Over 50 and Working Out On Your Own? – Top 5 Mistakes You’re Probably Making
Greetings Athlete!
If you’re over 50 and working out on your own, you’re probably making some bad choices in your workout routine that will prevent you from staying fit as you get older. I am a 65 year old Certified Personal Fitness Trainer and am in the gym often so I see quite a few people (men and women) over 50 working out. Most of them are working out like they did 20 or 30 years ago. They hop on a treadmill or bike for 20 or 30 minutes, then do the proverbial biceps curls, triceps extensions, bench press, lat pulldowns and situps and call it a day. Not bad… but not necessarily good.
Before I dive in I want to clear the air. I am ecstatic to see so people over 50 in the gym pushing themselves to be better! You are trying to age well and are out doing something about it. I am so proud of people over 50 and admire you for your efforts. I also want to say that what you are doing, is not necessarily bad but I am worried that you may be under the false assumption that your routine is the best program for aging well. Here are the top five mistakes that I see seniors making in their workout routine. I hope you find this helpful!
Lifting too heavy at the beginning
Now, I believe we can lift heavy weights as you get older but this is something you need to work up to. Seniors can lift heavy weights, if they are accustomed to the load and exercise. If you are just beginning to workout again, start with a weight that you can do 20 reps with. Then gradually (over time) add weight until you can do only 12 reps, then more weight until you can only 10 and yes even down to 8! However, given your age, your body takes longer to recover and you need to listen to the aches and pains that signal muscle or tendons that are overworked. Follow Phased Approach to your training
Lift heavy enough
Research has shown that you can maintain or even grow muscle mass as you get older. Yes, it won’t be quite the same as when you were 30, but you can still be muscular as you age. The trick? Lift heavy enough to cause some muscle soreness (but not enough to get hurt!), eat enough protein to build muscle and then give your body enough rest to recover. Doing a light workout and then drinking a protein shake, or just drinking a protein shake, is not enough to maintain strong muscles.
Add other exercises to your routine
If you’re over 50 you grew up in gyms between 1960 and 1990 with a very limited number of exercises and probably repeat these in the gym today. Why is this a problem? To age well requires the body to be in balance. My guess is that many of you have back issues and other problem areas that likely include the shoulders, hips and knees. These pains may be due to muscle imbalances that can be corrected by strengthening muscles that are under active and stretching those that are overactive. This is critical to aging well! You must absolutely be working the right muscles with the right exercises to stay fit as you get older.
Add Agility and Balance exercises
If you’re like me, your balance and agility isn’t what it used to be. In fact, I’d be surprised if you are as agile and nimble as you were even 10 years ago! After I got certified, I started doing agility exercises and nearly hurt myself on the first one as I tripped over my feet doing a simple ladder drill where I crossed my feet. By adding agility and balance exercises to my routine, I am significantly better at moving quicker and can now do ladder drills on a routine basis without fear (well… there’s always fear!) of falling down and hurting myself. This is also good for other sports such as Tennis and Golf!
Add a Circuit workout
If you go to the gym and pump iron casually, you will see some benefits. However if you do them in a Circuit or High Intensity Interval Training, you will burn more calories, work more body parts which means losing weight and toning those muscles!
Hopefully this encourages you to revisit your workout routine. Don’t be hoodwinked into thinking that Old School will help you age well. Pat yourself on the back if you’re out there working out, but do yourself a favor and power up your routine to ensure you age well!
All the best!
All the time!
JT