The topic of this post is fitness for seniors and a healthy lifestyle for people over 50. Is it okay to do fitness for older adults? Is it worth it?

How To Resist Aging?

I’m still pretty young, and it’s quite hard for me to judge from my experience how to resist aging. But I do have some thoughts on the subject. Here they are:

Senior Is Not Necessarily Old And Weak

Most people perceive mature age as infirmity and morbidity, like dementia. Therefore they do not want to lengthen their life and take care of their health, believing that they prolong that state. But who says that old age is necessarily helpless state? If you are healthy and active, old age can be a very fruitful part of life.

After all, you have accumulated a lot of life experience, you know and understand people. You, most likely, a professional in your business. You have invaluable baggage of life experience, which you can and should use to help yourself and others. And you can certainly turn your old age into almost the most productive and happy period of your life.

Keep Yourself Busy, Be Active

Seniors need to be engaged in something valuable and entertaining. They should not sit all day long in a chair or in front of the TV. After all, this gives a sense of life. Many retired people stop to be interested in anything but their retirement pay. That position could only have the most detrimental effect on their entire life, health, and relationships with people.

If you do not have something important in your life, then create it yourself! Yes, it is hard, but I know from my experience that it is possible. Yes, it will require effort and a revision of some of your life judgments, expansion of your horizons, and circle of acquaintances. But that’s what personal growth and real life are all about. And I’m sorry for people who think they know everything. That’s not true in the vast majority of cases.

Old Age Is A Natural Stage Of Life

Hopefully, some older adults don’t find their life as tragic sunset. For them, it is another stage when new horizons open up and when they have a lot of free time. They have already grown children, gained life experience, done and see a lot, and have some capital. People shift to other ways of life, traveling, writing books, doing social work, teaching, learning new professions, mastering new areas of life, which they could not reach in their youth. Now they have time to pursue their dreams! And that’s great.

❕Old age is as natural as childhood, youth, and maturity❕

Accepting this tenet simplifies life when you get older

Mental health

It is very crucial to maintain psychological health. It is more difficult in old age than in youth. However, now you have a lot of good literature on personal growth. After all, you can always grow personally – it’s just necessary. The words ‘age’ and ‘wisdom’ often do not mean the same thing. Read, learn from the young, learn new things, doubt your experience in the past. Rapid mental activity for older adults is beneficial.

A Healthy Personal Life

Who says it’s time to end your sex life with retirement or menopause? I’m serious! It is a scientific fact that people retain the need and ability for sexual relationships for the rest of their lives. So why give up the joy? Isn’t it time to study the Kama Sutra ?? It’s one of the most entertaining sources of knowledge about the intricacies of human relationships. And this is no joke! Who is the first to give up? Those who stop caring about their attractiveness to the opposite sex.

Sense of Humor

A developed sense of humor and healthy self-irony helps to live a meaningful and happy life. Thus, resisting aging is not only possible but very much desirable. I’m sure that you want to bring something good to your loved people and have more pleasant life experiences.

Fitness For Seniors

There are no particular exercise restrictions for a person over 50 years old. But it is necessary to do regular medical inspections, avoid taking too much weight while exercising, to control your nutrition more thoroughly. It is crucial to listen to your feelings during and after exercise. Regular exercises help overcome common old age problems, such as osteoporosis, digestive difficulties, joint disorders, and capillary circulation disorders. If you have not exercised for many years, be sure to consult a qualified physician and take his recommendations into account in your exercises.

Speaking about exercises, I would highly recommend the treadmill, bicycle, swimming, exercises with dumbbells. It is best to do exercises every day for 30-40 minutes. A training plan could look like this:

Training program

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Treadmill, swim, or bike for 30-60 minutes. It is best to do these exercises when you sweat a little. Don’t be afraid to raise your heart rate to 120-140 or even more beats per minute. It’s good for your health!

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Strength training for 30-50 minutes. And there is no particular need for any exact set of exercises. Just do whatever you like. In general, fitness for seniors should not turn into a parody. It is necessary to give yourself a fair load.

Workout Restrictions

I recommend abandoning exercises that place excessive strain on your back, such as:
? standing barbells or dumbbells press (it is better to replace it with a press sitting on a bench with a backrest)
? bench press from behind
? the deadlift
? barbell squat
Also, avoid exercises that make you feel awkward or unpleasant.

Desirable Exercises

All kinds of muscle stretches (you can learn them from yoga, but be very careful!), inclines, exercises on the pull-up bar. Fitness for seniors should include flexibility, joints, and muscle strengthening exercises. The latter is vital because, with age, muscle mass decreases considerably, leading to multiple health problems.

Be sure to pay attention to breathing, abs and back muscles exercises. That is the key to health for years to come.

Nutrition For Seniors

The recommendations are standard/basic principles of healthy nutrition:
? Food should be simple
? Reduce caloric value and increase biological value
? More fresh fruits and vegetables
? More fresh juices
? Fewer sweets, alcohol, meat
? I suggest giving up sugar. You can replace it with honey and fructose (if you can stand it) but in very moderate quantities. If you get heartburn, use honey separately from other foods. It’s also not a bad idea to use sweeteners.
? It is better to eat more often and in small amounts. Say five to six times a day.
? Drink more water if you don’t have any contraindications
? Take fewer animal fats (butter, lard, fatty meat) and more vegetable fats (olive oil, sunflower oil, nuts, and seeds)
? Avoid eating fried foods
? Use cereals instead of pasta
? Bread with bran instead of white bread, or even better with whole grains. Rye bread is also great
? Instead of sausages, eat baked meat, fish, or poultry. There are many recipes for cooking in foil
? Cut back on muffins and white flour bread
? Avoid drinking milk. However, other dairy products are very welcome
? Be sure to eat seafood: seaweed, saltwater fish, and shellfish
? Limit your consumption of tea and coffee. But it is not necessary to avoid them at all. Besides, there is a known medical fact – drinking coffee lowers your risk of developing Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease
? Consider some sports nutrition products: whey protein (source of high-quality protein), multivitamins, creatine (helps maintain muscle mass and strength during strength training), L-carnitine (a vitamin-like substance that helps accelerate the burning of subcutaneous fat), and some others
? It is worth taking regularly increased doses of vitamins: E, C, PP, group B, mineral products concerning Ca, Mg, Fe, K. Consult a physician about the dosage and frequency of intake

What Else To Consider

Take a walk every day in any weather (at least 15 minutes). Ventilate your home more often. For some reason, many old-aged people neglect the airing of a room in which they live. That is basic hygiene, and fresh air in your room strengthens your body too. When you go swimming in summer, go out on the shore and dry off in the wind, without wiping yourself.

Final Words

Fitness for seniors is alright and completely natural. Exercise and follow the rules of mindful living to prolong the active part of your life. Be healthy and happy! ?