Rediscovering Fitness in Middle-Age

It’s never too late, and never as important.

Fitness is probably not the top priority for most people in middle-age, given the competing demands from our work, families, and friends.

At the same time, however, fitness has never been more important than in middle-age. The effects of aging are becoming difficult to ignore. Slowing metabolism, physical inactivity, and poor eating habits have likely resulted in weight gain. The list of physical ailments that afflict us grows with each passing year, sometimes manifesting as chronic diseases.

There is nevertheless no need to despair. I contend that there is no better time to get fit than in middle-age. Time grants valuable life experiences, as well as the discipline, resilience, and other attributes that will serve us well when we work on recovering our fitness. We just need to leverage these hard-earned advantages.

MOTIVATION

It is difficult to embark on, let alone sustain, change without proper motivation.

Think of motivation as a three-step process.

First, identify our fitness-related motivations. This should not be difficult. The doctor might have advised us to lose weight, lower our cholesterol levels and blood pressure, etc. Perhaps looking better would enhance our career prospects. We might even be unexpectedly back in the market for romance. Or we might be suffering from a general feeling of malaise, wondering if the state of our physical health is the cause of all the other things that are not going well in our lives.

Second, harness our motivations. It does not matter whether our initial motivations are vague, transient, or even untrue. The point is to get started on the process of change.

Third, evolve and sustain our motivations. In particular, we should try to evolve extrinsic motivations (such as the ones mentioned above) to intrinsic ones. The pursuit of fitness will be more sustainable if we are motivated by the satisfaction to be derived from exercising regularly and eating healthfully, rather than external rewards such as specific weight loss targets or affirmations from those around us.

I started with specific fat-loss targets. I had set monthly, semi-annual and annual targets to bring my body fat down from 33% to 12% or even lower. Even now, I wonder what it would be like to have visible abs for the first time in my 40s. These were powerful motivations that keep me going to the gym almost every day.

However, I also learned to enjoy exercise for its own sake. I love the anticipation of planning my next workout, the endorphin rush while exercising, and the glow and calm after a training session.

There has also been a growing sense of self-efficacy. I have learned to design my workouts. Friends started to approach me with their fitness and nutrition-related questions. Some even credited me with inspiring them to begin their weight-loss journeys. This has motivated me to further deepen my knowledge of fitness, forming a virtuous cycle that makes each training session more meaningful than the last.

EXERCISE

Many of us might already be facing health issues even before reaching middle-age. Overweight and obesity is a common challenge for many of us. According to the World Obesity Federation, 83.5% of American middle-aged men and 70% of American middle-aged women have either overweight or obesity. This is in turn associated with a wide range of health-related issues, in particular chronic diseases like heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and even cancer.

The key is to get moving. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise) each week. There is also a dose-response relationship; more is better in this case.

For middle-aged persons, it is particularly important to strike a balance between the three dimensions of physical fitness:

Cardiovascular Fitness. Improved cardiovascular fitness is associated with a wide range of health benefits. It reduces the risk of the above-mentioned chronic diseases, strengthens immune function, enhances sleep, improves brain function, etc.

If the idea of running on a treadmill sounds tedious, there are plenty of alternatives. The key is to find something you enjoy. If you like the outdoors, try hiking or rock climbing. If team sports are your thing, look for local games or form one with friends or colleagues. Or perhaps it’s finally time to learn Krav Maga like Liam Neeson in Taken.

In my case, I started by walking the dog twice a day. Next, I added cardiorespiratory exercises to my gym routine, running or rowing every other day. If I’m pressed for time, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is both effective and time-efficient. Having recently relocated back to the tropics, I like to go for an outdoor run whenever the weather seems particularly good.

Muscular Strength and Endurance. Strength training should not be neglected, as middle-aged persons suffer from the loss of lean muscle mass as well as the loss of bone mineral density. The ACSM and CDC recommend muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week, involving all major muscle groups.

Resistance training has been the main focus of my exercise program. I find the programmatic nature of a gym workout simultaneously challenging and relaxing. I perform resistance training most days of the week, but make sure to diversify the training stimuli by using different equipment (e.g. free weights, suspension straps, medicine balls, and body weight). This also helps me avoid straining the joint connective tissues, which tend to lose elasticity with age.

Balance, Flexibility, and Coordination. This dimension is often neglected but is important to prevent injury, reduce aches and pains, as well as to preserve our ability to carry out activities of daily living without hindrance.

It is recommended to perform some flexibility exercises every day. I usually incorporate them into my warm-up and cool-down. On active recovery days, I try to do some yoga and/or have a dedicated stretching session.

Program Adherence

The best-laid plans will go awry without program adherence. How do you stay motivated to continue exercising, day after day, month after month, year after year? Here are my favorite tips:

• Find activities that you enjoy. Simple activities like walking or social activities like sports work for many people. Enjoyment strengthens our intrinsic motivation and consequently program adherence. Everyone will define fun or enjoyment differently. For me, the degree of difficulty or challenge contributes to the fun factor.
• Location, location, location. Selecting an inconveniently-located fitness facility will only make it easier to come up with excuses to not exercise. For this reason, I choose gyms that are located either near my home or on my way to work. If access to fitness facilities proves difficult due to working hours or other factors, it is still possible to find ways to exercise at home or using outdoor spaces, with bodyweight and simple equipment like resistance bands.
• Training should be functional. If you have been living a largely sedentary life, it is quite likely that activities of daily living (such as lifting luggage into the overhead compartment, bending over to pick up stuff, etc.) may require a greater effort to perform. This should be addressed in your exercise program to slow down and reverse the deterioration. You should be able notice improvements relatively quickly.
• No exercise too trivial. Any amount of exercise is better than none. Make it a point to take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. Walk around the office block during lunch. Do air squats in your cubicle. If you commute, alight one or two stops earlier and walk the rest of the way home. If you drive, try parking further from the entrance of your destination.
• Social support structures. Find like-minded people to train with so that you can keep each other motivated. Even better, exercise with your loved one(s) for a bonding experience that can be repeated daily.
• Leverage technology. Fitness trackers and phone apps have become highly sophisticated. They can help set fitness goals, suggest exercise plans, as well as provide reminders and motivational tips.

RECOVERY

The second pillar of fitness is recovery. It may be tempting to push your body, especially if you are seeing quick gains from the new exercise program. However, our bodies will not recover as quickly as when we were 20 or 30. Appropriate adjustments will need to be made.

First, your body needs time to repair the damage and build new muscle, especially after resistance training. It is recommended to give each muscle group at least 48 hours to recover before training them again.

Second, rest helps to prevent overtraining, which can lead to joint strains, broken bones, and soft tissue injuries. I experienced this myself, as overuse resulted in lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) that required physiotherapy. There was also a painful episode where heavy training resulted in a suppressed immune system which, when combined with work stress, triggered a bout of shingles.

Active recovery is considered more beneficial than passive recovery (i.e. complete inactivity). I usually perform some form of low-intensity steady state (LISS) cardio, such as jogging or swimming, as well as stretching exercises, such as yoga. If you live near nature, hiking would be a great option.

Sleep is an essential form of daily rest, as it allows our body to repair the cells damaged by exercise. However, we tend to sleep less as we age. We also sleep less well due to a variety of factors including hormonal changes, stress, depression, anxiety, diet, medical conditions, or medications, etc. Fortunately, exercise is one of the proven remedies for poor sleep.

NUTRITION

The third pillar of fitness is nutrition. This can be challenging for middle-aged persons, as many of us have developed unhealthy eating habits that can be difficult to eliminate.

To realize our fitness objectives, a number of nutrition goals are important. First, for repairing and building muscle, consume enough high-quality protein. You can find out your macronutrient requirements using the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) Calculator or MyPlate.

Second, to slow down the rate of bone loss, make sure you consume sufficient calcium and Vitamin D. For the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of 1,000 mg of calcium per day, consider seeds, beans, lentils, and leafy vegetables like collard greens, spinach, and kale, in addition to usual suspects like milk, cheese, and yogurt. Vitamin D can be trickier, as some of us might not eat oily fish or eggs and do not get sunshine all year. Consider a supplement if necessary to meet the RDA of 400–800 IU.

Third, focus on consuming nutrient-rich carbohydrates for energy. Healthy options such as whole grains, beans, legumes, vegetables, and fruit help promote satiety, making it more difficult to overeat and gain fat. Many of these whole foods are also rich in prebiotics and probiotics, which can help repair our gut microbiome that has likely been battered by years of processed foods, alcohol, antibiotics, stress, lack of sleep, physical inactivity, etc.

Improving your eating habits is only half the picture. It is equally important to eliminate bad habits. Sugar, saturated fats, processed foods, and refined grains are the main offenders. My tip would be to remove such items from your home as soon as possible and replace them with healthier alternatives. For example, you can try replacing soda with water (sparkling if that helps), snacks with fruit, refined grains with whole grains, etc.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Fitness has provided me with the foundation to appreciate and enjoy mid-life at a more profound level. My improved physical and mental health has allowed me to gain deeper perspectives on the things that are truly important in life. I now place greater emphasis on acquiring new knowledge and experience. I learned to let go of things that I used to consider important but were in reality impeding my path to happiness. This included material possessions as well as my old career. Fitness has opened the door for me to approach life with greater enthusiasm than I have felt for a long time.

Here are my 7 takeaways on how to approach fitness in middle-age:

• It is never too late to discover — or rediscover — fitness.
• Identify, harness, and evolve your motivations for wanting to get fit. Make fitness fun, however you might define fun.
• Exercise regularly. Strike a balance between cardiorespiratory, muscular, and flexibility training to mitigate the physical effects of aging.
• Get sufficient rest to optimize fitness gains and avoid injury. Sleep a lot; sleep well.
• Focus on nutrition to slow down the loss of lean muscle and bone mineral density that comes with age. Eat sufficient high-quality protein and carbohydrates.
• Unhealthy foods, especially refined sugar, saturated fats, processed foods, and refined grains, can derail our fitness goals. Eliminate them as much as possible, as soon as possible.
• Middle-age has granted us important skills and perspectives. We should put them to good use in our pursuit of fitness.

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