Young people mostly have natural fitness and vibrant conditions which is not there when people get older. With age come different ailments, obesity, and critical problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and others. Yet a few minutes efforts one can still stay healthy and that is why it would be good to learn about a few top secrets for fitness after 50.
Value of Workout
Many people fail to realize the basic things regarding fitness.
- Low calorie diets and healthy food can help lose weight and stay fit.
- Controlled life style will also help the objective.
- But nothing will be possible without a dose of healthy exercise.
- The reason is that body needs exercise for keeping away the fats and toning the physique.
Issues Involved
However, there are certain issues involved in taking up workouts especially when someone is above 50. Exercises that are good for younger people may not be ideal for the people in advanced ages and worse; many of them could be harmful instead of being beneficial. Issues involved in the process therefore are finding out the ideal exercise package that would help keep the physical well being of the senior citizen.
Expert Opinion
Let us have a look at what experts have to say about this.
- Experts classify the exercises into two broad categories; aerobic and strength exercises.
- Both these types are needed for a balanced exercise program for giving the body maximum benefits.
- According to the American College of Sports Medicine or the ACSM, only two sessions per week of strength training and three days per week of aerobic exercises can do wonders for the seniors irrespective of their genders.
What is Aerobic Exercise?
Aerobic exercise helps enhancement of the efficiency of the body for getting oxygen to divergent muscles. Oxygen in muscles create the energy for them to function appropriately and more the supply of oxygen to muscles, the more will be the effectiveness of the body. Most popular and important aerobic exercises include walking, running, swimming, jogging, biking, dancing, hiking, skiing, and roller skating etc. All these aerobic exercises will aim to work at heart rates of 60-70% of the target heart rate that is derived using the formula as follows-
220 – Age of the Person
For instance; if the age of the person is 54, then he or she should aim at generating heart rate of 220-54=166. Usually total time of 30 minutes that could be divided into three sessions of 10 minutes each would suffice for keeping the best of fitness.
Strength Exercises
However, for the best results, one has to combine aerobic exercises with strength exercises. It should be such that the performer does not get uncomfortable and the principles of “no gain without pain” do not apply here. Usually two sessions of 20 minutes per week would suffice for senior persons.
Bottom Line
Bottom line of all these is that exercises about 130 minutes a week that includes 90 minutes of aerobic exercises over a period of three days and 40 minutes of strength exercises over a period of two days per week would be ideal for fitness after 50.
Performer should not forget the golden rules of effective exercise by warming up, stretching, and then cooling down. And that is the top secret for fitness after 50.