Here's Why All Women Over 50 Need An Exercise Revamp
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Let’s cut right to the chase: You’ve known for some time now that exercise is important when it comes to weight loss and maintaining a healthy body. But what you may not know is that as you cross over to your 50’s and beyond, the type of exercise you do takes on more significance.
Doing the same old workout routine that you did in your youth isn’t going to serve you well as you get older. Your body is changing or has already changed in many ways—slower metabolism, bone loss, weight redistribution, brain fog—and you need to meet each change with the right types of movement so you can set yourself up for optimal health.
Also, your reasons for exercising should evolve. When I turned 50, I realized that fitness is not about looking good in a bathing suit or caring what other people think about your looks. Instead, it’s about setting yourself up for a healthy older age!
Bottom line: It’s time to overhaul your exercise routine to align with your age, your body, and your goals. Here’s a closer look at what an exercise revamp can do for you.
1. An exercise revamp can help counter the loss of estrogen.
There's a reason women are more affected by the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis than men: Menopause. Estrogen helps protect your bones, and as we get older, we produce less and less of it. And when your estrogen levels are lower, you’re at greater risk of developing osteopenia and osteoporosis. In fact, in the first years after menopause, the loss of estrogen can cause bone mass to be lost two to five times more quickly than the loss caused by age alone.
Fortunately, a combination of strength training and weight bearing endurance exercises helps build bones and keep them strong (think walking, jumping rope, hiking, dancing, yoga, etc.). There’s a strong body of evidence showing that women who stay physically active have higher bone mass than their sedentary peers and that active women have fewer fractures, even if they have osteoporosis. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, to see the bone-health benefits, we should focus on hitting these benchmarks:
Weight-bearing endurance activities: 3 to 5 times/week at a moderate to high intensity. You’ve got to break a sweat!
Strength or resistance training (using weights, resistance bands, or your own body weight as resistance, as in push-ups and squats): 2 to 3 times a week.
If you’ve already been diagnosed with osteoporosis, make sure to follow the exercise guidelines your doctor gives you.
2. An exercise revamp can improve your overall mood!
You know how you kinda, sorta, really want to throw something at women who say entering their 50s was a great thing for them? (Trust me, I get it.) Well, exercise can help soften those sharp mental angst edges for you. Any movement will do the trick—zumba, yoga, walking, boxing—it all releases feel-good endorphins that put a damper on anxiety and help you get out of the negative self-talk loop.
Of course, if your doctor has diagnosed you with anxiety or depression, follow their advice in terms of how much exercise to aim for. Otherwise, you can set a target of 30 minutes of exercise/movement every day. As long as you’re doing something physical that you enjoy and can look forward to, you’ll see a difference in your mood!
3. You’ll keep heart disease at bay.
According to the American Heart Association, more than one in three adult women has some form of cardiovascular disease… and there is an overall increase in heart attacks among women about 10 years after menopause. You can challenge those stats with aerobic exercise:
At least 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity 5 days a week for a total of 150 minutes. Moderate intensity means you’re sweating and it’s somewhat hard to hold a conversation.
Alternatively, you can do 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity (you’re working hard enough that chit-chatting is out of the question) 3 days a week for a total of 75 minutes.
In addition to this, you want to incorporate moderate to high intensity strength training 2 days a week, for at least 20 to 30 minutes. If you are managing high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, it’s recommended that you get 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity 3 to 4 times each week.
This may seem like a lot of movement if you’re starting from none, but I encourage you to start small and work your way up to the recommended amounts. If you try to drastically change your routine overnight, the chances of you sticking with it are slim. Another positive, though, is that getting enough movement every day and week may also help lower your chances of developing other health problems, including diabetes, memory decline, and cancer. So while it’s definitely a time commitment, it’s well worth it!
4. Everyday tasks will become easier.
Everyone knows that if you want to compete in a 5K race, you need to run. But one thing that’s not so obvious is that if you want to continue to have an easy go of life’s more mundane daily tasks—things like rearranging your furniture, weeding the garden, or racing through an airport—you need to train your body accordingly! That’s where functional fitness comes in.
It sounds like a technical term, but functional fitness is really just a well thought out strength training routine that teaches your major muscle group to work together. Think about it this way: Banging out 50 crunches may do a lot for your waistline, but it’s not going to help you hike up three flights of stairs when your office elevator is out for maintenance.
A functional fitness workout, on the other hand, will increase muscle strength, boost endurance and improve coordination and balance Ultimately, functional fitness workouts will help you bypass nagging aches and stiffness that are all too often the hallmarks of getting older.
Look for a workout class or a personal trainer that emphasizes building muscle, flexibility, and/or balance, or that offers a full-body workout. Barre classes, yoga, pilates and tai chi are great examples of these, and they’re actually a lot of fun!
So, if you take anything away from this article, let it be these major points:
Exercising like you did in your 20s will not serve you in your 50s and 60s. You need an exercise revamp.
Adapting your exercise routine for your age can help you mitigate symptoms of menopause like loss of estrogen, improve your mood, keep life-threatening diseases at bay, and make everyday tasks easier.
Start where you are, and strive to incorporate a mix of aerobic activity, weight-bearing exercises, and strength/resistance training exercises into your week.
If you have questions, I encourage you to subscribed to the Pure Joy Squad on Patreon! Post your question or DM me! Trust me when I say it’s a safe, accepting space where you are more than welcome.
Xo,
Renata