Why We Should Exercise after 50
Maintaining strength, muscle mass and stamina by finding a way to exercise that is sustainable is especially necessary to stay healthy and vibrant after we turn 50. By the time we get to this age, we usually have a reasonably clear understanding of ourselves and what kind of physical activity we can commit to for a long time. It is a lot of work though, and requires discipline. In fact, about half of all Boomers make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and become more fit, but more than half are unable to sustain the resolution for more than a year.
Even if we are retired from the work that filled our time and paid the bills when we were younger, many of us continue to have responsibilities and other types of commitments, including part-time jobs. As a result, where and when we exercise takes effort and planning, maybe trial and error, to figure out. I am stiff as a board and never thought I could run, but it turns out that, with lots of practice, lower body exercises, and slowly building stamina, I can. Cris doesn’t run, but she does lots of other activities. She could do team sports if she had time, which uncoordinated me cannot. Moving, especially if it makes us sweat, and, even better, if we’re doing an activity we enjoy, will increase our odds of staying healthy and mobile. We can garden, complete DIY projects, bend and climb the stairs with less strain for much longer.
Changes, Including Muscle Mass, at 50
When I was younger, I don’t remember thinking much about formal exercise for myself. I stayed slim in part by chasing after my three children and hurrying up and down the multiple flights of stairs of my backsplit. I rode my bike and walked, mostly because I had no car, to do errands, to calm my mind, or for fun with my young children, but all that gradually stopped as I got older and got a car: work, home and my to-do list took up all my time.
After doing some reading as I approached 50, I had a reasonably realistic understanding of what changes would happen. I expected to gain a lot of weight, which I did. Unfortunately, I also knew that it would be very hard to lose any of it unless I started exercising regularly. I accepted that I would never be the size I had been at 35, but I wanted to stay reasonably flexible and keep the beginnings of my bone density loss under control.
I tried a calming yoga class geared to my age group for a few years and exercising on my own at a chain gym. Both helped a little: small steps. Then, quickly one after the other, I got vertigo, which has never really left, an extremely painful kidney stone, and a ‘frozen shoulder’ from sleeping awkwardly and tensely to avoid triggering the awful vertigo. I stopped exercising.
Turning Life’s Lemons into Lemonade
Sometimes life throws us lemons. If someone offers us a recipe for delicious lemonade, and we are thirsty, we will probably grab it and use it. That’s what I did. Part of getting older for me has been trying not to accumulate any more regrets for missed opportunities. I exercise regularly. For me, that means twice a week at a gym with a trainer, which works for my personality. The practical ripple effects have been that although I struggle a bit sometimes, I can still manage the flights of stairs in my house and elsewhere. I can lift, dig, reach, and carry. I am stronger, healthier and more able to turn more lemons into lemonade.
Do you exercise? Maybe you used to, but for a bunch of reasons, you don’t anymore. Maybe you want to, but you can’t figure out a routine, a way of doing it, that works for you. I try not to be a giver of unasked-for advice. I can only tell you about my experience and maybe you will relate to something somewhere along the way. Do you prefer to exercise at a gym, at home or outdoors? Let us know in the comments.
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