Sports after 50-55 years - how to stay active and not harm your health?

Not only professional athletes continue their training in old age, an ordinary person wants to maintain physical activity and vigor of the body after 50 years. Physical activity can slow down the aging process and prevent many diseases of the internal organs and the musculoskeletal system. What kind of sport can you do after 50-55 years and not harm yourself, but get the maximum benefit and a charge of positive energy?

Features of the body after 50 years

The years passed leave a mark not only on the exterior, but also inside the whole organism. Its main functions are transforming and changing, changing habits and the general rhythm of life.

• Eating behavior - the stomach begins to work more slowly, proteins are absorbed more slowly, which leads to a delay in the digestion and removal of food. Changes in taste buds, which atrophy with age, alter the ability to sense tastes and a decrease in interest in food. Teeth and chewing problems are also possible.
• Body changes - a decrease in the body's protein mass leads to a loss of muscle mass, an increase in the percentage of fat and the appearance of problem areas. A sedentary lifestyle, decreased physical activity - all this affects the state of the body, which becomes flabby and loses its fit.
• Internal organs - with age, any organ can malfunction. Problems arise in the cardiovascular system, excretory, joint pain, and decreased vision and hearing.
• Psychological condition - in old age, a person is mostly isolated from society, left to his family or spends time alone. There is a feeling of boredom, indifference, it seems that there will be nothing new and joyful. An elderly person is often dependent on relatives for care, which makes him feel not free. Physical helplessness gives rise to complexes and negatively affects the general state of the emotional background.

Regular sports activities, increased physical activity, allow a person to feel better, maintain health and return to life.

Where to begin?

Even after 50 years, when the intensity of life is significantly reduced, it is important to remember that sport is an excellent way to restore mental and physical health. It slows down the aging process and can easily lift your mood.

It is necessary to start playing sports, especially if before that physical activity was minimal or absent, it is necessary with the choice of a suitable type of training and adjustments in accordance with the characteristics of your life rhythm.

Women usually like gymnastics or those sports that help to lose weight.These are loads that intensively work out problem areas and support the figure. A man pays more attention to maintaining his natural strength and restoring endurance, which means that he often chooses strength training, classes in the gym.

You should not blindly follow your desires and start abruptly doing serious CrossFit. First, you need to consult with your doctor who will tell you about the correct distribution of loads, possible risks and concerns, and explain why restrictions are needed.

With the right approach, even in old age, you can achieve good physical shape and exercise on simulators on an equal basis with young people.

It is important to remember the warm-up that accompanies training in any sport. This is a short set of exercises that helps the body get involved in work, warms up the muscles, and increases blood circulation. The warm-up includes exercises such as tilting the head, torso, swinging arms, stretching, warming up the forearms and legs.

And, of course, one should not forget about proper nutrition and additional vitamins. Strengthening the muscles, heart system, joints can be achieved faster if you follow an appropriate diet and add active supplements to the diet, again with the permission of a doctor.

Walking and running

Running is useful at any age, but it is a big load on the body, so you should start training, choosing the load for your level of fitness and gradually increasing it.

Not everyone, after being examined by a specialist, can fully engage in jogging training, for someone it is preferable to make a choice in favor of sports walking, which also has a positive effect on the body.

Running training helps to lose weight, while running, a lot of energy and calories are spent to get a beautiful toned figure. Constant movement strengthens the muscles and joints of the legs, trains endurance and has a positive effect on lung function. Runners are not afraid of heart attacks, strokes, they may not worry about their blood vessels.

During training, the hormone of happiness - endorphin is also produced, and this is a guarantee of a good mood and positive emotions. An evening run will help improve sleep, filling you with pleasant fatigue. Jogging can be done wherever a person is, in urban settings or when going on vacation in the summer of 2020.

About running in adulthood in the video:

What to remember when choosing to run after 50?

• You should not jog without a doctor's approval. Some features of the body do not allow the body to be so loaded, but if there are no health problems, you can safely start training. The main contraindications to running are joint diseases, serious diseases of the cardiovascular system, individual characteristics.
• For training, you need to purchase special clothing and shoes. Choose clothes from natural fabrics that allow air and moisture to pass through, so as not to create inconvenience during classes. Shoes with soft, voluminous soles, thicker on the heel, for proper cushioning and reducing injury risk. In the cold season, be sure to wear a hat and a warm comfortable jacket.
• Before each workout, be sure to warm up: five minutes of walking in place and warm up each joint is the best prevention of injury. Warmed muscles are harder to stretch and injure.
• Those who have not run before should start with active walking. Walking 3-4 times a week for a month will strengthen the muscles at the first stage and prepare them for increased loads. After a month, you can connect a short slow run to walking, alternating it with stretching, gradually accelerating and increasing distances.
• If you purchase a special heart rate monitor, you can track changes in heart rate and your exercise rate.
• It is also recommended to end each workout with a stretch. It relieves tension and helps the muscles relax.

Swimming

Swimming is also beneficial at any age. This is the strengthening of the spine and joints, correction of posture disorders, strengthening of bone tissue.During swimming, all muscle groups are involved, but the load on them is not felt so much due to the decrease in weight in the water. Therefore, even people with diseases of the joints and legs can engage in such activity if precautions are taken and in consultation with a doctor.

Exercises in water are of great benefit to the heart. With age, the problem of high blood pressure often begins to worry - the heart muscle is forced to contract more often to support the body, this accelerates the heart rate. When swimming, the rhythm is normalized, the pressure returns to normal. Therefore, water is the best friend in the fight against diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Going on vacation in the summer of 2020 to a country with a warm sea, you definitely need to take a moment and do a couple of exercises in the water, getting additional positive emotions.

The optimal water workout at any age lasts at least 30-40 minutes. This is enough time to swim 500 meters and perform several water aerobics exercises.

Pool safety measures

• if the water is not very warm, you should not stay in it for too long, leave at the first unpleasant sensations, especially if there are kidney pathologies and other diseases of the excretory system;
• you need to be careful about moving on a slippery floor in the pool - it is better to purchase slippers with non-slip soles in advance;
• it is better to choose a pool where there is a staff who can help with training and other issues.

Yoga

Yoga is a spiritual support and a powerful means of overcoming many psychological problems. It also helps restore body flexibility and strengthen bones.

In old age, it is very important to slow down the process of tissue destruction, to activate the regeneration processes, this is the basis of soft movements and asanas in yoga.

Not all asanas are available to older people, the basic exercises are best performed while standing, since strengthening the legs is one of the main tasks after 50 years. Simple bends and turns, as well as leisurely backbends, will strengthen the spine and help maintain balance.

There are also a large number of asanas for strengthening the arms, hips, back, and abdominal muscles. All of them in combination will help to maintain good spirits and restore peace of mind. Regular yoga practice normalizes sleep and brings back the joy of life.

The main advantages of yoga over other types of sports activities are regularity and efficiency. There is no need to stand on your head if the shape does not allow it, but even a person of considerable age can take a comfortable posture, even breathing and feel every muscle.

Several practices for people over the age of 50:

What do you need to remember about yoga?

• In old age, the main thing is to be extremely careful in class. You should not perform complex exercises if the body is uncomfortable and painful. It is better to start with simple techniques, gradually moving to a new level.
• Listening carefully to the instructor's advice is also very important. A yoga coach will tell you which position is better to take, how to monitor your breathing, how to listen to your body.
• For diseases of the spine and hernia, many consider yoga to be the best remedy for recovery. But this is a controversial issue, therefore, before making a choice in favor of this direction, you need to consult with your doctor.

Gym

Strength training in the gym, especially with the use of simulators, for older bodybuilders is associated, first of all, with the desire to tone the muscles and improve health.

In order to work safely and effectively in the gym, you must first undergo a medical examination, which will help identify health problems and draw up an individual exercise plan.

Each workout should begin with a full warm-up, warming up the muscles. It is better to avoid weights, choose safe exercise equipment, it is advisable to work under the supervision of a qualified trainer.

In addition to the training program in the gym, which should include exercises for each muscle group, you need to maintain activity in everyday life, using side loads - walking more, climbing stairs. Strength training for the elderly has practical benefits - it improves endurance, the ability to walk longer, and lift heavy things without difficulty.

When planning how many times to train in the gym to get results, know that the minimum number of classes per week for a beginner is 2 times. Subsequently, it can be increased up to 4 days. Each exercise should be repeated 6-8 times and be sure to rest between sets.

Throughout the workout, you need to closely monitor the pulse, for its changes. If during the exercise you experience discomfort, even the mild one, you need to stop training and contact the staff for help.

Features of training in old age:

Output

Thinking about what kind of sport to do after 50 years and which one is better suited to individual needs and peculiarities of life, you should carefully study all the options proposed. Any activity has a positive effect on health, even the most insignificant, but it is better, in addition to the advantages, to pay attention to the disadvantages. Not everyone will be suitable for a large running load or exercise with simulators; some people prefer moderate walking or aqua aerobics.

After studying the testimony of a doctor, choosing a convenient training regimen, and after 50 years, you can live a full life, play sports and create positive energy around yourself, remaining a young soul.