Staying Fit at Fifty-plus has its own set of challenges but the rewards are worth every sweaty minute. The main things to remember ~ what worked at 35 or 40 won’t work as well over 50, so adapt and respond. And most important of all ~ you need to cherish and take care of the castle that is your beautiful body of 50, 60 or 70+ years.
Flywheel Charlotte is offering scoop readers Over 50 one free class
anytime between Sunday, 10/24 and the end of November.
THIS OFFER EXPIRED IN NOVEMBER 2017
And remember, the Fly Guys already know your birthday, so no cheating!!
We pulled some info and guidance from the web here, in our post on Fitness as You Age.
We also interviewed one of our favorite Charlotte instructors for tips and ideas on the topic. Denise Duffy, owner of Smartcore Fitness and legendary Charlotte cycle instructor tells us:
Fitness Over 50 – 3 Critical Components: Cardio Intervals, Strength Training, Flexibility
Everything slows down as we get a little older. We start to move differently – posture changes, walking pace slows, common activities seem a little harder. A balanced fitness plan and good nutrition can help fight the battle and slow the process.
Our best research shows that short bursts of hard exertion or cardio work with periods of rest provides huge benefits in the shortest amount of time. Hard data on high intensity interval training like we do at Flywheel show:
- an increase in mitochondria or “energy cells” to improve athletic performance
- higher levels of VO2 max – in layman terms, the ability to use oxygen to fuel activity over a long period of time
- the ability to move FASTER – we ask for pedal speeds or RPM’s that challenge the neuromuscular system to continue to train a challenging rate of leg turnover
Equally important is a strength training regime that incorporates as many muscle groups into a single exercise – after all, in life we don’t isolate one muscle at a time when performing everyday tasks. Use functional movement patterns that challenge and strengthen your CORE when you lift weights to fight the loss of muscle that accelerates as we age. Use strength training to help yourself move strongly through your daily activities like getting off the ground, squatting out of a chair, walking up the stairs, etc.
And lastly, add a flexibility component to your DAILY regime. Muscle are shorter and tighter as we age so our old “once a week” deep stretch should shift to 10-15 minutes at the end of every day. You can find assisted stretching and fascial release therapy at several local Charlotte clinics – try it! They are phenomenal!
My personal story is that I’m 57 years old and a 20 year fitness veteran – I teach 7 Flywheel classes per week, strength train over 100 people a week at SMARTCORE and enjoy an FST (Fascial Stretch Therapy) session once a month – I can check the box on all 3 fitness components and say that it definitely works for me!!
