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July 25, 2020 21h39
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How to stay in shape after 60 years?
Julie Broderick
Assistant professor, physiotherapy, Trinity College Dublin
Aging is inevitable and many factors influence this, but keeping active can slow down and increase life expectancy.
It has been shown that aging alone is not responsible for physical problems important before the age of about 95 years. And strength, power and muscle mass can be improved, even at this advanced age.
Here are a few tips on exercise for customers, and more, at different levels of fitness.
If you train since always
If you are part of this group, you are in the minority. You are robust, you could become a “super senior,” and you wear it wonderfully well. You can optimize certainly your chances of living a long and form.
In general, it is now that you reap the rewards of a lifetime of activity. Thanks to a system, metabolic, skeletal, cardiovascular, and immune health, you can probably outperform people much younger.
Continue the workout with the dumbbells Russian, indoor cycling, rowing, triathlon or manual work such as gardening, in short, everything that you love to do. You can still pass you. Combine activities — ideally, a mix of work aerobic, strength training and an exercise that actually works your balance.
Maximize the health benefits of swimming, outside, or joining a group. You could try swimming in the sea, even if this is not for everyone.
But attention to the chronic overload! Thus, it is better to diversify your exercise program by including a cross-training. For example, if you are a rider, make of bike or swimming to avoid to ask too much a part of the body.
The recovery after an intense physical exercise is longer with age and can take up to five days. So, exercise in a smart way.
If you are moderately in shape
You carry yourself well, then continue what you are already doing. Consistency is the key to success. You are not obligated to register in a gym, but continue to do the physical activity daily. You can, for example, walk quickly to the store to do your shopping, gardening and moving around in the house. Climb a flight of stairs several times is an excellent exercise.
If you suffer from pain in the hips or to the knees, walking can be unpleasant. Instead, choose cycling or water exercises.
Associate physical activity to social life can optimize health benefits, then try a yoga class or a dance class. Integrate outdoor exercises to improve your mental health.
The most important thing is to avoid sitting for too long. The ideal is to continue to do the exercises that you like. Try to increase steadily the intensity of your aerobic exercise up to a level where you sweat and you feel slightly out of breath.
We often tend to neglect strengthening exercises and relaxation, so try to include when it is possible.
If you are sick or little in the form
It’s possible you’re suffering from chronic disorders complex, which make the workouts more difficult. Or again, that the exercise had never been part of your life. If you suffer from chronic problems, it may need to obtain the permission of a doctor and the advice of a physiotherapist or other professional of the formatting before you embark on an exercise program.
If you have at least three of the following symptoms : unintentional weight loss, exhaustion, slowness, difficulty to hold an object, and physical inactivity, you could be considered as fragile, which makes you vulnerable to a physical stress, even minor. But it is never too late to incorporate more physical activity in your daily life.
The simple fact of reducing the time spent in a sitting position and do a bit of exercise offers important health benefits, because no matter what type of activity is better than not any at all. You can even start with exercises on chair or moving from the sitting position to the standing position.
It is normal to feel a little short of breath after exercise and feel the beginning of some muscle or joint pain. But if you have chest pain or discomfort, you should immediately consult a physician.
If you have had a health problem such as a respiratory tract infection or a fall that resulted in a hospital stay, get up and move as soon as it is possible to do so safely. The past few days in bed is sufficient to see a significant decrease in the strength and level of fitness.
If you have a planned operation, the fact to be as active as possible prior to admission to the hospital and start moving as soon as possible after surgery will help your recovery. This can also prevent complications that might prolong your hospital stay.
If you have a cancer, stay active, even during the treatment, either chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and during recovery. If you have some other chronic problem such as heart or lung disease, stay as active as your condition allows.
Don’t forget that, regardless of your state of health, it is never too late to increase physical activity and reap the benefits.
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This text first appeared on the site of the franco-canadian of The Conversation. Reproduced with permission.
