1. Foam Roll
Foam rolling reduces tissue sensitivity, improves tissue elasticity, and helps you feel better.
2. Stretch (static and dynamic)
Stretching is essential to maintaining mobility, and mobility is a critical component for the continued health and longevity of mature adults. Loss of mobility can lead to a downward spiral of activity levels and health.
Static stretching (positions held for 30 seconds or more) will help to lengthen tight tissue due to inactivity, poor postural habits, and muscle imbalances. Dynamic stretches are performed by moving into and out of a position and stretches multiple muscle groups that cross numerous joints simultaneously. It will also improve joint mobility and prepare the body and the nervous system for more vigorous movement or loaded strength patterns to come.
Plus, it will make you feel much better, and as a result, you’ll be more willing to move. And if you move better, you’ll be able to get into better positions when we add load and speed to those patterns.
Make sure you add multi-directional movement patterns in your warmup to help develop and maintain dynamic movement skills. This will help prevent falls and sharpen the nervous system timing, and help you stay ready for recreational activities.
3. Train Power
Science has shown that muscle power declines more quickly with age than muscle strength. So we definitely want to add power training into the mix. And you can’t maintain what you don’t train. We can train upper body power using medicine ball throws and lower body power using jumps, hops, and bounds, keeping the nervous system firing fast.
4. Strength Training (in Primal Movement Patterns)
Our 7 Primal Movement Patterns are:
- Squatting
- Lunging
- Bending
- Pushing
- Pulling
- Twisting
- Locomotion/Gait
A full-body weight-lifting routine that covers all of the primal movement patterns and will help to fight off sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is a Greek word that literally means “poverty of the flesh”. In other words, “muscle wasting”! It’s the #1 cause of weight gain, joint pain, and osteoporosis in men and women over 50! And it’s totally preventable! Just lift heavy things 2 – 3 times per week. It will help you do all the things you NEED to do, LIKE to do, and WANT to do, EASIER to do.
Squat
Lunge
Pull
Push
Bend
Twist
Gait (walk, jog, sprint)
The quality of your muscle tissue has a high correlation to longevity, as well as insulin sensitivity and metabolic health. The less muscle mass you have, the more susceptible you are to metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
5. Better Your Balance
As we age, balance is crucial. Most of life happens on one leg, so it’s very important to do strength work in single-leg positions. But balance is more than just Balance takes strength, it’s an integrated sensory experience that includes joint mobility, the eyes and ears, and is needed for all dynamic movement, such as walking, getting up and down stairs, avoiding objects and obstacles on the ground.
It’s another skill you must practice regularly.
6. Cardiovascular training, both steady state and interval training.
It’s recommended that we get a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise per week. If you are walking about 2 miles a day, that’s going to be your steady-state cardiovascular minimum.
The myth that aerobic exercise is the best way to get ‘fit’, lean, and healthy still exists. But the reality is, you get a lot more bang for your buck in many ways when you alternate between aerobic exercise (not out of breath) with anaerobic exercise (getting out of breath). To get out of breath, we need to do intervals. Periods of harder work are paired with periods of complete rest or easy work. Both forms of cardio should be included in your weekly workout calendar.
Brett’s Bottom Line:
If you need help with your health and fitness goals, let’s discuss. I can give you the strategies, tools, and coaching you need to get from where you are to where you want to go.
“I began training with Brett in 2005 after completing physical therapy for a torn rotator cuff and arthritis in the knees.. Under Brett’s care, I have complete range of motion in my shoulder, and at the age of 76, I’m in the best physical condition of my life.” ~ Diane
“At age 78, I wanted to reach my fitness limits so I could bring my golf game back to where it was 10 years ago. After 3 months of training, I have already begun to ‘shoot’ my age. I shot a 75, 77, and 78 twice. This has been my goal going back 2 years!” ~ Hank
The Author has been certified by the Functional Aging Institute as a Functional Aging Specialist since 2014, as well as a Senior Fitness Specialist by the National Academy of Sports Medicine since 2016.
