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eLearning Series:
I'm an Active Senior
Who Wants To Stay Healthy
( 50 aticles in this series )
Sedentary
Seniors:
Start a New Fitness Program Slowly
Once many people reach the age of 50, they
begin to believe that they are too old or frail to exercise.
But staying active as we age directly leads to the
living of a fuller life. Most importantly, recent studies indicate that
it is never too late to begin taking care of you. In taking
your first step towards an exercise routine, remember that
it is never too late and you are never too old to begin. But
starting slow with your fitness program means that even before
embarking on any training program, it is worthwhile to first
have a complete medical check up. Such an appointment is especially
important if you have been sedentary for a period of time,
or have current injuries and/or hereditary medical conditions.
Starting
slow also means beginning with moderate levels of
exercise of short duration. A meandering, ten minute walk is
a simple form of such exercise. Depending on your fitness level,
that walk may be lengthened to 15 minutes, or you can walk
in one direction for 10 minutes, stop to rest, and then return
to your original starting point. If you find that feel you
are capable of more, try to resist doing too much that first
time so that you do not become so sore or tired that the next
day leaves you feeling you cannot duplicate the walk. Taking
time between such exercise also allows you to see how your
body feels after time has passed. You can always take another
short walk later in the day if you still feel up to the task.
Thirty
minutes of modest exercise should however become the
goal. But one needn’t start there nor does the thirty minutes
all have to come at one time. If you have been inactive for
a lengthy period of time, it may take several weeks before
you feel comfortable with a thirty minute walk at one time.
Because as we age, there are many bodily changes associated
with that process. Aging leads to a decrease in muscle strength,
respiratory capacity, metabolic rate, muscle flexibility and
physical reaction times. Aging also brings on a higher risk
of osteoporosis, especially for menopausal women. Our inability
to move our legs quickly due to shortened connective tissues
leads to a reduced length of stride, as well as a decrease
in stability and mobility. In addition, our sense of pain sensitivity
often becomes impaired, sometimes making us unaware when we
exert too much pressure on a vulnerable joint.
Regular
exercise is deemed to prevent as much as 50% of these possible
functional declines. The benefits from physical activity
come in many forms, both physical and psychological. Regular
physical activity slows the ageing process and increases both
your stamina and energy.
Consistent
exercise increases the efficiency of your heart
and lungs and produces improvements muscle tone, endurance
and strength. Regular activity prevents joints, tendons, and
ligaments stiffening up leading to greater range of movement.
Regular workouts decreases blood pressure, both systolic and
diastolic, and also decreases the resting heart rate. Among
the psychological benefits of exercise are improved self-image,
and confidence, along with decreased stress and tension levels.
In considering your activities, three
categories to examine are flexibility, aerobic training
and weight training. As you
begin your exercise routine, spend a great deal of time on
increasing your flexibility right form the outset. In fact,
for the very sedentary, a few weeks of such training should
precede any real aerobic or weight training. Flexibility is
extremely important as it keeps our muscles from becoming short
and tight, two factors that can lead to injury. Working to
improve your range of movement will make it much easier for
you to perform simple everyday tasks.
As you begin your exercise routine, always do some type of
warm-up and stretching activity? Beginning with some simple
mobility exercises to help lubricate your joints be sure to
pay attention to every area of your body, starting with your
feet and working your to shoulders and neck area. Be sure to
not force any movements and stop if you begin to feel any pain.
After working on basic flexibility begin with some type of
aerobic activity. The simplest is to take walks at a comfortable
pace. Be sure to do your work outs in short bouts at first,
beginning slowly and for short blocks of time. The critical
component is to remind yourself that you are about to begin
an exercise routine that will continue for the rest of your
life.
Another good form of aerobic activity is aqua aerobics, an
activity that is highly suitable for the newly motivated and
much easier for people who are overweight. The buoyancy of
the water will help support your body weight all the while
allowing a full range of both movement and exercises to be
performed. The water itself can be used as resistance to help
even do some modest strength training.
As you begin your aerobic workouts, strive for activity 3
–5 times per week, working out for a period of 20 – 60 minutes.
However, always make sure that you are staying within your
physical limits. Ultimately you should never be out of breath,
but both your heart and breathing rates should increase. The
simplest way to determine if your pace level is appropriate
is to see if you can converse normally - if you have trouble
speaking you are simply going too fast. Click here to discover my current SolveYourProblem recommendation and choice pick for the fastest, easiest and best exercise / fitness solution you'll find anywhere. Get it and reward yourself with more more energy and a healthier life.
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by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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