Exercise, regardless of age, is healthy and keeps you fit! Exercises are essential for women of all ages, be it teenagers or an elderly woman. Increased hormonal imbalances, poor eating habits, lifestyle disorders and sedentary work life are damaging women’s health at present. So remember, whether you’re a teenager or otherwise, every woman should incorporate exercises into her daily routine. However, understand that exercise should never be on the basis of age alone.
Factors taken into consideration when choosing exercises:
- Age
- Body Structure
- Present physical fitness levels
- Weight loss
- Muscle Building
Here’s a brief idea on how to choose the best exercise regime for you depending on your age.
For Teenagers
According to medical experts, teenage girls should exercise at least 60 minutes a day for most days. Young ladies can indulge in power aerobics. Treadmill, cycling, and cross-trainers are the other exercises forms they can try. Weights, balance training, and group training with peers, some music and fun are recommended. You can also try fun activities like trekking and kayaking if you’re the adventurous one. Talk to your doctor before starting anything new.
Teenagers benefit the following ways
- Improved endurance
- Bone strength
- Balance exercises burn more calories
- Hormonal imbalances are set right
- You do not put on excess weight
A few strength building exercises for teenagers
Squats
For strengthening of abdominal muscles and all core muscles!
- Stand straight and erect and have your arms stretched in front.
- Keep your legs apart for a distance of one foot.
- Push your body down and bend your knees.
- Bring yourself to the standing position and repeat.
Leg Lifts
These are best for abs workouts. Here’s how you do it.
- Lie down on a mat with your back to the floor.
- Put your feet together and your hands to your sides.
- Slowly lift your legs up in the air up to 90 degrees.
- After a brief while, bring your legs down and repeat the same again.
Ladies in their 20’s
When you are in you’re 20’s it’s the best time of your life where skipping exercise does not result in weight gain. However, to build bone density, it’s important you exercise regularly.
Regular exercising two-three times a week should keep you fit. You could try lifting weights and doing pushups and lunges. Indulge in some cardio workout as well. Meditating, jogging, and swimming are other activities which will do you a world of good.
Benefits
- Preserve your strength
- Fights belly fat
- Preserves lean muscle mass and bone density
- Focuses on prevention of diseases later
Exercises for young ladies
Birthing Squat
Squat with your legs wider than hip-width! Return to standing position and repeat. This works great for inner thighs, legs and is great to strengthen your pelvic muscles.
Dancer’s Pose
Stand on one leg, grab your other leg stretched backward like in the image and grab the inside of your foot. Allow your hand to raise your leg further and propel your body forward.
This exercise is great for balance and strengthening of muscles and maintaining your posture.
Women from the age of 35-50
Do you know, women lose muscle mass 5% every 10 years over 35? But worry not, you are not destined to be flabby as you grow older. A proper exercise regime can keep you fit and avoid all diseases. Women in this age group tend to be too busy building careers, tending to families that they forget to take care of themselves.
They’re stressed, sleep deprived, and left with little time for themselves. So here are some easy ways to squeeze in time and take care of your body. Lift weights – it keeps your body firm, leaner, it also increases metabolic rates and prevents osteoporosis. A small amount of muscle training will give you a great figure. Perform exercises like squats, lunges, and pushups! Cardio exercises like running and bike riding can also be done. Yoga is great for women of this age. Perform yoga with a trained yoga practitioner.
Always do your weight training first, followed for cardio for best results.
Benefits
- Weight loss
- Prevents various cancers and heart ailments in future
- Prevents osteoporosis
- Builds and maintains lean muscle mass
Since yoga is a great choice for women over 35, here are some of the standard yoga poses you can try.
Child’s Pose
- Strengthens hips and back
Tree Pose
- Strengthens legs, inner thigh, spine, and back
Warrior Pose
- Stretches hips, inner thighs, and the chest; strengthens abdomen, shoulders muscles
Women over the age of 50
Age is just a number, really! When you have worked hard to keep yourself fit and are well groomed, no one can tell if you’re 40 or 50. And yes, our exercise suggestions will help you tread each milestone above 50 with gusto. So read ahead, ladies!
10 minutes of Yoga every day can work wonders! It helps improve your balance and flexibility. Besides, you can also opt for dumbbells to tone your arms, abdomen etc. Mat workouts, speed walking, stretch training, static cycling at the gym are all exercises suited for women over 50. Have a word with your doctor before embarking on any of the above.
Some of the benefits include:
- Burns body fat
- Builds and maintains muscle
- Disease prevention
- Improves cardio health
Some strength training for women over 50
Squat Bicep Knee Lift
- Sit in a squat position and hold dumbbells as shown.
- Lift right knee and curl the weights to your shoulders.
- Lower the weights and return to squat position and repeat with your left knee.
Bound angle pose
- This strengthens inner thighs, knees, groin
Along with these exercises, it’s important to take some supplements like calcium tablets, a proper diet with plenty of lean meats, greens and proteins and fats like avocado. Remember, a fit body gives a fit mind and a healthy lady means a happy family.
