How to Modify Your Workouts as You Age

We all want to be active in our senior years. Finding the right balance of weights, calisthenics, cardio workouts, and mobility and flexibility training is essential to longevity. Here is a great question from a former Marine who has retired but is still active in his 60s:

Stew, I have been following many of your training programs since the '90s. Back then, your higher-rep calisthenics PT, long runs and heavier mix of weight training were no problem. Now, I feel like I still want to do those workouts, but I think I need to pull back a bit as the post-workout soreness is lasting longer and longer. I have a feeling my running days are numbered. I know you are nearly 20 years younger than me, but what is your long-term plan with fitness as you age? 

-- Steve

Steve:

Great question. I think of this often, actually. I have been cycling my workouts every quarter for the past 20 years now with great success, But, even with the quarterly changes of high reps, high miles and weight training, I, too, see the need to pull back some. 

Here is my plan:

January-March: This is a running plan progression that I used to do 5-6 days a week. As I age, I will pull back to 2-3 days per week of running and opt for more non-impact cardio options like swimming, rowing, biking or the elliptical glider. It is good to keep the heart and lungs healthy with nice, easy and steady cardiovascular activity.

Walking also helps if you are not into swimming or machines for cardio. This also will be a calisthenics cycle with light dumbbells for muscle balance. But the addition of yoga or mobility training will be more of a focus, too. Swimming and yoga will be what I ride into my 60s.

April-June: The progression continues, but instead of crushing higher repetition and near-failing calisthenics workouts, I will pull the reins on failure workouts and maybe only push my limits a few times a month, vs. a few times a week. This is just a reduction in intensity more than anything. Instead of really long miles of running, my longer-distance cardio will be biking, the elliptical glider or swimming.

July-September: Pulling back on calisthenics and adding more weights will help keep the joints strong without all the stress on the body that advanced calisthenics can cause. Running is decreased this quarter to a few days a week, with shorter distances and more non-impact options as above. This is a steady progression of adding weight, decreasing repetitions and decreasing running mileage while increasing the non-impact options of cardio and the time in yoga and mobility training.

October-December: Over the past decades, this quarter traditionally has been for heavier weights, nearing max weight for 1-2 repetitions. As I enter my late 50s and 60s, I will pull back on one-rep max lifts and do more 5-10 repetition sets to keep the muscles and bones stronger. Running will be nearly nonexistent during this phase, but swimming will peak to longer and faster workouts and include more time in yoga classes and with stretching.

My advice to you, sir, is to keep enjoying your workouts, pull back on the intensity of some of the harder Marine Corps workouts you used to do, drop the miles and add in non-impact options for cardio and stretching. There are some great mobility courses online, and yoga is available just about anywhere. 

I think I will be the old man in the yoga course and the swimming pool. I always thought those guys had it figured out. Keep working.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you're looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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