The potential to improve just about every aspect of life is what regular exercise can do for the 60-plus male. Benefits such as improvements to health, appearance, strength, and much more is enough reason to get started today.
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If you are a man who is 60 or older and wondering how to start an exercise for men 60 plus program for yourself, its best to start of slowly and with an activity that you enjoy, which is true for individuals at any age. Consult with your doctor before beginning any workout regime especially if in poor health. If you are a man age 60 and older and want to begin a fitness program, the benefits can be huge to your life, resulting in improving your appearance, increasing longevity, improving self esteem, making new acquaintances, and most importantly, making significant improvements to your health.
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Effective Workout Routines
Participate in an exercise routine for at least 3 days a week.
Routines should last 20 minutes each.
Set a goal to increase your heart rate. When training, your heart rate should stay between 50-80 percent of your maximum heart rate. This number is the THR, also known as the target heart rate. Beginners, or those who are poorly conditioned should stay close to 50 percent of their maximum heart rate until improvements are evident. You improve your aerobic fitness when training at the higher training zone which is 70 to 80 percent, and you burn additional fat when training at the lower zone for longer periods of time, which is 50 to 70 percent. To figure out how to calculate your MHR visit http://www.brighthub.com/health/fitness/articles/83921.aspx.
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What does and Exercise Program Consist of?
If you are age 60 or older your exercise regimen should focus on strength and balance in the beginning. As time progresses, you can add aerobic exercises into your regular routine, such as swimming, biking, and walking. A few major types of exercises include:
Type of Exercise:
Aerobic exercises: Continuous exercise over a prolonged period of time, such as swimming, biking, or walking.
Stretching exercises: Helps improve flexibility.
Weight lifting: Improves strength and muscle tone.
The intensity of your exercise basically means how strenuous or difficult the exercise is. Your doctor can recommend a target heart rate for safety reasons and for the best workout for you. Your exercises should last between 20-45 minutes each session with your sessions consisting of a 3-5 minute warm up, 15 to 40 minutes of weight training or aerobics, and a 2 to 5 minute cool down. The frequency of your exercises should be more than 30 minutes of exercise if your exercises are high intensity or you exercise every other day or daily if you exercise for less than 30 minutes or your intensity is low. Your progression of exercise is how you increase your time of exercise or difficulty level. Remember to start off slowly, making sure your pulse remains within the target range, and use a logbook to keep tabs of your progress.
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Many older men, with their doctors okay, are incorporating exercise for men 60 plus programs into their daily routines with resulting in weight loss, improvements to existing health problems, looking younger, increasing energy, and a host of other great benefits. If you would like a look at other seniors who have taken it a step further and have competed in weight training competitions visit http://www.brighthub.com/health/fitness/articles/78796.aspx