Regaining strength after 50 effectively
Tons of benefits can be gain from just regular strength training, especially for adults over 50. not just feeling better, strength training helps us combat the natural functional decline that comes with aging, which can lead to frailty, disability, and falls. We’d like to offer some tips to help you gain strength and improve physical function in your 50s and above;
It makes sense to start slowly
Here are the first tips for you to regain strength back. If you haven’t done it in a while or ever, no worries, just hit the weight. Doing every exercise you know the first time you go to the gym will make your muscles sore and you much less likely to go back a second time. While some muscle soreness is a good sign for you that it is a decent workout, you should never be feeling sore from standing, sitting, or walking. Make it one of your new habits by picking out 4 to 5 exercises and do just one or two sets.
Go for good form
Speaking of form, the quickest way to injure yourself with strength training is training with bad form. There are two simple ways you can do to make sure your form is good. First, you’ll need to learn the proper form looks and feels like. The best way to absorb the knowledge is to hire a certified trainer for one or two sessions, or until you feel comfortable on your own. The other way is to pay attention to your body. Even when using proper form, you can still get injured if you’re lifting a weight that is too heavy or does too many repetitions that you pass the point of fatigue.
Increase weights and repetitions as you progress
After quite amount of time spent on consistent training, you’ll have to increase the physical challenge every few weeks to see some more results. To start, you can increase repetitions for your usual routines with good form. But once you achieve maintaining good form while doing increased repetition exercises, try add some weight for that exercise. As you increase weights, you may cut down few repetitions to where you started.
Recovery time is part of the process
Another way to avoid injury and get the most benefits from your workout is to take time off. The physiological changes that makes us stronger and add new muscle fiber while resting. As we age, those physiological mechanisms tend to move a little more slowly, so we suggest you all to take an extra day off each week, especially for those recently increased weights, sets, or repetitions. It is also better to take an entire week off from strength exercise every six to eight weeks as this allow your whole body to recover completely.
Get the right nutrition
Good nutrition is important for gaining strength and muscle for your body. Because of muscle gain is weight gain, and weight gain won’t happen unless if you adding more calories than normal to make it happen. just make sure it’s only a few and they are high-quality calories. Try include lots of fresh ingredients such as vegetables, legumes, whole grains and fruits, and may include some lean animal protein for gaining muscles.
