Fitness For Seniors

HIIT in 30 second blocks A HIIT workout involves short bursts of activity (about 20 seconds) followed by short periods of rest (20 to 40 seconds) and repeated for 10 to 20 minutes.  Here is a HIIT format, in which you do not exercise for a set time but rather you complete a set number of repetitions in 30 second blocks.  For example, 5 repetitions and then rest until 30 seconds is up and then start again. Benefits of HIIT A HIIT workout should be intense and with minimum rest between sets. This will push your muscles close to anaerobiosis which is the objective of HIIT.  Pushing your muscles close to anaerobiosis and will force your aerobic oxidative and your glucose uptake systems to become more efficient. With an appropriately designed exercise, building strength, muscular endurance and cardiorespiratory fitness can be achieved within a HIIT session. Building a 30 second HIIT workout   You can build your own routine, depending on your level of fitness, the equipme...

  T his workout will help you maintain a strong lower body. Having a strong lower body is important for your independence in old age. When you are no longer able to leave your seat, unable to walk around a shopping centre, continually worried about falling down, unsteady while standing on a moving train or bus, then you will lose your independence. A loss of independence will cause a downward spiral in your health, fitness and mental capability. The workout involves performing lunges plus heavy lifts. In this case, using a sandbag. Sandbags are one of the most flexible exercise tools for home and gym use. The workout will help improve your cardiorespiratory fitness and your strength. 20 x forward lunges 10 x front sandbag squats 20 x reverse lunges 10 x front sandbag squats 20 x left side lunges 10 x front sandbag squats 20 x right side lunges 10 x front sandbag squats Repeat as required with minimal rest between each set. Using a heavy sandbag will help to also strengthen your low...

If you live in a small, high rise apartment, you have a number of options to try to stay fit. You could go to the gym, you could go to a fitness corner or park or you could try to work out at home. To be effective, home workouts need to be regular and intense and also allow you to achieve progress in the different dimensions of fitness - cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and a healthy body composition. HIIT and body weight exercises Personally (speaking as a senior), I believe that HIIT and resistance training are both important maintaining all-round fitness. HIIT, if performed properly, should increase your aerobic efficiency and help prevent glycogen overload (which is important for your longevity). But to increase the intensity of your workout and to ensure that you receive a suitable dose of resistance training, you may need some assistance from tools such as dumbbells and resistance bands.  But what are the other alternatives? Body weight ...

 Today's workout consists of only 2 exercises: mountain climbers and kettlebell snatches. If you are concerned about ensuring that your heart rate does not stay in the peak zone for too long, perform the mountain climbers at a moderate pace. They can act respite to the intensity of the snatches. The mountain climbers will also help work your hip flexor muscles and hamstrings and provide an isometric workout for your core and upper body.  Snatches provide  vigorous exercise with a solid workout for your shoulders, hip extensors and upper back.  This was my workout: 40 x mountain climbers 30 x kettlebell snatches - 15 LH and 15 RH I used a 16 kg kettlebell and repeated the sequence 8 times over 40 minutes with longer rests between sequences required towards the end of the workout.  As you may have gathered, I focus on managing my heart rate, allowing my heart rate to fall to the cardio (Fitbit) zone before starting the next set.  Protecting your heart and avo...

A HIIT workout should be very intense. You go all out for brief period (e.g. 20 seconds), slow down (e.g. for 20 seconds) and start again until exhausted.  Nowadays, HIIT is interpreted in many ways. Most HIIT sessions do not involve highly intense exercise and hence they can run for half an hour or more.  A few days ago, I called up about being a HIIT trainer. (Well not really HIIT - the session lasts for an hour with warm-ups, cool-downs, so about 40 minutes!!) There was some concern about whether I was fit enough. I have not done HIIT for a while. So I thought I would do a series of intense exercises to see if I could last 40 minutes. I did not use a timer but used repetitions. Here is the exercise routine: 40 jumping jacks 40 plank jacks 10 pushups 20x24kg single arm kettlebell rows (10 x LH and 10 x RH) Repeat with minimal rest between exercises. I repeated this routine 6 times in 30 minutes. Is this HIIT? Not really but it certainly more intense that what is normall...

Try this kettlebell workout consisting of 3 exercises for a whole body workout. The sequence will help build your strength, endurance, cardiorespiratory fitness. Try not to rest for too long between each set. If possible, ask someone to help push you through the sets.  Do monitor your heart rate, to avoid spending too much continuous time close to your maximum heart rate. 20 left side swings 10 left side squats 5 left side push presses 20 right side swings 10 right side squat 5 right side push presses Repeat as required. (For example: 5 sets = 350 repetitions). I used a 20 kg kettlebell   Single side squats Always consult your medical professional before embarking on a vigorous exercise program.

Here is a workout consisting of kettlebell swings and sandbag exercises.  The workout will exercise all your major muscle groups and provide a good cardiorespiratory training.  20 kettlebell swings 10 front sandbag squats 20 kettlebell swings 20 shoulder sandbag squats (10 each side)  20 kettlebell swings 15 sandbag wide grip lift from floor and place above shoulder height Perform as many times as required using a  weights and an intensity that matches your fitness objectives.  Example: 20 kg kettlebell and a 20 kg sandbag. Repeat 3 times in 40 minutes

Here are some simple weighted club exercises. Only one of the exercises involve swings.  Weighted clubs  have an uneven weight distribution. They are often referred to as Clubbells (which is the registered name owned by Tacfit LLC  - very good training company!). Clubs are available in weights as low as 2 kg.  A 2 kg club is suitable for untrained persons. A 4 kg club can present a challenge to someone who regularly works out, without focusing on strength development. A 6 kg club is probably suitable starting point for persons who workout on gym equipment. (In Singapore, you can purchase clubs weighing as much as 16 kg).  I have a 6 kg weighted club, and after a few weeks of training, I still find single handed exercises a challenge.  These exercises are aimed at building that initial strength that you need to progress on to more difficult single handed exercises. Double handed front press. This exercise will build strength in your shoulders, chest and arms...

Here are three exercises, which if you try to perform daily for the rest of your life will help you stay mobile and allow you to perform activities of your daily life. These exercises will train the muscles that you need to stand, walk and lift and help you recover from a fall.    If you practice these exercises daily, you will have a better chance of remaining active and independent throughout your senior years. Sit to stand This is an exercise involving movement from a sitting position to a standing position.  Why is it useful?  One of the most common activities of daily living is standing up. We spend much of our time sitting; at a desk, on a bus or train, in a car, on a sofa, at the table. Unless you take action, as you age, your glutes will weaken. You will have issues with back pain. Eventually, you will lose the ability to stand and be dependent on others to help you.  If you practice moving from a sitting to a standing position for the rest of your life,...

Becoming immobile in your old age will make you  dependent on others. When you are no longer able to move, unaided, from a seated position, to a standing position, you will then be unable to care for yourself. Being unable to stand up independently will lead to an increased rate of muscle loss and a more rapid deterioration of your physical and mental health. Moving from a sitting to a standing position requires the combined activation of your quads, glutes, core and back muscles. Growing old with vigor will require you to safely train these muscles. How do I start if I have never trained before. You may wish to start by benchmarking your level of fitness against fitness norms for seniors. A good place to start is the Rikli and Jones Senior Fitness Test.  This bank of 8 tests is designed to help  gage your level of fitness. Ideally these test should be performed with the aid of a trainer - but the tests are quite simple, and another person can help you determine your leve...

Here is my trainee's training activities for today. The focus has been on developing developing lower body strength (glutes, hamstrings and quads) as well as shoulder (deltoids and rotator cuff)   Warm up with stretches (5 minutes) Exercise 5 x TRX inverted rows followed by 5 x wide grip external rotation of the rotator cuff. 5 sets. 5 x 5 kg dumbbell push press (right side and then left side). 5 sets each side 5 x 6 kg dumbbell push press (right side and then left side). 5 sets each side 5 x 5 kg dumbbell push press followed by 5 kg dumbbell strict press. 5 sets each side. 5 x 6 kg dumbbell push press followed by 6 kg dumbbell strict press. Right side followed by left side. 5 sets each side. 15 x 10 kg sandbag front squats 15 x 15 kg sandbag front squats 15 x 10 kg sandbag front squats with placing the bag above shoulder height 15 x 15 kg sandbag front squats with placing the bag above shoulder height 20 x 12 kg kettlebell swings Cool down with light stepping (5 minutes) Note...

One of the issues that persons who work in reception face is that they may need to sit for long periods of time.  It is recommended that you stand up every 20 or 30 minutes and stretch. Unfortunately, some jobs do not allow you to regularly leave your work area and you may find that you need to sit for extended periods.  Here are 5 exercises that you can perform during quiet periods while still remaining in your seat.  The exercises use mini-bands. Mini-bands are very cheap and you can easily carry a few in your bag.   You should try to perform each exercise for at least 1 minute. Resistance exercise for at least 1 minute will help to fatigue your muscles which help strengthen your muscles and will cause your body to engage more muscle fibres, leading to better neuromuscular activation. Single arm  pull This exercise uses a mini-band to work your upper back muscles - your traps and rhomboids. You can also change your hand position to introduce more bicep ac...

Here is a simple kettle workout consisting of 3 compound moves - swings, lift and place and cleans. 10 x double handed swings 10 x (squat) lift from the floor and place above shoulder height 10 x double handed swings 5 x right side dead cleans 5 x left side dead cleans Repeat as required with an appropriate weight. I used a 24 kg kettlebell and repeated the sequence for 1 hour. If appropriate, consult your medical professional before embarking a rigorous exercise program.

What are weighted clubs? Weighted clubs are exercise tools that, as the name suggests, look like a club (just like kettlebells look a bit like a kettle, barbells look like a bar and dumbbells look .....) They are available in weight ranges from 1 to 2 kg to about 20 kg. They start from about 30 cm long and their length increases with the weight.   Lower weight clubs  are best to start with for users of all ages - perhaps 2kg for the untrained person, 4 kg for the trained person and 6kg for a person who lifts moderate weight.    Weighted club movements A weighted club can be swung for power based exercises or moved with a greater slowly with a firmer grip for a greater strength development through concentric, eccentric and isometric muscular development.  Unlike a dumbbell or barbell and more like a kettlebell, the weight is not distributed evenly but is distributed along the distal half of the device, which is in excess of 40 cm away from the hands.  T...

Working from home may have made you weaker than you realise.   Think about this.... Do you feel tired when you go shopping. Feel relieved when you finally sit down. Have lost interest in heading outside to walk or exercise? Due to COVID-19 restrictions, working from home (WFH) has become a norm for many of us. As a result, we commute less, we walk less and we stand less. For many, having food and groceries delivered to our homes has transitioned from the exception to the norm. What once were habits are now vices. It's not just physical Our bodies have become used to inactivity. Our muscles have become weaker and we now have even less motivation to move. Physical activity tires us quickly and staying seated is now the preferred state of being. We have also become psychologically attuned to the idea that work more important that good health. Because we are continually doing our jobs, we regularly kick work goals; and this gives us joy. We may have forgotten the joy that movement and ...

How many steps are required for good health? For many years, 10,000 daily steps has been the recommended threshold that one should try to achieve to stay healthy.  There is much discussion in the news and social media as to whether 10,000 steps is really necessary. Some have derided this number, quoting research that suggests that 4,000 - 8,000 steps are sufficient and that the need for 10,00 steps is a myth . Others have pointed out that the need for 10,000 steps was based on the  Japanese character for 10,000 and was used in marketing the first pedometer.  More recently recently studies have shown that 15,000 steps  provides significantly better weight management benefits as compared to 10,000 steps. Exercise targets The key to keeping fit is to have exercise targets. Exercise targets should be SMART (Specific, Manageable, Attainable and Time-bound) and must also be able to be in line with your fitness objectives. These targets should be "stretch targets", which ...

Recently, 74 year old man employed as "logistics" worker fell off a truck loading platform. Sadly, the worker died as a result of the fall.  Such accidents are not rare but the risks can and should be minimized through application of the Hierarchy of Risk Controls . Should seniors work in physically demanding jobs?  The immediate reaction from the public was that seniors should not undertake such work. Some suggested that seniors should not undertake any strenuous work. Others believe that seniors should not have to work at all.  I have a different opinion. I agree that many seniors should not undertake work which requires lifting uncomfortable loads, particularly where work at height is involved. (In this case, the platform was 1 m off the ground).  Chronological age is not the same as biological age However, we must be careful not to view all seniors of equivalent chronological age as being of the same biological age.  A person who has take  steps to fig...

Exercise intensity Exercise intensity is a measure of how hard you are working during a workout. There are different ways of measuring exercise intensity including the "talk test" for aerobic activities, using a "rate of perceived exertion" (RPE scales) and heart rate. With the integration of heart rate monitors into even the cheapest fitness tracker, heart rate monitoring is the most convenient measure of exercise intensity.  Exercise with an elevated heart rate of at least 30 minutes per day in the MVPA zone (>64% of your maximum heart rate) is recommended as being good for your cardiorespiratory fitness.  A minimum of 30 minutes per day in the MVPA zone may also help you stay young! Autophagy means self-eating.  The body eats itself. Sounds frightening? In fact autophagy is an essential cellular activity.  A decline in our ability to maintain autophagy is a sign of aging.   There are different types of autophagy. (I will only mention macroautophagy, m...

The August edition of Nature Aging has a very interesting review article on frailty. Frailty is a state weakness, most often associated with old age. Indicators of frailty are weakness fatigue weight loss low physical activity poor balance low gait speed visual impairment and  cognitive impairment Frailty as a root cause of other age-associated diseases The development of frailty is associated with not just an increased risk of an disability or death from falls but also increased risk of developing physiological diseases including Alzheimer's disease Cardiovascular disease Hypertension and stroke Rheumatoid arthritis and Diabetes Frailty is also linked to an increased susceptibility to infection, including COVID-19. Our skeletal muscles provide an important metabolic stimulus and regulatory function for the rest of our body. The loss of this stimulus and regulation leads is largely responsible for the susceptibility to disease.  Adding on to this is a loss of independence wh...

A sense of well-being Well-being is your state of happiness, comfort and health. Maintaining a sense of well-being helps us live a happy life and enables us to overcome difficulties. A sense of joy can be fleeting Coursera offers a very interesting course called the " Science of Well-being ".  One of the key points from this course, is that the joy that acquiring "things" and "experiences" bring, can be temporary. For example, while a new phone, a good grade, a new house, a holiday or a tasty meal may give you a sense of happiness, this joy is fleeting. Soon you will seek to procure new things or look for new experiences to keep you happy. Purchasing the same item, going on a trip to the same place or eating the same meal will not give you the same feeling wellbeing. It is better to give than receive   In general, the happiness that acquiring new "things" give you are often more temporary than "experiences". The joy from some pleasant e...