Health, Fitness, and lifestyle at age 50 and beyond

10/14/2022

Daily Workout to Stay Fit Over 50

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Staying motivated to practice self care can be tough at any age. This task may seem especially grueling some days when you’re nearing or over the age of 50, especially for women. Hormones start changing, menopause kicks in and weight gain seems inevitable. Trust me, I’ve been there. All of this coupled with thyroid related autoimmune issues can make it very tough. I am here to tell you though…It is doable. I am 51, 30 pounds lighter than I was during stages of my life and lean muscle. I am strong and feel great over all. I would love to share what works for me. My process has helped myself, my family and a number of other individuals. I made drastic changes 3 years ago and haven’t looked back. Read more to learn a very basic routine I do almost every day to maintain a healthy weight, muscle mass and energy.

In 2018, at the age of 47 my weight plateaued. I had an event to attend and couldn’t find a dress. I felt miserable and very unhappy with my physical stature and my overall health. That alone didn’t inspire change. An annual doctor’s visit followed shortly. My blood pressure was high for the first time in my life, my cholesterol was high and my weight was getting quickly out of control. My doctor informed me that hormones and menopause will only exacerbate these health concerns. I knew it was time to start shaping up. My daughter had health issues as well during this time. These issues weighed heavily on me (no pun intended). I started tracking my calories and food intake. I quickly saw the dietary changes that I needed to make. In another post I will share more about processed foods and food allergies.

The next step in my health journey was that I started working out. I researched extensively. I started doing a plank every day for a week. I could barely hold it 30 seconds in the beginning. Now it’s easy. I do at least a 1 minute plank every day, sometimes longer or sometimes more planks. I found a balance of cardio, strength, and weight training that worked great for me. I started dropping pounds quickly. The muscle came a little later. I have consistently kept this routine since, I am now 51 and it still keeps me in shape. So what is the routine? Please consult your doctor or health professional before embarking on a fitness journey of your own. I am sharing what worked for me. I can not guarantee that this process will work for you. I am not your trainer or health care professional and am not offering individualized advice.

The Daily Workout - Step 1
I start with 10 - 20 minutes of warm up. I ride an indoor cycle or do an elliptical machine. I do not have expensive equipment. If I am traveling or somewhere that I have no equipment I do jumping jacks, burpees or march in place if it’s a low energy day. The important thing is to move and get the heart rate up for at least 10 minutes. Doing this before strength training will increase the calories burned during a workout.

The strength portion of this daily workout is available at my Instagram link below.
This is a routine that I am able to do almost every day. I certainly mix it up quite a bit, but the minimum I do everyday to maintain my weight and muscle mass for the last several years is as follows:

cardio portion 10-20
bicep curls 3 sets, 15-20 reps -start with minimal weight and work your way up in 5 pound increments
Leg raises on weight bench 2 sets, 15 reps
Reverse leg raises on the weight bench 2 sets, 15 reps
rowing motion on the bench, 2 sets, 15 reps
tricep dips on a bench 25, 2 times
forward arm rotations 25 arm circles, 2 sets
backward arm rotations 25 reps, 2 sets
tricep raises 25 reps, 2 sets
overhead presses 25 reps, 2 sets
Squats, 25 reps, 3 times
tiptoe raises, 25 reps, 3 times
crunches 2-3 sets of 20 ( I started with only one, worked my way to 2 and so on)
This is all in my quick video at the Instagram link below.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cj8SxN1p2-3/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Not in this video - I will post a detailed video of this later:
Some days I do floor exercises only - if I am feeling lazy. It’s important to keep going, especially on your lazy days. If you miss workout days it becomes easier to miss the next one, and then the next, and so on. Many of the individuals that I have worked with have felt that they were not strong enough to do weights or too much at all. Each of these people have started with floor exercises. All have told me that this is a very doable and very motivating way to get started. For the floor workout plan:

10 minute cardio warm-up, walking, biking, whatever works
Plank as long as you can
10 pushups
10 crunches on each side and 10 crunches in the middle
50 right angle leg lifts on each side
50 side laying leg kicks on each side
15 scissor kicks laying on the back
finish, standing and doing these last few moves:
squats as many as you can
Extended arm rotations, 25 forward and 25 backwards

Daily Workout to Stay Fit Over 50

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