How to get in Shape at Fifty
So I was looking at my ample abdomen the other day and thought, well this isn’t good. I’m expanding more rapidly than I’m eating. I don’t know when it happened, all I know is that it happened.
So I had a couple of options. Accept it. Ah no. Start some sort of exercise program. To Youtube Ho!
It turns out that all the beginner exercise program videos assume that you can actually do the beginner exercises already. So for me, I just laughed at most of them. I had no hope of doing any of the ‘beginner’ exercises. So I had to find some sort of alternative.
I realised that I was really inflexible. My joints were kind of hurting and I got pretty stiff at night before going to bed. It was harder to get out of chairs and my car. My work clothes were getting a little tight and I had to just stay shy of ordering a size 16 shirt, because if I ever get to 16 – it’s all over.
Now, I know there are a few of you reading this that are way over the 16 mark and I have no judgement whatsoever. For me, reaching this milestone was the line I drew for myself. Find your own line, but rest assured, over size 16 are having exactly the same issues I am at just under 16 in terms of finding a plan to begin exercise.
So, how do you start to get in shape over fifty? Very slowly. Start with the absolute basics. Like it or not we are now more susceptible to injury so you really have to be gentle on yourself if you haven’t exercised in a while.
A few easy things – walk instead of driving. I know it’s annoying but it’s something simple, free and easy to get you actually moving. Get off the bus a stop before you need to (if practical), take a walk in your lunch break.
Where I started to start to get in shape, is with simple stretching. I consider this time to be my ‘training for training’. It’s going to be a bit of a while before I can even do the ‘beginner’ exercises. For me it was hard, but important to accept this. I am unfit as hell. It’s embarrassing. No way I’m going to a gym to reveal to the gym junkies how unfit I actually am. So I’ve embarked on a get fit enough to actually train campaign.
I have also combined some isometric exercises and calisthenics. These exercises are easy as they are based on your own weight and amount of force you put into them.
Has any of it made any difference? Yes, yes it has.
My leg muscles and arm muscles are a lot more firm. I have increased stamina for my regime now. I was dying the first few days. Some days I’m not as good as others. I can’t balance some days. I accept this and keep going.
It’s really easy to give up on these days. It’s super easy to say it’s impossible I’m never going to get there – I’ll just accept my size and inability to walk to the shops. If you want to make it into your 60’s, you have to change these outlooks right now or, you’re not going to make it. Sorry to be blunt, but it is how it is. You have to take an active involvement in your fitness (or lack thereof) if you want any chance of living healthy for the next 20 or 30 years. In this context, living healthy means just being able to get through the day not eating lettuce all day.
So to get in shape in your fifties, just start. Begin with the simplest of goals. I’ve talked about mine – touching my toes – but I do have greater ones as well. I want to eventually be able to do an L sit (calisthenics) and a chin up (calisthenics). After nearly two months I can hold a squat for 70 seconds now so I’ve made the squat harder so now I’m back to 30 seconds, with screaming, but I can do it.
Set yourself little, achievable but difficult fitness or exercise goals. Do a little bit each day to get there. I do mine at 6.30 am every weekday and around 8.30 or 9.00 on the weekends. If I’m really not feeling it on the weekends I will give myself a day off as a ‘recovery’ day but I do not let myself miss more than one day in a row under any circumstances. Because I know myself and two days will turn into a week and then I’ll be starting all over again.
My favourite Youtube channels for actual beginner exercises you can do is Minus the Gym and Red Delta Project.
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