15 Tips for Fitness for Women above 40

Tall claims are in no way scientific. But that women above 40 become susceptible to be affected by serious ailments if they do not pay special attention to their health is not tall talk at all. If you are a woman above 40, you must understand that it is due to the reduced secretion of a hormone called "estrogen" that your proneness of getting affected by health issues increases. This hormone has all along been protecting you but its secretion may have come down considerably if you have attained menopause or are nearing that stage. 

But what is the difference between maintaining fitness and having good health? Maintaining fitness certainly triumphs over having good health because it provides you with the required immunity to combat infections and lead a healthy life. In other words, by maintaining fitness, you can equip your body with the "silent power" that can help you in exercising control over many things that may impact your day-to-day life. This internal resource can help you overcome almost all your health issues. 

On the other hand, if you do not pay attention to your food and exercising habits, you are almost likely to have some trouble spots. The first trouble spot is that your waist will disappear. Your lower tummy will start expanding. In short, the shape of your body will resemble that of an apple. You yourself may start hating the shape of your body.

Apart from reasons that are aesthetic in nature, there are other reasons why you should start re-focusing on your fitness. The foremost reason is that if you do not bestow the required attention on your fitness, you become prone to be affected by heart diseases. Now that your system does not secrete as much estrogen as it used to, chances of you being affected by major ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases increase manifold. 

Thanks to your abdominal fat, your body will be sluggish in using your calories as energy. Instead, the calories you consume readily and easily get converted into fat. So, you have to put in much more efforts than necessary for reducing your weight.

In addition to your disappearing waist and your fat abdominal area, there will be fat accumulation in your butt and thigh areas as well. So, you may have to forgo your desire of wearing shorts or bathing suits. You cannot also wear sleeveless shirts or shirts with short sleeves because your triceps may have become flabby.

But there is good news for you because there are certain genuine steps you can take for maintaining your fitness and surmounting the health issues you may face. Let us have a look. 

1. If you have a notion that squats will hurt you and they will more particularly hurt your knees, you cannot be more wrong. It shows that you have not understood the fact that there cannot be a better exercise than squats for effectively firming and toning the back of your legs, butts or hamstrings. But you should ensure to do your squats in the right manner so you can once again have shapely legs and a firm butt area. Squats can strengthen your knees as well. Thanks to the strong muscles you develop, your knee joints will get good support also. 

But the proper way to successfully derive the benefits of squats is to know the right depth up to which you can do them. You must do your squats slowly also. The aim is not to feel pain while doing them. You should exercise caution also and avoid being over-ambitious which means you must not aim to do hundreds of squats initially. You should begin modestly and increase the number over a period of time. Your knees will begin adapting as your musculature develops.

2. Lateral lunge is another exercise that can help you maintain fitness. This exercise more particularly targets your lower body, the glute area and your inner thighs. In fact, even if you generally experience pain in your knees, you can do this exercise without feeling any knee pain. You can add a hop as well between lunges or speed up the pace for deriving the cardio benefits of this exercise. 

3. The third exercise you can try is the stiff-legged deadlift. Apart from addressing flexibility, this exercise can help in strengthening the back of your legs and the hamstrings.

4. In general, being a woman above 40, you may be very busy and so, you may not find time to do your exercises on a daily basis. So, it is enough if you steal time to do your exercises at least 3 or 4 days every week. This will provide you with enough recovery time also. But you should be committed to follow this regimen strictly so you can easily achieve the amazing fitness you are aiming at.

5. You can do intense exercises 3 or 4 days a week and after that, you can take *active rest* during the remaining days. By "active rest," it is meant that you should involve yourself in all your routine activities and can additionally go for hiking, bike riding, brisk walking, etc. also.

6. Being a woman above 40, you need more time to recover than younger women. Not only that, you are likely to develop soreness of muscles also. So, it is wrong if you ignore the aspect of recovering after intense workouts. At the same time, you should not keep idle during your rest days. You should be active and ensure that your commitment to keep fit does not diminish.

7. Similarly, the importance of supportive nutrition need not be over-emphasized. This means you should ensure to get adequate doses of the required nutrients.

8. You should ensure to drink plenty of water daily. This means that your body should always remain well hydrated. A well hydrated system will help you in succeeding in your efforts in maintaining your fitness level.

9. Consistency in following a good diet regimen is the key for maintaining fitness for women like you. Experts opine that if you want to have lasting benefits, you should not commit the mistake of discontinuing a good diet regimen after starting it with all the fanfare. This means that you should ensure to stick to the diet regimen you have begun at all costs. But you should be careful to choose a diet regimen that helps you lower your body fat and improve your lean muscle mass.

10. Nothing can be more harmful to your health than consuming bad carbohydrates. You can get good carbohydrates from fresh fruits or vegetables but if you consume bad carbohydrates that are abundantly present in ice creams, pastries, cakes, sweetened drinks, etc., you can never succeed in your efforts in maintaining your fitness. Remember that even if you eat a handful of chips or crackers, it can jeopardize your efforts to keep fit. You should remember the fact that if you eat nutritionally dense items and stick to a balanced diet, you will not experience any craving for junk foods.

11. Instead of eating large meals, you can opt for eating several smaller meals. If you ensure that your meals contain lean proteins, you will have a satiated feeling. This will go a long way in helping you maintain stable levels of blood sugar all through the day. This strategy will help you avoid eating unsupportive, junk foods also.

12. Regardless of how you have been eating when you were young, you should now learn to eat slowly. You must make it a point to bite each morsel of your food thoroughly. Apart from helping you digest your food well, this helps you avoid over-eating as well. Researchers have found that the brain realizes that a person is eating only after 20 or 25 minutes after he or she starts eating. By eating fast, you may over-eat because the brain may not have realized yet that you are eating. Not only that, if you eat slowly, you may feel fullness sooner and this also helps you avoid over-eating.

13. You should ensure to drink at least two glasses of water 30 minutes before you begin eating. This will help you avoid eating belly-full. Likewise, you should avoid drinking water immediately after finishing your meal. A few experts advise that if you develop the habit of drinking several sips of water during the course of your meal, you can avoid over-eating.

14. You should begin your meal with fresh fruits and vegetables. "Eat your salad first" is the dictum. By eating a good amount of vegetables and fruits before the main meal, you can reduce your food intake because vegetables and fruits will help you feel "fullness" of your stomach.

15. You should make small lifestyle changes so you can maintain your fitness easily. For instance, instead of using the elevators or lifts, you can use the stairs for reaching top floors. Similarly, you must utilize every opportunity for having a walk. You can walk to the nearby shopping mall for doing your shopping or walk to your workplace if the distance to your office can be covered by foot, etc.

By maintaining fitness, you can unlock your enormous reservoir of energy. You can be active and so, can lead a purposeful life. We have come across several older women who have accomplished great feats despite their age. Though you can also aim to scale great heights in your life, the least benefit you can derive by maintaining your fitness is that you can enjoy happiness and peace of mind till the end.