How to Stay Active Over 50

If you were to Google women’s health and aging you would be bombarded with results such as heart disease, osteoporosis, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease alongside hormone changes, which lowers muscle mass, slows metabolism and increases weight gain.

You may be wondering how you can hit back? Exercise. I bet a lot of people reading this just cringed or ran into a corner of the room and started rocking back and forth. But you don’t need to have this response. Although exercise can be intimidating and scary it doesn’t have to be and you don’t have to live at the gym either. All you need to do is partake in the right activities and stay moving.

We do understand it can be hard to even know where to start; therefore we looked into the best ways to stay active of 50 and have brought them straight to you amazing people!

Strength Training

Okay so when we say this we are not referring to bulging biceps and huge quads, we are referring to tone, strong muscles that assist you in everyday living. Strength training helps to keep your weight in line and keeps your bones strong. You can start with activities such as:

• Weightlifting

• Body weight exercises (push ups, lunges and squats)

• Elastic bands

• Dumbbells and kettle bells

Find Your Passion in Exercise

There is no point attempting to exercise if you hate what you are doing as chances are you wont stick to it. Therefore try out a few different options and see which one really resonates with you. We even found this amazing quiz: Which Fitness Activity Suits You?

Grab a Buddy

Exercising itself isn’t exactly a funfest but grabbing a buddy and doing it together can make it one! Whether you and the girls go for afternoon walks or you and your partner start a yoga class. Whatever it may be a buddy can make all the difference.

Schedule

It is incredibly easy to push your exercise time out of the way for more important activities such as a glass of wine with the girls however this will not help your overall health. Set scheduled exercise time into your calendar and work around this time.

Stretch It Out

If you have greater flexibility you have better balance, healthier muscles and less joint pain. Some amazing choices to improve your flexibility include Pilates, yoga or a combination of both. Celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston have been using Pilates and yoga as their only source of exercise for years and look at how amazing their bodies are!

So if you are trying to stay active and you’re over the age of 50 we highly recommend trying the above tips and tricks to get you started. Remember this isn’t a race, start at your own pace and adjust your exercise to suit you.

Thinco xo