When you look at the fact that many of us are living longer and enjoying a more active lifestyle for longer, it would be fair to say that turning 50 might now be viewed in the same way that reaching 40 used to be, and merely a mid-life point.
By the time a woman reaches her 50th birthday, she will probably have children old enough to take care of themselves, leaving more time to focus on their health and fitness in preparation for a new and exciting chapter in their life.
If that fits your profile or something similar, here is a look at how you can adjust your focus from raising a family to getting your body and mind in great shape.
You might consider visiting a top breast augmentation surgeon for a helping hand in giving your body a youthful definition and there are of course plenty of things you can do yourself to look and feel 50 years young.
Stay Fit After 50:
Living a longevity lifestyle
Thanks to advances in medical science and other contributing factors, we might be living longer in general, but there is still persuasive case for making the most of your life by trying to practice a lifestyle which allows you to enjoy that longevity.
There are four basic fundamentals of enjoying good health and amazingly as well as worryingly, less than 5% of manage to fit the criteria that can improve your odds of leading a longer and healthier life.
The four cornerstones that combine to be considered as someone living a longevity lifestyle are regular exercise, healthy diet, maintaining a safe body weight and not smoking.
If you take a look at these four basic fundamentals, it is probably likely that you might be able to tick at least one or maybe a couple of the boxes but the statistics wold suggest that not many of us reading this will be able to say that they are truly following this regime to an extent that it is having a positive impact on our health and longevity.
Turning 50 is your opportunity to set some new goals and almost re-invent yourself in terms of how you look after your body, both inside and out.
Fit at fifty
It is perfectly understandable that if you have dedicated your time to raising a family, running a home and all of the other things you have had to contend with, your fitness and even a healthy eating regime might have taken a back seat in terms of priorities.
Trying to get fit at fifty and beyond should be something you would like to aspire to achieve and if you actually needed any motivation as to why this is particularly important, remember that most of us start to lose muscle mass from about the age of 25.
By the time you reach 50 you will already be in a battle against the natural ageing process, but by getting fit you can certainly do your best to combat the effects of losing some of your muscle mass by working on keeping your strength through regular exercise.
Building your strength
Older people are often advised to use lighter weights and practice high repetitions, but this advice is outdated if you speak to a fair percentage of personal trainers.
If you start to do bicep curls as part of your training program and you manage to do about 30 reps without having to stop, the dumbbell you are using is probably too light.
If you are trying to build maximum strength, the guide would be that you should only be able to do about 6 reps and about 10 for building muscle and strength. These exercises need to challenge you in order to improve your strength so think about the weight you are lifting and get some help from a personal trainer if you are not sure about exercising in way that pushes you but remains safe.
Hormonal balance
Another important point to consider is that all of our hormones such as progesterone and testosterone decline as we age and this leaves us more prone to our bodies storing weight instead of losing it.
If you are trying to lose weight it would be a good idea to consider getting your hormone levels checked, including testosterone which is often overlooked as the effects of estrogen loss are more prevalent in health bulletins.
Balanced testosterone levels help to reduce blood glucose levels and could give you a boost in reducing belly fat, so take some tests and see of your hormones are out of balance.
There are many ways to improve your strength and fitness now you have reached 50 and beyond, so treat yourself as a priority now that the family have grown up and aim to get fit in every way possible.
GUEST BLOGGER: Dr. David Halpern is a truly exceptional surgeon, with unparalleled training and experience, receiving board certifications in three areas – Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, General Surgery and Micro-Hand Surgery, demonstrating his broad level of skill and expertise. Certifications were received from the American Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons and the American Board of Surgeons. The extraordinary depth and breadth of Dr. David Halperns training provides for optimum aesthetic enhancement and outstanding patient care. Receiving his medical degree from the acclaimed New York University, Dr. David Halpern trained at both the prestigious Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City as well as the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Additionally, he has held the position of President of the Florida Hand Society and Chief of Staff at Memorial Hospital in Tampa. Over the years, Dr. David Halperns most notable work has been published in peer-reviewed plastic surgery and hand surgery medical journals throughout the US.