Fitness For All Ages

Your 20s is an interesting decade to be in. It’s the first decade of complete adulthood and when major life events occur like going off to college and living on your own for the first time. This is also a time when we punish our bodies with late nights, poor eating habits, no exercise or too much, and a few too many parties. Your 20s is truly a decade where you begin to learn more about yourself and who you are on the inside and out. It’s also a pivotal time when it comes to setting a foundation of healthy habits for the many years ahead.

For now, we’re able to get away with the abuse we dish out to ourselves because our bodies bounce right back. However, it’s important to realize that our bodies won’t always be strong without being nurtured. We can’t rely on our youthful metabolism forever. The decisions we make now, we will be feeling further along down the road. And believe it or not, once you reach your early 20s, parts of your body are already entering the phase when they begin to slow, such as that youthful metabolism. That’s why time is of the essence to start moving towards a healthy lifestyle now while it’s still easy versus playing catch up when you’re older and it’s much more difficult. If that’s not enough to convince you, according to Boston Magazine, a study showed that those who were fit and in their 20s “had a dramatically lower risk of heart disease and premature death as they aged.” You can learn more about how you can be proactive with fitness in your 20s in this article.

When you hit your 30s, the effects of your body slowing down become more noticeable. You may discover that you’re no longer able to eat whatever you want and that your body is starting to hold onto fat. This is because every new decade we enter, our metabolic rate slows down by 2-3%. Not to mention that many of us become less active in this period because of lifestyle changes like sitting in front of a computer for 40+ hours a week, which doesn’t help. Enter the era of having to work harder to stay in shape.

As you start to lose muscle mass and your body fat increases, it’ll be harder to keep the weight off. To counteract the muscle loss, you’ll want to make some adjustments to your exercise routine to include more strength training. That includes exercises that involve lifting weights, using your body weight, or resistance bands. Your bone mass will also stop increasing in your 30s, so getting enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet and limiting your alcohol intake prior to reaching your 30s is important. With a balance of nutritional eating and exercise, these body changes may not be as noticeable when you enter your 30s compared to your peers who aren’t proactive.

Your 40s and 50s are the middle-aged decades that bridge a new time in life that includes big changes. Women go through menopause which has a big impact on their metabolism and body composition. Fat is no longer distributed evenly throughout the body and instead, gravitates towards the middle. Pair that with muscle mass and metabolism speed reduction and you’ve got a double whammy. Men typically have another decade before they begin andropause, which is a significant reduction in testosterone production. Regardless of gender, cardio should still be included in your exercise routine, but strength training is of the utmost importance in your 40s and 50s.

When it comes to combating aging, Pilates is a win-win. It’s an excellent, low-impact form of strength training that focuses on your core. It helps fight the weight gain in your midsection. And that slump in your posture? Pilates can help with that too! Probably most important of all is your flexibility. With proper stretching, you can elongate your muscles which will improve your balance and help prevent falls and injuries when you’re much older. Now that doesn’t mean that Pilates is the trump card to fighting aging. That’s just one card up your sleeve among the many other ways you can get the upper hand on Father Time.

In your golden years, staying fit has naturally become more difficult. Your muscles and joints become stiff, your stamina drops, and keeping the weight off requires more effort. These are all part of the circle of life. Does that mean it’s impossible to be fit once you reach a particular age in your life? Absolutely not! We’ve had seniors of all fitness levels attend our Fit Farm fitness retreats. Some were starting fresh on their personal journey and even some were in great shape and training for a marathon! Age is but a number and what we do now to take care of ourselves will allow us to continue to reap the benefits for the remainder of our lives. It all boils down to having a healthy lifestyle to slow the aging process. Young or old, fitness is for all.

There's a lot happening behind the scenes in our bodies as we age into each new decade of our lives. As our bodies change, our routines and maintenance should as well. Remember when we mentioned building healthy habits? Let fitness be a preventative, not a remedy! It’s never too late to get on track towards healthy living, regardless of age! Contact the team at Fit Farm to learn how our fitness and weight loss retreats can give you a jumpstart in your pursuit of health!