BEST WORKOUT FOR PEOPLE OVER 40

BEST WORKOUT FOR PEOPLE OVER 40

As we get older, we start to lose vitamins and minerals and our health deteriorates. Our bones become smaller, weaker and more prone to serious injuries. We start to lose our strength and our cardiovascular health begins its downward spiral.

Our skin begins to lose some of its natural elasticity and starts to sag. Instead of waiting for all kinds of diseases, we can choose to fight back. We can choose to exercise. A few of the hundreds of benefits of weightlifting and exercising include the prevention of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, back pain, osteoporosis, psychological effects and many more.

Studies show that 13.5 million people have coronary heart disease, 1.5 million people have heart attacks per year, 8 million people have onset diabetes, 100,000 people are diagnosed with colon cancer each year, 250,000 people suffer from hip fractures per year, 50 million people have high blood pressure and over 60 million people are overweight. All this can be prevented with regular exercise and a good diet. Come on, what have you got to lose.

The older you get, the weaker your body becomes. An adult over age 40 should start to experience a decrease in muscle size, strength and recovery time. Bones becomes increasingly more fragile and more prone for injury. Testosterone levels begin to decrease and the ability to build quality muscle decreases greatly. Joints begin to ache after a hard day’s work. However, there is an easy way to slow this aging process down. Simply follow a good diet with a good routine and you can slow down this decay on your body.

THE WORKOUT:

Do 5 minutes of light cardio before workouts to get the blood flowing through the body. Do 30 minute of moderate intensity cardio after workouts. Be sure to stretch before and after workouts. Allow 2-to-3 minute rest periods between each set.

CHEST / TRICEPS DAYS:

• Chair Upper Body Stretch: Sit on the edge of a chair, gripping the back of it. Straighten your arms, keeping your back straight, and let your upper body pull you forward so you feel a stretch.

            Chair Upper Body Stretch. 

• Doorway Chest Stretch: Face perpendicular at the end of a wall and place the inside of bent arm on the surface of wall. Turn the body away from the positioned arm. You should feel a nice stretch on your chest. Hold for ten seconds.
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•                                                  Doorway Stretch. 

• Overhead Tricep Stretch: Raise you right arm in the air and drop your hands and forearms towards your neck. With the left hand, push your right elbow back until you feel a nice stretch on your triceps. Hold for ten seconds.

                                               Overhead Tricep Stretch. 

BACK / BICEPS DAYS:

• Middle Back Stretch: Stand so your feet are shoulder width apart and your hands are on your hips. Twist at your waist until you feel a stretch. Hold for 10-to-15 seconds, then twist to the other side.

 

Middle Back Stretch. 

• Standing Torso Reach: Stand straight with your feet shoulder width apart and facing forward. Place your right hand on your right hip and reach you left arm over your head to bend your torso until you feel a stretch through your sides. Hold for 15 seconds, then repeat for your other side.

  

Standing Torso Reach. 

• Standing Bicep Stretch: Clasp hands behind the back with palms facing together. Straighten and rotate arms so that the palms are facing downward. Raise the arm away from the body. Hold this stretch for approximately 10 seconds and repeat with the other arm.

 

Standing Bicep Stretch. 

SHOULDER / TRAPS DAYS:

• Side Wrist Pull: This stretch works best standing. Cross your left arm over the midline of your body and hold the left wrist in your right hand down at the level of your hips. Start the stretch with a bent left arm. Slowly straighten, pull, and lift it up to shoulder height, as pictured. Feel this stretch originate in your back, not your shoulders, and don't pull too hard on the shoulder joints. Switch sides.

  


Side Wrist Pull. 

• Hands Interlocked Over Head: Interlock your fingers above your head, palms facing upward, and push your hands farther above your head until you feel a stretch in your shoulders.

 

Hands Interlocked Over Head. 

• Rear Deltoid Stretch: Position arms across the neck. With the other hand, push the elbow toward the neck area. You should feel a nice stretch on your posterior deltoids. If you don't feel it, push the wrist instead of the elbow for greater leverage. Hold the stretch for ten seconds and repeat with the other arm.

  

Rear Deltoid Stretch. 

• Trapezius Stretch: On your hands and knees, pull your belly and round your spine completely - lower back, shoulders and neck (let your head drop). Hold for 15 seconds.

 

Trapezius Stretch.