Does Age Make a Difference to a Womens Fitness?

07 Sep Does Age Make a Difference to a Womens Fitness?

Do you remember your 20s? Do you remember what exercises you were doing? What does womens fitness mean to you in your 50’s?  I am sure you remember your 20’s and the difference in your exercise routine back then to now.

In my 20’s I remember being an aerobic class bunny, a step class advocate and a gym junkie. I was fully kitted out with my tied dyed leotard worn over the top of my leggings. I was ready to give it my all with a high energy and pumped up workout….it was the 80’s!!! With little or no rest and feeling like I had energy to burn.

So, as we start to age and move through our 30s, 40s and 50’s we inevitably see changes in our body, our energy level, and recovery ability. Our bodies will naturally start to slow down at this stage of life. We need to start making more intelligent decisions when it comes to our food choices, workout routines, and recovery methods. During this stage, many women will also experience some hormonal challenges. These changes will be unique to each and might range from fatigue, lack of motivation, depression, mood swings and maybe even weight gain this all impacts on a womens fitness.

The challenges of womens fitness in middle age are varied for everyone. By the time a female reaches 50, she has most likely experienced many different symptoms. Speaking from the perspective of a trainer and a woman in this age group, many of my clients are women over 40. I see first-hand how life is not always necessarily fair, even though they have given their best efforts in the areas of exercising and nutritional choices.

A large proportion of the fitness industries programing, information and fitness inspiration is aimed at the 20 year old market. This is not very helpful for a woman in her 40’s or 50+’s. In fact, if we did everything we read or saw then I am sure that our bodies would be most unforgiving.

Yes, we are very capable of working out hard and being exceptionally fit, but a standardised approach may not be appropriate for all women. The best way is to put into place simple strategies, so you have a sustainable exercise routine that gives you maximum benefit.

Here are five tips on how to achieve a successful workout routine for womens fitness

1. Have a five-week plan this allows you to incorporate a weekly schedule and gives you enough time to set some short-term goals during this time frame.

2. Listen to your body, some days you may feel depleted. If this is the case, take a nap, go to bed earlier, have a super nutritionally dense breakfast, lunch and dinner or get outside and get some vitamin D from the sunshine.

3. Something is better than nothing and if you are having one of those days then at least try and do something. The act of movement is sometimes enough to get you out of the funk.

4. Make sure you do strength training, as the benefits of strength training are too many to ignore. It increases your metabolism, releases endorphins and develops core strength. Your body will move better as you improve your body mechanics and this will assist you as you get older with the risk of falling and injury.

5. Finally, the power of community is very important, along with the social and emotional aspect.  Group classes are places of trust and kindness where both stories and experiences are shared. The benefit of this is immeasurable and sometimes makes you realise that you are not doing it alone.

My group classes are everything that I’ve described here for womens fitness; it’s a place to set goals, get you moving, increase your fitness and strength. It’s a place to exercise in a secure and encouraging environment. Based in East Brisbane if you want more details, please visit www.methodfitness.com.au or phone on 1300 835 869. Or find me on facebook or instagram.