How You Should Work Out at Every Age

No matter how old or young you may be, there's one constant that you can always incorporate into your lifestyle to keep you feeling and looking your best: exercise. Unfortunately, however, the workouts you did when you were in your 20s may no longer fly when you reach your 50s or 60s. Our bodies age, our joints get a little creaky, and our muscle quality naturally begins to decline. Don't worry, it happens to the best of us, but that's no reason to ditch exercise altogether! You just have to learn to adapt a little bit, whether you've been working out your whole life, or you're beginning to get into this healthy habit at a later stage of life.  RELATED: Why It's Important to Take Rest Days Your fitness needs may differ depending on your own personal health goals, your prior experience, and of course, your limitations, but we felt it was important to gather some general guidelines to help you along the way, no matter where you are on your wellness journey. The earlier you can establish a sustainable fitness routine for your overall health, the better, but that doesn't mean you can't jump into the game later in life. That's why we spoke to a series of fitness experts who shared their pro tips for working out at any age, from your 20s all the way through to your golden years. How to Work Out In Your 20s In your 20s, you're essentially setting the tone for a lifetime of fitness, so you want to make sure your exercise regimen is pretty well-rounded and incorporates plenty of high-energy workouts to help you strengthen your core. You'll want to aim to get in some cardio at least three times per week, though five times would do your body even better. This can look like running, cycling, swimming, or even just walking — whatever you enjoy best — and feel free to switch it up here and there to get different muscles moving. Speaking of muscles, you'll also want to incorporate weight training, whether or not you're hoping to gain muscle. Two days per week is a good goal, but be sure not to work the same muscle group two days in a row so that you can give your body proper rest.  Brandon Cullen, co-founder and Chief Concept Officer at MADabolic suggests mastering the basics at this age, and breaking your weekly workouts down to two days of strength training, two days of anaerobic interval training, and two days of long slow duration (or "LSD") cardio. Anaerobic interval training is an all-out cardio activity — such as running or cycling — that brings your heart rate up above 85 percent of your maximum heart rate, while LSD cardio is focused on movement of a lower intensity at a steady pace that lasts one to two hours to help you build up endurance (think a slow jog, or even hiking). Steve Halloran, certified personal trainer and Chief Experience Officer/Co-Founder of RockBox Fitness also notes that stretching and active recovery should take place after every workout, no matter how old you are. "Proper recovery allows you to stay consistent with your workouts, which is key to maintaining an active lifestyle, building strength and executing proper form," Halloran says. You will also want to begin building a foundation of mobility, flexibility, and balance exercises in your younger years, as well. Incorporating activities such as yoga will help you prevent injury and could even improve your athletic performance. How to Work Out In Your 30s As you enter your 30s, your workout schedule might look very much like it did in your 20s. However, you may also begin to find that recovery takes a little longer after your workouts. And, not to freak you out, but your body naturally starts losing muscle around age 30, so you should already be regarding your workouts as preventative medicine at this age. "The saying 'If you don’t use it, you lose it,' is very real when it comes to muscle mass as we age," says Cathy Spencer-Browning, VP of Programming and Training with MOSSA. "On average, an inactive individual will lose roughly three to five percent of muscle mass each decade after the age of 30. It may not sound like much, but progressively, it reduces our strength and function." She goes on to explain that the technical term for this muscle mass loss is sarcopenia. Fortunately, the good news is that you can reverse sarcopenia and boost your muscle quality with resistance training (a.k.a strength training). If you're not quite sure where to start, however, this would also be a great time to consider a personal trainer to help you master your form and strike the right balance of lifting exercises that will be most beneficial for you. Whether on your own or with a trainer, Cullen recommends training with purpose at this age, getting in two days of LSD cardio as well as four days of strength-driven interval training, which focuses on strength, cardio, and athleticism. To switch things up on the cardio front, Halloran suggests boxing for a great calorie burn and added stress relief, and rowing for a heart-pumping, yet low-impact exercise that's great for working around any pre-existing injuries. RELATED: How to Get Ripped Club Pilates instructor Freddy Ocansey also points out the importance of strengthening your pelvic floor and your glutes to stave off lower back pain, improve your balance, and set the tone for increased hip stability early on. He recommends incorporating Pilates into your fitness regimen at any age to help in this arena.  "Individuals as young as 16 can really begin to reap the benefits of Pilates, especially those who are active in sports," Ocansey says. "It can help men age healthily by decreasing stress, and improving posture, balance, and coordination, as well as maintaining and increasing muscle mass, and improving range of motion! The benefits are truly limitless." How to Work Out In Your 40s It's no secret that life just tends to get busier as we age. While it may be more difficult to find time to hit the gym for strength training exercises, you really want to make sure you're doing more than just cardio in your 40s. Cardio is great, of course, and you should incorporate it into your routine most days of the week in the form of a jog, bike ride, moderate nature hike, or whatever else you enjoy. (You can even turn them into kid-friendly outings if family obligations tend to prevent you from keeping active.) But, as mentioned in your thirties, your muscle quality and strength continue to decline as you age, as does your bone density, so a couple days of strength training needs to make its way into your schedule, too.  Cullen suggests keeping up with the same pace as in your 30s: four days of strength-driven interval training and two days of LSD cardio. If you have a hard time fitting that in, however, you should at least aim to do a full-body strength-training workout two times per week, with at least one day of rest in between. This will ensure that you work every major muscle group without having to come up with a more complicated or time-consuming fitness regimen. Halloran recommends moves that engage your entire body and multiple muscle groups, such as pushups and squats, as they will help to build stabilization in your core and reduce the daily aches and pains that can come along with aging and lack of exercise.  "Your focus during this time is to partake in a diverse range of exercises or activities to ensure the proper mix of both strength-building and cardio-centered movements," he says. Ocansey agrees, pointing out the importance of abdominal work, exercises that challenge balance and coordination, and moves that incorporate spinal articulation (as long as you have a healthy spine, of course). "The earlier you begin to incorporate exercises that move in all planes, the more beneficial it will be for your future," he says. "Think of how you want to live when you are 50, 60, and 70, and start preparing your body in a way that is sustainable." How to Work Out In Your 50s It should come as no surprise, but your bones and muscles continue to slow their development in your 50s, making resistance training absolutely crucial at this age. You should put a particular focus on building or maintaining strength in your hips, shoulders, and your legs. Not only will this ensure a strong basis for just about any movement you do, it can also help you stave off knee pain as stronger muscles will ease the strain on your joints. If you were never much of a weight-lifter, however, you can still build up a lot of strength without gym equipment. "I think the most important weight we should be able to lift with ease in our life is without a doubt our own bodyweight," says Spencer-Browning. She goes on to explain that "relative strength" (that is, our strength relative to our own bodyweight) is one of the most valuable types of strength as we age. She suggests incorporating bodyweight squats and push ups into your fitness routine to help strengthen your muscles and improve joint stability — two factors that are critical to working out safely. The real key to exercising in your 50s, however, is consistency. Cullen suggests sticking to a regimen with three days of strength training and three days of LSD cardio to help you age vibrantly. But perhaps even more important is carving out ample time for recovery, according to Dr. Ken Kaufman, co-founder and CEO of Sarasota Sports Medicine and the spring training team chiropractor for the Baltimore Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates. RELATED: How Often Should You Work Out? "As the years progress, the fluidity of our tissues begins to decline as our collagen in our soft tissues dehydrates," Dr. Kaufman says. "So, as we age, we need to take these factors into consideration and allow for more recovery between hard workouts, schedule lighter active recovery days, and realize that although the mind says you can perform like you're 20, your body might not be able to." He goes on to recommend cycling lighter-weight days with heavier-weight days to decrease the chance of injury, and incorporating resistance bands in your workouts to develop the deep stabilizing muscles of the joints. He notes that it is particularly beneficial for chest workouts so that you can maintain strong shoulder muscles, including the rotator cuff. How to Work Out In Your 60s, 70s, and Beyond As you enter your 60s, it may be more critical to fit in exercise than ever before. Whatever you can do — a walk around the neighborhood, at-home bodyweight exercises, water aerobics, or even following along with a yoga class on TV or online — will be incredibly beneficial for your body, especially since your cardiovascular levels decrease at this age. "Participating in light, but consistent cardio-driven activities in your 60s and 70s will help to raise your heart rate and get your blood flowing, all at your own pace and within the bounds of any preexisting conditions you may have," says Halloran. "The key is to exercise consistently — at least four times per week — for a similar amount of time each session to ensure your body is ready to work." Cullen agrees with this approach, recommending two days of low-impact strength training, and up to four days of steady, low-impact cardio, such as swimming, cycling, and rowing. These activities can pack just as much of an aerobic punch as others that might be a lot more difficult on your joints. After all, the ultimate goal at this age is to maintain your health, not cause yourself any injuries by pushing further than your body will really allow. "Mobility and balance exercises are key to staying healthy ... and stretching a couple times per day can combat stiff muscles and poor mobility," adds Austin Martinez, MS, CSCS, ATC and Director of Education for StretchLab. "Balance tends to get worse in our 60s and 70s, so unilateral exercises and practices that challenge it — like yoga — can be beneficial." Martinez goes on to say that stretching is especially beneficial for older adults who may live more sedentary lifestyles, potentially resulting in poor posture and muscles that have begun to atrophy. And while stretching and recovery play a big role in fitness at any age, he notes that its benefits are even more crucial in your golden years. These can include improved flexibility and posture, increased circulation, reduced stress, and perhaps most importantly, injury prevention. How to Work Out At Any Age Whether you're 25 or 65, it's never too late to start focusing on your fitness. Alternatively, you should never let your age hold you back from continuing to work out responsibly, so long as you make appropriate adaptations to prevent injury. After all, it's only natural that our priorities change, though maintaining our health should always be at the top of our list. "While at a young age, our focus may be more so on aesthetics," says Ocansey. "[But] as we age, we begin to focus on enjoying things that matter at a deeper level. Simple things like participating in activities of daily living, hobbies, tying shoes, and playing with children or grandchildren become more important than having 'six pack abs.'" Ultimately, your goal is to establish a healthy and sustainable workout routine to maintain your strength, flexibility, and circulation, and thus ensure that you can keep moving the way you want for decades to come. And, no matter your age, you can start establishing that routine right now. You Might Also Dig: How to Build a Home Gym Do You Have Enough Cardio in Your Weekly Workouts? How to Get Better at Pull-Ups