
Even if you want to push yourself and challenge yourself by lifting weights, your training should change a bit as you hit your 60s. Doing 3-5 heavy reps can be done fairly easily when you’re younger, but as you get older, you’ll want to do more reps (6 or more). This is because your joints take a lot of wear and tear over the years and you want to keep training without pain or injury. I recommend that you continue to choose a weight that is challenging, but perform it in a higher rep range.
Any movement you are doing that is causing you pain or discomfort should be replaced. I recommend changing it to another exercise. You may have been able to pull off certain moves when you were younger, but after the miles you’ve racked up on your body, it’s not uncommon to find alternatives.
For example, if your elbows don’t like skull crushers, modify that move to cable triceps extensions. If upright rows are giving you shoulder problems, try lateral raises. When in doubt, substitute a cable or lighter version of some of your exercises for the movement pattern.
Related: The best exercises to get rid of sagging skin after losing weight, says a trainer
It’s easy to keep doing what you love with your workouts. In fact, it is quite common! But as you age, it’s important to make sure you have all of your fitness bases covered. Are you lifting all the time? Consider adding some cardio on your days off. Are you doing only aerobic work? Switch it up and hit the weight room for some resistance training.
If you want to stay fit and healthy over the age of 60, you need to have a good mix of strength and cardiovascular endurance. Mix things up and enjoy the variety!
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