As someone who advises and trains clients of all ages from 20 through to 75 years, I am regularly slightly surprised when I hear that many people believe that, as they grow older, their age prevents them from taking exercise.

Of course I recognise that as we age, we tend to lower our levels of physical activity. Research has shown that only 29% of the adult population of the UK are actively exercising and around 42% of over 55s do no exercise.

And I’m not forgetting that many older citizens are unable to exercise for reasons other than age, infirmity or attitude: very often it is down to work, family obligations, caring commitments and financial issues.

However, for the purposes of this message I would suggest (politely) that it is not age itself that is the barrier, but the perception that, because they are no longer ‘spring chickens’, or they are starting to acquire aches and pains and “slowing up”, many people say they are too old to exercise because it’s “dangerous at my age” or it’s too difficult, or simlpy saying ‘what’s the point starting now?’.

But, on the contrary (and I’m sure you are aware of this) exercise for older adults has been found to

• reduce the likelihood of falls

• lower the risk of illnesses such as heart disease, strokes, some cancers, depression and dementia

• lead to an overall improvement in general health.

• improve your thinking skills such as decision-making and memory, coordination and reactions

Plus, it can make you feel better generally (yep, those Endorphins are real!)

Some ailments like osteoporosis can be mitigated by improving bone density through weight-bearing exercises and resistance exercise. And the NHS recommends “As well as aerobic exercise, adults aged 19 to 64 should also do muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week by working all the major muscle groups, including the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, arms and shoulders”.

Sport England are addressing the issue of getting older adults to do more exercise due to the concern that the population of the UK has a growing proportion of over 60s – in fact, according to the Office for National Statistics, the number of people aged 60 or over is expected to pass the 20 million mark by 2030. And the numbers of people aged up to 85 years, are expected to more than triple in number by 2050.

Safe Exercise is Tailored Exercise

Healthy ageing depends upon preserving (according to the World Health Organisation) what is known as “intrinsic capacity”. That is ability to maintain both mental and physical capacity.

Professionally qualified personal trainers will tailor exercise routines to suit their clients’ individual needs. It’s what we do. It’s why we analyse and assess our clients, not only at the introductory stage of our relationship, but throughout our association on a continuous basis.

We do this for ALL clients but, for the reasons outlined above, we are particularly mindful of the nuance required when designing exercise programmes for our “more mature” clientele.

Takeaway from this:

It’s never too late, there is ALWAYS a point in starting, and you CAN get fitter, strong and lose unhealthy weight at ANY AGE. Let’s go!