Fitness After 50

Maintaining or becoming fit promotes healthy aging and remaining independent later in life.

Healthy aging and physical fitness go hand in hand. Although aging involves many variables, you have direct control over most of them. Fitness is a key way in which you can actively contribute to your well being.

Getting Started
A change in exercise and nutrition habits can affect your required medication dosages and other aspects of your health, so ask your physician for specific recommendations before beginning a new program.

Consult an exercise professional (certified by the American College of Sports Medicine or the American Council on Exercise) who has experience in senior fitness programming to develop and demonstrate an individualized program for you.

You can also check out our senior exercise programs to see what kind of fitness programs Sharp offers for your health.

Integrate the components of fitness into your lifestyle and exercise program:

• Balance (standing on one foot for a few seconds at a time)
• Cardiovascular and muscular endurance (brisk walking, swimming, bicycling)
• Coordination/agility
• Flexibility (stretching) 
• Muscular strength (sustained light weight lifting)

Each of these items can be incorporated into your fitness program. Furthermore, you can build many of these components into your daily living, such as by carrying groceries, stretching when you get up in the morning or parking so that you have to walk farther to get to the store.

Cardiovascular and Muscular Endurance
Cardiovascular conditioning improves the condition of the heart (a muscle), the circulation system and the lungs. It is considered the primary component of fitness. Aerobic exercises are the basis of cardiovascular conditioning, including large muscle activity (movement of the arms and legs). For maximum benefit, cardiovascular conditioning must be performed for 20 to 60 minutes at least three times a week at an intensity sufficient to increase your heart rate to a target zone appropriate for your age and health. Your doctor and a certified fitness professional can easily help you determine your heart rate target zone. Muscular endurance is produced by aerobic exercise and is measured by the length of time particular muscles can sustain the activity. These components also help with weight management.

"Use it or lose it" definitely applies to muscular strength, which is developed by lifting weights, often referred to as resistance training. Loss of muscle mass with age is part of a sedentary lifestyle. Maintaining muscle mass can help promote weight management, bone density and being able to do daily activities such as carrying groceries, lifting grandchildren or participating in sports. One should always begin with an easy muscular strength program and progress gradually as health permits.

Flexibility and Balance Training
Improvement in flexibility, balance and coordination help maintain range of motion in various joints, prevent falls and bone fractures and allow us to participate in lifelong activities such as dancing, Tai Chi and favorite sports.

Flexibility is increased through stretching exercises. Generally, a good stretching program will involve all major muscle and tendon groups with stretches that are held for 10 to 30 seconds, 2 to 3 days per week.

Balance and coordination are achieved through practice and repetition. A certified fitness professional is trained to help you develop a program that is safe for you and suited to your needs. As an example, he or she might recommend that you stand on one foot and then the other while having a chair at hand in case you lose your balance. Practicing balance three days per week has been shown to produce significant results.

For More Information
Maintaining or becoming fit promotes healthy aging and remaining independent later in life. By working on the main components of fitness you can work towards that goal. Remember to consult a physician and certified exercise professional before you begin, start off slow and look for ways to make the process fun. Healthy aging and physical fitness go hand in hand — and it's never too late to start.

To learn more about Sharp's Senior Exercise Programs, please call 1-800-82-SHARP (1-800-827-4277), Monday through Friday, 8 am to 6 pm or go to Classes & Events to register online.