It doesn’t matter what you are trying to achieve when exercising in your 50’s and beyond, consistency is key to getting the result you are after.
This doesn’t mean you need to be at Duke’s every day, this just means you need to be exercising often enough to be improving, or at least maintaining your level of fitness, strength and overall health.
In so many cases we see people who have a mindset of either 200% or 0% effort, this is never going to work as the 200% is not sustainable and the 0% makes no change at all. Remember, this decision you have made to be more active and healthier is not a quick fad, it needs to be a lifestyle change. This means that the goals and work load you set yourself has to be realistic and sustainable. A great way to achieve this is to work out times/days during the week you can black out in your diary to visit Duke’s and stick to them. Just like you would book your car in for its regular service, but on a weekly basis. Remember it can take as little as 2 sessions a week to have a significant lifelong positive effect to your body and mind.
Making your workouts varied and interesting not only improves your results but makes it much more enjoyable to exercise. “Make It Fun” vary what you do week to week, it can become so repetitive to do the same exercises every week. If you are finding this is an issue make sure you speak to a trainer to give you a new program or update your existing one. Also, make sure you socialise with the other members, remember you are all in the same situation and once you do make the effort to talk to others you will find you can relate and talk about your health and fitness experiences, who doesn’t want to make more friends!
