Are you too old to work out?

In your 20s and 30s, you were trim, in-shape and nimble, and you didn’t have to try very hard to stay that way. But then…life happened. What now?

Maybe you had kids and/or maybe you became more sedentary, spending most of your day sitting at a computer. Now you’re older, your waistline is a bit bigger, you’re a bit more out of breath after climbing a flight of stairs, you struggle a bit more lifting groceries out of the car, and you’re a bit more stiff and have a bit less energy. Oh well, it’s just a natural part of the aging process.

And now, you’re too old to start working out, right?

WRONG! Not only is moving your body critical to good health but regular exercise can keep you young! Per a study from the Journal of Applied Psychology, muscles of active 70-year-olds were nearly indistinguishable from the muscles of active 25-year-olds. In fact, these active seniors appeared to be biologically 30 years younger than their actual age. Whoa, how cool is that!

Ok, so these super seniors had been exercising regularly for over 50 years (since they were in their 20s). You’re in your 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s or older, so what’s the point of starting now?

Here’s the point.

While everyone’s body is different and there are various lifestyle factors involved, in general, if you start exercising regularly right now, you could begin to reap the benefits very quickly, including:

-better mood, less stress and better sleep
-less stiff and more energetic
-more endurance (aka you won’t be so winded after climbing that same set of stairs).
-stronger (aka you won’t struggle so much to lift those bags of groceries out of the car).

And as you continue to exercise regularly, these benefits continue to increase, and you’ll feel better…and younger.

Don’t go crazy.

You don’t have to workout out for hours a day to get these benefits. No one has that kind of time AND it’s not necessary!

Shoot for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, five days a week. That means doing some type of physical activity that makes you break a sweat and breathe hard enough to make maintaining a conversation somewhat challenging. Surely you have 30 minutes a day to spend on yourself to feel better…and younger!

Bottom line.

No matter how old you are, how inactive, or how out of shape you have been for however long, you can feel better AND slow the aging process.