What a pain!
It’s not your imagination — our bodies tend to grow weaker and we recover more slowly with age. Natural declines in muscle mass, strength, bone density, flexibility and reaction times significantly increase the risk of falls, a major cause of injury in older adults.
The good news is that there are ways to develop and maintain strength and coordination no matter your age. It helps to start early and progress consistently.
Here are fitness tips for every decade of life, whether you’re a workout rookie, a seasoned athlete or a weekend warrior.
Your late teens and 20s
Finding a sport or physical activity you enjoy early in life can be the key to staying fit and healthy over time.
I encourage patients to consider their personality and favorite childhood hobbies while taking a realistic look at their time and availability.
It could be soccer, dance or pursuits you may not consider exercise, like walking or gardening. Group activities that involve your friends and colleagues can significantly boost well-being.
Once you select a pastime, you can set yourself up for success with practical goals. Your newfound extracurricular shouldn’t suck up a lot of time right away — instead, gradually add it to your routine.
The World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise and two days of strength training a week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also suggests 150 minutes but spread over five days.
I support starting slow and varying exercise routines throughout the week to prevent injuries.
Among younger adults, I see more acute traumatic injuries like collisions and falls from engaging in intense and high-risk activities. Luckily, their underlying tissue tends to be healthy and heals faster.
Older patients are prone to overuse injuries, such as tendon ruptures and muscle tears, due to the natural wear and tear of tissues that occurs with aging.
Your 30s and 40s
In your 30s and 40s, it’s about finding that balance between building a career, starting a family and trying to pursue an active, healthy lifestyle.
Workouts tend to become less frequent and more intense, which can lead to injury because of a lack of consistent training and conditioning.
I usually advise patients to incorporate 10-minute stretches of activity into their workday. Step away from the desk, walk around and get the muscles moving and the blood flowing. You may want to consider getting a standing desk to prevent prolonged periods of sitting.
If you’re commuting, you can get more steps in by parking further away or getting off at a different transit stop.
Weekend warriors could benefit from adding 30 minutes of strength training or aerobic activity twice a week to help reduce the risk of injuries.
Another major issue in this life stage is that your connective tissues tend to become stiffer due to a decrease in water content. That means you have less mobility in your muscles and joints. Luckily, that can be mitigated with good stretching and adequate warmup.
Warmups and cooldowns are incredibly important. Warming up prepares your body for the demands of exercise, increasing blood flow and helping to maximize the load-bearing capacity of muscles and tendons.
For their part, cooldowns help calm your body and get your vitals back to normal. It’s an opportunity to stretch, gain flexibility and prevent post-exercise dizziness or fainting.
Also, good nutrition is crucial in exercise performance and recovery. You need adequate calories to fuel your body and a sufficient amount of protein and carbs to build muscle mass.
And for anyone over the age of 35, I recommend visiting your primary care doctor and undergoing a cardiology evaluation before you start a fitness regimen.
Your 50s
As you approach 50 and 60, you start to lose a bit of muscle mass, muscle-building capability and flexibility. This is very important to take into account.
Focus on devising a routine that emphasizes aerobic fitness for your cardiovascular health and strength training for your bone health and musculature that will support you for the rest of your life.
I usually warn against high-impact or high-intensity exercise like HIIT (high-intensity interval training), running and sometimes basketball and tennis, especially if you already have pain or injuries that may worsen with these hobbies.
With weekend warriors, we discuss priorities and goals. These activities may be fine if they don’t cause pain.
Start slow, build that tolerance and condition your body for exercise.
Stretching is paramount. It improves muscle pliability, enhancing their ability to absorb force and reducing the risk of injury.
You also should ensure you’re fueling your body appropriately since muscle and energy availability decrease and metabolism slows due to major hormonal shifts.
The changes in perimenopause and menopause may predispose women to more overuse injuries and pain, so they need to take extra precautions with repetitive activities. These women should also incorporate resistance training and weight-bearing exercise to maintain bone density.
Your 60s and beyond
For patients 60 and older, I usually recommend strength and resistance training for muscle building and balance training because it’s important to avoid falls at all costs.
It’s imperative to consider heart and bone health. For bone health, it’s not just about weight-bearing exercises. All exercise helps with bone density.
I also encourage finding physical activities that are more social, like pickleball or golf, to foster social connection.
It’s critical to continue working out and following healthy habits for longevity and overall well-being.
Dr. Natasha Desai is an assistant professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and co-director of the Center for Women’s Sports Medicine at NYU Langone Health. She is a primary care sports medicine physician.
