As women over 50, its vital we remain fit and active. Our fitness level impacts our day to day lives and being fit over 50 helps us to carry out our day to day lives with more ease. There is one point that I make in my videos that has more or less become a kind catchphrase and that is that we don’t need to be athletes now that we’re over 50, but we do need to do some form of physical exercise every single day…

While this may seem like a throwaway line, this ethos underscores the entire fabulous50s modus. Let me explain.

FITNESS MEANS SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR ALL OF US

They say our entire worldview, habits, personality traits, wants, desires and needs are developed in the first few years of life, influenced primarily by our parents. If you take my parents in this instance, an odd dichotomy forms between what fitness should mean. On the one hand, my father was an athlete. He was extremely driven and used fitness as a means to progress. It was a competition, not only between his peers, but with himself…never quite satisfied with an end result, constantly pushing himself to be better.

And to counterbalance that, my mother. My mum was one of the first practicing yoga instructors in Australia and continued teaching right up until she was in her 70’s. For her, fitness was about connecting with self, self-improving and ultimately to bring balance and peace. Somehow, these two conflicting viewpoints worked in harmony and a sympatico was formed.

Both principals have served in the constructing of fabulous50s workouts, though one may be a little more cautionary. Pushing our bodies to the extreme, not celebrating the progress, having an ‘athletes’ mentality toward exercise, can ultimately burn us out and, for the average person, shouldn’t be what we are striving for anyway. We don’t have to push ourselves to the extreme for lasting results. In the same way my mother used yoga as a tool for self-improvement, fitness of any kind can be a tool to achieve a sense of accomplishment, to feel fulfilled and to feel a sense of control over our bodies. We have the power within us to radically change our lives in an instant.

HOW BEING FIT BENEFITS OUR OVERALL HEALTH

Fitness is about building strength, not only in body but mind. It helps us focus and centre, and can be one of our most powerful tools against anxiety and fear, which has been slightly more prevalent recently. And, from a purely practical standpoint, fitness is absolutely essential as we age as it keeps us mobile, more capable of completing daily tasks and helps stave of health conditions such as heart disease. Below is a brief breakdown of how the different exercise types focussed on in fabulous50s workouts directly benefit our overall health.

STRENGTH TRAINING

Left on its own, our body will over time deteriorate, with some studies suggesting we begin losing lean muscle mass from 30 onwards. Integrating strength training into our routines will help protect against this to build the muscle back and in turn increase bone mass and health. Combining strength training with aerobic training can also boost our fat burning potential by increasing your resting metabolic rate. This means you are burning more calories even when you’re at a standstill!

Try this Stretngh Workout

CRADIO TRAINING

Cardio training is at the heart of all fabulous50s workouts. By improving our cardiovascular health, we can improve our stamina so we can complete longer and harder workouts. We also put ourselves in a fat burning state by expending a larger number of calories and we pump oxygenated blood around our body to help better deliver essential nutrients for improved muscle function.

FLEXIBILITY TRAINING

Our mobility is something that we can take for granted. It’s a case of you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, and when it’s gone, it does have a great impact on your life. Loss of mobility is a part of ageing, but it doesn’t have to be. Stretching, especially now that we’re over 50, must become a part of your routine and has been peppered throughout most fabulous50s workouts in some way. A good stretch will help keep our bodies mobile and flexible and improved flexibility can reduce our rate of injury. Stretching also has many benefits for our mind, helping us to bring calm and peace into our day.

The American Health Guideline for older adults suggests 150 minutes of aerobic exercise and at least two strength training sessions a week to remain fit over 50. Based on this guideline, I have created a 7-day challenge which will help you stay on track to hit this target. If you haven’t already, I would love for you to check it out now!

Fabulous50s workouts are designed with you in mind. They are meant to be a challenge, with the aim of improving your overall strength and cardiovascular health, but they are very doable. These workouts are based entirely off my appreciation of fitness that was given to me from both my Mum and Dad. We don’t have to be athletes, we needn’t be aiming to be athletes, all we aim for is to focus on being just 1% better today than we were yesterday. Completing workout at a little higher intensity, going for an extra mile in your walk, making better food choices all contribute to a better you today. We don’t need to run a marathon to be the best we can be. Celebrate you and enjoy the process