IS IT TOO LATE TO START MY FITNESS JOURNEY AT 40, 50, 60 OR 70+?
It’s never too late to start your fitness and longevity journey, no matter your age, current fitness level, previous or current injuries. From the CrossFit Masters Guide: “Our goal is to increase work capacity. The way we achieve that is by practicing constantly varied functional movements at high intensity. Applying this to an older client should be no problem because we use a principle of relative intensity where the stimulus is modified to match current levels of physical and psychological tolerance. This means that this type of program is universally scalable, i.e., anyone can do it, and everyone should do it, especially later in life.
The Benefits
Obviously there is the exercise benefit for health, but there are many other things you can get from working out, which will be different for each individual person, which you have no idea about until you take the plunge!
1.Good for your mind
You are never too old to start something new, and that includes working on your fitness. It’s healthy to challenge yourself, learn new skills and put yourself in an environment where you are a little uncomfortable to start off with.
2.Good for your body
Continued training can have many positive effects on your health and wellness. Those who are able to combine continuous exercise with good nutrition and avoid risk factors (such as smoking), can delay and minimize the effects of ageing.
While we have to accept that some changes are inevitable, it is possible to elevate health markers to above average through an active lifestyle.
“According to the literature, compared to their non-training peers, masters athletes display increased testosterone, lower blood pressure, increased cardiovascular respiratory endurance (Hayes et al., 2013), increased strength, greater muscle mass, greater bone density (Powell, 2005), better mobility and balance, better spinal function (Wright, 2012) and better brain function (Zhao et al., 2016). Lifelong exercise may also be the key to reducing the risk of dementia (Brown et al., 2017).” – CrossFit Masters Training Guide
Combating the negative effects of inactivity combined with ageing should be priorities for all masters wishing to lead a healthier and happier life.
3.community
In here we are as strong as we are because of our community that we have built. We have all met lifelong friends and people that have changed our lives for the better. We’re all hearing putting in the work to better ourselves and doing hard things together. This creates a supportive connection that is unmatched. You’ll come for the fitness, but you’ll stay for the community.