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How to Exercise As You Get Older

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It’s never too late to start to start in-home personal training, no matter how old you are. Here are some simple tips that will help older people organize their workouts correctly, to keep your workouts safe and comfortable.

For biological reasons, our physical activity decreases with age. This can be caused by health problems, excess weight, decreased endurance, loss of mobility, and flexibility. Some older people firmly believe that exercising at this stage of their lives is harmful. However, the older a person gets, the more important it becomes for their health to maintain an active lifestyle.

When older people try in-home personal training, they often encounter a fun and captivating environment, they make new friends, and eliminate feelings of loneliness.

CREATING A BALANCED TRAINING PLAN FOR AN OLDER BODY

A woman sits with headphones on near the couch on a gym mat after exercising

The combination of different types of physical activity helps improve overall health and makes training more interesting. Proper exercise is based on four basic building blocks of fitness. Movement is one of the factors of longevity: regular, feasible training is useful for maintaining not only physical fitness but also cognitive abilities and a healthy psycho-emotional state.

Balance

A man stands on his hands in a yoga pose

Balance exercises develop the ability to maintain stability regardless of whether a person is in a static position or moving. In addition, they improve posture and reduce the risk of falls.

Cardio

Older woman works out on an elliptical trainer

Performing cardio exercises over a period of time uses large muscle groups. At the same time, there is an acceleration of the heartbeat, increased breathing, and increased blood circulation.

Constant cardio training helps to reduce excess weight, reduce shortness of breath, and increase endurance. For older people, it is better to choose supportive exercise equipment – recumbent bikes and steppers. Often for older people, walking is the best workout for the cardiovascular system.

Strength Training

An elderly man does strength training exercises on an exercise machine

Regular strength training helps build muscle through repetitive movements using weights or external resistance from machines, free weights, resistance bands, or your own body weight. Often, strength training is a set of exercises performed at high speed to increase strength, muscle mass, and reaction time.

This type of training helps prevent bone loss, builds muscle, and improves balance, which is important for staying active and preventing falls. Standard exercise machines help older people build muscle mass with less likelihood of injury. Resistance bands are also effective and are also comfortable and easy for older people.

Flexibility

An elderly woman lies on an exercise mat near the lake after exercising and stretching

In addition to limiting the range of motion, tight muscles, tendons, and ligaments can cause pain, discomfort, and even falls in older adults. Simple stretching exercises improve the ability of joints to move freely through their full range.

This exercise system will help improve the quality of daily life by keeping muscles and joints flexible and less susceptible to injury.

BEGINNING TRAINING SAFELY

An elderly woman performs squats on a tennis court

Becoming physically active is one of the healthiest decisions you can make as you age, but it’s important to do it safely.

Before starting an exercise program, you should seek medical clearance, especially if you have a chronic medical condition. You should ask your doctor if there are any restrictions for exercising your body.

“It’s important to consider how current health issues may affect your training. For example, diabetics may need to adjust the timing of their medications and meals when planning their exercise schedule,” says Vince (personal trainer, Scarborough)

Exercising should never cause pain or make you feel unwell. You should immediately stop training if you experience dizziness or severe shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest, or intense sweating. If pain after training is a regular occurrence, you can try to reduce the time you perform a set of exercises but do it more often during the day.

And a few more tips, many older adults find that regular physical activity not only helps reverse the decline in body function that comes with age but even improves it. To ensure that your workouts have a healing effect, follow a couple of simple rules:

  1. If you are new to sports, start by doing the exercises slowly, and gradually, from workout to workout, increasing the pace. If you are afraid of falling or have ongoing heart problems, start with exercises that you can do while sitting to gradually improve your fitness and confidence.
  2. Prevent injury and discomfort by avoiding both hypothermia and overheating. To do this, sportswear must correspond to the time of year and the location of the activity – in the gym or in the open area.
  3. Stick to your workout schedule for three to four weeks so that exercise becomes a habit and a necessity for you. Always carry a bottle of drinking water with you to rehydrate during training.
  4. Experiment with mindfulness. Don’t be distracted during exercise, try to focus on your own sensations during movement – for example, on the rhythm of breathing or muscle flexion. Practicing mindfulness will improve your physical condition faster, relieve stress and anxiety more effectively, and help you avoid accidents or injuries.
  5. Maintain your activity level with a healthy diet that ensures you consume enough, high-quality protein. Don’t forget to reward yourself when you successfully complete your workout and achieve each new goal.
  6. Focus on short-term goals, such as improving your mood, increasing energy levels, and reducing stress, rather than weight loss, which may take longer to achieve.
  7. Keep a training log. Record all your activities and mark all stages of your progress. You can also write notes about your condition while performing exercises in order to adjust their pace or technique if necessary.
A woman holds two small dumbbells in front of her at the gym and smiles

Changes in hormonal levels, metabolism, bone density, and muscle mass mean that over time the level of physical strength, activity, and performance inevitably decreases. But this does not mean that it is no longer possible to enjoy movement or improve your health.

It is important to evaluate and set age-appropriate goals. A personal trainer for seniors is the best thing you can do for your aging body. The main thing to remember is that a sedentary lifestyle has a much greater impact on athletic ability than biological aging. Get your body moving to age gracefully. If you’re looking for personal trainer prices, check it out here!

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