What exercises to do and how to avoid injuries if you start working out at the gym at 50 years old

Experts recommend prioritizing strength training and not forgetting stretching and mobility exercises.

Society is increasingly aware that exercise is critical to our lifestyle as incorporating this habit can reduce risk various diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “regular physical activity has been shown to help prevent and control non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and various types of cancer. “It also helps prevent hypertension, maintain a healthy body weight and can improve mental health, quality of life and well-being.”

We have a very clear theory, but do we put it into practice? According to the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN), almost half of European adults in particular 45% never play sports they also do not exercise, and one in three do not meet WHO recommended levels of physical activity. But also, just every fourth adult People over 55 play sports or exercise at least once a week in the European Union. And, according to the same report, “increasing physical activity levels to achieve the minimum recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week will have multiple benefits in terms of health and quality of life.”

The habit of walking or strolling is a favorite among middle-aged people, reaching almost 80% in people over 65 and 74 years of age. But if you want to start getting more active in sports, age shouldn’t be a barrier

In fact, “it’s never too late to start exercising, even if you’ve never done it before. No matter when you start, you will receive all the benefits and improvements for your health,” Gonzalo Martinez Salmeron, fitness manager at Reto48, tells us. But playing sports also brings many benefits. mental health benefitsbecause “it improves your self-esteem and mood, and reduces stress levels, so you can cope with everyday life much better,” says the expert.

When to start?

According to the Ministry of Health, “it is recommended to practice physical activity at least three days a week, which is physical activity that should be multi-component and varied, with a priority on working on strength and functional balance.” And it “improves functionality and helps avoid falls in adulthood“

Of course, experts recommend that these be activities tailored to the individual, starting gradually and increase in difficulty gradually. “If we want to start training from scratch, we must take into account possible physical limitations in order to avoid possible complications, as well as prevent injuries, so we need to start carefully and gradually increase the intensity,” the coach tells us. According to Gonzalo, the ideal would be to get clearance from our doctor and “if possible have a personal trainer who will guide our progress and ensure doing the exercises correctly“He offers.

What exercises are most recommended?

Gonzalo tells us that it is most advisable to start with strength and resistance exercises, but “without forgetting flexibility and mobility”, is so important at this age.

Another option is to do instructor-led classes, which for those who are not “gym experts”, we mean group classes, and being in a group can be a motivating factor to practice. “You will be able to communicate with what it will make your workout more fun

and this will help maintain it over time,” says the trainer, who also recommends the characteristics that these activities should have after age 50: “Activities that combine strength and cardio “They would be ideal, in addition to having an observer who checks your execution and can tailor the exercises to your ability and level.”

Tips for the first days

Perhaps the desire to start training and do it as best as possible, we force the machine to work and overexertion leads to injury, which is very common, Gonzalo tells us, so we should do the following. “not pushing ourselves to do more than we can handle, and giving priority to quality over quantity, We always listen to our body. Likewise, we cannot forget the importance of rest because as we get older, we need more and more time to recover from exercise,” he warns.

Finally, the coach leaves us with a number of tips that should be applied in the first weeks of visiting the gym or playing sports, especially if you start doing it after 50:

• Go from less to more, “do not rush forward and set exercises in which we feel safe and comfortable“
• It is advisable to create a small “base of cardiovascular and strength exercises with light loads”, which allows you to correctly master the technique. no risk of injury.
• Let’s not forget the importance power training”, which will ensure the preservation or increase of muscle mass, which deteriorates more noticeably after 40 years.
• Finally, starting with an activity or sport that we enjoy and that makes us enjoy the moment of exercise “will keep us motivated and create great adhesion
  to our new daily routine.”

Photos | Campus Production Ron Luck from Pexels

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