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chuka_lisAdapting your fitness routine to your physical realities can help prevent injury from over-exercising
Many people approach their physical fitness as if they were a decade or two younger. My GP told me that patients over 50 are often frustrated by any suggestion that their routines might have to change. I started to see this denial of physical realities everywhere. One of my colleagues injured her shoulder doing CrossFit, then re-injured herself a few months later doing the same routine. A friend who has practiced yoga for decades fractured her chin in a fall from crow pose. When I suggested she modify her routine, she scoffed. As a medical anthropologist, I wondered: had anti-ageing messaging accidentally created a new problem?
Dr Emily Finkelstein, a geriatrician at Weill Cornell Medicine, loves that people in their 40s, 50s and 60s have internalized that exercise is important for healthy ageing and longevity. That being said, there are some practical considerations.
As we edge past 45, we begin to lose critical muscle mass, which can decrease our strength and balance. Decreases in bone density can leave us more vulnerable to stress fractures from repetitive motions and stress. The cartilage in our joints thin, while tendons and ligaments stiffen. All of this means we’re more prone to injuries during physical activity. Recovery takes longer too.
In midlife, we should all learn to be more in tune with our bodies. That might mean taking more recovery time between intense workouts, doing more stretching and integrating more weights into our fitness routines.
A healthy adaptive approach to exercising as we age might involve regular self-monitoring and assessment of how our bodies feel both during and after workouts, and seeking input from a qualified medical professional when we start to notice any signs or symptoms of an encroaching problem, such as pain or discomfort.
But since risk of injury naturally rises as we age, it’s also important to have a backup plan for if and when we overdo it.
o, if you’re a runner with an injury, try a modified strength-training routine and a lower-impact activity, like swimming. Then, when you start running again, run fewer times a week or for shorter distances. To avoid injury or overuse, experts recommend one or two rest days a week, at minimum.
Strength training is also very important. “The stronger you are,” Leber said, “the more you will avoid injury and falls. And when you do fall, you will fall differently. Your balance will be better, and you’ll recover from injury faster.”
As a rule, Leber advises that someone in their 50s should spend 50% of their total exercise time on strength training and 50% doing cardio. By age 60, that metric should be 60% strength and 40% cardio. By 70, cardio should only comprise 30% of a workout.
All of the experts I spoke to agree that pain should never be ignored – and it’s never a good idea to push through the pain without seeing your doctor. That being said, Finkelstein pointed out that most general physicians aren’t all that well-trained in exercise physiology. For specific recommendations pertaining to exercise regimens, it’s better to see a physiatrist, specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation or certified physical trainer.
Finkelstein worries about the effect of the media – especially social media, with its legions of wellness and anti-ageing influencers. “Take these supplements, do this exercise program, join this fitness routine: you name it, people are serving it up,” she said. “I worry a lot about that in terms of the reliability of those people and the science behind what they’re offering, and people being vulnerable to that because you want to do what you can to stay healthy and youthful.”
Popular media also loves to feature “superagers” – people whose mental and/or physical abilities are comparable to people 20-30 years younger. And while it’s good to see, say, an 87-year-old running a marathon, it may lead to false expectations about normal ageing. Superagers are rare; only about 10% of the general population fit all the criteria for inclusion in the category.
In other words, it’s not very realistic for those of us in our middle age or older to think we’ll rack up those personal bests forever. As the experts kept pointing out, the best approach to exercising as we age is realistic and adaptive. A runner who adapts to the changes of their ageing body and trains effectively may still be able to run the Boston marathon, but the time it takes for them to cross the finish line will necessarily lengthen.
Part of the problem might be optimism bias. While we may logically understand that bodies change, we don’t think we are actually changing. Maybe that’s because we’re living in a culture that is obsessed not only with longevity, but with looking younger.
“In our society, we have a huge problem with accepting the fact that things are going to change,” Leipzig said. “People are in better shape in general than they ever have been, if they’re privileged enough to be able to take care of their needs, but it leads them to think they will never die. It leads to ageism.”
And that’s the rub: being overly concerned with how much “younger” you are for your age is just another form of bias – one that you can hold against your future self. “Fifty is the new 30” simply underscores our misconception that being healthy means not ageing at all. It would be healthier if we occasionally reminded ourselves that ageing is a privilege; that “50 is 50” and “80 is 80” – and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Many people approach their physical fitness as if they were a decade or two younger. My GP told me that patients over 50 are often frustrated by any suggestion that their routines might have to change. I started to see this denial of physical realities everywhere. One of my colleagues injured her shoulder doing CrossFit, then re-injured herself a few months later doing the same routine. A friend who has practiced yoga for decades fractured her chin in a fall from crow pose. When I suggested she modify her routine, she scoffed. As a medical anthropologist, I wondered: had anti-ageing messaging accidentally created a new problem?
Dr Emily Finkelstein, a geriatrician at Weill Cornell Medicine, loves that people in their 40s, 50s and 60s have internalized that exercise is important for healthy ageing and longevity. That being said, there are some practical considerations.
As we edge past 45, we begin to lose critical muscle mass, which can decrease our strength and balance. Decreases in bone density can leave us more vulnerable to stress fractures from repetitive motions and stress. The cartilage in our joints thin, while tendons and ligaments stiffen. All of this means we’re more prone to injuries during physical activity. Recovery takes longer too.
In midlife, we should all learn to be more in tune with our bodies. That might mean taking more recovery time between intense workouts, doing more stretching and integrating more weights into our fitness routines.
A healthy adaptive approach to exercising as we age might involve regular self-monitoring and assessment of how our bodies feel both during and after workouts, and seeking input from a qualified medical professional when we start to notice any signs or symptoms of an encroaching problem, such as pain or discomfort.
But since risk of injury naturally rises as we age, it’s also important to have a backup plan for if and when we overdo it.
o, if you’re a runner with an injury, try a modified strength-training routine and a lower-impact activity, like swimming. Then, when you start running again, run fewer times a week or for shorter distances. To avoid injury or overuse, experts recommend one or two rest days a week, at minimum.
Strength training is also very important. “The stronger you are,” Leber said, “the more you will avoid injury and falls. And when you do fall, you will fall differently. Your balance will be better, and you’ll recover from injury faster.”
As a rule, Leber advises that someone in their 50s should spend 50% of their total exercise time on strength training and 50% doing cardio. By age 60, that metric should be 60% strength and 40% cardio. By 70, cardio should only comprise 30% of a workout.
All of the experts I spoke to agree that pain should never be ignored – and it’s never a good idea to push through the pain without seeing your doctor. That being said, Finkelstein pointed out that most general physicians aren’t all that well-trained in exercise physiology. For specific recommendations pertaining to exercise regimens, it’s better to see a physiatrist, specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation or certified physical trainer.
Finkelstein worries about the effect of the media – especially social media, with its legions of wellness and anti-ageing influencers. “Take these supplements, do this exercise program, join this fitness routine: you name it, people are serving it up,” she said. “I worry a lot about that in terms of the reliability of those people and the science behind what they’re offering, and people being vulnerable to that because you want to do what you can to stay healthy and youthful.”
Popular media also loves to feature “superagers” – people whose mental and/or physical abilities are comparable to people 20-30 years younger. And while it’s good to see, say, an 87-year-old running a marathon, it may lead to false expectations about normal ageing. Superagers are rare; only about 10% of the general population fit all the criteria for inclusion in the category.
In other words, it’s not very realistic for those of us in our middle age or older to think we’ll rack up those personal bests forever. As the experts kept pointing out, the best approach to exercising as we age is realistic and adaptive. A runner who adapts to the changes of their ageing body and trains effectively may still be able to run the Boston marathon, but the time it takes for them to cross the finish line will necessarily lengthen.
Part of the problem might be optimism bias. While we may logically understand that bodies change, we don’t think we are actually changing. Maybe that’s because we’re living in a culture that is obsessed not only with longevity, but with looking younger.
“In our society, we have a huge problem with accepting the fact that things are going to change,” Leipzig said. “People are in better shape in general than they ever have been, if they’re privileged enough to be able to take care of their needs, but it leads them to think they will never die. It leads to ageism.”
And that’s the rub: being overly concerned with how much “younger” you are for your age is just another form of bias – one that you can hold against your future self. “Fifty is the new 30” simply underscores our misconception that being healthy means not ageing at all. It would be healthier if we occasionally reminded ourselves that ageing is a privilege; that “50 is 50” and “80 is 80” – and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
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no subject
Date: 2025-11-06 09:56 am (UTC)Автор статьи что-то недоговаривает. Он показывает проблему, но не объясняет её источник, мол мы должны догадаться почему люди не принимают старческие изменения и тупо занимаются упражнениями, которые им ничего не дают и не продоевают жизнь.
Сам за собой я замечаю изменения, человек растёт всю жизнь, просто его рост с какого то возраста резко замедляется, но не останавливается. Во время старости в организме замедляются процессы обмена и люди это чувствуют сам организм подсказывает, что актиивность надо снижать, дольше спать, находиться без движения и заниматься созерцанием, любованием природой, читкой и прослушкой музона.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-06 05:31 pm (UTC)а старение (как впрочем и индивидуальные особенности человека) - не принимается в расчет. Врачами, в целом (при этом есть исключения на индивидуальном уровне, хорошие, и соображающие врачи встречаются, хотя редкость как и везде). И конкретным человеком, выросшем в таком общественном настрое- до поры, пока жареный петух не клюнет, и он не начнет сам разбираться, задумываться или углубляться в проблемы здоровья, физиологии и патологии..
no subject
Date: 2025-11-07 04:08 am (UTC)Вобщем, пой пока молодой. Кстати легко объяснить замедление обмена веществ в старческом организме. Если бы этого не было, то чел жил бы много меньше и выгорал бы быстрее. Поэтому идёт уменьшение массы мышечной - организм подсказывает старику, что шевелиться и дёргаться уже сильно не сто́ит.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-07 05:05 am (UTC)