Senior Fitness: Train for the Things You Want to Keep Doing
By Derrick Inglut
Carrying groceries, getting out of a low chair, climbing stairs, and enjoying a long walk are concrete training goals. They are more useful starting points than a promise to turn back your biological clock.
Senior fitness should begin with the things you want to keep doing and the things that currently feel difficult.
Give walking some company
The CDC recommends a mix of aerobic activity, muscle-strengthening work, and balance activities for adults 65 and older. The general targets include 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity weekly and strengthening on at least two days, adapted to your abilities and health.
Walking can be part of that mix. It does not have to carry the entire program by itself.
Choose a practical starting point
Write down three activities you want to make easier. Bring that list to a trainer. Getting up from a chair suggests a different immediate priority from building endurance for a walking holiday.
A starting session might explore a supported sit-to-stand, a light pulling exercise, and a carry at a suitable load. Those are examples to assess, not a fixed circuit for everyone. Balance work should have a safe support nearby rather than relying on catching yourself.
Progress without making soreness the score
Record what you did and how you managed afterward. More repetitions, steadier movement, or needing less assistance can all be useful milestones. There is no need to make every session harder in every way.
Tell your trainer about falls, dizziness, pain, medical restrictions, and relevant medication changes. A condition that needs clinical assessment cannot be solved by a more enthusiastic workout.
Be skeptical of hormone shortcuts
My original column discussed growth hormone as an anti-aging idea. Current Endocrine Society guidance does not support using it as an anti-aging intervention. Suspected hormone deficiency belongs with a qualified clinician, not a personal training plan.
When comparing personal training for seniors, ask how the trainer will adapt exercises, monitor progress, and account for your individual needs. A useful plan should connect your workouts to the activities that matter to you. If you would like help building a routine around your abilities and everyday goals, explore my private personal training options and we can discuss your starting point.
Adapted and substantially updated from “The Fountain of Youth: Discovered?,” originally published in The Southwester, July 2009, p. 5.
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