The Limits of Age and Exercise (Control What You Can Control)
“I feel like I’m moving better than I did in my 20s and 30s!”
Want to know what led to my client saying this?
In this video I’ll go over not only the workout adjustments but also nutritional changes we made to help her feel her most fabulous.
Because we need to stop just blaming our age and ACCEPTING pain!
The simple fact is…you can’t change your age. You can’t stop getting older.
And yes, there are changes to our body as we get older.
But so often we just write off those changes as out of our control when so often there are lifestyle factors we can CHANGE that do have an impact.
Yes, as we get older, our recovery times change.
Aches and pains have had more time to accumulate…especially as often we haven’t truly taken care to rebuild from previous injuries.
Even the hormonal changes of perimenopause and menopause can lead to increased inflammation making our joints achier.
But through adjustments to our training and nutrition, we can reduce the aches and pains and even feel like we move better than ever!
That’s why in this video I want to go over controlling what you can control and adjusting your lifestyle to move your best at any age!
Let’s start with adjusting our workout routines.
I wanted to outline the 2 key things I implement with clients in their workouts that have led to many saying…
“I feel better than I did in my 20s and 30s!”
First, We Include That Prehab Process Every Warm Up
Injuries…Daily postures… Daily posture
They can change our mobility and flexibility. They can change our recruitment patterns or how we use muscles to perform movements.
And so often, even when we’ve done rehab for previous problems, we STOP doing what made us better.
This leads to us defaulting back into incorrect movement and recruitment patterns and can lead to aches and pains again adding up.
And while we may have “gotten away with this” when we were younger, it is also why aches and pains are adding up more now!
We start overusing muscles and joints not meant to carry the load. It’s why we may feel like lunges or squats only constantly hurt our knees!
That’s why that full 3-part prehab process of foam rolling, stretching and activation in every warm up is so key.
It addresses any mobility, flexibility or stability issues we have, and preps our body to work that day.
And it’s key we use the system as a whole. Too often we pull out parts of things we “like,” and then are surprised when the benefits aren’t there.
But this process works because of all 3 components together and in that order!
Before you workout, foam roll tight and overactive muscles that may impact your workout or hinder you from performing moves fully.
This then will help you better mobilize your joints with the stretches.
So if you’ve had hip pain and struggle to engage your glutes or squat deeply, you may roll out a hip flexor and quad muscle that is tight like the rectus femoris.
Then include dynamic stretches to warm up your body and mobilize your joints.
As you do these stretches, focus on the opposing muscle group engaging to drive the stretch.
To stretch out your chest in suspension trainer snow angels, focus on engaging your back to feel that stretch more.
Finally include activation moves that isolate muscles that are weaker or that you struggle to use correctly.
If you’ve had hip issues or lower back pain, you may focus on things like single leg reverse hypers or lying lateral raises to really target those glutes and engage them.
But this prep work in your warm up, and even the rolling and stretching in your cool down, will help you not only move better in your workouts to get more out of those sessions but also recover better for the next workout!
However, we can’t just do our mobility work then rush through our workouts if we want to avoid aches and pains.
That’s why the second thing I focus on with clients is…
Seeing Every Movement As An Assessment!
Every rep of an exercise is you practicing that movement.
If those reps are rushed and we aren’t focus on the quality of our movement, we aren’t going to get the full benefit of those exercises and may even end up injuring ourselves.
And if you’re thinking, “My form is great! I’m experienced with these moves.”
“Good form” doesn’t mean you aren’t cheating.
Often the more advanced an exerciser we are, the more we can cheat and overuse muscles or seek out mobility from other joints to mimic a movement.
We know what it SHOULD look like and our body is good at replicating what we want even if it means overloading muscles that shouldn’t be carrying the load.
It’s why you may be able to do that deadlift or pull up, BUT you’re also ending up constantly with lower back or neck and shoulder pain.
That’s why I have every client see every movement as an assessment and always ask themselves…
“What do I feel working?”
Because the muscles we feel DURING the exercise, are what are powering the movement.
If the correct muscles are working, we’re going to see those results build.
However, if we are feeling muscles taking over that shouldn’t be the prime movers, we are going to end up with injury.
When we are able to feel this happening, we can regress to progress, adjust our form or cueing and even modify the movements to get the correct muscles working.
Even if we can do a squat with one weight, we may find increasing to a point then changes what we feel working.
It’s why you want to be intentional in your training over just zoning out or rushing through.
Even changes in the TYPE of exercise, say a back squat vs a front squat, could impact how the move feels.
The more we are conscious of what is working, the more we can make sure we are truly maximizing each movement and even working through the fullest range of motion possible.
Because we can’t out mobility work the movements we are doing in our workouts.
If you want to keep that flexibility you are working so hard on, you need to strength through that range of motion.
You can’t hope to improve your hip mobility while doing a two inch squat because you’re trying to go heavy!
So be intentional with your training and you’ll see those movements improve and those aches and pains go away.
Not to mention you’ll even see improvements to your strength and muscle gains faster!
Next let’s talk about our nutrition and how we can adjust that as well to reduce those aches and pains.
And I’m going to start by telling you something you don’t want to hear…
But that has been eye opening for my clients…
First and foremost…Track your food.
So often we only think about tracking what we’re eating when we want to reach an aesthetic goal.
But tracking can help us truly understand the impact our diet is having on our health and even those aches and pains.
By tracking you may realize you aren’t eating enough protein to support optimal recovery or getting in the antioxidants or omega-3s you need to reduce inflammation and support optimal joint and muscle functioning.
Protein is key.
As we get older we are less able to utilize it as efficiently which means we need MORE of it to get the same muscle building response.
And protein isn’t just used to build muscle, it makes up all of the tissues of our body and even helps promote healthy bones and hormonal balance.
Without enough protein to properly repair, we are going to see more aches and pains add up!
Not to mention put ourselves at greater risk for other injuries such as falls and fractures.
And it isn’t just our macros we want to track but those micros and the types of each macro we consume.
Antioxidants like vitamins C and E, as well as beta-carotene, can help protect joint tissues from oxidative stress and inflammation.
This is why we want to track to make sure we’re consuming plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables, such as berries, citrus fruits, and leafy greens.
And then we don’t want to fear FATS in our diet either. Especially Omega-3s. Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce joint pain and stiffness.
Tracking to make sure we’re including fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines as well as plant-based sources such as flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts is key!
And then second, we focus on hydration and even tracking that water intake.
Many of us have even set the goal to drink more water…and it’s a surprisingly hard habit to change!
It’s why I love to add this in as something clients also track in their daily logs for accountability.
What gets measured gets managed.
But increasing your water intake as you get older keeps those joints, as well as our other body tissues, healthy and happy.
It also helps us recover faster!
And it’s key we actually shoot for MORE water as we get older, especially if you’re increasing your protein intake to assist in better recovery and muscle gains!
When you increase your protein intake, you want to increase your water intake to help with absorption and digestion of the protein.
We also have to recognize that, as we get older and go through menopause, we simply need more water too to stay hydrated.
With decreasing estrogen levels, we often need to increase our water intake.
Not to mention during menopause you may find you do better on lower carb ratios.
Carbs help us retain the water we need.
So fewer carbs in our system may mean increasing our water intake and even being conscious or our electrolyte balance.
This is why shooting for 70% of your bodyweight (in pounds) in ounces is key.
And you want to track to get this over the day.
You’re not seeking to have your pee be clear either with this. You want that light lemonade color.
But this focus on proper hydration helps keep cartilage, the cushioning material for your joints, lubricated and functioning optimally.
You can move and feel your best at any age. But it does mean addressing what your body needs right now instead of focusing just on what used to work.
But stop blaming your age.
Control what you can control and make these changes to your workouts and your diet to feel amazing at every age!
Learn more about how to create the perfect plan for YOU and see the results you deserve…
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