Staying Injury-Free As You Approach Your Senior Years
Getting old is inevitable, and the reality is that the older we get, the more likely we are to pick up injuries. Our ability to stay active gets progressively harder, and exercise often becomes more about maintenance than attaining greater results over time.
There’s nothing stopping a person from staying healthy and reducing the risk of injury in later life, in fact, it’s the best possible approach one can take. In addition, there’s no better time to start that process than right now. Those who begin practising preservative exercise and stretching in their youth are far more likely to not only enjoy greater mobility in their senior years, but also avoid serious injury brought on by unexpected or unusually intense exercise in later life.
Resistance Training
Weight training and cross-training with resistance are some of the best exercises you can do. This is largely down to the sheer breadth of ways it strengthens your body. From muscle mass to bone density to muscular strength, your body is trained to deal with greater stress by working with weights. If you’re working with a personal trainer or a gym that can offer you additional support, even better. One thing to keep in mind is that if you’re new to resistance training or working with trainers, your body will be pushed further than normal and injuries can happen, especially if you’re doing potentially more dangerous sports like rock climbing or powerlifting.
Be sure to keep in mind that accidents can happen in the journey to better fitness. Severe injuries can be a huge setback to your quality of life. Personal injury claims will help you get back on your feet should the worst happen. Be sure to understand your next steps if you’ve received an injury due to someone’s negligence when they should have been responsible for your safety.
Rest Days
Rest days are when the body builds back stronger than before and without them, you’re at risk of overtraining. Overtraining can result in injuries like bone splinters and ligament damage due to consistent stress without allowing the muscles to repair the small tears that occur during training. Any responsible fitness coach will insist on lighter training days and even no training at least every seven to ten days, depending on your fitness level. If you’re looking to be fit in later life, overtraining is a surefire way to make that goal harder to attain.