These days, it’s a safe bet that the weight machine at the gym, the fast lane at the pool, and the hardest class at the Spinning studio are populated by those over 50. More than ever before, 50-plusers are achieving unprecedented levels of physical fitness. Sometimes even getting into the best shape of their lives.
Studies show that regular exercise really does help you to live longer and more healthily, no matter when you start doing it. Whatever your age, beginning a sound fitness program and consistently follow it can help you look and feel fantastic.
There’s a real upside to turning 50 (and beyond): Just as you know what’s important as far as your career, family, and friends go, chances are you are also aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Armed with a sound understanding of who you are, you also know what you want from a workout. Should you strive to improve your balance? Are you hoping to alleviate that tightness in the shoulders, while also slimming your waist? Do you love your legs, and want to keep them looking great? Drawing on mature self-knowledge, you can make better-informed choices about how, when, where, and why are you exercise.
Achieving Results The Smart Way
Steady As You Go
Many believe the way to develop abs is to hammer it in the gym and slash their calorie intake. But, do too much too soon and you could burn muscle and burn out mentally! Yes, of course, big goals require big measures. However, if you go too hard right away and then stop progressing and seeing gains, where do you go from there? With calorie intake, start by cutting 200 to 300 calories a day from your diet and stick to it. Then, once you reach that plateau, usually after four weeks, cut out another 200 to 300 calories and repeat.
Strength Training
In building muscle over 50 and to prevent muscle loss relies on strength training. This helps build muscle and support the connection between nerves and muscle cells to maintain the muscle you have. It also helps improve the body’s response to dietary protein. Many people starting a strength training programme, however, don’t work out intensely enough to reap the full benefits.
Be Flexible
Many typical strength-training programmes often have a specific number of sets, e.g 3 or 5. However, because your performance can vary from day to day based on how you are feeling, due to sleep and stress, the prescribed plan could be too rigorous some days and too easy on others.
Instead, you can keep your reps the same but the sets can vary depending on your performance that day. You do as many as you can until your strength gives out or your form breaks down. This way it hits your body with a stimulus that’s enough for you to make progress. It keeps the brakes on to prevent you from digging too deep and sustaining an injury.
Protein Intake
To combat muscle loss, dietary protein is also important as it provides the building blocks for muscle and stimulates its growth. The quantity, quality and distribution of protein throughout the day become more important as you get older. This is, unfortunately, often the age when protein intake decreases, which can accelerate sarcopenia (muscle-loss through ageing).
What Else?
What You Eat, in addition to adequate amounts of high-quality lean protein already mentioned, is very important. Besides reducing sugar and highly processed refined carbohydrates, our diets should be rich in vegetables, colourful fruits, herbs & spices, and moderate amounts of healthy fats including nuts, seeds, olive oil and avocado. All of these foods help reduce inflammation and provide high-quality antioxidants to optimise muscle protein synthesis and maintain the health of existing muscle fibre.
Finally…
Like to know more?
Want to be Building Muscle Over 50? Let me tell you how a structured training programme and nutrition plan can improve your health and fitness. Contact me to book your FREE 30-minute consultation with me and find out more.