We all know how important exercise is in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. However, not all of us know which types of exercises are best with our specific age group. After all, not all exercises are fit for everyone.
You can’t expect 50-year old CEOs of oil and gas investment companies to work out the way 20 or 30-year old lumberjacks do. Their lifestyles are different. The physical demands of their work are different. Their physical and health conditions are different. Their ages are quite obviously, different.
Listed below are some ideal exercises that will go well with their particular demographics and why we recommend these particular exercises.
Age Group: 20s
Exercise: Running
Why? You should start building your cardiovascular level as young as your 20s because it will help determine your health later on in life. Running is a great way to build it. Since your body is at its peak condition during your 20s, you can combine your cardio with some anaerobic exercises to help you build and strengthen your muscles.
Exercise: Yoga
Why? A lot of 20-something-year-olds today seem to not know how to relax and rid their lives of stress. This could possibly be caused by student loan debts and a bleak job market. Either way, calm is not something they can easily get nowadays which is why yoga comes in very handy in regulating stress and helps one find a sense of calmness and peace.
Age Group: 30s
Exercise: Interval Training
Why? When you hit your 30s, your metabolism starts to slow down a bit. This means that you could gain up to 2 pounds of fat yearly. Interval training allows your body to continue burning unwanted calories even after your workout. Its effects can last 10 to 12 hours post-exercise compared to only 4 to 6 hours of regular exercise.
Exercise: Heavy Weight Lifting
Why? It is also in your 30s that you start to lose muscle mass. Experts say that the body loses around one-third of a pound of muscle as each year goes by. This is the reason why most folks get weaker as they grow older. More than just maintaining your muscle mass with pilates or free weights, you need to lift heavy weights to help you rebuild and recover lost muscle mass.
Age Group: 40s
Exercise: Strength Training
Why? Most middle-aged folks think that cardio is enough to keep them healthy. However, as mentioned earlier, the older you get, the more that your strength, muscle mass, and bone density declines. For this reason, you should add some strength training routines to your workout and work all of your major muscle groups at least twice a week.
Age Group: 50s
Exercise: Weight-bearing Exercises
Why? One thing you need to understand about the human bone is that it is a living tissue. It only keeps itself strong as it sees fit. Bone density drops as you age so weight-bearing exercises, such as dance, tennis, and hiking, are pretty helpful at maintaining your bone density and making it stronger to keep up with your lifestyle and activities.
Exercise: Leg Strengthening
Why? In 2016, a study in Gerontology found that the more powerful and strong the legs are, the better the brain ages. While the connection between leg strength/power and brain/cognitive function is still unclear, a theory states that when the muscles are put to work, they release certain neurochemicals that stimulate the brain.
Age Group: 60s
Exercise: Regular Strength Training
Why? Since we’ve already touched on the topic of the strong muscle-strong brain connection, one of the best forms of exercise for older adults that will keep their brains sharp is regular strength training exercises. It not only helps strengthen bones and muscle but the improved cognitive function can help one avoid the risk of falls and trips. Coaches, trainers, and experts recommend that seniors use medium-weight dumbbells that can allow you to make at least 10 consecutive reps before taking a breather.
Age Group: 70s
Exercise: Lower Impact Exercises
Why? Both men and women in this age group can benefit from pursuing lower impact exercises. They can take up bodyweight training and retrain their core. Exercises that have a greater emphasis on balance can help older folks stay independent, strong, and mobile with very minimal need for assistance.
Age Group: 80s
Exercise: Light Activity
Why? Even if it seems easier to gain weight during these years, it is also found that folks who are at this age can easily shed a few unwanted pounds with something as simple as a light activity like walking or gardening. You just need to discover the right activity that you enjoy and commit to doing at least 30 minutes of it daily.
Any kind of exercise is a step to better health. But for an exercise to be really effective, you need to adopt the right exercises according to your physical capabilities. While pushing yourself beyond your limits is a good thing, knowing which ones are the best for you will prove to be more beneficial at different points in your life.
