Think you're too old to begin a fitness routine? Think again.
Fitness guru Edna Leavitt joined her first gym at the age of 50.
What started out as a simple, but dreaded, 1-day day per week aerobics' routine morphed into a 5-day per week total body workout that has become a major passion in Leavitt's life.
She loves it so much, in fact, that she earned a personal trainer certificate at the age of 65 and now operates her own fitness centers called 50 + Fitness.
For the past few years, she has been enthusiastically training her clients that, despite a rather exercise-avoidant youth, they can still develop excellent fitness over 40, over 50, over 60, and beyond.
Never Too Old Once thought to be a province of youth, physical fitness is now considered to be an essential activity for all age groups-but especially so for the over 40 crowd.
The American College of Sports medicine and the American Heart Association, in fact, have even recently included special guidelines for the older segment of society who believes that they are too old to get fit.
These guidelines were developed after years of extensive studies into the health affects of fitness over 40.
Compelling Science for Fitness over 40 A landmark study at Tufts University is probably the most cited research into the importance of fitness over 40.
In this study, the researchers found that strength training increases bone density regardless of the age at which the strength training begins, potentially reducing a major health hazard for the elderly-osteoporosis.
But the slow, controlled movements of weight training are not the only type of exercise that seniors should perform.
Indeed, another study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, showed that aerobics' activities are particularly beneficial for this group of people.
Research Methodology The researchers enlisted 63 women and 59 men, raging in age from 59 to 77, to take part in this study.
All were instructed to undergo aerobic exercise, of varied intensities, on a stationary bicycle for ten days.
During that time, each was monitored for caloric expenditure, diet, and particular body composition.
At the end of the ten days, this study showed that those seniors who had performed the more intense level of aerobics' conditioning on the stationary bicycles had lowered their LDL (or bad) cholesterol, reduced their fat storage, and had significantly increased the efficiency of their oxygen transportation and usage.
These results led the researchers to conclude that seniors who perform aerobic exercises had a lessened chance of heart disease than those who only participated in moderate, but non-aerobic, exercise programs..
But don't expect the results of these studies to surprise fitness experts, who see daily examples of such positive effects in their fitness over 40 programs.
One such expert is Robert Reames of Gold's Gym, who told Forbes Magazine, "I train people in their 60s who can kick butt...
if you're a 65-year-old in good shape, you can accomplish what an average 25-year-old can accomplish.
" Tips for Getting Started Leavitt, who specializes in increasing the physical fitness of those aged 50 to 90, agrees-and she has some advice for those who want to begin fitness over 40 exercise routine: Start S-L-O-W-L-Y Don't try to exercise for an hour all at once, especially in the beginning, says Leavitt.
Start out by exercising just 10 to 15 minutes at a time, twice a week.
Warm up and Cool Down.
These pre- and post- exercise exercises don't have to be long or complicated, says Leavitt.
A brisk walk or a few minutes of jogging in place are effective such exercises.
Make it Routine.
Add physical fitness into your daily activities.
Never drive where you can walk.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Increase your pace while vacuuming the carpet.
The positive effects of exercise are cumulative, says Leavitt.
Achieving peak fitness over 40 does not have to be complicated.
Today, millions of those aged 40, 50, 60 and beyond are reaping the health benefits of a physical fitness routine.
So...
When is a person too old to begin a fitness routine? NEVER!