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Age is nothing but a number, but as you get older, exercise becomes increasingly important.

Here are 6 reasons to exercise if you are 40 or older:

  1. Being physically fit will improve your overall quality of life, both now and later on.

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As you get older, your quality of life naturally diminishes.  Your muscles get weak, fatigue increases and getting around becomes harder than it used to be. Regular properly structured exercise reverses these effects.  Once you start exercising regularly, you will have more energy, stronger muscles, and find doing things like daily tasks will feel much easier.

  1. Regular exercise makes for stronger and healthier joints

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Over our lives, our joints take a beating.  Even worse, when we are inactive, we start to lose bone and muscle mass.  This is all too common with the office working crowd who spend upwards of 6-7 hours a day sitting (this doesn’t include time spent commuting, on a smart phone, computer or watching TV).  Stronger joints and muscles, achieved through exercise, will help to strengthen your bones, making them more dense and less susceptible to injury.  This is extremely important as you get older.  Take this stat in, according to the website for the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, each year at least 250,000 older people—those 65 and older—are hospitalized for hip fractures.  Three quarters of them are women.

  1. Proper training will lift your sagging muscles.

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Whether it’s your butt, the flab on the back of your arm or your chest, muscles begin to sag as you get older.  The best way to counter this natural occurrence is through strength training.  Sagging body parts are usually due to lack of muscle which is caused by inadequate stimulation.  Targeted strength training will stimulate your muscles and help them be firm and full again..

  1. Exercise keeps the mind healthy

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Studies have shown that physical activity not only benefits the body, but has a stress relieving effect on the mind.  Exercise releases endorphins which give your body a powerful positive feeling.  Imagine the feeling of getting a great reward, that is what you get after every workout session.

  1. Exercise is critical for heart health

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Exercise is especially important if your family has a history of heart disease. Physical activity has repeatedly been shown to reduce the chances of heart disease.  Even if you don’t have a history of heart issues in your family, exercise will help with blood flow and overall heart health.  This is why exercise consistently appears on lists of ways to prevent many diseases.

  1. Proper exercise prevents body fat gain as you age.

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As we age, our metabolism naturally slows down.  As mentioned earlier, we lose muscle when not using them sufficiently.  This means that we are more susceptible to bodyfat gain.  The best way to speed up your metabolism is by increasing the amount of muscle you have.  This is best done by a properly structured exercise training program.

The big question

Is 40 really old?  I don’t think so.  But if you have reached or are approaching the age of 40 and are still not exercising regularly, what are you waiting for? It will only help to make your life better. The earlier you can start, the better.

Ready to get your fitness and health back or bring it to new levels?  Click here to get a free consultation and let us show you exactly how to do it.