Why Your Age Shouldn’t Stop You From Working Out

Research has established that there is no wrong time or age to begin a regular exercise routine. Exercise and movement are age-defying elixirs that we can all agree upon, and the more we keep our bodies active the better we’ll feel at every stage of life. Some workouts for baby boomers and active octogenarians have them pumping iron, running marathons, dancing until dawn and feeling better than they have in years.

If you’ve been looking for some great workout plans for seniors try one of these using your Total Gym. They’ll get you moving in all directions, and reenergize you for the things you love to do.

The Total Gym Baby Boomer Workout Routine

Why train on the Total Gym, you may ask? There are plenty of good reasons:
1. When training on the Total Gym there is less compression on the spine.
2. The Total Gym not only strengthens, it also assists in stretching.

If you haven’t exercised in a long time (or ever) start with this routine. It should take about 15 – 20 minutes to do all of these exercises.:
1. Bilateral Squats 15 – 20 reps

2. Unilateral Squats 12 – 15 reps (you may need to lower the rails for this exercise) Make sure that your hip, knee and ankle are aligned.

3. Lat Pulldown 15 – 20 reps

4. Arm Pullover 8 – 12 reps

5. Arm Pullover with a crunch 12 – 15 reps

6. Seated upright – chest press (make sure to focus on sitting up tall with good alignment) 15 – 20 reps

7. Seated Backward – Seated Row, Bicep Curls and Triceps Kickback 15 – 20 of each

8. Seated Lateral – Torso Rotation 12 – 15 reps on each side of the body.

Finish with a nice stretch.
This whole routine should just take 20 – 30 minutes.

As you feel yourself getting stronger, or if you’ve already have a work out routine add the following exercises to the above routine:

1. Plyometric Squats – 1 min
2. Unilateral Plyometric Squats – 30 sec each side or alternating for 1 min
3. Triceps Extension 15 -20 reps
4. Make sure to add variety to the chest press by alternating the arms and/or pressing at different angles
5. One Arm Row, High Elbow Row 12 – 15 reps
6. Seated lateral – Horizontal Arm Abduction, Chest Fly 12 – 15 reps
7. Pull Ups

Including the stretch this workout will take 30 – 45 minutes.

Remember to start out slow, and speak to your doctor before working out – just to be sure. There will be plenty of time to add intensity. If you get overly sore or injure yourself you may lose motivation, so consistency is the name of the game. Try to do the above workout routine two to three days per week, then get out and walk or jog on the remaining days. If you stick to this you will look, feel and move better – at any and every age!

Enjoy!