Congratulations on your retirement! As you embark on this exciting journey, it’s essential to prioritize your health and well-being. One key aspect is staying active, and we’ve designed the perfect week of exercise tailored just for you.
Consistency is a major part of remaining healthy as you age and by focusing on doing the simple things well it can lead to a long and enjoyable retirement. Please note the below program is suitable for someone who is otherwise healthy(eg nil underlying aches and pains)
Key Aspects of an effective exercise program
- 10,000 steps per day
Research shows an 23% decrease in all cause mortality for every extra 1000 steps per day plus a 6% reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease. In the below figure the risk decrease for cardiovascular disease starts to slow at 9500 steps per day. These steps can form part of your day to day activity or be a part of structured exercise.
Figure looking at the relationship between step count and relative risk[/caption]
- 3 x full body strength sessions per week
Structured strength training is important to ensure you keep your strength to be able to do everything you want to do on a daily basis. As you get older, especially once retiring there is a natural decline in strength(this occurs at a much faster rate if you are not strength training). When is comes to developing strength the best method I would recommend would be full body training allowing you to target the big muscle groups often(in this case 3-4 times per week).
To simplify this we can split the body into 5 key movement to address the main muscle group:
- Push(Chest/Shoulders/Triceps)
- Pull(Back, Biceps)
- Knee(Quads/Glutes)
- Hip(Hamstrings/Glutes)
- Core(Rotational, Flex/Extension and Lateral Flexion)
See the sample program below for an example of a full body program targeting each of these exercises.
Note- through the use of exercises such as lunges, bulgarian split squats, RDLs and Single Leg RDLs balance can be incorporated into a strength program without having to add exercise exercises.
- Aerobic exercise to improve heart health
10k steps per day is a great step towards staying active in the long term. It is important to stretch yourself when it comes to aerobic exercise. I would suggest exercising or completing tasks at an intensity where you can still speak but need to take a breath mid sentence. If you do something to this intensity most days it will ensure that you are looking after your heart.
Note- by using supersets(exercises paired together with no rest) as seen in the sample program you can achieve the same stimulus- the sample program also uses a combination of upper and lower body exercises which reduce the impact of fatigue on the quality of strength exercises compared to 2 x upper body or 2 x lower body exercises paired together.
Other exercise which may be suitable for the above include brisk walking with a friend, golf or bike riding.
Sample Strength Program
1a. Lunges 3 x 8-12 each side
1b. 1/2 kneel Shoulder Press 3 x 8-12
2a. Dumbbell RDL 3 x 8-12
2b. Band/Gym Ring Rows 3 x 8-12
3. Turkish Get Up to Elbow 3 x 6-10 each side
Sample Week
Monday
10k total steps
Tuesday
10k total steps
30 min walk
Wednesday
10k total steps
Thursday
10k total steps
30 min walk
Friday
10k total steps
Saturday
10k total steps
30 min walk
Sunday
10k total steps
30 min walk