Working Out at 50

Without a doubt, staying fit at any age is critical to both your physical and mental health. But it's especially important as your body ages and daily activities become more challenging to perform.

After all, when you reach a certain age, fitness may be less about training for hours to look a certain way and more about exercising to prevent cardiovascular disease, improve balance and maintain muscle mass.

That's why when it comes to the best workouts for men over 50, taking into consideration your overall health and well-being is much more important than aesthetics and big gains in the gym.

While performing any physical activity is the main goal, there are specific workouts for men over 50 that should be included in an overall fitness program.

Knowing the components of fitness to include in a great fitness routine is just one part of the equation. You also need to know which exercises to perform for optimal muscle gain and health.

High-intensity interval sprints can help boost the fitness level of men over 50. Try the following sequence on a treadmill or outdoors. This type of high-intensity interval workout is more appropriate for an advanced fitness level:

• 30 seconds all-out sprint with a two-minute recovery
  

• 60 seconds all-out sprint with a three- to four-minute recovery

Doing a full-body workout two to three times a week is also an effective way to slow down the aging process and maintain muscle mass. When building a routine, include exercises for the major muscle groups, including legs, glutes, chest, back, shoulders, arms and core muscles. Perform one or two exercises per muscle group for one to three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions. Change up the exercises each time you work out. For example, one day might include:

• Squats
  

• Lunges
  

• Dumbbell chest press
  

• Pushups
  

• Lat pulldowns
  

• Rows
  

• Shoulder press
  

• Rear shoulder flys
  

• Barbell biceps curls
  

• Triceps cable pushdowns

Staying healthy as you age is not just about choosing the best exercises for men over 50; it's also about adding challenge and variety to your workouts. If you've been hammering out the same cardio session or lifting the same weights for the last three months, it might be time to change things up. When you maintain the status quo for too long, you begin to plateau. You may even see some of the age-related benefits from working out start to decline.