Over 50? Then stop training like you’re still 20.
There comes a moment in your forties and fifties when you reach to a cupboard or open a jar and you feel that twinge in your back. And that niggle is with you for weeks.
You go to a gym, typically after Christmas, and you try to go back to what you used to do in your twenties. Or you hire a trainer 20 or 30 years younger than you, who knows their stuff and can tell you how to build your biceps, but who just doesn’t know how it feels to be your age.
Many mature people are being advised to train like young people with some slight concessions, whereas what’s needed is a completely fresh approach for a completely different life stage.
Here are a few ideas you can try to stay in shape:
Practise standing on one leg with your eyes closed
According to research, those aged 40-49 should be able to average 42 seconds with eyes open and 13 seconds with eyes closed. For over-50s it’s 41 seconds with eyes open and eight seconds with eyes closed. Aim to beat that. Do the exercise every day and watch your balance improve.
Perform push-ups and squats every day
This will help you to become stronger for everyday tasks and less prone to injury. Both are bodyweight exercises. No weights. Men over 50 should target 31 push-ups and 26 squats; women, 16 push-ups and 20 squats. Men over 60 should aim for 30 push-ups and 23 squats, and women 12 push-ups and 17 squats.
Brush your teeth standing against a wall
Do this with your shoulders back against the wall and the back of your head resting against it until it becomes a habit. This will help to improve your postural alignment.
Lift some weights
From our mid-thirties we lose muscle mass through a process known as sarcopenia. Do nothing to slow the rate of decline and an average 90g of muscle is lost each year from the age of 40, with men experiencing a sharper decline than women. By the age of 50 you could be losing up to 500g of muscle a year. By the time you are in your seventies you will typically have a third less of the muscle mass than you did at your strongest. Do nothing about preserving muscle mass, and ageing will be vastly accelerated.
Walk with a bit of a spring in your step
Practise this by spending two to three minutes at home each day walking on the balls of your feet. It will elevate and change your postural alignment and tone your calves. It’s not about looking good - that’s just a bonus. At least twice a week get your heart rate up with a brisk walk, jog or cycle ride.
Work on mobility and flexibility
Make sure you are moving your joints to their full range. A yoga sun salutation is perfect, so are hip rotations in or out of a pool, or try a deep lunge, stretching the opposite arm in the air. Strength is worthless without mobility.
Try two fasting days a week on non-workout days
Eat 500-600 calories within an 8-hour window, twice a week. You can choose whichever two days of the week you prefer, as long as there is at least one non-fasting day in between them. Try to focus on nutritious, high-fibre, high-protein foods that will make you feel full without consuming too many calories such as fruit, grilled lean meat or fish, baked eggs, sauted vegetables, smoothies and soups.
Eat carbs only on training days
Eat protein and vegetables every day. On training days add in carbohydrates to your post-workout meals, making sure that they are low-GI carbs whenever possible, such as sweet potato, quinoa, lentils and wholegrains.
Take a break
After the age of 35, our bodies don’t recover from workouts as efficiently as they used to so one day a week you should do no exercise, to allow your body to recover; it is particularly important at this age, or you will injure yourself.