Want to stay strong and flexible well into your later years? It's all about switching up your routine, says Vogue's Lauren Murdoch-Smith.
20s: Anything goes
"You
are at your physical peak - strong and fast with rapid recovery," says
Lara Milward, co-founder of the south London outdoor training programme Blitz Fitness.
NHS guidelines state that a healthy adult aged between 19 and 64 should
do a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, plus
two to three strength sessions. She continues, "In your twenties you
should lay down good eating and exercise habits for life, and enjoy many
and varied training experiences." Lee Mullins, founder of the Workshop
Gymnasium in Knightsbridge, agrees. This is the time to "create lean
muscle and strength, which will make it easier to retain as you age", he
says. Consider spinning, running and boxing.
30s: Flex appeal
Stretching is crucial in this decade, so introduce yoga
or Pilates. "At this stage of your life, choose a dynamic form of yoga
such as Vinyasa or Jivamukti," says Mullins. "These challenging styles
will improve your cardiovascular system as well as your flexibility.
Yoga is also a great reliever of stress, which inevitably increases in
your thirties."
40s-50s: Power up
"In your forties, HIIT training
is a time-efficient way to reduce body fat and improve hormonal health -
you can get a workout done in 20 minutes," explains Mullins. Milward
adds, "In your forties and fifties you start to see changes in sex
hormones and muscle mass, and some decrease in cardiovascular function.
It is thought that in your forties you may lose half a pound of muscle a
year, increasing to a pound in your fifties, so weightlifting and body
weights are highly beneficial." So think about switching your spin class
for kettlebells.
60s: Stay in the flow
"In
your sixties, the focus should be on maintaining strength, flexibility
and balance to remain functionally active as you age," Milward explains.
You should weight-train more often than a younger adult to maintain
muscle, and increase exercise that helps with balance and flexibility,
such as Pilates, dance and yoga. Swimming is also an excellent way to train, using the resistance of the water to work your cardiovascular system."
70s+: The next move
"Low
impact, low-intensity training is the perfect exercise in your
seventies," says Mullins. "I'm a huge fan of t'ai chi for joint health
and balance, which are two of the main causes of injury in the elderly,
and brisk walking is an easy, underrated form of low-intensity cardio
exercise." Milward adds, "If you've always been a runner, there's no
reason why you can't run well into your nineties and beyond - the
stronger your muscles are for longer, the less discomfort you will feel
in your back and knees. Regular exercise is making you bullet-proof
against ageing."
See more at: Vogue
