When It Comes To My Fitness, I like to think 10Yrs Ahead.
How do I want to feel in 10years time?
What do I want my health to look like?
#strength #stability #shape were my 2019 hashtags and that’s what I’ve pretty much focused on this year because as we grow older, we lose strength, become less stable and lose shape.
Midlife can be a tricky period, health can either rapidly decline or start to get better if we start taking care of our bodies. All bad habits over the years really start to show up at midlife. Once upon a time you could eat anything and not put on weight, then all of a sudden the reverse is the case? That’s midlife!
Coming up to my 50th birthday last September, I decided to revise my weekly exercise targets and bump it up from 3 days a week in the gym to 5-6 days because, I feel that as I’m growing older, I need to move more and not less to maintain agility.
I admit that adding more days a week to my workout targets wasn’t difficult to do after the KHL May 2019 Step Count Fitness Challenge (read blog). The Challenge got me doing a lot of walking and some running on the days I didn’t go to the gym. I pretty much just continued doing that after the challenge and I’ve pretty much stuck to that routine.
I was doing well until I had to stop for a bit (8 weeks) in August (read my blog about that). Giving in to my sweet tooth and no structured physical activity began to show on my waistline. When I started to feel better, even though I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, I was relieved to get back to regular exercising.
Getting back on track is never easy. Not putting pressure on myself usually does the trick. All I do is start and aim to keep going. If I don’t feel like running, I walk. If I can’t walk because of the rain, I get on a spin bike or do a 30min dance session in my bedroom.
My Age 50+ Weekly Workout Plan
Monday: 30 min Strength training and 30min Cardio.
Tuesday: Home workout ( 5K outdoor run or 30- 60min mixed workout at home).
Wednesday: 30min Strength workout and 30min Cardio.
Thursday: Home workout ( 5K outdoor run or 30-60min mixed workout at home).
Friday: 30 min strength workout and 30min cardio.
Saturday: 5-10K outdoor walk.
Sunday: No structured exercise.
2 things that keep me going when Motivation is low.
- Aside from fitting into my clothes? Well, knowing that the difference between success and failure is not how good a person is, it’s how persistent/consistent a person is. Perfection is not the aim, maintaining momentum is. It’s okay to struggle through.
- Aside from the fact that it’s good for my health? Well…..when I’m in good physical shape, it really does feel good.
To conclude, physical fitness has become part of my identity – my exercise habits are who I am – lively, vibrant, energetic and fit at 50!
K💙
PS
The WHO recommends a minimum of 30mins cardiovascular exercise 5 days a week and strength exercises twice weekly. Why not aim close?
Fringe Jacket by Tae 🔹 Jeans by J Brand 🔹 Sandals by Kat Maconie 🔹 T-shirt By GAP
Photos taken in Lagos by Edidiong Ukpe
Read Part 1 of this 2 Part Blog.
How I Managed To Keep My Weight Down By end 2019 – Part 1 (Eating Habits)
