The Costco Connection

Adapting your exercise regimen throughout the years

BY ANDREW MOORE

PHYSICAL ACTIVIT Y is one of the most important factors that influence longevity. Nearly everyone agrees with its importance, but many people fall short of what is necessary.

Developing physical fitness habits as early in life as possible paves the way for better health in later years. Correspondingly, maintaining levels of physical activity becomes more and more important as you grow older.

In general, here are some physical fitness priorities, broken down by decades.

20s

Your body is most susceptible to change during your ;;s. During this period, it’s possible to make rapid progress in both strength and cardiovascular endurance.

Suggested strength exercises include squat, bench and deadlift variations, as they incorporate large muscle groups and use the full body.

Suggested cardio includes high-intensity interval training, such as running or cycling, with a work-to-rest ratio of approximately ;-to-;. So, for example, for every two minutes of intense work, you’d have one minute of rest.

30s

During your ;;s, you’ll start to notice that you don’t achieve progress as easily as when you were younger, and injuries may start to arise.

At this stage in your life, while you are still maintaining a high level of physical activity, another focus needs to be on recovering properly to avoid injury and burnout.

Continue resistance training similar to

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that of your ;;s to maintain strength, and incorporate high-intensity aerobic activity, including running, biking, intervals, etc., that gets your heart rate up to ;; to ;; percent of your maximum heart rate to maintain cardiovascular fitness.

40s

This is often the period when things like work and family obligations can prevent you from exercising as much as you should. It is important to find a balance that will allow you to maintain your health along with your obligations.

In your ;;s, if you have not been maintaining a consistent exercise regimen, you start to become aware of certain health problems related to lack of physical fitness and/or poor diet. Problems such as high blood pressure, chronic stress, depression or cardiovascular disease make beginning and maintaining regular physical activity even more crucial.

Try performing lower-impact open-chain exercises. Open-chain exercises include any exercise where the body moves freely through space, such as chest presses, bicep curls, leg curls and leg extensions. These can be done with weights (shoulder presses) or without weights (pullups).

50s

In your ;;s, you may find that you need to modify the type of exercise you do to accommodate physical limitations.

For example, if you have been a lifelong runner, you may be unable to continue running as frequently or unable to run longer distances due to joint issues. Taking up something lower in impact, such as biking or swimming, will allow you to get a cardiovascular workout but without the repetitive impact to the joints that running involves.

Your primary exercises should be at a
lower intensity when it comes to cardiovas-
cular fitness; resistance training can remain
the same, with the goal of minimizing loss
of strength.

60s

As you go through your ;;s, maintaining strength becomes a priority.

Strength is extremely important to overall health in several ways. Muscle mass maintains normal hormone function in the body, lets you exert less energy during tasks related to daily living and reduces stress on the heart, and maintaining strength can prevent injuries from events such as falls.

Exercises should be body-weight and ground-based to stimulate bone and muscle growth and maintenance. Examples would be body-weight squats or pushups, as both are ground-based and incorporate multiple joints, or pullups.

Suggested cardio would include lower-intensity, steady-state exercises such as jogging, walking, biking or swimming.

70s

In your ;;s, the mode of physical activity becomes less important than the amount of activity.

At this age, you may not need to go to the gym to work out if you have an active lifestyle with hobbies that involve being physically active or if you spend time walking and have minimal sedentary time. Activities like these have many benefits, such as maintaining cardiovascular health, keeping your strength and preventing bone loss.