Going to the gym at 49 years old?!
Question: As it's the new year, my mom and I decided to hit the gym (along wih the millions of other people). I'm going to be her mini-personal-trainer of sorts. My question is this. What things should she do at the gym? She's 49, never excersized in her life, and has high cholesterol. She has also has surgery on her back, so high impact aerobics are out of the question. She doesn't mind the treadmill but I wanted her to experience different types of equipment and workouts.
Any ideas for some routines or classes we should take? They should be at a slow pace and accomodating to her needs. I was thinking Beginner's Yoga to help her stretch out her body.
Any ideas are appreciated!
=)
Answers: As it's the new year, my mom and I decided to hit the gym (along wih the millions of other people). I'm going to be her mini-personal-trainer of sorts. My question is this. What things should she do at the gym? She's 49, never excersized in her life, and has high cholesterol. She has also has surgery on her back, so high impact aerobics are out of the question. She doesn't mind the treadmill but I wanted her to experience different types of equipment and workouts.
Any ideas for some routines or classes we should take? They should be at a slow pace and accomodating to her needs. I was thinking Beginner's Yoga to help her stretch out her body.
Any ideas are appreciated!
=)
Yes, definitely go for the beginner's yoga - just advise the instructor at the start of the class and s/he will offer your mum some alternative poses if certain ones might be too much for her back.
49 is fine to start the gym, a lot of older people go to the gym, and funnily enough, usually they are the ones who stick with it once they get started (dedication thing? I don't know...)
The fact that she is relatively unfit is a bit of a concern... until she gets more comfortable in it, maybe just start her off on exercises focused on general fitness and tell her to concentrate on her breathing first, and building up her stamina, so that she can more easily cope with the machines later on.
Try the treadmill and the exercise bikes, very good to get the heart rate up and work out that cholesterol issue, tell her to alternate between building up from a slow pace to a medium pace to a slow pace to a medium pace to a faster pace to a medium pace etc. etc. at timed intervals to make the heart work smarter, not just harder, and this helps lose weight quicker too.
Pilates is another good one to try, but again, like with yoga, let the instructor know first, so they can have her do alternate poses to avoid stress on the back. These are long term exercises that will have dramatic improvements on her body, energy, flexibility, health, and wellbeing.
Swimming is a really great one, low impact cause of the water. They have aerobic classes in the water at some gyms and those are the best! Or just lane swimming, doing laps is great too.
At home, encourage her to walk more, especially down the road or to the corner store. Maybe you two can go on morning or evening walks together every day or every second day to improve fitness and increase her stamina and energy!
Start her on the low cholesterol margarine and make sure she changes her diet with an aim to improve her cholesterol levels. Cut out greasy foods and fried foods, change the oil she cooks with to a healthier version, better yet, don't cook with oil at all and avoid meals that need to be cooked that way. Have more roasted meals or vege based meal ideas - salads and raw foods are sooo yummy and good for her. Olive oil is good to put on salad, but only a little bit, and is better at room temperature (after oil is heated, the good bits are gone and just left are the bad bits).
She can take advantage of the sauna and any spa treatments that your gym might have - massage for her back? that would be nice! But basically, just to keep her motivated and keep going to the gym to improve her health nd increase her lifespan... good on you!!
with care
Play bingo
Walk on the treadmill, ride a stationary bike.
I really dont think she can,
core work for balance
if you can afford it get a personal trainer they will know what excersises will be best for her
walking slowly and building it up also gentle stretching ..
CURVES! my sister works there and i've been a couple of times with my mom, shes 49 too. shes been in two car accidents and has terrible back and neck problems, but she loves curves.
beginners yoga is great too, my dad got her a gift certificate there for five lessons,its great to streatch out your body, you dont over work yourself and it'll help her back.
I am 52 and am interested in learning tai chi. Yoga for your mom sounds like an excellent idea.
start by walking. then you should try the pedal bike.
if she has too much problem need to watch out then the best way to work out is water aerobics. 24 hours fitness are pretty good too find the one with a swimming pool. They will have a water aerobics class to check it out.
Your ideas seem to be right on !
There are gyms in my area that only charge $10. per week, unlimited use of equipment.
Also, the very best exercise know is walking !!!
Mentally & physically beneficicail !!
Best wishes, you are a good daughter/son? !!!
Wooohooo Mum
Make sure her doctor knows what she is going to do and its it safe
Have a personal trainer let you know what she is capable of and what illness she has.
I would think a slow start will be advisable and follow the rule if it hurts for 3 days after don't do it again.
I wish you the best of luck and I do envy your mum
Get sky TV loads of ale and snax works for me! (11 stone male)
You should be careful as well as cautious about gym at 49 as it may impart a permanent damage to organs ,after 40 every ones body starts degrading & couldn't able to withstand the exercise at gym,so try not to have vigorous exercise,but you can have normal exercise without much exertion at gym
First of all, she needs a check up to see if she is ok. In case she's gone already and that's the doctor's advice she should start slowly. I'd suggest she takes the treadmill and walks for 10 minutes. She could also try the elliptic machine for 10 minutes at a slow pace. It's very important that she does the exercise at her own pace, because she could get exhausted and/or get hurt. and then, she wouldn't come back. Yoga is a good idea too. A good gym always has expert trainers to help her out with the kind of exercises she could do.Ask in different gyms before deciding and Good luck!
There are usually fitness experts at most gyms, book in a session with them and be honest in all their questions. They will then set up a program for your mother that will be 'safe' for her. Maybe they have some low impact programs or try aqua aerobics. High cholesterol shouldn't have any impact on the type of exercise she can do, a special diet in conjunction with exercise should set her on the right track.
low intensity water workouts are supposed to be good. the water cushions the body so the likelihood of injuries is pretty small. depending on your gym, there might be fees for classes, but i belong to the Y and they dropped the fee for members for a lot of their classes, maybe check them out if there is one near you. you can also ask a staff member at the gym for advice (without mom there if you want to look like you thought it up). Most trainers that i know of give advice or help for free.
It would be a good idea to get her into the beginner Yoga. Measure how well she does, as to say if it was painful or it didnt feel right in some way. if something like that happens stop and have her get looked at by her physician and they can tell her how to start off. It would probably be better for her to get a small physcial done with her physician to begin with. anyways, when she gives the go ahead. have her start walking wether it be the treadmill or a track. she can do the staionary bike and try the eliptical slowly. if there is a pool you are able to use, that would really be good for her back. when i pulled out my lower back, my doctor had me do activites in the pool. look on the internet and find workouts she can do in the water. as long as. like you said, they are not high impact, let her try out the machines she wants to test first. her body will tell her if something is not right. Good luck
Most GOOD gyms have professional on the staff to help beginners with an individually targeted exercise program.
In my gym (I am an unfit 61 year old) they weigh and check your health with a basic questionnaire, (including what medication you take), check blood pressure and % body fat before recommending any program.
Alway do some simple warm up routine before doing any of the other equipment based exercises.
Once you and mom have mastered all the equipment in the gym and bot a good basic level of fitness and agility, then try some others (ask at the gym!!)
Hi impact she obviously can not do, but resistance trainning such as working with light free weights. Curls, squats, deadlifts, presses, and just about anything. Start off just working on proper form with light weights, until her ability comes up and it will, if you are consistent. Treadmill is good, get here onto the interval training.
The first thing she should do is have a session with one of the fitness instructors at the gym. They will be able to assess her and advise her on the best workouts to suit her needs.