Working out at 41 vs. 26
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Anonymous
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After a V E R Y long hiatus from the gym -- marriage, kids, career, depression, putting myself last -- I have started working out again. In my 20's, I did very little cardio, mostly weights. Now I am doing mostly cardio, little weights. Amazingly, I seem to remember how to use all of the equipment.
But what do I need to know about my body and my abilities now? Clearly, I’ve changed physiologically... |
Anonymous
| you may need more warm-up before when lifting weights than before. Flexibilty decreases with age and can lead to injuries. |
Anonymous
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Congrats on working out again, and hope you can carve out a program where it's right for you! Everyone is different, their bodies are different in terms of exercising and how their bodies responds regardless of age. I've been lifting weights for 15 yrs and at age 45 I'm still at it, I understand my body much better, it truly is work in progress process for me. Like the previous poster said, flexibility decreases with age and more achy joints start to mount. I think the biggest toll on my body is sitting at my desk at work, it makes all the muscles tight starting from the hips, back and shoulders, not to mention poor posture. With frequent exercise and stretching one can eliminate lot of this sedentary pitfalls especially at our age.
Depending on your goals, I would start strengthening your body gradually and concentrate on your form when lifting weights. After a long haitus, your body will need to adapt to resistence training and will need some time for the muscles to engage and activate. If you can afford it I would hire a personal trainer to assist you early on. If you worked out before, it should come back fairly quick. Best of luck! |
Anonymous
| I would suggest upping the weights over the cardio. Strong muscles protect bones. |
Anonymous
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Kudos for taking care of yourself!
Would recommend adding a weekly yoga class in too. As you increase our activity, your muscles get tighter. When I was in my 20s, I could ignore achey muscles. At 39, I must do yoga weekly and stretch after a workout or I start to feel worn down. Plus, the mental benefits are awesome. |
Anonymous
| Don't skimp on the weights. Bone health is really important, especially at your age. |
Anonymous
| Get a foam roller for rolling out the knots and pain in your muscles. I'm curious why you're doing cardio vs. weights? Building muscle will help raise your "burn rate" and weights are really important as we age. I'm 40 and only do cardio activities for fun. I focus my "training time" on lifting heavy weights and it's made a huge difference in my body--both look and feel. |
Anonymous
I am not familiar with a foam roller ... what is that? I am focusing on cardio because I packed on about 15 lbs. since I was in my mid twenties -- I really, really want it gone. But of course, you are absolutely correct; more muscle mass will help me burn more calories (duh on my part.) And yes!, I am taking yoga too. That is the only thing I've kept up with over the years ... yoga and casual cardio (walking the dog, hiking, pushing a stroller, etc.) |
Anonymous
New poster who recently switched from doing all cardio to mostly weights ... I found that cardio didn't help with the weight loss; it made me too hungry. Maybe it helps if one is very overweight and inactive, but if you just have 10 or so pounds to lose, cardio isn't going to do it for you unless you can really restrict your calories as well. I'm finding that doing weights and focusing on eating more protein is helping curb the hunger and cravings and triggering a little bit of weight loss. |
Anonymous
| Google foam roller. It's been a huge eye opener to me that I need something to "get the kinks out" now that I'm in my 40s, but after 6 months nonstop, I'm convinced! I use it fir my back, quads and hip flexors each night and it's allowed me to lift weights I thought were way beyond my ability. Glad you're seeing the importance of weights versus cardio. It's tempting to do cardio for weight loss, but I think weights are what you do if you want to make a lifestyle change and transform your body |
Anonymous
| Really dumb question here (I am not the OP, but in a similar spot - returning to exercising again after long hiatus and 3 kids), is there any strength training I can do without buying weights? Running is easy and cheap - just go to the local HS track and run. What can I do that similarly convenient for weights/strength? Anything? |
Anonymous
If it matters, I don't really have weight to lose, need more muscle and strength though. |
Anonymous
+1 I'd like to know this too. Would prefer to avoid joining a gym, although i worry I may injure myself using free weights incorrectly. |
Anonymous
PPs - you can find free tutorials on how to properly use weights online. Just google it. My DH has a weight training app too. He bought it but it wasn't expensive. He loves it. Has a training regimen and shows how to properly do the lift. As for weights, you can use common household items (e.g., cans of food, bags of beans) for low weights (5-10 pounds). You can probably find cat litter in 15 lb units too. But, you might invest in a couple of sets of handheld weights as well. I have 10s, 15s, and 20s that I got on sale. Not super expensive. Just watch for sales. |
Anonymous
Do bodyweight exercises, if done right they are everything you need in your case. Take a chair and do dips with your arms, works the triceps and shoulders, put one leg back on chair and do squats. Lay on the ground on your back and do single hip bridges. Those three exercises are a good base to work from, Maybe even pushups and pullups if you want more upper body exercises. Should bodyweight exercises not be enough look into kettlebells, a legit form of weightlifting, kinda like dumbells but more versatile. And there is "sandbags" where you can use as an alternate to weights. Google them if interested. |