Exercise routines are great for consistency. Ask anyone with a fitness habit. They’ll rattle off with precision exactly what they do:
- Half-hour treadmill or fast walk
- Bike, indoor or out, 20 minutes
- Bicep curls, triceps extensions, squats, lunges
- 10 minute cool-down stretches
Now these routines can vary by days of weeks and personal preferences. A friend of mine who dislikes gyms does tennis three days, then Zumba class, yoga, Pilates and pickle ball on other days.
Easy-Peasy Exercise Habits
Routines build habits, and on days you are tired or less motivated, it’s easy to slip into your habit and “just do it anyway.” No fuss, no thinking, no motivation necessary.
I’m all in favor of exercise routines, they work…until they don’t. All of a sudden, end of the summer, I realized I wasn’t any stronger (or thinner, or healthier, or bulkier) than I was three months ago. I had hit a plateau. Has that happened to you?
I’m a perfect example of such faulty perceptions…I thought I had it all figured out. All gains without the pains. All I needed to do was hit the gym for a half hour on the machines with my trainer, play two hours of tennis every morning, then sit back and watch the muscles firm up.
Hitting Fitness Plateaus
Unbelievably, I did this for two years. I then had a body scan to see the fat vs. muscle percentage. I was expecting big results. During the two years of scans (every 3-6 months), I noticed a slight decline in body fat, then no progress at all.
I was crushed! What? I wanted—I expected!— to be leaner after two years. Granted, I felt much stronger in legs and arms, and I could actually feel my triceps bump. But come on, two years!!!
Senior Fitness Rule: Change It Up!
I’m all for habits, still am, but I found out the hard way what every gym aficionado knows: To make progress with your body, you have to:
- Change up routines
- Use different muscles in different ways
- Vary repetitions, number of set, and weights
- Mix stretching with strength building
- Change trainers to learn new perspectives
- Change gyms to experience different equipment
- Change activities, sports
In other words, change everything. If I can use an analogy, it’s like telling your husband to do something using the same words every time. Eventually he stops listening and nothing changes.
Your muscles are like husbands and friends… they need variety and stimulation. Okay, maybe that’s not a good analogy. When I made this observation, hubby just looked at me and said, “I’ve been telling you that for years.”
My New Exercise Trainer
So, this summer I changed trainers. I am now working with a spectacularly fit award-winning body-builder in her 50s. Her name is River. She works with disabled and impaired seniors. Every session is different.
She’s an inspiration to me. And besides, if she can work with people who have serious limitations, she won’t mind working with this 74-year-old who has a few eccentricities…
For example, she tells me I am actually strong, and even flexible. (It helps she is comparing me to her other clients) I have never thought of myself as strong or flexible or athletic. I guess I’m going to have to revise my self-talk about that.
After working with her only four weeks, I found myself lifting more weights than I thought possible. I started out doing very wobbly lunges, but now I am steadily crossing the gym floor with 10 pound weights and long strides.
I had thought my lack of balance was due to my damaged spine. But even if that’s true, I’ve regained a lot of balance in only a few sessions. I have three sessions a week with her for an hour, and those hours are high intensity, leaving me sweaty and breathing hard.
When you reach a plateau, it is crucial to recognize it and do something immediately. Not only is it easy to stay in a rut, doing so will cause burnout and dropout. You might find yourself discouraged and questioning your dedication. Do these sound familiar?
- “Is all this effort worth it?”
- “This trainer isn’t showing me anything new or challenging.”
- “Why isn’t this fun anymore?”
- “I thought I’d have made much more progress by now.”
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