Building a Balanced Fitness Routine

The ideal physical fitness routine will help you build and preserve muscular strength and endurance, cardiorespiratory fitness, and flexibility. There are many ways to make that routine work. 

Strength Training: Preserving Muscle Mass and Boosting Metabolism

Strength training is an essential ingredient of a comprehensive fitness plan. It is the best tool for increasing strength and muscle mass, which results in better performance of daily living tasks (getting out of chairs, etc.) and a reduced risk of falls.

You can accomplish your strength training with a variety of implements (or none at all). Tailor your program to your personality. I love lifting weights, so I use barbells and dumbbells. Some people prefer only body-weight exercises like pushups and pullups. It all works! Move in a way you enjoy, and try to do it at least 2-3 sessions per week. There are a lot of ways you can successfully build strength and muscle mass, but a good starting point for most people is to perform 1-2 sets of each strength exercise with a load that you can complete 8-12 repetitions with moderate difficulty (think 6-7/10 effort).

You want to perform exercises for all your major movements for balanced overall strength: 

Cardiovascular Exercise: Improving Heart Health and Endurance

Cardiovascular exercise is the key to maintaining a healthy heart and lungs. Low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness are one of the strongest predictors of all-cause mortality. A multitude of aerobic exercises can be used to increase your cardiorespiratory fitness. A few examples: walking, running, cycling, swimming, rowing, jump rope, or elliptical machines could all be used to great effect. The key to success is to choose movements that you enjoy performing and practice them regularly. Ideally, some form of aerobic exercise should be done at least 3 days per week. Shoot for 20-30 minutes a day at a “somewhat hard” level of difficulty.   

Flexibility and Mobility: Enhancing Range of Motion

Mobility and flexibility are complementary concepts. Mobility refers to your ability to smoothly move through a range of motion, which is dependent on muscular control and flexibility. So, being able to perform a deep squat would be a test of mobility. Flexibility is defined as the passive range of motion around a joint, such as the ability to touch your toes. Mobility work is best incorporated in the warm-up portion of your training. Flexibility is best trained during the cool-down portion of your workouts. American College of Sports Medicine recommends four sets of static stretches performed at least two days per week. Common joints to focus on flexibility training include hips and shoulders. You may have your own tighter joints that you (e.g., ankles) would benefit from focusing on.

Medical Therapy – a potential adjunct to healthy lifestyle habits

Exercise is a great tool for maintaining physical function, but sometimes, it isn’t enough. When I reached my 45th birthday, I noticed that I was feeling…old. As Austin Powers would have said, I’d lost my mojo. I was doing what I felt were all the right things—maintaining a good exercise routine, eating a balanced diet, and getting good sleep—but still, I was dragging.

After a few months of spinning my wheels, I went to my physician to get my bloodwork done. My tests revealed I was deficient in vitamin D and that I had low testosterone levels. Daily supplementation with vitamin D and a weekly injection of testosterone cypionate has done wonders for my vigor and quality of life. Taking the step to use testosterone was something I struggled a bit with psychologically. Throughout my youth, I had associated hormone use with cheating in sports and felt it was unethical, somehow. Further reflection (I am no longer a competitive athlete!), bolstered greatly by the realized effects of how much better I feel with the medication helped me get over that misplaced reservation.  

Hormone replacement has excellent potential to improve quality of life, energy levels, body composition, and libido in the face of aging. Testosterone replacement therapy has been commonly prescribed to men, with prescriptions increasing exponentially in the last 15 years. Low-dose testosterone replacement therapy also has the potential to help women suffering from low libido. Hormone replacement therapy (potentially estrogen, estrogen & progesterone, or tibolone) for women has been shown to slow the aging process as well. Though less commonly prescribed, growth hormone therapy also shows potential as an anti-aging therapy for seniors of both sexes.

The decision to use hormone therapy is between you and your doctor, but getting regular checkups with bloodwork is crucial for maintaining optimal health into your golden years. Exercise and (if needed) medical therapy can work together to make you your healthiest. 

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