AGE POSITIVITY

Lace up your trainers and live your best life whatever your age

Words: Louise Pyne

We often focus on the negative side of ageing, but there are huge benefits to getting older. Through the lens of life experience often comes a natural sense of inner strength, wisdom, maturity and peace, which you can apply to all areas of your life.

In addition, once you retire you’ll have more time to dedicate to hobbies you love; in fact, you might even find that you run more in your 60s and 70s than you did in your 20s and 30s when you were juggling a career with a busy social life. And you might find that having all those extra hours to dedicate to the things you love means you feel like challenging yourself to try new things; different styles of running, joining a running club or even taking a leap and signing up to an event abroad.

Physical changes

Of course, on a physical level, there are inevitable changes that happen as we clock up the years, and these can all impact training. Our metabolism starts to slow down, and you might notice stubborn weight gain (especially around the middle) due to changing hormones. Your mood, energy and concentration levels might not be flying quite as high as they were in your 20s and 30s, and your joints may suffer general wear and tear which could mean you don’t run as efficiently as you once did. Older adults also face a higher risk of chronic disease, but our lifestyles also play a massive role in our wellbeing, so taking time to eat healthily and exercise will help to minimise these risks.

|| Regular physical activity has consistently been proven to be an effective method of disease prevention at all ages ||

The ageing myth

If you’re smart and look after your body there’s no reason why fitness should take a big dip as the years roll by, and with the right training, your fitness could increase. We’re living longer than ever and we know much more about how to keep our health and fitness on the right path.

“Regular physical activity has consistently been proven to be an effective method of disease prevention at all ages. As we age, the incidence of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and certain cancers increases. However, we also know that exercise reduces the risk of developing these conditions in the first place as well as being a way to improve the severity of disease when it does occur,” explains GP and fitness instructor Dr Folusha Oluwajana.

Ageing is a time for celebration, and with the right approach to fitness, nutrition and lifestyle, your health and training don’t have to plummet. With this in mind, over the next few pages we’ve unveiled our suggestions to help you get the most out of exercising throughout each decade from your 40s through to your 70s and beyond, and we share inspirational stories of women whose lives have been positively impacted through running.