Too young or too old to train? Think again!
Beginning a fitness routine can be a hassle especially when exercising doesn’t come to you naturally but like most things in life, it can be learned and one of the quickest ways to learn how to incorporate it into your lifestyle is to just begin. There are absolutely no easy tricks but like habits, you pick it up one after the other, a day at a time, with no competition just progress.
Fitness requirements are not age or gender-specific which means everyone at every given time is expected to be on the move, and get their hands, legs, and body active. Is it easier to work your way up to a routine that works for you while you are younger and more active? Absolutely but is it possible to also begin your fitness journey at a later stage in life and still build sustainable fitness routines which help you maintain physical fitness, also Yes!
When people talk about routines there is a temptation to think it’s a lot of work and just not what you’d rather be doing-especially if you are a typical career man or woman with little time for yourself but a routine can be as basic as you want it to be, remember, in physical fitness, there is only progress and no competition to outshine anyone but yourself. So depending on what kind of activities you’d like to participate in and of course your fitness goals, maintaining a routine can be an easy peasy process.
What are the Basics of Maintaining a fitness routine as I get older?
Come up with a fitness goal;
It is important to have a goal backed up by a plan on how to accomplish set goals and in physical fitness, your goals should reflect what you want to go from to what you want to become in terms of how active or physically strong you want to become, weight loss or weight gain goals, etc. When you have successfully mapped out your goals it becomes easier to actually work towards a routine.
Consult a fitness trainer or Sign up with a gym nearby;
The next step would be to consult a trainer, this is especially crucial if you’re a beginner or are advanced in age. It just helps you streamline what activities you need to be doing, helps you know if your goals are specific enough and if they are actually the right goals for you, they also make sure that you achieve your fitness goals. The other option would be to sign up with a gym and essentially, this could save you some money and give you access to the right fitness tools and equipment, now in choosing a fitness center, be sure to pick one nearby because remember what you want is to follow a routine and it needs to be realistic.
Research on simple fitness exercises to begin with
For some people, getting a trainer or registering with a gym may not be an option and so it may be easier and more cost-effective to have their workout sessions alone and without any form of assistance. While this is also a welcome idea you also need to do your own research to see the full extent of your potential and warm up slowly to simple and regular workout sessions. This has been made easier through technology and the internet so you can actually work out from the comfort of your home.
Observe and Listen to your body
Physical fitness is not a do-or-die affair, it is rather a lifestyle(a rewarding one)the idea is to be active and feel alive and not the opposite. It is important to monitor your progress but also more important to monitor how your body reacts to the activities you’re making it do, do you feel more fatigued or used out after a particular workout session? Do you feel pain in specific areas or joints? What could possibly be the outcome if you keep exerting pressure on these areas, finally am I medically fit to be participating in this fitness activity?
Consistency Is King
When all is said and done, you have to keep at it, nothing is a routine if you are not consistent with it. How do you become or remain consistent? By consciously putting in the time and effort to get some workout done daily no matter how long or short the time. It’s similar to building habits, only this time it’s building healthy habits, keep going each day, a little rep here and there over a repeated course of time and without knowing you are already there.