Wow, I just listened to a great interview today on the radio. Vonda Wright, MD, was talking about Fitness after 40. She's written a book about it with the same title. Click on her name to get to the link to her official website, and here for a little biography written about her as an expert consultant on Dr. Oz. But... I thought that I'd share a few things that I gleaned from the talk and her website along with a few of my own thoughts on the subject.
Dr. Wright says that you need to FACE Your Future:
Flexibility: Lengthen the muscles and tendons as they become tight with age. A 30 second stretch of each major muscle group once a day is a start. Ideally doing each group five times would be excellent. Much more than that isn't needed.
Aerobic Activity: 30 minutes of brisk exercise that gets your heart rate up and moving at least every other day. A brisk walk, cycling, spinning, rowing, running, stair climber... you get the picture.
Carry a Load or Resistance Training. Muscles must be challenged to stay strong. This may be done with weight training, but "carrying your own weight" is really more efficient. Try using that exercise ball that Dr. Shay keeps talking about. Do push-ups, wall squats and sit-ups with the ball. This not only helps with balance, but utilizes more muscle groups than those that would be used with an individual exercise machine. Try adding those walking/Nordic walking sticks to your walk and start using all of your muscles from your neck to your waist while doing your aerobic walk!
Equilibrium or Balance: This will help prevent falls as we age. Once again, exercising on the ball forces core muscle strength. Another simple option for starters: stand on one foot while doing the dishes. Dr. Wright mentioned that 30% of men who have a hip fracture will die within the first year of the fracture and another 30% will never return to full strength or function. Wow, scary statistics! Women statistically do better, but even they don't have great odds. Focus on that core strength and balance now!
Dr. Wright describes a Master Athlete to be anyone over the age of thirty who is not a professional athlete who exercises at least 4 times a week. Wait a minute, that's a lot of people out there.
A few take home ideas:
1. Be sure to have good sturdy workout shoes, appropriate for the sport. The soles break down with time and can lead to injuries (and then you have to see Dr. Shay more often). Dr. Wright recommends replacing your shoes roughly every 500 miles or every six months.
2. Avoid "Overuse" Injuries! These don't only happen at work. Think of the shin splints, shoulder strains and hip bursitis that could have been prevented!
Be sure to cross train. What that means is to do something other than your favorite exercise or sport so that you are strengthening and stretching muscles that don't get challenged with your favorite game of golf, running, walking, etc. It really helps reduce the risk of "overuse" injuries and strains. In the long run, it will make you stronger and better at your favorite sport as well. If you are a runner, try spinning a couple of days a week. Don't forget the core (abdominal muscles, lower back, pelvis) strengthening and stretching!
3. Stay ACTIVE and get off the couch/chair! Many of you tell me (Dr. Shay) - "oh, I'm just getting old." My response? "No, it's your lifestyle, not your age!" A new study just confirmed this! Wahoo! I'm right! They studied athletic adults between their 40's to 80's and found that those in their 50-70's only declined 2% in physical ability per year. At 75 years of age biology jumped in and this increased to a whopping 8% decline per year. That means, unless you plan on really spiralling down and end up in a rocking chair or wheel chair in your "Golden Years" you need to get moving!
Here's your starting 10 week workout, as designed by Dr. Vonda Wright.
Anyone want to come ride bikes with me?