A Better You: There’s no age limit to prime fitness

Just when I think to have seen it all in the fitness industry, the industry surprises me.

Fitness and health and wellness are everything but boring and mundane.

I have just come off the last 10s event where there were literally thousands of athletes aged 30 plus competing.

A competition tournament is a variety of sports ranging from soccer, rugby, netball, dodgeball to hockey.

I ran the recovery lounge and even though strapping, massaging and ice baths were well used, it’s amazing to see how many older athletes are still participating in their sport of choice and not just at a tournament, but in leagues too.

Just because you are getting older doesn’t mean your fitness levels should die off and that you are not capable of pushing harder.

Roger Federer is 38-years-old and is still competing at top level on the international tennis circuit.

Sure, as you get older it takes longer to recover but you are also mentally tougher and more focused which gives you the advantage over the youngsters.

Advancements in the fitness industry are essential for the growth of the health and wellness sector and programs are moving towards being more tailored and needs-specific.

Some new fitness trends on the rise

HILIT (high intensity, low impact training)

• You have heard of high intensity interval training, HIIT, where you shred a load of calories (think CrossFit), but the problem is with all this high impact training at high intensity with many reps, the wear and tear on joints is great for most participants. That is why the dropout rate is so high.
• You can’t keep pushing and going every day and all day. You must vary it up.
• This is why HILIT was created and is going to become a popular trend for 2020 into 2021 because you still get to burn huge calories, but the exercise of choice is designed to be kinder on your joints and tendons.

Rhythmic classes

• Why it is that when you go out and dance the night away, you hardly waste a minute on the dance floor busting out moves you didn’t even think were possible yet when you are confronted with a 20-minute cardio class, it feels like the longest 20 minutes of your life?
• Music speaks to your soul. Music fills you with good memories of the past and each time a song is played, you are transported
  back to those good times releasing good endorphins which push you for the next three and half minutes until the next song is played.
• Dance rhythmic classes are becoming increasingly popular because they build confidence, tone you, and keep you playing and having fun for longer.

Meditation

• You must ask yourself why top businessmen and women meditate? Their levels of stress, the workloads and the pressure of being at the top and managing all the cogs in the system means they seldom have spare time and that is why they make meditation part of their daily routine.
• Just as they book out time in their diaries for an important meeting so too do they book time for a meditation session and it can be as short as 15 minutes. Meditation allows for corrective breathing, centering your thoughts and focusing on clarity of mind.
• Mental wellness is fast becoming one of the most popular trends because of the massive importance it has on your health and wellness.

StretchLabs

• Going back to basics is a trend and people are finding silence and comfort in attending stretch classes. I can almost guarantee you that the coaches you had while growing up have not taught you how to stretch properly.
• A few simple adjustments take pressure off the tendons and joints and places the stretch on the core or centre part of your muscles. A few simple tweaks of pushing in a pose can change the static “old school” stretch into a PNF – proprioneuromuscluar facilitation stretch, the best stretch one can do. Combine this with trigger point therapy releasing and you have a class that is a winner.
• It will help you become more flexible, improve range of motion and even make you stronger. Adding this twice or three times
  a week to your routine can do wonders for your injury prevention and longevity in sport and training. Stretch labs are popping up all over and you can even find them in your local gyms.

Strength training over cardio

• If I had a penny for every time a woman said “I don’t do strength training because every time I do, I get too big and gain too much muscle”, I would be a millionaire. Right now, I am thinking of the “crying with laughter” emoji because if muscle was that simple to create then someone would have bottled that secret formula and retired a billionaire.
• Thanks largely to Instagram and CrossFit there has been a big movement to women lifting weights. The by product is they are
  looking stronger, sexier and healthier without looking like the guy walking around with watermelons under his arms.
• It has taken years for the mind shift, but the proof is in the training and in the bones. Resistance and strength training help women build denser bones and slows down bone degeneration. This trend will continue and is, in my opinion, here to stay.

Exercise does not have to be boring, all you need to do is research a little, read my column and try something new until you find something you love, and stick with it. Whether it is stretching, yoga or dance classes. Embrace movement and keep moving.

Sean van Staden is a sport scientist. Follow him on Twitter at @SeanVStaden or visit advancedsp.co.za.

For more sport your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.