Fitness Topics

Workouts for Seniors

The Missing Pieces

Over the past few years, there has been a preponderance of books, articles and news features addressing the need for elders to exercise. Even the government has put out newsletters on how older people can live better, more healthful lives by performing exercises several times per week.

With all this extensive coverage on the merits of exercise, few have ever addressed the bottom line issues that matter the most. Without these factors, an exercise program, even with the best of intentions, would be doomed to failure. These factors, which I like to refer to as pillars, are frequency, duration, intensity and technique. Unfortunately, most books and magazine articles tend to be ultra-conservative with older populations.

To attain any degree of progress, a person must challenge her/his body relative to her/his current levels of fitness and strength. This pertains to everyone at all age levels. All workout programs should not be pursued, however, until an approval by a doctor has been granted, particularly for women at the age of 45 and above and men at 40 and above.

Frequency
Exercising once or twice per week is certainly better than not exercising at all. But considering that the human body was designed to be in motion, this is hardly enough to generate significant results — whether you are rehabilitating an injuring or heart disease, or if you simply want to look and feel better. Naturally, you need to have goals before starting with any program.

Once your goals have been established, you should commit to at least three times per week for aerobics conditioning and two times per week for weight training. If you have already been exercising regularly for at least three or four months, or if you have already attained a reasonable degree of fitness, then try to increase the frequency to four or five times per week for cardiovascular and three times for weight training.

Duration
Cardiovascular exercises should last for at least 20 minutes to reach your aerobic threshold, or fat-burning stage. Weight training sessions should last from approximately 35 minutes to a maximum of 75 minutes, depending on the number of muscle groups being targeted for a given workout. Working out with weights for more than 75 minutes becomes counterproductive due to hormonal changes and reductions in glycogen stores.

Intensity
Regarding intensity, always challenge your body with slightly more than what it is accustomed to handling. If you have the strength on a particular exercise to lift 15 pounds, but you use 5-pound dumbbells, then you will be wasting your time. Progress will plateau whenever a muscle (group) adapts to a given load. Mental boredom will set in as well, minimizing your chances for compliance and thus success. If you are uncertain as to how to safely increase the intensity of your workout, you may choose to consult with a fitness professional. (Please check, in the near future, for an article on how to choose a knowledgeable trainer). In the interim, if you have any questions as to what to seek in hiring a trainer, feel free to contact me directly.

Technique
Proper technique is critical to attaining your goals in a timely and safe manner. If you are new to exercise, be sure to hire a consultant for at least a few sessions. This would allow the trainer to demonstrate the proper execution of each exercise and to, very importantly, oversee your technique as you perform each exercise.

In closing, by having a better understanding of frequency, duration, intensity and technique, you will be much better able to attain your fitness goals in a safe and effecient manner. You may even be surprised at how much more enjoyable workouts become through such an understanding. Have fun!!!

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