What exercises should I be doing at different stages of life?
It dawned on me the other day – I’m getting older! In fact for almost half my life I’ve been a personal trainer and have been observing people of different age groups exercise. Over this time, I’ve formed the opinion that me continuing to just do lots of cycling kilometres is not the secret to optimal longevity. Here’s what I’ve learnt about aging well with exercise…….
What causes the change in focus at different ages?
Here’s an ‘over-generalised’, typical scenario for someone born in the western world –
We are born, grow up into primary school kids and at this stage of life mainly exercise through active ‘play’ and the organised sport. Our main motivation for playing sport has nothing to do with health or exercise…..it’s just about having fun with our mates and wearing a uniform.
Exercise Tips for Primary School Children
Secondary school sees a significant change in participation in sport or exercise. Some kids will hang on to organised sport during junior high school but by year 10, most kids are out of regular sport unless involved at the 1st Eight or ‘elite’ level. At this point, life is starting to get ‘serious’ as we become adults, take an interest in boys and girls and live with the other pressures of being a teenager working towards our senior school years.
Exercise Tips for High School Children
The post school space typically involves tertiary study of some sort and becomes and extension of high school. Increased freedoms of being an adult, parties/boys/girls present a much greater attraction than exercise. Mostly we have the view that ‘nothing will happen to me’ so exercising with a focus on our health is typically not on the radar. Increasingly, many at this age may exercise as a means of appearance control – weight loss, building muscle, etc to improve aesthetics. Unfortunately this isn’t always done in a healthy or sustainable way…..
Exercise Tips for Young Adults
The next stage of life typically sees the start of our ‘serious’ career. This is a time where if we haven’t developed good exercise routines, our health can head south as we work (sit!) long hours and focus on building our career. This invariably progresses into career advancements, serious personal relationships/marriage/kids……all in all life gets a bit serious as our level of responsibility starts to build. Time is a scarce commodity during this stage of life and this stage is a really common entry point for many of our clients as they can see their health ‘fading away’ under the pressures of life.
The last stage of life typically means more time and decreased responsibility (think children have finally moved out of home!). However the challenges become more about managing an ageing body and some of the niggles that have been picked up from ‘life’. Health needs to becomes a higher priority for most people during this stage of life and as we age further issues such as remaining independent/active become a key focus.
Exercise Tips for Older Adults
-Kristin Lewis