How To Stay In Shape When You’re Not A Spring Chicken
by Punctual AbstractLet’s face it, we can’t do everything we could do when we were 20 years old. But that doesn’t mean we can’t stay in shape. In our continuing effort to help our readers and our employees lead healthy, active and happy lives, we would like to share with you 5 golden rules to help you stay fit when you’re not a spring chicken!
1. Protect your joints
When trying to stay in shape into your thirties, forties, fifties and beyond, a philosophy from medicine becomes useful: do no harm. Injuries and illnesses are the number one obstacles that prevent middle aged people from getting the exercise they need. One key area to protect are your joints. The older we get, the less elastic our joints are. That means they are more prone to break or tear instead of stretch. Do strength training three times a week. The main areas you should hit are: Hips and midsection, Legs, Arms and shoulders.
2. Protect your bones
Right up there in importance with joint protection is bone protection. To keep your bones hard and healthy, take one thousand milligrams of calcium daily, including calcium derived from what you eat and drink. Everyone knows that calcium is good for your bones, but it’s also good for reducing fat storage. To give you an idea of what 1,000 milligrams (1 gram) looks like in food form, it’s a cup of yogurt, two glasses of milk and a bowl of cereal.
3. Pay attention to form
When you’re young and reckless, you can jump on any machine in the gym and try it out and you’re not likely to get injured. As you get older, your body become more susceptible to strains. Make sure to ask your personal trainer or a gym employee for assistance when you’re trying out a new machine or exercise. Otherwise you may knock yourself out of commission!
4. Opt for low impact
You don’t need to be exercising like Rocky to stay in shape. Low impact exercises will give you the cardio and the strength training you need, but without all the heavy impact that leads to sore muscles and afternoons on the couch. Try cycling and swimming for cardio and lunges and lateral shuffling for strength training. Healthy adults should take more than 10,000 steps a day, so focusing on your walking may also be a good place to start!
5. Eat right
This goes without saying, but eat a healthy diet! Try and eat small amounts of red meat and instead eat a diet rich in vegetables, nuts, grains, fish, and olive oil. This sentence might need to be re-worded. Maybe just remove the word ‘instead’ and it would sound better! just a suggestion! These are many more things you can do to stay in shape will into your prime years, but these 5 steps are a good start. The sooner you start the better. We hope you enjoyed!
Punctual Abstract Believes in Corporate Wellness
Through onsite health promotion programs and awareness campaigns, Punctual Abstract fulfills your title and abstract needs while promoting the health of our employees and their families. Call us at 800-588-0046 to speak with our professional team today!