Aerobic Workouts for Women Over 50

A middle age slowdown seems inevitable once you hit 50, but you can challenge your fate with aerobic exercise. Your efforts don’t have to be costly. You don’t have to join a gym, rent equipment, wear sexy exercise gear or buy a 10 part workout series on DVD. Aerobic exercise can be as easy as walking 20 minutes or more a day. That’s what I do; and at 59, I can feel the benefits.

“WebMD.com Fitness And Exercise” credits aerobic exercise with strengthening the heart and lungs, and improving the body’s ability to use oxygen. To get those benefits and more you don’t have to wiggle and bounce across the floor or develop a sense of rhythm you’ve never had. Your aerobic exercise can be simple or complicated as long as your doctor says it’s OK.

Try Walking

I walk down, and sometimes up, six flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator in my apartment building. I walk to the bus stop. When I reach my destination, I walk some more. I walk daily to the grocery store, local restaurants and most other places I need to go; but you don’t have to walk as much as I do.

A MayoClinic.com article, “Aerobic exercise: Top 10 reasons to get physical,” recommends starting out with “small steps.” Start by walking 5 minutes in the morning and evening. You can increase your efforts when you’re ready.

Low impact aerobic workouts

When I was in my thirties I worked out at a gym three times a week. As a 50 plus woman, I refuse to take hard-driving exercise classes with all those buff and beautiful twenty-somethings; but there are alternatives. Some community recreation centers offer inexpensive low impact aerobics classes. You’ll get the same heart/lung/muscle benefits, but the pace is slower. Low impact means less of the thumping and bouncing that can injure aging muscles, joints and bones. If you don’t have a recreation center near you, check online for an inexpensive DVD with a low impact aerobic workout you can do at home.

Have fun with line dancing

Line dancing is also aerobic exercise. All that twisting, turning and sliding across the floor may look complicated, but instructors encourage you with simple, step-by-step directions. Everyone in the group learns the moves at the same time, so there’s no pressure. Line dancing is fun, so you can really enjoy the process of getting fit. Check with your local recreation center for classes near you.

Video game workouts

If you have children in your family, you’ve probably seen the latest exercise programs for game consoles. You hold a device that registers your movements and interacts with images on a TV screen. You can bowl, ski, play tennis and perform other sports; and it feels just like the real thing.

My favorites are the games that challenge you to keep up with dance moves on the screen. You choose the style of music and the degree of difficulty. The game keeps score, but the main object is fun; and you also get a great aerobic workout. Game and consoles cost up to $200.

Dancing all by yourself

If you like dancing but don’t want to do it in public, dance at home. You don’t need a deejay or a dancing partner. Just turn on your favorite classic rock, pop, jazz or hip-hop music and move your body. After you spend 20 minutes waving your hands in the air, shuffling your feet and twirling through the room, you’ll feel so energized you’ll want to do it again.