This is your guide to getting fit and staying fabulous in your 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond!
It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a fitness fanatic your whole life or if you’ve never set foot in a gym, we all get older, and our body’s needs change as a result.
We have to start taking a little more care of ourselves than we did when we were younger. But with kids, house, work, and just life in general, it can be hard to find the time to exercise. So when you do get the time to exercise, you want to make it count, right?
If you’ve never exercised properly, it can be hard to even know where to start but that's why I’m here to help! Many ladies over 30 aren’t sure what type of exercise they should be doing, and they are too intimidated to go to the gym so they just avoid it altogether.
When I first joined a gym, I felt like everyone was looking at me, and I was worried about embarrassing myself by using the equipment incorrectly or doing the exercise wrong. This is why I try to remove as much of the stress of working out as possible at The Nourishment Academy. Our classes are specially designed for women over 30, plus there are no men & no judgement allowed!
After 30, you start to lose muscle, your metabolism slows down, and you recover slower than you did in your 20s. So here are the best ways to keep your body in tip-top condition, add years to your life and lose weight along the way.
1. Mix it up. At TNA, we use a mix of strength and cardio training in our classes because it's the best way to maximise weight loss, and let's face it - it's a lot more fun than running miles and miles on a treadmill. Cardio combined with weights makes the perfect pair because together they help you gain muscle, take off weight, and build both endurance and cardiovascular health (which is especially important as you get older). On top of that, it adds variety to your training to keep things interesting and to keep you coming back for more.
2. Get strong. I often hear women say “I don't want to lift weights because it will make me bulky” or "strength training is for men" - well that is simply not true. Weight training is actually one of the best ways to tone up, burn fat, and lose weight because more muscle = faster metabolism. Weight training is also great for women over 30 because it strengthens your muscles, which prevents injury as you get older, and it keeps your bones healthier too.
3. HIIT it hard. The name may sound scary but HIIT is a very effective way of burning fat and losing weight because your body continues to burn calories hours after the workout finished to restore and repair itself after working at such a high intensity. HIIT essentially lets you burn more calories while you rest - isn’t that amazing? Although these workouts are very high intensity, they only take a short amount of time to complete so you can get your sweat on even if you've only got a small window of opportunity. At TNA we do HIIT workouts where our ladies work at their max effort for short bursts (for example sprinting, rope slams, or burpees) then they recover while doing an easier exercise like walking or lunges.
4. Recover even harder. After 30, you don’t bounce back in the same way you did when you were 20 (whether it be from an intense gym session or having one too many cocktails.) That's why I tell my clients to be rigorous about rest days -they are just as important as the workouts! Especially since, many of us, myself included, sit in front of a desk for most of the day. Our bodies are simply not designed for the modern lives we lead so we must stop ignoring the aches and pains until they turn into a full-blown injury. Many of our ladies find that exercising helps them to be more self aware of these regularly-forgotten ailments, and encourages them to make time to do something about it. Next time you are sitting in front of the tv, try some stretches, specific exercises or yoga while you watch.
5. Find the fun. If you have surpassed the age of 30, you will know that life is too short to be doing things that you don’t enjoy. Recently, I have been making a conscious effort to do exercise that I enjoy and that makes me feel good. Maybe you could try something new or exercise with a friend to make exercise more fun? Remember: the more you enjoy a workout, the more likely you will do it again!
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