Our physiology provides us with, ahem, interesting changes as we age, so much so that we may begin to despair of building fitness after 50. Whether you have stayed in shape for many years, returned to exercise after a layoff, or are just getting started, achieving fitness in our middling years is possible.
As with achieving fitness at any age, we just have to do the work.
Easy, right?
Starting Point
Okay. Maybe I oversimplified a bit.
When have we ever known work to be easy?
When we enjoyed what we were doing, of course. So one successful approach to fitness (at any age, really) is to keep it fun.
Fitness, in the context of this conversation, is defined as the ability to build muscle mass, power, and strength for the purpose of improving our quality of life. Fitness is being able to enjoy what we have and improve upon it.
Success is measured in improvements in abilities. Ability to physically navigate one’s environment. Ability to address Life’s challenges, be they physical or mental. Taking satisfaction and enjoyment in daily activities.
While competition against others is sometimes discussed, our focus is competing with ourselves to be better/stronger than what we did the day before.
Understanding human psychology as we do, a great way to keep an activity going is positive reinforcement. Take yourself a little less seriously and find/make things fun.
If you cannot laugh at a middle-aged person working out, what can you laugh at?
Fitness After 50 Means Food
Building fitness after 50, or any age for that matter, means looking at what and how we eat. This does not mean we give up all of our favorite foods, but the focus is on healthy foods that taste good and satisfy.
When we look at eating for fitness, we are pragmatic about fueling our exercise. Flavors are still important, but we are looking first at our energy needs. Are our needs being met with what we currently eat or do we adjust?
Starting with our favorite macromolecule terminology, carbohydrates, proteins and fats are all considered in our fitness diet. Specific percentages of each make up our diet but the proportions will be determined by our goals.
Whether you are trying to lose weight or improve your athletic performance (we love those PR’s!), the proportions of nutrients will vary.
A fun footnote is that we consider the different settings of nutrition as we eat before, during, and after exercise. Carbohydrates keep things working during exercise, while proteins and fats help our body build and recover from effort.
Fitness training means not having to feel hungry. (Pretty cool positive motivation, eh?)
Getting Things Moving
Some of our eating options include choices of food quality. We want to consume quality proteins, but do we choose plant-based or animal? Dairy and eggs or strict vegan?
Loads of questions that each of us get to answer.
Hint: if you are eating healthy, there is no wrong answer – just different answers.
A big takeaway message that our bodies share with us in middle age is that the way we used to do a lot of things will not work anymore. Therefore, our decisions about gaining fitness after 50 are varied, according to our individual needs.
I know I get frustrated when my body says “No” to something I have done for years (like recovering from a hard workout in less than 24 hours), but this just prompts for a revised approach.
Instead of trying to use the same old methods and failing, devising creative solutions can give us that positive reinforcement we seek. Gotta love opportunities!
Cross Training Concepts
Not surprising to hear this from me but holistic thinking can make exercise plans work even better.
If you used to compete or participate in only one type of activity, welcome to the even more enjoyable experience of cross training. Gathering fitness from a variety of activities instead of just one brings back an element that we may not have visited since childhood: fun.
My childhood was filled with adventures on a bicycle that would likely have made my parents cringe, if they had ever known – but it was fun!
As I grew older, I focused on being competitive, to the exclusion of working out just for fun. As my body changed with age, I had a choice. Rage against the changes and have the changes win anyway, or shift my thinking to accommodate the changes.
Cross training had always been a series of activities that I used in the off season to condition my body in ways that cycling did not. Some light weight training, running, rowing, yardwork – anything to stress my body that did not include pedaling. Come warmer weather, I was back in the saddle and all of that additional fitness soon faded.
Fitness after 50 means cross training year round. It is admittedly the most fun I have had exercising since I was a kid. To get to the time of day set aside for exercise and wonder, “Which activity should I do now?” is liberating.
A Fitness After 50 Mindset
The mind of the athlete, whether you come from a competitive background or are just wanting to add exercise, is a murky place at times. Concerns about training, fueling, competition, and more than a few insecurities about performance are common thoughts. Add some worries about an aging body and it is great that we are problem solvers.
Building fitness after 50 is about doing things smarter. Adopt a new humility that is being imposed by our physical nature and grow. Paying closer attention to food, rest, exercise, and stress from our thoughts, as well as ideas consumed (think: social media feed) is how we accomplish goals.
The level of self discipline is high after 50 years of age because we no longer have the option to slack off or cheat. That donut or day of lazing on the couch is felt in the next workout – and we know just who made us feel that way.
Parenting ourselves may be new to some but it is a great way to smarten up our response to this getting older thing.
Quality of life is where the fun is. Come on out and enjoy!
“A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.”
― A.A. Milne
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