What are the kind of workouts or exercises have you found effective after you have reached forty? Could you mention it and share how it has helped you keep in shape or lose weight?
Being over 40 and having to deal with creeping weight gain is a real bummer. This comes from one who has been dealing with it and learned a few tricks, which may or may not apply to others with the same struggle. I don't like traditional weights, so I use a combination of body weight training and a suspension trainer. Strength training with a focus on the core works best for me. It also must be intense. I combine this with casual walking, biking and an unusual program called T-Tapp. I can't explain T-Tapp very well and it's best to google it. My diet is low carb and I'm trying to eliminate bread and pasta. I also take good quality supplements. It's important to find something you like, as well.
Yay...another T-Tapp fan!!! I love T-Tapp. I'm 50 now, but when I was 43 years old and doing T-Tapp 5 days a week for 9 months while low carbing, I lost 35 pounds and got really toned. You are right; T-Tapp is hard to explain to people when they ask me. The closest camparison to any other workouts are Callanetics and yoga, but with much fewer repetions, a quicker pace and more muscle activation with each exercise. I remember when I had to go to a chiropractor after I had been doing T-Tapp for 8 months or so and was already looking pretty darn good (if I do say so myself) after being in a car accident. He had me do some exercises like basic push ups and I remember him saying afterwards, "So I see you lift weights." When I told him I didn't, her looked floored and said, "But your triceps are so defined." I told him about T-Tapp and how it helped build long, lean muscle without bulking up. He had me show him a few of the exercises and was impressed. Unfortunately, I got away from doing T-Tapp because of a stressful life situation, but I'm just now starting back with it. By just watching the exercises (there are free ones to try on the site) you'd think they look too easy to work. I did when I first bought a dvd; I barely broke a sweat doing the entire workout. When I went to the forum to complain about wasting my money, a very kind trainer in training to become a T-Tapp instructor took me under her wing and showed me how to do the exercises properly. Boy, what a difference from the way I had been doing them! I broke out in a sweat within 5 minutes and was drenched by the end of the 30-minute workout. The next day I was sore in muscles that have never been that sore from The Firm workouts. I was hooked! Here is the T-Tapp website if you are interested in finding out more about it:Log In Read the success stories. They are truly imspiring. I was doing The Firm workouts prior to switching to T-Tapp, but I found that The Firm, although a good workout in itself, bulked up my arms and thighs more while adding muscle. T-Tapp leaned me out. Many women who do T-Tapp go down a size or two without even losing weight. Good luck to you if you do decide to do it!
I don't think you need to change your training regime when you are over 40. You can still train with heavy weights, sprint and do cardiovascular exercise. You will just need to adjust the volume and allow more time for rest and recuperation.
Thanks for that link @sandooch . I have never heard of TTap before. I am going to check this out. Yeah this weight that is creeping upon me is really hard to get off. I need to do something about this and real soon. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions I appreciate this.
I have found that you get a better workout if you play sports like tennis, football, soccer, basketball and other high cardiovascular sports, and play them on a regular basis. I feel that it is easier to get motivated into having a more intense workout if you are in competition. My favorite is football, but it is unrealistic for me to play flag football three times a week at age 55. I play once every several weeks. I do play tennis three times a week, as I mentioned in other posts and other websites. It is helping me stay in shape, but without strict dieting, I am still overweight.
Because I have a bad back, I have to do exercises that are very limited and less stressful on my body. So l try to do my exercises prior to getting out of the bed. Leg lifts, legs to the side, arm swings, flapping of the knees together. Anything that will improve my circulation. I will sit in a chair, supporting my back, and do the same type of thngs. People with limited mobile ability could do these sort of exercises without a problem.
I do have a back problem and I do these in bed every morning. I seem to be adding on weight due to some restrictions in mobility. I am basically looking for some kind of program that is less stressful but combined with a sensible diet which will help me lose weight.
I would say that brisk walking would be the best exercise for ages 40 and above. Now if you think that you are far more stronger than that, you could do triathlon. You would surely lose weight with that sport. If you don't have idea about triathlon, well it is a sport that comprise of three parts. Swimming, biking and running.
I do the first two I don't swim. I jog once a week, brisk walk twice a week and play tennis with my husband a couple of times a week. However, I haven't been able to do so now without my knee hurting so bad. My doctor has told me not to anything other than walking and stretching exercises. I was watching T-tap videos on You tube and downloaded some. I will try doing those which don't put to much pressure on my knees. Thanks a ton. I appreciate all the responses here.
My mom and pop are over forty, fifty seven to be exact. They do aerobics, yes even my pop! But the aerobic class they are in has members of the same age group and the movements are contoured to their age. A bit slow, but still. My pop goes brisk walking too. In the eveniing, my mom and her friends go around the village to walk and that is their way of "burning" what they had for dinner.
You still need to do small amounts of high intensity training even when you are old. It could be resistance training or sprinting just once a week. This will help keep your bones strong and dense and it will help you maintain your muscle mass, losing your muscle mass is a sign of death after all.
A low intensity cardio exercise plan is an effective one for the over forty persons. They can do walking, jogging, sits ups, and yoga etc. to maintain their fitness level and fight against the different kinds of the diseases.
I'm in my mid-40's and also with a knee problem ever since I was in my late 30's. As much as possible I stay away from high impact exercises like running. It's unfortunate because I love running. But the best I can do right now is a slow jog, continuous for 30 to 40 minutes, If I do more than that my knees would hurt. Though I did start as a brisk walker (like you) until I develop my endurance to run but I did experience a slight knee injury so I stop. I don't want to risk my knee and stop all the activities that I'm enjoying right now so I really have to be careful.
Walking does work too. Granted, it's not an exercise in itself but for someone of my age [who isn't used to exercising daily] this would at least give you a little exercise if the place you hike to is hilly. Personally, I spend much time doing chores around the farm so without exercising, I can still be fit. Nonetheless I still do some push-ups and pull ups.
I have a great book for you to get. Its called "Pushing yourself to power". I ordered it and the man who wrote it is 50-60 years old. I think 57. And he looks like hes in his early 40's. His muscles look even younger than that. Anyways. This book is about working out to be big without weights. Amazing? I know. Get it and try it out. Other than that, I agree with what 'tosaytheleast' said. Brisk walking would be the best exercise for ages 40 and above. The golden trio is great, swimming, biking and running.
Keep on walking, and don't stop. Walk to work if you can, walk to your shopping centre, walk with your kids, friends, animals. Just stay on your feet, don't get lazy. And if your feet hurt too much, buy yourself a pair of sport shoes with good soles. If you get tired of walking, take your bike and go on a ride as often as you can. Preferably to the nearest swimming pool where you can stretch all your muscles and get toned all over.
I've worked a lot with my mom, who's in her late 50's and needs a certain routine in order to actually workout in the first place. One great thing I found that really worked for her was water aerobics. It's not nearly as much stress on the joints and muscles, but still gets a good cardio and strength training workout in. As far as out of pool workouts that I helped her with, it consisted a lot of walking on the treadmill and light weight training. It's a matter of adjusting the weights to the person.
I am not a hardcore fan of working out but I do yoga, stretching exercises and walking. I walk a lot, all the way to grocers, buy other stuff etc. to the bank. I walk as much as I can and I absolutely love walking. Although I would really like to do more in terms of exercise, i can never get around to it!
