I came across an interesting article about how more and more active agers are taking up more strenuous exercise.
Main point: "...physical decline is not just a result of getting older – it’s a result of being less active as we age."
Why is this happening?
- "One factor is the rise of age-group sport."
- "...the trend for consumers to focus more of their spending on experiences instead of material items"
What are some impacts?
- "Books...offer athletes advice for those in their later years."
- "...increasing numbers of gyms are targeting 60-somethings."
Why the optimism?
- "...the decline that many people see is related to their slow drift away from physical activity"
- "As for muscle mass, that’s something you can hang on well into your later years by training correctly. Ditto bone density."
- "Cardiovascular fitness, which can feel like the first thing to go, can be maintained with training."
Nordic walking is a way to latch on to this trend. Some thoughts:
- You can Nordic walk as your primary exercise because it involves your whole body.
- If you haven't exercised in a while, Nordic walking's low impact full-body regime provides a good transition to more intense activity.
- If you feel like you want to do more, you can integrate more strenuous exercises into your routine. For example:
- Nordic walk before weightlifting to get a good warmup.
- Do body weight exercises during your walk (parks with exercise stations are good venues for this).
