Gym is just one factor in Fitness Past Forty.
Considering what I do for a living (I’m a Personal Trainer in Tunbridge Wells) this is a pretty risky thing to say.
Sleep
Much has been written about sleep and its importance. Matthew Walker wrote an informative book ‘Why we Sleep’ you can get a precis of this if you join my free Facebook group ‘Fit Past Forty’.
But here are some real world examples. I myself was an emergency services worker on shifts for thirteen years and during that time the night duties were a real struggle. Appetite was all over the place and feeling like you are constantly fatigued or jet lagged is something that you never get used to.
Many people I know who work night shifts really struggle keeping their weight in check anecdotal rather than evidential, I know but that has been my experience.
Sleep helps regulate many of the body’s normal functions and without adequate amounts of it you are putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Sleep, my advice? Get some!
Daily Steps
Low intensity activity that burns calories and fat for fuel and keeps your metabolism ticking over what’s not to like?
Since the pandemic many people have started working from home and this has led to them missing out on their daily commute / walk to work. Sat in front of their computers in their PJs and slurping form their bowl of cornflakes when they’d usually be hotfooting it to the office.
Many of my clients have noticed their clothes fitting better upon their return to work in the office and resuming their normal daily commute.
Even if you’re working from home this should be scheduled in your diary to get yourself away from your computer and free up some headspace.
Nutrition
Too big a topic to deal with here but before you start worrying about macro nutrient splits, extra protein, quality of ingredients etc try and get organised.
Plan your meals on a weekly basis, go shopping for the ingredients, make allowances for meals away from the home and plan for them.
Getting organised is the first step. It is important and so do not try and skip it.
Check this out it’s Free!
Learn how to start making small changes to your lifestyle that add up over time to produce remarkable results.
Getting to the gym and taking care of the movement side of things is great but hook this up with some realistic small habit improvements and you’ll really start to see results from the efforts you put in at the gym
Mobility
When you first start working out there is a satisfying feeling when your muscles get pumped and as time goes on you notice feeling a bit tighter in certain areas such as the chest or perhaps the hips.
You put this down to the hard earned muscle you’ve just built. Your chest gets a little tighter and pulls your shoulders round just a tad and your lat spread makes you look like a cartoon character.
But sooner or later you’re going to get that itch right in the middle of your back.
And there is no way in hell that you can reach around and scratch it yourself. A classic turning point in health and fitness advancement….
This may sound ridiculous but I know plenty of people who struggle to tie their own shoe laces or get themselves back up off the floor.
Mobility training can help with this.
Basic movement
Which brings me to the last piece the resistance training.
For many of my clients getting them in the habit of moving far outweighs any concern for the use of complex weightlifting protocols such as optimal biomechanics or tempo.
Squatting, Hip hinging, pushing, pulling, lunging and rotating are the basics upon which real world health and fitness past forty are built.
For most people over forty a simple press up has far more utility than a bench press. More of your body is involved in the movement, it aids getting up off the floor, it’s progressive it’s unlikely to tear your pectoral muscle and it forces your core musculature to get involved.
Every time you sit down or lie down on a pice of gym equipment it is almost guaranteed that your core / midsection / abs are relaxed and flaccid. Nobody wants to be flaccid….
Building your body is more than just Bodybuilding.
Steve not just a skilled Crossfit Coach, but a top-tier CrossFit Competitor who's ranked in the top 1% worldwide in the 2023 Crossfit Open! And this is despite spending six weeks on crutches following surgery to fix a broken ankle just a year ago. He's Qualified as a Crossfit L1 Coach, Crossfit Gymnastics, and is also a qualified Olympic Weightlifting Coach.
[…] out my Priorities In Fitness Past Forty […]
Reply