Fitness Tips After 40

When we age our body undergoes a variety of changes and keeping fit, strong and healthy can be challenging. This is especially challenging when you reach 40 and over. This can have a strong impact on long term health and limit you from living your best possible life. So here are some tips in staying fit and strong over 40.

Always warm up. As we age, we are prone to a higher risk of injury, stiffness and soreness, especially when doing exercise. Therefore it is really important to warm your body up before you exercise. A warm up of dynamic stretches, mobility exercises, or even a walk is a great way to start getting fit after 40.

Focus on recovery. To get fit after 40 and stay fit, we know exercise is vital but also allowing your body to rest and repair after exercise is also key. This prevents injury, stiffness and soreness and also better performance in future exercise and daily tasks. Ways to recover include static stretching, rest days or a massage.

Getting stronger. Keeping our muscles, joints and bones strong as we age can prevent injury, soreness, stiffness and other health conditions. So how do we start getting stronger after 40? The best way is to implement resistance training to your routine. This increases your muscle mass and strength, it protects your joints and improves bone strength. This in turn prevents health conditions such as osteoporosis, injuries and niggles, and also helps with daily activities such as getting up off the floor or moving/lifting an object. A personal trainer can help to set the right exercises and program for you to not only ensure you are doing it safely but also achieving your desired results.

Getting fitter. Incorporating cardiovascular exercise into your routine is also important. It prevents many health risks such as heart conditions, helps to maintain a good weight and improving your overall fitness also helps to make everyday tasks easier such as housework, walking up stairs or playing with your kids. So how do we start getting fit after 40? We suggest by easing into it i.e. set a small goal to build it into your routine, start easy with a walk, choose an activity you enjoy and do it with a friend. You may love to walk, run or cycle! Another great way is group training which we love at Vision PT. Come and give one a go!

Monitoring intensity. As we age, it is important to exercise at an intensity suited to you. You need to work to a level that achieves your desired results but doesn't do any damage i.e. injury or burnout. We also want our exercise routine to follow an intensity level that we can sustain long term. So finding the right type and intensity of exercise is important, and also progressing that intensity over time. A personal trainer can also help with this as they choose the right type and amount of exercise to keep you safe but ensure you reach your goals.

To conclude, at any age it is very possible to maintain and/or improve your fitness, strength and overall health. As we age, it can be more challenging to do this, especially over 40. Through the help of our expert coaches who are highly trained in exercise, we will help to create a program suited to your specific age, ability and unique body. With the help of a Personal Trainer, you can achieve goals you thought weren't possible but also doing it safely.