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What kind of exercise should

I do if I am

over 40?

Dr. Tito Torres

December 6, 2021

(954) 953-6552

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SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT

What kind of exercise should

I do if I am over 40?

Dr. Tito Torres

December 6, 2021

This is a question we get asked regularly and the easy answer is “it depends”. Depends on what? It depends on how old you are, what your fitness level is like, but most importantly; it depends on what your goals are. Any exercise program should be specific to your particular goals and therefore there is no one size fits all exercise programs.

But the most important thing to consider is, do you like it? Because if you don’t like it, you will never do it consistently.

I do have some thoughts about what types of exercises are available to us here in Davie and Weston.

If you are over 40

If you are over 40 your goals and sensibilities around exercise are probably different then when you were in your 20’s. The time you have to devote to exercise is maybe less than when you were younger yet you recognize that the importance of making time is greater than when you were younger.

If this sounds like you, then you want to get the best return on your time and effort investment. To do this there are some basic guidelines that I follow for my own exercise regime. These may work for you or they may not, depending on your specific circumstances.

Have both resistance and HIIT training in your program.

HIIT training stands for High-Intensity Interval Training and over the past several years it has become the go-to recommendation for exercise for those over 40 and for those who are interested in modifying or maintaining a leaner body composition.

There are several ways to structure a HIIT style of workout but the thing they all have in common are short burst periods of difficult to very difficult activity followed by a period of rest or recovery. One Common formula is called a Tabata workout.

The Tabata formula is 20 seconds of intense (nearly all out) exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest. Do this for 8 rounds which adds up to a total of a 4 min program. Sounds easy right, nope if you are doing it right it is a long 4 min.

Side note… Tabata training is really intense. Make sure you have a professional guiding you if you’re not to familiar with it.

The nice thing about this formula is that it doesn’t matter what your 20 seconds of exercise is. Running 20 on 10 off no problem, Stairs? Yup, how about Burpees? Sure thing. Almost any exercise can be incorporated in the HIIT formula.

Where can I go locally to exercise?

In Davie and Weston, we are spoiled for choices on where we can go to exercise. There are lots of places and I am certainly not familiar with them all so this list is by no means exhaustive.

This is a list of local options that I am personally familiar with and by that, I mean places I have spent personal time exercising at.

Stay Home:

Sometimes this is the only option, life is busy and it can be hard to schedule a workout. So what to do? Put the kids to bed and watch an exercise video? I don’t have as much experience with home exercise programs as I do with getting out to the gym but I did work my way through some of the Beachbody programs, and I can tell you that insanity max 30 kicked my butt.

Local Gyms:

There are nice clean facility that have everything that you need for resistance training, they also have an all-purpose room with a TRX station. On off days, I often end up at my local gym.

Pickleball:

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the United States, and for good reason. You see people from the ages of 10 to people in their 70’s (sometimes 80’s) playing it. Pickleball has a low level entry, meaning that many people will pick it up quickly.

Think of pickleball as a bigger ping pong court, or a smaller tennis court. It’s basically a mixture between the two sports. I use pickleball as my cardio, and use it as my favorite way to stay competitive.

Where you go is not nearly as important as just getting started.

Resistant exercises and HIIT style workouts can be, and should be challenging but not scary. Make sure you consult with a health care provider before starting any type of intense exercise. But once you start, you won’t look back because you will be too busy doing the stuff you want to do and feeling great doing it.

We recognize that you have a choice of who you trust with your Chiropractic care and would like to thank you for placing your trust and confidence in Kinesis Chiropractic.