When we’ve reached the half-century mark, things tend to get slow. To state the obvious, our 50, 55 or 60-year-old bodies are not the same as of a 25-year-old one, and we won’t be able to do the same things that we used to do, nor should attempt to do it again.
However, there is a thing that can get us going and make aging easier, then we get to enjoy more the discounts of senior blessedness instead of mostly spending it all on Salonpas and Pau de Arco. Doing regular exercises help us rebuild muscles that we lose as we age. Being active also keeps us away from age-related diseases and makes our brain function well.
Muscle loss saps our energy. We feel tired and lazy. The good thing is that we don’t have to join a gym to tone our muscles. Doing some digging and tilling in the garden, if done regularly, would be sufficient. Likewise, we don’t have to do some weightlifting since simple body weight exercises like sit-ups, squats and push-ups will do. Those drills can make climbing stairs and carrying grocery bags much easier.
Several issues ago, we dealt on cardio work. Right now, as per fitness experts, these are the best low-impact exercises for the 50-up age group. Balance training is also important since it helps us to prevent falls, which could be very serious as our bones had become fragile and the healing period takes a bit longer.
We need to pick the activities we enjoy the most like low-impact ones that are friendly to our almost worn out joints and those that our bodies can tolerate if we have medical issues – of course with our doctors’ advice and consent. Walking around the neighborhood or in a mall is not only socially interacting but also a very good, easy, and yes, the cheapest way to exercise. Just don’t be tempted to rest inside food or coffee shops for obvious reasons.
Swimming, if we have access to a pool or the beach, on the other hand, makes us exercise much longer because we don’t put strain on our joints. There’s no weight while we’re in the water, and water adds resistance, thus, improving our muscles and bones. It burns the same calories as running and cycling, yet we don’t overheat because our body is constantly cooled. Experts say that water-based exercises help people with asthma breathe because of the moisture.
Yoga poses not only strengthen and stretches our muscles but also our tendons and ligaments attached to our bones. It can lower our heart rates and blood pressure since it involves breathing exercises that could ease anxiety and depression. There are different styles and classes for our liking.
A graceful yet slow-moving exercise could also be suitable for our age group. Called also as “moving meditation,” Tai Chi, with its gentle motion while deeply breathing, makes our body kind of float from one position to the next. Like yoga, this is a great balance exercise that could ease joint pains and help us sleep better because of the breathing techniques involved.
30 minutes a day is ideal and we should at least work the muscles on our arms, shoulders, back, chest, abs, hips and legs at least twice a week. Just do take caution if we had been inactive for a while. Do 10 minutes daily then gradually increase the time, frequency and intensity as our body adjusts.
Because we’re not young anymore, muscles and joints may hurt the following day, and that could mean we overdid something. There could be breathing or balance problems, dizziness or chest pains. Figuratively and literally, let’s pay our doctors a visit the soonest possible time. It is always better to be safe than sorry./PN
