McKenlay - Pilates: Functional Fitness for the Over 40s: Feel Great, Look Fab

We retire too early and we die too young, our prime of life should be in the 70's and old age should not come until we are almost 100.

Ive been working out most of my life one way or another. I started running and practicing daily exercises in my teens. Jane Fonda was my heroine. Throughout my 20s and 30s I taught every type of studio exercise class you can think of and when I wasnt teaching (which wasnt often) Id be attending classes. I loved it. It was my life. It made me feel good both physically and mentally. Then I got to my 40s and as the decade progressed, I started to notice aches and pains during and after exercise. My back and hips complained the day after a run, I started getting niggly little injuries after an intense workout and rather than feeling energised, I often felt wiped out.

Friends and clients were noticing the same thing: aching knees after lunges and squats, shoulder pain from using even light weights and like me, a feeling of exhaustion rather than energy were all factors causing them to rethink their exercise routines. What they were all looking for was a form of exercise that not only kept them toned and in shape, but one that was functional, improving their general health and wellbeing, but at the same time leaving them feeling energised and pain free, able to tackle daily tasks and activities with ease and pleasure.

Our bodies change as we get older. Metabolism slows, body composition together with fat distribution changes leading to middle age spread and our joints feel like they could do with a bit of WD40. Cutting back a bit on the cake or wine doesnt seem to make much of a difference and upping our cardio (if we had any!) doesnt have the desired effects it once did a decade or so ago. In order to care for our health and avoid the modern diseases associated with aging, its vital that we learn to train smart, meaning that we need to adapt our familiar fitness routines or for some, take a long, hard look at lifestyle and start taking more care. These days Im far more concerned with my health and take a much more holistic approach to my fitness routine. Replacing high impact aerobic activities with less frantic, joint-friendly low impact alternatives, strength training for the whole-body rather than identifying problem areas, spending as much time working on flexibility and mobility as you do on the rest of your exercise plan and choosing activities that nurture your mental as well as your physical wellbeing will carry you safely into your golden years.

From around age 35 onwards, we lose an average of 5% muscle mass per decade. This is the single greatest contributor to age related decline in metabolism. Muscle needs a higher blood and oxygen supply than fat, so the more lean tissue you have, the more energy your body uses simply to maintain it at rest. Strength training can help in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes as well as improving bone density in post-menopausal women. Pilates is a very safe, effective way of strengthening muscles, thereby improving muscle tone and body shape. Being a mind/body form of exercise, it has a positive effect on the nervous system, reducing stress which can lead to hypertension and heart problems.

We lose some flexibility and mobility as we age: joint movement becomes stiffer and less flexible because the amount of lubricating fluid inside your joints decreases and the cartilage becomes thinner. Tendons and ligaments shorten and become more rigid. Intervertebral discs undergo age-related degenerative changes, causing general stiffness through the spine and for some, back and neck problems. A significant percentage of Pilates exercises get the spine moving in all directions to maintain and improve the health of your back and neck. Joseph Pilates believed that