What Is The Best Way For Me To Stay Healthy Over 50?

Health Tips for Over Age 50

As we grow older and find the effects of Old Father Time catching up with us, we find that things become slightly more testing than decades ago. Whereas in the past we could lose weight by simply eating a salad and walking a few hundred yards, we now find that we need to work harder to shift those stubborn pounds. What’s more, improving our health and fitness also becomes more challenging yet as we age it becomes more important than ever. Just because you’re a little longer in the tooth, that doesn’t mean that health and fitness needs to be a challenge. Here are several health and fitness tips for over age 50.

Lift more weights – Okay, forget about what people say about lifting weights and ‘not wanting to get too big’ because the truth is that building muscle is notoriously difficult, and a couple of moderate weight training sessions per week is not going to transform you into a bodybuilder. What they will do however, is help you to increase your lean muscle mass slightly and ramp up your metabolism. As we age, our metabolisms decline, and we lose muscle mass. This is where lifting weights can pay dividends. You can increase your metabolism, burn fat, and slightly increase your lean muscle mass. So, sop heading straight for the treadmill and start pumping more iron instead.

Stay active – As well as lifting weights when training, cardiovascular exercise is also very important. Heart disease is the worlds biggest killer, so looking after your heart is vital. Be sure to stay physically active to keep your heart in the best possible shape. Do more work in the garden, walk to the store instead of driving, go for a walk around the park, just do something other than sitting stationary for hours on end.

Get plenty of calcium and vitamin D – As we grow older, we find that our bones tend to lose mass and become weaker and brittle. This can lead to osteoporosis, and other degenerative bone issues that can cause the bones to weaken and break. A great way of countering this is to increase calcium and vitamin D intakes. You see, calcium is a mineral that is absorbed by the bones, where it is used to strengthen them and protect them. We need vitamin D in order for the calcium to enter the bones, otherwise it simply goes to waste. Great sources of calcium include: Milk, cheese, dairy, and green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale.

Always stretch and warm up before exercise – Before any form of physical exercise, even if it’s something as simple as a gentle hike through the countryside, you should always take the time to warm up and stretch. Warming up and stretching before exercise will reduce your risk of injuries such as torn muscles, it’ll improve athletic performance, and it’ll increase your core body temperature. Staying injury-free is obviously very beneficial, so take 5 – 10 minutes before working out, just to stretch those muscles and get warmed up.

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