By Deborah Jeanne Post
Perhaps when you were younger, you worked out for goals such as fitting into a certain clothing size or to participate in an enjoyable activity.
While you may still have a few goals such as these, Jacquelyn Duff, certified personal trainer and owner of BuffDuff Coaching in Rochester, said that over time, the goals shift to extending the healthy lifespan.
“The period of life spent free from chronic disease and functional decline, it is essentially [because of] preventative medicine through movement,” Duff said. “I love it because it helps women not focus on just a scale number. When I changed my mindset to being my healthiest self, the easier it was to show up for those goals without dread and restriction.”
She encourages clients to engage in progressive resistance training, which can both help preserve skeletal muscle mass and bone mineral density. This can help prevent age-related frailty and slower metabolism.
Duff also emphasizes dynamic stretching, joint decompression and single-leg stability work to protect gait, joint range of motion and fall prevention.
As people age, muscle mass and bone density decline. These contribute to falls and for worse outcomes in the case of falls such as broken bones. Duff has women worried about falls lift as much weight as sustainable for a few repetitions two to four times a week.
It’s also helpful to have cardiorespiratory conditioning, including a mix of moderate and brief higher intensity effort.
Duff said that many women think high intensity makes a workout better; however, more and more research indicates that as people age, intensity can increase cortisol and thus hamper results. For clients who love high intensity, she limits that type of session to once weekly.
When it comes to training for healthy longevity, core training is an emphasis of Sean Smith, owner of Baddass Bodies By Sean in Rochester. She said that building core strength helps preserve healthy longevity more than workouts such as bootcamps or high-intensity interval training.
“Longevity is about the strong core,” Smith said. “Core training is safe, keeps you from falling, keeps your balance and the key to longevity. Everyone wants big booties and quads so they do weight squats but the whole time they’re tearing up their backs and knees. It’s almost like quick fitness. It isn’t good fitness.”
Strength training can help improve balance as clients are better able to support their own weight if they’re strong enough.
Smith trains clients to maintain solid overall fitness instead of focusing just on arms or legs for their specific fitness goals. This strategy can help them avoid injuries and stay more active.
Selecting a coach or trainer for healthy longevity is vital. Smith said that a good trainer “will ask you questions and develop a plan that fits both your body’s condition and your goals.
“Depending on what people say, I might not be the right trainer for some people,” Smith said. “If you just want to train for two months to fit into a dress, we’re wasting our time.”
She also counsels clients about nutrition, as food is fuel.
“If you’re nonstop eating empty carbs, you have a boost of energy for a short period,” Smith said. “If you use smart carbs like fruits and vegetables, it will carry you all day.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean that you have to be completely rigid and never take it easy or enjoy an indulgence. Kimberly Whitcomb, a certified personal trainer who provides one-on-one training in Fairport and Wolcott, said that overall consistency is key.
“Daily eating habits should include healthy choices and not restrict any specific type of food or macros group: protein, carbs, fats and water,” she said. “There are no quick fixes or miracle diets or workouts. If someone starts out too fast or too heavy, they could get hurt and not reach their desired goals. You should start out slow and on the lighter side and build from there.”
Once it’s a habit to eat right and exercise sufficiently, many people enjoy this as a lifestyle and for the short-term outcomes that will eventually yield long-term benefits.
“Longevity training and eating allows you to indulge on occasion without losing all the positive results you have worked so hard for,” Whitcomb said. “It allows your body to be fueled properly for any activity that comes up planned or unplanned. A healthy lifestyle prepares you for unexpected things like injuries or surgeries. Your body will be able to handle these setbacks much better if your base is healthy.”
Maintaining sufficient body condition helps a person have enough reserves to bounce back from an illness that would decondition and even disable someone who is frailer.