There's an old saying that goes
"youth is wasted on the young," but perhaps it should actually go
"exercise is wasted on the young." Many older
adults make the mistake of assuming they should avoid exercise past the age of 60, but that couldn't be further from the
truth. "There's a powerful myth that getting older means getting
decrepit," Chhanda Dutta, Ph.D., chief of the Clinical Gerontology
Branch at the National Institute on Aging, told WebMD. "It's not true. Some people in their 70s, 80s,
and 90s are out there running marathons and becoming bodybuilders."
One study published
in Age and Ageing surveyed over 400 older adults (ages 65+) on
their exercise beliefs and habits. Despite 95% telling researchers that
physical activity is beneficial, a significant portion (36%) admitted to
engaging in absolutely no leisure-time exercise. The study authors also noted
that most participants were either hesitant to exercise over injury concerns or
complained of too many aches and pains holding them back.
Injury concerns and aching joints
are of course valid reasons for any older individual to be skeptical about
starting up a new fitness regimen, but a workout doesn't have to be super
intense or include weights to be effective. For example, walking has been shown time and time again to help
promote weight loss and a lean, toned physique.
This research project published in Preventive
Medicine found that a few half-hour walks per week cut down on body
fat considerably and improved overall aerobic fitness among study subjects.
Another study published in the American Journal of
Sports Medicine reports that going for a daily walk for six months
helped a group of women lose an average of 17 pounds.
Indeed, if you're over 60 and
looking to lose weight but don't know where to begin, it's truly as simple as
putting one foot in front of the other. "If you are brand new to fitness
walking, just walking at a steady pace for five to 20 minutes several days a
week, or just five minutes several times a day, is a great start," Dr.
Lauren Elson, medical editor of the Harvard Special Health Report Walking
for Health, tells Harvard. "But soon you will want to raise your routine
to a higher level."
Keep reading to learn about some
surprising ways to get even more out of your walks and attain weight loss after
60. And for more, check out the 3 Major Secrets to Living to 99, According to Betty White.
1. Add some incline
Feel like you've mastered
flat-surface strolling? Add in some inclined steps to amp up the intensity.
Climbing some stairs, walking up a hill, or just turning on the
"incline" feature on a treadmill will all do the trick.
"Walking on flat ground is
an incredibly energy-efficient activity," explains Jordan Duncan, DC, MDT,
a chiropractor and expert in pain science at Washington's Silverdale Sport and Spine. "Our bodies have a unique
ability to store energy during gait, for example in our tendons and myofascial
slings, and then use that energy to help propel us forward. While this allows
us to walk great distances with relatively minimal effort, we only burn about 100
calories per mile on average when walking on flat ground."
According to Nutristrategy,
while an individual weighing 150 pounds will burn about 267 calories during an
hour of regular walking at a brisk pace, they'll burn 422 calories if they
spend the same period walking uphill.
Related: Sign up for our newsletter for the latest health and
fitness news!
2. Get a dog
Adding a new pup into your life
can bring a whole lot of joy and companionship, but our four-legged friends
also need a whole lot of movement. That means getting a dog will help you
exercise more and put to bed old excuses for staying on the couch. One survey of 2,000 dog-owners found that the average
pup parent walks 1,000 miles per year with their dog! The poll noted that most
dog owners take their pet out for a walk 10 times per week, with each stroll
lasting just over a half-hour. Just think, by the time your new pup turns three
you'll have walked around 3,000 miles together!
Another study focusing
specifically on older adults analyzed over 3,000 subjects before concluding
dog-owners are consistently more active than non-dog-owners. "We were
amazed to find that dog walkers were on average more physically active and
spent less time sitting on the coldest, wettest and darkest days than non-dog
owners were on long, sunny, and warm summer days," comments study leader
Andy Jones, a professor at the University of East Anglia.
3. Walk with purpose
While there's something to be
said for walking around aimlessly in a carefree manner, one fascinating study featuring over 125,000 people
indicates that it's healthier to walk with a specific purpose in mind.
Published in the Journal
of Transport and Health, the study finds that people tend to walk faster,
feel healthier, and find it easier to get going if they're walking for a
specific reason. Commuting to work, for example. While most older adults don't
have to worry about work anymore, walking to the grocery store or to see
friends at a scheduled time will work too.
"We found that walking for
utilitarian purposes significantly improves your health and that those types of
walking trips are easier to bring into your daily routine," says Gulsah Akar, an
associate professor of city and regional planning at The Ohio State
University Knowlton
School of Architecture.
Related: This Habit Can Sharpen Your Brain When You're Older, Science
Says
4. Up the intensity with intervals
If you're looking to push
yourself a bit but don't love the idea of climbing up a hill, consider adding
some short intervals of increased speed. For instance, walk at your usual pace
for five minutes, then walk at a brisker speed for 45 seconds before repeating
the cycle another few times. This will both increase your heart rate and burn
more calories.
Moreover, research published in Cell Metabolism discovered that
interval training (walking, cycling) helped a group of older adults (ages
65-80) actually reverse some old-age-related muscle deterioration on the
cellular level. In this way, interval walking can help older individuals both
burn fat and maintain lean muscle mass.
5. Don't forget headphones
The next time you're close to
skipping a walk, try popping in some headphones and throwing on your favorite
tunes. Plenty of research suggests music can help us overcome fatigue, exercise
longer, and enjoy movement more. One study from The American College of
Cardiology found that listening to upbeat music helped a group of subjects work
out for a longer period.
Another
study reports that music can even help us overcome mental exhaustion.
Participants were asked to go for a run after completing a challenging
cognitive test. Across the board, subjects were able to overcome their mental
fatigue and run at their usual pace if they were allowed to listen to music.
Without music, though, performances suffered.
"The findings indicate that
listening to self-selected motivational music may be a useful strategy to help
active people improve their endurance-running capacity and performance when
mentally fatigued. This positive impact of self-selected music could help
people to better maintain the quality and beneficial impact of their exercise
sessions," explains Dr. Shaun
Phillips of the University of Edinburgh's Moray House School of
Education and Sport.
Considering that research focused
on running, which is of course more strenuous than walking, there's ample
reason to believe music can help with walking performance and consistency as
well.
For more, check out Over 60. Think Twice About Doing These Exercises.
0 Comments