Getting in Shape in Your 50s

By William J. Strimel, DO, FACC, FACP

Even if you haven’t exercised since high school gym class, it’s never to late to start. According to the Arthritis Foundation, not only does exercise make most people feel better, perform physical tasks better and reduce the risk of disability due to arthritis, it now appears that exercise – specifically, resistance training – actually rejuvenates muscle tissue in healthy older adults.

 

Many difficulties of aging are linked to an inactive lifestyle. There is no better way to maintain good health in later life than exercise. As you grow older, you lose muscle mass and there’s a decline in your metabolic rate. Aerobic exercise has consistently shown to lead to a variety of health benefits, including weight reduction, lower blood pressure, lessening of chronic pain, and improvement in mood and energy levels. Being sedentary raises the risk for developing such serious health conditions as diabetes and heart disease. And it has consistently been shown that a person’s level of cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest predictors of risk for long-term adverse outcomes. People who perform the least activity now have the most to gain from getting started. Going from sedentary to even mildly active can reduce your risk of dying from heart disease by almost 20%! Once you start moving, you’ll feel better and you can increase your “good” cholesterol level and lower your risk of heart disease.

 

Before starting an exercise program, you may want to talk to your doctor. If you have certain risk factors for heart disease, you may benefit from a stress test to assess your cardiac risk. National guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health encourage 150 minutes — or 2 ½ hours — of aerobic exercise a week. This can include such activities as walking, swimming, or cycling. Find an activity that interests you and map out a plan to spend a half hour being active five days a week. Even daily activities like gardening, household chores and walking the dog can help you stay active, maintain or lose weight, and keep healthy as you age. Moderate exercise is generally considered to be at about a level of 50 – 60% of your maximum exercise capacity. You should notice your breathing is increased, but not so much that you feel “out of breath”.

 

Here are some fitness tips for people who want to start exercising:

 

• Seek the help of a fitness expert. There are gyms with specialized senior fitness programs and personal trainers who specialize in working with older adults.
• Look for ways to fit in fitness whenever and wherever you can. Always choose stairs over the elevator, park at the far end of the parking lot when arriving at appointments and meetings, and walk down every isle of the grocery store while shopping.
• Warm up before exercise and stretch afterward. Easy walking at a very slow pace for about five minutes is one way to warm up. Be sure to cool down at the end of your workouts by doing five minutes of some type of slow movement followed by gentle stretches. As we age, muscles become shorter and lose their elasticity. Stretching is an important part of elderly and seniors flexibility and will help offset the effects of normal decline in the flexibility of your joints, and help you remain active and independent.
• Make proper form a priority. Any exercise done improperly can be dangerous. Improper form will not only hinder your results, but also puts you at risk for major injuries — the most common of which are back problems.
• Add strength training to your cardio routine. Strength training is critical for older adults. Adults lose 4 to 6 pounds of muscle tissue per decade, which means a significant loss of body strength and a lower resting metabolism. Try to add some form of strength training to your regimen 2 days a week for approximately 20 minutes. Low weight, high repetition is the best initial approach.
• Know when it’s time to make a change – increase the amount of time or difficulty of your exercise. The number one reason to change your workout routine is when it is no longer doing what it’s supposed to do and producing the results it’s supposed to produce. To experience continued improvement in fitness, you need to challenge your body by making your workouts progressively harder.

 

If there is some discomfort after exercising, it should be short-lived and not carry on for hours or days. While exercise may be great for all of us, no matter our age or size – the key is not to overdo it and to seek out expert advice as soon as we notice extreme or abnormal discomfort.

 

 

Mercy Health System offers a free online heart risk assessment at www.mercyhealth.org/services/heart/rate-your-heart-smarts

 

William J. Strimel, DO, FACC, FACP, is a cardiologist and the Director of Cardiology at Mercy Suburban Hospital in East Norriton, 610-292-6520.

Category: Fitness