It’s no secret…your body changes as you get older.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t still get results!
You just have to approach your fitness from a different angle.
When you are young you can get away with things like:
- Crash dieting
- Killing yourself in the gym
- Following the latest fad diet
- Crossfit
But now, you need to take a more sophisticated approach.
Here is my 5-step plan for getting your body back after 50:
1) Start Easy
I know this sounds awful, but you know what is worse than starting slow? Hurting yourself. Just know that “starting easy” doesn’t mean NOT challenging yourself.
It means not doing the same workout you did when you were 20 or 30.
Our brains get stuck in the past and we remember what we used to be able to do (more on that later)…but if you try to jump in at that level, you are going to end up injured.
So, take everything you used to do, cut it in half, and start there. The truth is, you are going to get far better results by working out 3 days per week for the next year than trying to workout 6 days a week for a month and then feeling like you want to die, or quit, or both!
2) Do What You Hate
You want to know why you've been having trouble getting results as you age?
Because all the things you NEED to do to stay fit after 50 are the things you have been avoiding your whole life.
Things like stretching for men.
Things like weight lifting for women.
Things like balance training for everyone.
So, if you want to get your body back, you need to start doing those things you have been avoiding. If you want some ideas of what you can do, check out our Ultimate Fat Loss Workout today!
The good news is, once you make them a habit and start seeing how much better you feel, you will start to actually WANT to do them.
You just have to get over the hump.
3) Fight Through Failure
It’s true, you are going to fail. Probably a lot.
We all do. It’s how we get better at things. But what makes failure so hard as you age is that you have an image of who you used to be. What you used to be capable of.
It’s not that you are struggling, it’s that you are struggling with things you USED to be good at!
And this is a hard pill to swallow.
Your only choice is keep fighting. Keep showing up and trying your best. Keep challenging yourself and while it will take longer than you want, you WILL reach your goals.
4) Find an Accountability Partner
Your life is crazy busy. Between work, family, travel, social events, and philanthropy, you barely have time to sit down for a decent meal!
That is why you NEED someone to help keep you accountable to showing up for your workouts. It is much too easy to push them off if you don't.
This could be a friend that you meet down at the gym, someone you call weekly to talk with about your goals and progress, or one of our Los Gatos personal trainers that you meet with regularly.
The point is, don’t leave it up to you to show up…because life WILL happen and exercise is always the first thing to get bumped.
5) Focus on Actions
Successful people focus on behavior goals.
Unsuccessful people focus on outcome goals.
It’s not that successful people don’t have outcome goals (earn X amount of $$, lose Y lbs.), but they spend their time worrying about how to create the habits and behaviors that are going to make those goals come true, not the goals themselves.
If you want to start seeing better results in your health and fitness, write down your goal somewhere and then plan to look at it in 6-12 months.
Now that you don’t have to worry about that, write down the 3 key steps you need to do to make that goal happen and focus all your effort and energy on following through on those steps.
If you keep up those actions for the next 6 months, you will make progress toward your goal. And in the end, progress is all you can ask for.
Remember, it doesn’t matter how old you are, health and fitness are a lifelong endeavor and there are no quick fixes. It takes daily action, small or large, and if you are consistent over time, your efforts will pay off.
Want to learn how to put together a complete workout program that burns fat and builds lean muscle?
Download our Ultimate Fat Loss Workout now and learn the exact steps you need to take to start getting the results you want. This will include:
- Why strength training is CRITICAL for fat loss
- Our "Complementary SuperSet" model of training
- Specific workout recommendations for every level
- Videos showing you correct form and tempo
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Mint Condition Fitness empowers purpose-driven men and women to lose weight, get out of pain, and do more of the things that make life meaningful.