Exercising regularly offers a lot of benefits. The remarkable benefits of exercise include giving you healthier digestion, less stress and helps prevent osteoporosis, diabetes, heart diseases and lowers cancer risk. Even children are recommended to exercise regularly so that they can also enjoy the benefits these activities offer.
Of course, women over forty should regularly exercise as well since they need to stay fit and healthy and avoid certain health issues that could pop up if they live a sedentary life. However, at their age, they have to follow certain tips to make sure they get the most out of their workout routines. These important exercise tips women in their 40s should follow include:
Work on your body's strength. According to health and fitness experts, strength training is the best way to offset muscle and bone loss. Body-weight exercises such as push-ups, planks and squats are all effective ways to build core strength and endurance. Strength training exercises also helps increase one's heart rate. However, always remember to be careful to maintain proper alignment whenever you are doing strength training exercises.
Avoid injury. Pay attention to your body during and after you work out. When women turn 40, they tend to lose elasticity in the connective tissues - the ligaments and tendons - and muscle mass drops. If you feel greater strain in your joints or find it harder to complete exercise routines, take the time to stretch and warm up. If the pain persists, try to change things up. A personal trainer can recommend some new exercises that can decrease stress on your joints while still effectively challenging your body.
Raise your rate. As you start to age, your metabolism declines and your body will burn fewer calories. Aerobic exercises are great ways to offset this change. If you're feeling discomfort in your knees and ankles, don't stop working out. Just switch things up. Swimming, cycling, and walking will help you burn calories while sparing your joints.
Pay attention to your belly bulge. Most women in their 40s will develop some unwanted belly fat due to hormonal changes. If you are also noticing this, don't get easily discouraged. This is quite normal and may inadvertently happen even if you maintain good lifelong exercise habits. Keep up a routine to prevent the further ballooning of your belly bulge. A fitness website states that planking exercises are particularly effective since they increase your heart rate. These exercises also carry a lower risk for lower back injury than sit-ups and crunches.