FITNESS AT FIFTY PLUS

People say that losing weight is no walk in the park.  When I hear that I think, yeah, that’s the problem.  ~Chris Adams

Lately I have shared stories about my journey towards fitness. The birth of my grandson, Roy, was the trigger. I wanted to be able to spend quality time with him and be an active granny who could throw ball and run bases with him 🙂 It wasn’t easy getting back in the saddle after a gap of five years; I had really let myself go (medical conditions added to my expanding girth). Netflix and Amazon Prime didn’t help either, in fact they played a big part in my becoming a couch potato.

I was fortunate enough to meet some inspiring women during the course of my uphill climb to a fitter me. These fifty plus women look amazing, workout like champs and don’t seem to tire as easily as me. I also met an extremely talented fitness expert, Tarun. He is a fitness professional who graciously agreed to share some tips on the different kinds of workouts for us fifty plus women.   I posed a few questions related to health and fitness to all four of them and here are their replies.

Things seem to work out better all around when I’m working out. ~Terri Guillemets

 

The fabulous fifty-plus-fit women, Manee, Alka and Simran, share their views about fitness.

MANEE-

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am a free-spirited person, believe in the present. The meaning of life is not merely to just exist, but to move ahead, to achieve and conquer.

When/at what age did you start your fitness routine?

It has been fourteen years since I have started my fitness routine. I started working out at the age of forty-four.

How do you plan your workout sessions? What’s your favourite kind of exercise?

I love most of my work out, I think l enjoy weight training the most. According to my guru, Tarun, the body workout should be done in a week. So I plan out my sessions in that way.

Is it possible to be physically active every day? What keeps you motivated?

I think your body can stand anything. It is your mind that you have to convince.

My motto is me against myself. The biggest motivation factor is my guru, Tarun.

Is it difficult to work out after 50? What are the changes you see in yourself after you started working out at the gym or at home?

lt is never too late to be what you might have been. I am stronger, calmer & confident. I am more of a gym person. The gym is one of the very few relationships you will ever have where you get exactly what you give, don’t pass that up.

Any tips you would like to give the readers.

Push yourself because, no one else is going to do it for you. Do something today that your future self will thank you for.

 

ALKA-

1.Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am Alka Sabharwal. I am 54 years old and a home maker.

2. When/at what age did you start your fitness routine?

I think in late thirties I became very conscious of the little weight I put on . So I started something or the other type of exercise. I tried walking, yoga, aerobics, gym and dancing too.

3.How do you plan your workout sessions? What’s your favourite kind of exercise?

I try to be active throughout the day. I try to do my workout at least thrice a week. Many times I do five times a week too .My favourite kind of exercise is strength training using my body weight .I enjoy dancing. I think my favourite is dancing.

4. Is it possible to be physically active every day? What keeps you motivated?

Yes. It is possible to be active throughout the day.  There are two-three things that keeps me motivated. One is I’m bored sitting at home all alone so I want to go out and do something. Secondly I want to look good so I exercise and go out. And the most important thing is that I enjoy doing my workouts.

5. Is it difficult to work out after 50? What are the changes you see in yourself after you started working out at the gym or at home?

It is not difficult to work out after fifty. Starting at fifty may be difficult but since I’ m doing since long I don’t find it so. But yes I do find changes in me.  I feel tired and drained out quickly. I need to be careful with my diet and water content.

6. Any tips you would like to give the readers.

I would like to suggest everyone to go out and do some type of activity which you enjoy. This will make you happy and fit and it will make you look good which gives you a lot of confidence. Celebrate your this phase of life and stay happy. Cheers.

 

SIMRAN-

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am Simran, and now just enjoy life after years of putting in the hard work required by everyone to do at that point of time in one’s life.

When/at what age did you start your fitness routine?

I started working out only two years ago when I got free from my responsibilities.

How do you plan your workout sessions? What’s your favourite kind of exercise?

Ideally I like to work out for one hour in the morning and then one hour in the evening too. I enjoy personal training the most.

Is it possible to be physically active every day? What keeps you motivated?

It is absolutely possible to be active every single day! I see the change in my own self, body and mind both, and that keeps me motivated

Is it difficult to work out after fifty? What are the changes you see in yourself after you started working out at the gym or at home?

It is not difficult to work out after fifty at all! I am much more agile and just feel so good.

 

Thank you dear fifty plus fit women for being a part of my blog and sharing your stories with the readers. You have motivated this fifty-five years old granny to keep on going. She will get there, eventually.

If it weren’t for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn’t get any exercise at all. ~Joey Adams

 

Tarun Sharma talks about why exercise is essential for senior women.

I’m a professional with an overall 12 years of experience across 3 industries.  After dabbling in the finance and real estate market, I chose to go after my passion which is Fitness. I got certified by the American Council on Exercise and have worked with brands like Anytime Fitness and Fitness First. My arsenal of exercises include functional training equipment like TRX, VIPR, BOSU, Kettlebell, and SMR. Over a career of 3 years in the fitness industry, I have trained a number of people from all walks of life; all age groups and with special needs; heart, diabetes, hypertension, thyroid. When I train my clients, I make sure that they become a newer version of themselves; something which they didn’t even know existed in the first place. Nothing pleases me more to see my clients finish a good session, all sweaty but with a million dollar smile 🙂

 

Most of us are already aware of the benefits of exercise; we’ve read in the books, watched it on the TV and heard it from our friends and family. However, what does one do when you turn 50? Do you just sit back on your couch and relax all day or do you go out for a walk for 20-30 minutes and just come home? Well, let’s find out. The good news is, it’s never too late to start. At 50 when things become a little different for you than they were at 30, guess what? You can reverse those effects to a larger extent. Your chronological age could be 55 however; your biological age could be 35.

Regular exercise involving a combination of cardiovascular exercises, strength training bouts, stretching coupled with a healthy diet and adequate amount of sleep can lower the risk of heart-disease, hypertension, diabetes, and osteoporosis.  It will help you gain muscle mass, reduce body fat and keep weight in check. For women, some added benefits include taming the symptoms of menopause, joint pain and sleeping disorders. Exercise makes sure that your physiological, and psychological systems are in a healthy state.

A basic workout plan for senior women should include the following components:

• Aerobic Exercises: Walking, light running, dancing, swimming are all good forms of exercises for your heart and brain. One must include a minimum of 3 bouts of cardio per week in their regime where are they are operating at 85-145 bpm (beats per minute). A general formula to calculate your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. The target should be to be in the zone of 50-85% of your maximum heart rate.
• Strength Training: Personally, I’m a big fan of strength training. As the name suggests, lifting weights or working against some sort of resistance. This will improve your bone strength, lower the risk of injury, improve metabolism (even post workout), tone your body and correct posture. A good exercise routine should incorporate a minimum of 3 bouts of strength training per week. Studies have shown that after a good 45-60 minutes of strength training, the body’s metabolism is higher by upto 50% for the next 24-36 hours! According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), “between the ages of 30 and 80, sedentary adults can experience as much as 30 to 40 percent loss of muscular strength as a result of reduced levels of muscle mass.” Of course the idea is not to become a hulk but to target the entire body (upper, lower, anterior, lateral and posterior). One must perform such exercises under a certified fitness professional and each exercise can be performed for a total of 8-12 repetitions for 2-3 sets.
• Stretching: This helps in maintaining the flexibility of joints and allowing the muscles to perform under full range of motion. It also helps reduce the risk of injury, muscle soreness and improves the tensile strength, and better flow of blood (carrying oxygen and nutrients) to all the working muscles. Participating in Yoga,Pilates and Tai-Chi, one can improve their core strength and stability.

If you are a senior woman reading this and have a sedentary lifestyle, please break the mould and get moving. In this day and age where more and more people are getting conscious about their health, why should you be left behind? There are absolutely NO excuses to not enjoy the life which god has given us in his infinite wisdom. If you are a young person reading this and have a senior at home, please encourage them to get fit by exercising regularly and including ALL the components that I have mentioned earlier. There is no dearth of professional help. I personally believe that there is no situation which cannot be made better. All we need is a little guidance which can go a long way in leading a long, and blissful life.

Tarun Sharma

Fitness Professional

 

Tarun, thank you for your informative article and the basic work out plan for fifty-plus young ladies 🙂 I will definitely follow your health and exercise tips and hopefully get healthier and lighter in the near future.

To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. ~Buddha