Are you overwhelmed when it comes to exercising? How much? How long? What type? There are so many different ways we can get moving, and yet sometimes all of these options just “paralyze” us and we end up doing nothing.
I have recently been trying out some new formats to a) keep my body challenged and b) keep from getting bored and c) experiment on myself, before sharing this with you. I’d like to share them with you today now that I have the schedule down.
First, I would like to preface this by stating my goals were to incorporate routines that helped me strengthen my body, keep me flexible, and build stamina and maintain heart health. Further, I don’t want to spend a great deal of time on a daily fitness routine. Now, I think I have the perfect model – for me.
What I mean is, I am 64 years old and what is most important to me is maintaining flexibility, balance, and endurance, while maintaining muscle mass and bone density. I know that ideally it is better for me to strength train only 2-3 times per week, not the 4-5 sessions that I was used to when I was younger, as I need more recovery time.
However, now I train to fatigue with heavier weights, and this is working well. My routine is only 15 minutes as opposed to the 45 minute trainings I used to do. And it should be noted, I am training in the morning only as this is most effective for increasing metabolic rate and burning more calories throughout the day. Pretty smart, huh?
I have also added a twelve-minute Pilates routine to my morning routine, either with the weight training or without, and this has improved my core strength and lessened lower back aches.
Additionally, I do yoga several times per week, preferably in the evening, when I feel my muscles are warmer and more able to stretch, rather than in the morning. I feel it is more relaxing and can help me sleep better, always a good thing. I have, however, as part of my meditative practice, done yoga in the morning and that had its benefits as well. It increases your concentration, focus, and elevates your mood when you practice in the a.m. Either time of day is fine, as long as you do it at the same time every day, to establish a yoga routine that will help you stay more flexible and maintain your balance. This takes 20 minutes, tops.
The other new thing that I have recently started incorporating into my daily walks is sprint interval training (S.I. T.). I now incorporate multiple 30-second to 1 -minute sprints into my walk, after I have warmed up, of course. I then rest by walking for 4-5 minutes, after each sprint. And do it again, until I am done.
This is the real gamechanger and it makes my hour long walks much shorter, about 40 minutes right now. I am not the fastest sprinter, LOL.
Sprinting as hard as I can for up to a minute gets my heart rate up, helps burn belly fat, and increases energy producing mitochondria, lowers fasting blood sugar levels and improves insulin sensitivity. In fact, it was found in a Mayo Clinic study published in Cell Metabolism that S.I.T. (a truncated form of high Intensity interval training or H.I.I.T.) increased mitochondrial function in older people by 69 percent, after 12 weeks of training. Exercisers following a low-intensity program such as walking had no mitochondrial gains, in the same timeframe.
Additionally, a regular exercise routine contributes to better brain health, less stress levels, lowered cortisol levels and more balanced blood sugar levels.