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- The Year I Saved My (downsized) Soul
Our bodies today aren't the same as when we were 25 years old. We've had kids, we run businesses, we run our households, we volunteer. We juggle a lot of roles daily and we battle menopausal or pre-menopausal issues that can sabotage efforts to stay in shape. But with all this, women in our generation aren't the dowdy matrons of yesteryear. Through smart eating and smart exercise, most Boomer women are staying fit and fabulous!
When I coach my clients about smart exercise after age 50, I share these four little-known reasons why we should avoid most exercise machines at the gym. Keeping these facts in mind will help you design the best workout for your body now.
When I coach my clients about smart exercise after age 50, I share these four little-known reasons why we should avoid most exercise machines at the gym. Keeping these facts in mind will help you design the best workout for your body now.
- Machines control your range of motion.
Sounds like a good thing, right? Not really. Machines often eliminate a lot of work on your part. This is great for beginners and frail individuals, but once you’re past the beginner stage—get off the machines! You need to be in control of your movement and range of motion. - Many machines put you in a seated position.
I recommend that women perform their exercises in a standing position whenever possible. (Of course, there are exceptions here--like push ups!) Standing while working with weights, pulleys or bands loads your skeleton (good for bone health), requires you to engage your core muscles, and challenges your balance. - Some machines don't put your body through motions that mimic normal human motions/movements.
How often do you lie on your belly and bring your heels to your rear end? Not too often, I imagine! We certainly need to strengthen the back of our thighs, but there's a much more functional way to do it (without a machine) that engages more muscle and strengthens the rear end and the low back as well. - Many machines isolate one muscle group.
Our muscles rarely work in isolation. Although there's nothing wrong with supplementing a good workout with exercises that isolate a muscle group, I encourage my busy Boomer clients to perform exercises that use several joints at once and mimic real-life movements, such as squats, lunges, and assisted pull-ups. Performing exercises that involve several joints does three positive things for Boomer women: it develops more muscle mass (muscle burns calories all day long), improves core strength, and shortens workout time.
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