The 5 Best Exercises for Women Over 50

According to fitness experts, women in their 50s are not the same as they were before as their bodies are undergoing major changes to enter menopause. Therefore, choosing the right exercise for them is very important.

When you turn 50 years old, you don’t necessarily need to change too many exercise habits, but there are a few things to keep in mind. Cardiovascular exercises like walking or biking are important for maintaining heart and lung health as we age, and women over 50 should also try to incorporate strength-training activities. .

Regular exercise will help build muscle mass, along with increasing bone density which is important as you age. Exercise also helps keep women stronger and prevents injury.

In general, women over the age of 50 should try to exercise at least 1 hour per week. They are advised to incorporate 3 days a week of aerobic exercise, improve resistance, and add a few days of yoga and tai chi to stretch, strengthen and balance themselves.

There are many different types of exercise for women over 50. Alexa Rohach, a physical therapist at Providence Saint John Medical Center, Performance Health Center in Santa Monica, California said that aerobic exercise and balance exercises are both very important. Strength training builds resistance and can do a lot for their muscles. It helps to increase endurance and increase muscle strength.

Of course, every woman has different physical strengths, and different personal preferences, but experts say there are a few exercises that are best suited for women 50 and older. Here are 5 types of exercises that are suitable for women of this age to try and enhance their home workouts.

Episode planks

Plank posture helps strengthen your core. You can keep the ball, round, or tilted down while you plank.

A thick yoga mat is great while you plank (or do any kind of floor exercise). It is an essential tool for exercise for women of almost any age, but especially over 50. This will make your exercise more comfortable, and therefore will sustain your training longer.

Lunge exercises 

Lunge exercises will help you work the muscles in the lower body, helping you to have a full, toned, and healthy butt. Adding an exercise ball can help improve strength and balance. Simply holding on to the added weight of the ball can provide the same benefits as hand weights.

Walking

Walking is a great form of exercise, and adding ankle weights enhances things a bit. Ankle weights allow for increased resistance while walking. This is an easy way to burn more calories and build strength in the lower extremities. Walking with ankle weights can even help increase bone density.

Yoga

Yoga is the ideal practice to help you stretch your muscles, build strength in your body, and relax your mind. The tools to support yoga practice depend on your individual needs. Exercise blocks, also known as yoga bricks, will be a great support for exercises that are difficult to balance and help you create a more comfortable pose for an aging body. You can use them to support around the hip and knee area in a number of knee bending routines that can help reduce stress on the knee joint. By leaning on a block in other movements that are difficult to balance, it will allow you to maintain the pose longer to reap the full benefits of yoga. Blocks will make yoga less intimidating and more accessible.

Weightlifting

If you do weightlifting regularly, you can still work with low-weight dumbbells (less than 5kg), which gives you a lot of options with your training resistance. You should use them for squats, upper body presses, and biceps curls. Exercise of any weight, resistance will help strengthen bones. Carrying loads will help prevent loss of bone density as you age.

Stretching

As we age, the body needs to be trained to be more flexible and agile. You should stretch all parts of your body, including large muscle groups. The tool that will greatly aid you in your stretching is an extension strap, which is especially great for working in hard-to-reach areas, like hamstrings.