Exercise In Your Sixties

You’ve definitely heard about the importance of exercise and how good it is for your health. But did you know that different ages benefit from different exercises more than others? If you thought that exercise in your sixties should look like exercise in your fifties, read on.

According to Pete McCall, each decade of life comes along with its unique demands and requirements along with biological changes, and that means you need a different game plan for each.

With our wide array of living options and levels of assistance catering primarily to older adults, Bridgeway of Bensenville recognizes the importance of catering exercise needs to the elderly population. In this post, we’ll explore one segment – adults between the ages of 60 and 70 and their exercise recommendations.

Tailoring Exercise for the Sixty-Year-Old

In McCall’s words regarding this decade,

“It’s more important than ever to exercise most days of the week. You can continue to do high-intensity workouts, but limit them to two days or less for optimal recovery. If you enjoy resistance training, this may be the time to start using more machines, which make it possible to use heavier weights while minimizing wear and tear on your joints.”

Dr. Aaron Baggish, a cardiologist and fitness expert at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, suggests splitting aerobic and resistance exercises. For people aged between 60 and 80, 20 percent of their exercise time should be spent on resistance exercise while 80 percent should go to moderate aerobic activity.

In addition, McCall suggests that you use your muscles in different ways. To do this, he recommends changing your workouts regularly.

Another form of exercise to incorporate is yoga. According to Dr. Baggish, “The beauty of yoga is that anyone of any physical capacity can do some type of yoga. People of all ages, whether they are in a wheelchair or have bad joint problems, can do yoga because it allows them to set their pace and priorities.”

How Much?

So just how much exercise do you need? According to Dr. Baggish, 1 hour of exercise, 5 times a week is ideal. But even if this doesn’t work for you, you can work towards getting there.

Exercise Challenges for Seniors

As you age, you may experience health issues like heart problems or diabetes. It is, therefore, important to speak to your doctor before starting your exercise program so that you can have it tailored to your specific circumstances.

What does your exercise routine look like?

Please share in the comments below.