Growing old is never a valid excuse not to take to heart those fitness tips being shoved down your throat. More than ever, this is the perfect time to start exercising, as with age comes a plethora of heart diseases and whatnot.
Before starting on any exercise regime, it would be wise to seek clearance from your doctor. If he gives you the thumbs up that you are still a well-oiled machine at your age, then you can begin increasing your physical activity.
Since you are no longer as flexible as you used to be years ago, it’s best to start slow. Ease your body into physical activity by doing warm up exercises, or a simple stretching routine. The last thing on your mind would be to exert too much pressure on your body, that you would end up injured on a hospital bed.
There are other simple yet effective ways to increase physical activity and safely get your heart pumping. For instance, if you drive to work everyday, you could park at a distance from your office, so you’ll have to work up a bit of sweat walking to your workplace. If your house is not too far from work, you can just ride your bike. You’ll be hitting two birds with one stone: going to the office and working out. If your office is just a few floors up, you could perhaps take the stairs instead of the elevator. Go walking around the mall with your kids, and feel your body burn those calories as you hunt down those marked-down shoes.
You know your body best, so just start gradually and stop when your muscles are beginning to scream fatigue. You’ll know when you feel you can no longer walk that extra block or go up that last flight of stairs. Stop when you feel you’ve had enough, at least for the day.
With age comes wisdom, so you should presumably be wise enough to know that as you grow old, you should not stop exercising. A fit and healthy body makes for a happier disposition, and if anything, that’s all you need to grow old gracefully.
Jessy is a health blogger writing on weight loss herbs and free detox diets. You can follow Jessy’s health advice on twitter as @JessyTroy
cc licensed ( BY ND ) flickr photo shared by a.drian