When we get older we are starting to loose muscle and bone mass a bit each year. Some say that this already starts around the age of 35. This effects both men and women, however women going through the menopause have an increased risk of osteoporosis. So for post menopausal women the following is even more important.
Besides eating a healthy diet here are 2 exercise programs you need to do.
1. Strength training to preserve and build muscle mass.
Losing muscle mass effects among others your metabolism and you’ll notice that slowly over the years it becomes more difficult to keep the access bodyfat off. Therefore it is very important to do any form of strength training, being weight lifting, kettlebells or calisthenics. It must be challenging for your body. Use heavy weights to perform between 6 to 12 reps. Strength training also helps with keeping bone mass. Eating more protein is needed to help with building and maintaining the muscle.
2. Jumping up and down for strengthening bone mass
Any form of jumping up and down helps to preserve and strengthens your bone mass. This can be running, skipping, HITT cardio doing jumping jacks or other forms of jumps, rebounder. At the same time the cardio helps also with the health of your hearts and lungs. It doesn’t have to be long; 2 sessions a week for 10 minutes is already enough.
If you are overweight start with the rebounder or with weight training or do both. I don’t advise running when you are overweight. The force impact on your knees is about 4 to 8 times more than from walking. However if running is your thing, it is best to keep it short and sweet and focus more on sprints than lots of hours of running. Skipping or a rebounder is a good alternative, because it has less of an impact on your knees. Try it out and sees what works for you.
Of course mobility work and stretching are also an important part of your exercise program. They help you to preserve and improve your range of motion and to keep you fit in every day life.
Getting and staying in shape over 40 takes a bit more effort. What worked before may no longer give you the same results. You need to find out how much and what kind of exercise you need. Some people have enough on 3 times per week, some people need to exercise every day. And you need to adapt your exercise program in the years to come. Stay in tune with your body and mind. With patience and staying committed you can get great results.