Greg Fast and Marisa Leighton routinely help men reach their fitness goals. Fast is group fitness instructor at the Marsh: A Center for Balance and Fitness in Minnetonka, and at Calhoun Beach Club in Minneapolis. Leighton is the training department head at Life Time Athletic-Minnetonka, where she says a large portion of their personal training clients are middle-aged men wanting to look and feel better. We asked both experts for their advice on men’s fitness in middle age and beyond.
Lake Minnetonka Magazine: What are the benefits of exercise as we age?
Marisa Leighton: Stress management, better sleep, an increase in overall energy, heart health, and looking and feeling better.
Greg Fast: Regular exercise can boost energy, help you maintain your independence and manage symptoms of illness or pain. Exercise can even reverse some of the symptoms of aging. And not only is exercise good for your body, but it’s also good for your mind, mood and memory.
How should fitness goals and workouts change with age?
ML: I don't necessarily believe that fitness goals or workouts should change with age; it’s about being as good as you can be on any particular day! Cross-training and functional movement training [exercises designed to train and develop muscles to make it easier and safer to perform everyday activities] should be a part of every person’s exercise regimen, no matter the age.
GF: Whether you’re 20 or 60, you’ll need a combination of cardio and strength training to keep your heart and muscles in good shape and your weight under control. The one difference may be that strength training becomes more crucial for everyday functional fitness as we grow older.
Give some fitness advice to two stereotypical middle-aged men. First, the former jock who wants to continue high-intensity workouts as he ages.
ML: Former athletes are always going to be driven by their inner competitor, so participating in exercise that can fuel this competitiveness will keep them interested and excited. Olympic lifting is a great way for a former athlete to feel strong and move through the all-important functional movement patterns.
GF: As long as he’s in good health, my advice would be high-intensity interval training [any workout that alternates between intense bursts of activity and fixed periods of less-intense activity or even complete rest]. Studies have shown that older adults can greatly improve their fitness level by doing these types of workouts.
How about the sedentary couch dweller who has had a health scare and decides to start exercising in midlife?
ML: Kudos to anyone who is pushing himself to start a workout regimen later in life. It's always important to listen to your doctor when beginning an exercise program, and ramp up the rate of exertion slowly.
GF: A practical start would be a fast-paced walk or leisure running (less than six miles per hour) for five to 10 minutes a day. Always check with your doctor before starting an exercise routine.
If you could get every guy 50 years and older to do just one thing to improve his health and fitness, what would it be?
ML: Focus more on nutrition and less on the scale: 80 to 90 percent of feeling and looking good comes from what you are or are not putting into your body. Exercise is extremely important for heart health and stress management, but no one can “outwork” a poor diet.
GF: Start moving and don’t stop! We should be doing a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a week. That’s defined as anything that makes your heart beat faster, including group exercise, speed walking, stair climbing, running, biking or even dancing.
Every guy wants to know how to get those six-pack abs. Give middle-agers your best tip.
ML: Eat fewer processed, high-carbohydrate foods and eat more lean protein sources and good sources of fat. My clients always want a magical exercise to develop their six-pack abs, but it truly happens in the kitchen.
GF: You need to do two things: 1) Lose fat. 2) Build muscle. You can accomplish those things by eating correctly and exercising consistently. You can have the most toned abs but they won’t show if you have a layer of fat over them. So to get that six pack, it will take time, discipline, patience and dedication.
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Life Time Athletic-Minnetonka
3310 County Road 101 S., Minnetonka
952.476.1717
The Marsh
15000 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka
952.935.2202
