Paige Waehner - Strength Training for Seniors - Increase your Balance, Stability, and Stamina to Rewind the Aging Process

✓ Community resources: Your next best bet is to use community resources to find out what’s going on in your neighborhood. Your local library or community center often has a variety of groups and gatherings that may meet your needs.

Before you start any kind of exercise program or meal plan, there are things you can do to prepare and make sure you’re ready for what’s to come. These steps can give you the confidence to get started, knowing you’re stepping out on the right foot.

1. Do I Need to See a Doctor First?

If you haven’t seen a doctor or had a physical in a while, I highly recommend you get one, whether you’re exercising or not.

Getting a baseline for everything from your weight to your blood pressure keeps you up-to-date on what’s going on with your body, and these baselines can also be used as a measuring tool to see how you progress.

As you start exercising, you may notice changes in your blood pressure, weight, resting heart rate, and more. This is just one way to track your progress and see how exercise affects your health overall.

Beyond that, there are definitely times you should see your doctor before doing any kind of exercise:

✓ If you’re on certain medications that can affect your heart rate during exercise or other aspects of movement. The most common medications that may change how your body responds to exercise include:

» Blood pressure medications

» Antidepressants

» Antihistamines

» Diabetes medications

» Heart medication

» Diuretics

If you’re not sure, or if any of the following scenarios apply, call your doctor to find out what you need to know about your medications and exercise.

✓ You have a chronic illness, injury, or medical condition like heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, or arthritis, just to name a few. You want to talk to your doctor about what you should or, more importantly, shouldn’t do that might aggravate your condition.

✓ You’re worried about a past injury or condition and want to make sure your body is ready for exercise.

✓ You’ve had a recent illness or surgery.

2. Proper Clothes and Footwear

You don’t have to have anything fancy to start working out, but you want to be comfortable and you want your body to be supported by the right kind of shoes.

For your workout clothes, focus on:

✓ Loose-fitting, comfortable clothes:Sweatpants, shorts, tights, and T-shirts are all fine for exercise, as long as they’re not so loose that they get in the way.

✓ Sweat-wicking clothes:There are a lot of companies out there making sweat-wicking fitness gear from shirts and tights to socks and sports bras. You can definitely opt for these if you find cotton uncomfortable or you find you’re sweating a lot (cotton gets very heavy with sweat). You can find very affordable exercise wear at places such as TJ Maxx, Target, Walmart, and other department stores.

You want to make sure your body is fully supported, so shoes are very important. But there are hundreds of shoes out there for all kinds of foot structures, arches, and more. If you can, try going to a specialty store (usually a running or walking store) and have your feet measured and your arches checked to find the right shoe for you. This is the least confusing way to get a great pair of shoes.

If that’s not an option and you’re at a department store or shopping online, focus on these areas:

✓ Motion control:This refers to the amount of stability your shoes offer when you’re walking or working out. A stable shoe will support your ankles and arches.

✓ Breathable and lightweight:When trying on shoes, notice the difference between materials and comfort. You don’t want the shoes to feel stiff and tight. You should be able to walk in them right away without breaking them in.

✓ Cushioning and support:Make sure to walk in the shoes you’re checking out to check for support. Good support will ensure that there’s less stress on your feet and legs.

I always tell my clients to spend the most money on shoes, since they are the literal foundation of everything you’re going to be doing. If budget is an issue, you can always get fitted for a shoe and then shop online to find it for a lower price.

3. What Equipment Do You Need, and Where Do You Get It?

For the majority of the workouts, we’ll be doing bodyweight exercises and using simple equipment like weights and bands.

Here’s what you need for all the workouts you’ll be doing in the next twelve weeks.

a. A variety of dumbbells:If you’re new to strength training and don’t have any weights, I recommend you start with about three or four sets of dumbbells. Think of it as having a light, medium, and heavy set of dumbbells. Here are some general suggestions, but you’ll be more apt to pick the right amount of weight with some experimentation and practice:

i.For women, light: 2 to 5 pounds, medium: 5 to 8 pounds, heavy: 8 to 10 pounds.

ii.For men, light: 5 to 8 pounds, medium: 8 to 10 pounds, Heavy: 10 to 12 pounds.

iii.You can get the best deals on weights at discount department stores (Walmart, Target, etc.) or at places like Play It Again Sports. You can even check around at garage sales. You’ll almost always find something exercise related that sat in someone’s basement for years. But you’re not going to have that problem, right?

b. Resistance bands:I love resistance bands for working the body in a different way than dumbbells. Unlike weights, bands have tension during the lifting and lower phase of an exercise, so you target even more muscles. Bands come in a variety of tensions and colors, so don’t let that confuse you. You can buy them at sporting goods stores or places like Target or Walmart. I recommend getting at least two bands because they have different levels of tension. My preferred bands come from my favorite company, SPRI. Here’s what I use in my home gym (these can be ordered at Spri.com or amazon.com):

i.Light tension: SPRI Deluxe Xertub Resistance Band Color Yellow

ii. Medium tension: SPRI Deluxe Xertub Resistance Band Color Green

iii. Heavy tension: SPRI Deluxe Xertub Resistance Band Color Red

c. Gliding/sliding devices: Now, this may sound a little crazy if you haven’t heard of these, but gliding exercises are an excellent tool for hitting all kinds of fitness goals like cardio, strength, balance, stability, and even flexibility. You basically put a foot or hand on the disc and go through a variety of sliding moves. There are different tools you can use for gliding exercises, which include:

i. Gliding discs:These are made by, er, Gliding Discs! You can order these from amazon.com. Just search for “gliding discs” and look for the purple ones made by Gliding Discs. They come in two different varieties, one set for carpet (these are slippery and slide easily on carpet) or one set for hardwood floors (these are made of different material).

ii. Towels:If you have hardwood floors you can use small towels, but be careful. Sometimes they can slide fast so you want to feel safe using them.

iii. Paper plates:If you have carpet, you can try paper plates to slide but, again, you get what you pay for. It kind of depends on your carpet.

SETTING YOUR GOALS

A big part of starting an exercise program is to have some goals for what you want to accomplish. It’s great to have broad goals such as getting healthy, getting stronger, or losing weight, but you have to get specific. Otherwise, how do you know if you’re reaching your goals?