Aging without being Ageist in the Gym

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During my last stay at my home in Saratoga Springs, early darkness curtailed my ability to walk for hours at a time in the nearby state park. The Hubs was on a job in another state, leaving me without a spotter at the gym. And I was feeling a little lonely and sorry for myself. Usually, I’m pretty good about going to the gym solo and doing a free-weight workout followed by walking it out on a treadmill. (Hooray for audiobooks!) Or I can stay home and do snatches with my trusty kettlebells. But on this particular day, I felt out of sorts and decided I needed a new “thing.”

Scouring the local YMCA schedule, nothing appealed to me. I can do fast-paced, high-intensity aerobics and weight classes, but there’s always a risk that I could hurt something. That’s a real concession to aging: We don’t know how well we will recover or how long the recovery from an injury will take. Besides, I like workouts that are intentional rather than fast.

Of course, there are Silver Sneakers® classes. But I don’t think I’ll be pulling the trigger on those for another 10 years if I can avoid it. They feel … old. And that’s a problem, right? On the one hand, I’m not a spring chicken. On the other hand, the class name feels ageist. I know I’m in good shape for someone who’s almost 65 years old. But I’m NOT in amazing shape for 30. Let’s not add denial to the problem of gross misperceptions of older peoples’ capabilities.

Aside: People who know well-structured workouts know that anyone can benefit from a Silver Sneakers® curriculum by being intentional with each movement. However, to me, there’s such a thing as too slow. I don’t want to disparage these classes or the people who benefit from them. They’re just not for me. On the other hand, they are frequently covered by Medicare and will enable you to save money on your gym membership.

Scanning through the schedule, I came across a Total Gym® workout and thought I’d give it a try. Remember the Chuck Norris infomercials? Well, apparently Total Gym® offers industrial-sized machines for places like YMCAs. And the workouts are fantastic. A combination of reformer slider, cables and bodyweight exercises, it was a great experience.

During my first class, I had some balance issues. But overall, I’ll go back for more when I’m in town. It’s the kind of workout I can modify as necessary, and everyone finds it equally hard. Thus, no one is left behind.

I think it’s high time to update the curriculum for senior movement to reflect what we know to be true about metabolic health, muscle loss (sarcopenia), menopause and loss of hormones, and osteopenia/osteoporosis.

Women need more weight workouts.

I’ve been working hard on my training—trying to add back as much muscle as I can–knowing that I will lose 3% to 8% of my muscle mass decade by decade. If you’ve been staying current with popular Instagram challenges, Dr. Peter Attia will tell you that a woman in her 40s should be able to do a one-minute farmer’s carry with 75% of her body weight. This is, theoretically, going to enable her to open a jar at age 95. (A farmer’s carry is a test of grip strength executed by walking while holding heavy weights in each hand.)

Whenever I need to check in on whether I’m doing healthy workouts, I reach out to my original trainer and coach, Marie Allegro. Marie is a certified physical trainer, former bodybuilder and pro fitness competitor. She trained me to an amateur bodybuilding first place win way back in 1998. And now, she’s also certified in training post-menopausal women.

Sure enough, when I asked her how she would modify workouts for older women, she said weights, weights, and more weights. She recommended that, instead of four cardio workouts and two weight workouts per week, women do four weight workouts and two cardio workouts. She doesn’t exactly discourage plyometric training (jump training with explosive movements), but she recommends safer, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) for those who still crave aerobics and sweat (and walking for those who do not). Marie emphasizes that this is not because women can’t do these things. But, with increasing risk of injury as we age, we should choose exercise modalities that will keep us safe as well as strong.

Marie also recommends improving the quality and duration of our sleep. There are many therapies available, including HRT which, unfortunately, became victim two decades ago to the media mis-representing study data. But, whether we choose to experiment with black cohosh, hormone replacement, or other more homeopathic remedies, we should keep making ourselves a project until we find what works for us.

And last, Marie recommends a high-protein diet. She said that menopausal women should aim for .6 to .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. That means a 150-pound woman should have 90 to 120 grams (13 to 17 ounces) of protein per day. What’s more, gut health is paramount. And we should consume at least 25 grams of fiber per day. That’s a ton (5 to 6 cups) of green leafy vegetables (10g), a cup of oatmeal (4g), 6 baby carrots (3g), 3 to 4 cups of raw broccoli (10g). If all else fails, we should take a fiber supplement containing psyllium husk.

Marie went on to explain that loss of estrogen is the root cause of most aging challenges for women. It’s responsible for loss of sleep, loss of hair, weight gain, night sweats, and a litany of yucky symptoms. Topical estrogen and HRT are effective for some women, but not everyone tolerates them well. Foods containing soy (tofu), sesame seeds, flaxseeds, and those green “leafies” will all do their part to replace some estrogen.

Marie said it’s also critical to be aware of the emotional aspect of growing older and learning to respect how and why our bodies are changing. Like the women who come to me with financial shame, she sees a lot of menopausal women with shame about their symptoms, their weight, and their body composition. So, it’s important for her clients to compare notes and discuss those symptoms, even if they’re not explicitly related to training. After all, every woman will experience these things at some point.

When she trains women, Marie makes sure she uncovers everything that’s going on with them, training the whole person. She feels strongly that we have to make it OK, not just for women to discuss these things among themselves, but to discuss them with their partners as well. We can’t treat this like it’s a bug, when it’s a feature.

Although we can always improve our health and it’s never too late to start, the best way to be in shape at 50 or 60 is not to get out of shape at 40. We have to treat it like brushing our teeth. We don’t have to love it. We just have to recognize it and do it.

As for me, I’ve made peace with accommodations in my workouts for balance and avoiding risk of an injury. I’m still managing (and will be forever) lots of osteoarthritis in my neck. And I certainly don’t worry about what I look like when I’m in the gym.

Spoiler alert: I’m a gym slob. I look like a cross between Dopey the Dwarf and Mighty Mouse. You’ll know me when you see me coming. More importantly, I can be my best self now and not worry about my best self of 30 years ago. Remind me that I need to make Madrina Molly™ T-shirts. Because #WeRescueOurselves.

If you would like to train with Marie, online or in person, she can be found at feistyfab50@gmail.com or on Instagram: @feistyfab50.

If you want to learn more or have questions for me about your finances, become a subscription member of Financial & Longevity Planning in the Madrina Molly™ Community. If you’d like the company of other Women of a Certain Age(ncy), join our free Shared Wisdom discussions or take individual courses. 

Copyright © Madrina Molly, LLC 2024. All rights reserved.

The information contained herein and shared by Madrina Molly™ constitutes financial education and not investment or financial advice.

Sherry Finkel Murphy, CFP®, RICP®, ChFC®, is the Founder and CEO of Madrina Molly, LLC. 

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