Many of us ‘over 40s’ – with grumbling joints and less-than-flexible muscles after years of desk based work and prioritising our kids’ activities – would strongly doubt the chances of reaching peak fitness again.
Apologies for the spoiler, but the answer is yes, you can – if you’re prepared to build a foundation and train differently than you did in your 20s.
In a recent New York Times article, Dr Miho Tanaka, an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in sports medicine injuries, said many people make the mistake of trying to re-start the same workouts of their 20s in their 40s and beyond.
‘To build resilience in ageing joints, most people need to completely change the way they exercise as they get older.’
‘Your body will adapt, it just takes longer’, especially if you haven’t exercised regularly for a long time.
Why it’s harder to train as you age
Muscle mass starts declining in your 30s and gaining it requires more work as you get older. The tendons and ligaments that support your joints also get weaker and more rigid as collagen decreases.
After 40, your body can’t handle back-to-back, intense training sessions. But research suggests that strength training can stimulate bone growth, particularly important for women approaching perimenopause and menopause.
Building a foundation
Whether you’re a former sportsperson who hasn’t taken the field for a couple of decades or a 50-year-old inspired to run a half marathon, you need to begin by building a foundation.
Not surprisingly, the longer it is since you’ve trained, the longer it takes to rebuild a base. Focus on cardiovascular endurance and building strength and stability in your core, hips and shoulders.
Once you have a foundation of strength and stability, you can gradually progress to higher loads and more intensity.
Controlled and effective exercise
Degenerative diseases of the spine, hip, knee and shoulder joints are the main cause of pain and loss of life quality for over 40s Australia. Almost 55,00 hip replacement and 70,000 knee replacement surgeries are now performed in Australia each year.
getback™ Physiotherapy Clinical Director Geoffrey Mackay said that for an ageing population, the most important health benefit of strength and joint mobility exercise is improved functional capacity.
‘Muscle strength, endurance and co-ordination improve quality of life and the ability to participate in activities,’ he said.
‘Our data-driven, device-based exercise programs can significantly improve the health outlook for older people with spine or joint disorders that are limiting their exercise capacity.’
getback™ utilises unique exercise therapy devices that enable effective, safe and measurable exercise for a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions affecting the spine, hip, knee and shoulder.
The devices enable your joint strength, mobility and strength-balance to be tested and precisely measured. Based on your measured data, an individual exercise program is deigned by physiotherapists to fit your needs and goals.
Mackay says the devices’ in-built protocols guarantee that older people can safely transition into injury treatment or fitness training.
‘When pain and loss of strength is involved, it’s vital for older people to start exercising again in a safe and supported way,’ he said.
‘The devices control loading through your full range of movement, so that regardless of load, your movements will be smooth and your exercise is supported and safe.’
The device screens also provide real-time feedback to guide your movements within the prescribed speed and range of movement.
