Brisk walking and jogging: the golden exercise program for middle-aged and elderly people to get fit and lose weight

Brisk walking – a fitness method for obese elderly people

Retirees have plenty of time at home and can take brisk walks every morning, forenoon, afternoon, or after dinner.

The number of steps and the speed should be determined based on each person's age and physical condition.

In the beginning, you should not walk more than 1 kilometer at a time, and then gradually increase the distance to 3 kilometers.

Zhong Shitong, the former president of Beijing Sport University, has been walking for fitness for more than 20 years, taking 5,000 steps every morning and another 5,000 steps every afternoon, year after year, day after day, rain or shine.

The elderly man is now in good health, with no excess fat, and his sequelae from past serious illnesses such as cerebral hemorrhage and myocardial infarction have also greatly improved.

Specific methods for fitness walking:

Step frequency: approximately 90 steps per minute, not too fast or too slow.

2. Steps: 3000-5000 steps/time, 5000-10000 steps/day.

3. Duration: Approximately 45 minutes per session, 90 minutes per day.

4. Rest intervals: After completing the prescribed number of steps in one continuous brisk walk, rest for at least 4 hours between two workouts.

The elderly, in particular, need to get enough rest and avoid overexertion.

Key points of the movement: Keep your head up and chest out, look straight ahead, coordinate your limbs, swing your arms naturally back and forth, slightly tuck your lower legs, and use your thighs to drive the movement.

Jogging allows you to burn fat gracefully.

7. Improves sleep; you'll sleep better after a jog.

8. Enhance immunity, especially in winter, making you less susceptible to illness.

9. It can uplift your spirits. If you jog for a long time, it will promote the release of a morphine-like substance in the brain, making you feel excited and happy.

Before running:

1. It is best to eat noodles, rice, and whole grains two hours before running to replenish sugar (do not get simple sugar from Coca-Cola or fruit juice).

2. Lean ham to supplement protein.

3. Use purified water to prevent dehydration.

While running:

1. A handful of dried fruit or unripe bananas.

2. Mineral water (take two or three sips every 10 to 15 minutes).

3. Sugary drinks (the sugar in drinks is more easily absorbed).

After running:

1. Soups rich in water and fiber: increase hydration.

2. Yogurt or other sugary dairy products (fresh milk) to restore physical strength.

3. Cars containing bicarbonate are used to neutralize lactic acid and restore balance.

Preparation Exercises:

Before running, you must do stretching exercises to prevent muscle strain during exercise.

1. Calf exercise: Lunge forward, shift your weight to the front leg and press down, hold for 15 seconds, repeat 3 times on each side.

2. Quadriceps: Stand upright and use your hands to pull the leg on the same side behind you, stretching the leg so that the heel touches the buttocks.

Two times on each side.

3. Adductor muscles: Sit on the ground with your back straight, bend one leg in front of your chest, and straighten the other leg. Hold your foot with your hands to stretch the inner thigh muscles and hold for one minute.

Relaxation exercises:

1. Relax your shoulders and do chest expansion exercises.

2. Let your arms hang naturally and breathe deeply.

3. After running for a while, walk for a while to calm your breathing and relax your muscles.

4. When doing stretching exercises in the preparation stage, you can hold them for a longer time and breathe deeply to fully relax your muscles.

5. To better stretch your calves, relax your back and legs, and promote blood circulation, we can do these exercises: Stand with your legs together, hug your shoulders, press your waist down to stretch your back, and lower your head as far as possible; raise your legs high; flex your feet and press your calves down while breathing deeply.

Note that people used to think that you should put your hands on your knees to press down, but doing so can actually cause knee injuries.

equipment:

1. Cotton socks, antibacterial and odor-resistant.

2. To avoid the running process becoming too boring, you can carry a lightweight portable music player with you and choose relaxing and dynamic music to listen to while running.

3. Sports T-shirts, windproof shirts, and sports vests are warm without being too hot, making them the best choice for spring and autumn.

4. UV-protective sunglasses.

5. Waist bag, for storing personal belongings.

6. Shock-absorbing running shoes.

7. Sports capri pants.

Running posture:

1. Mental pleasure

The first 10 minutes may be the most strenuous, so be sure to adjust your physical condition and try to make your body feel refreshed and relaxed.

Determine your speed based on your own situation, aiming to be able to talk easily while running.

2. Breathing

Breathe naturally, and don't stop breathing through your nose. In particular, consciously take deep breaths into your chest.

3. Keep your head upright. You can choose a point on the horizontal line as the focal point of your line of sight to prevent your body from leaning forward.

4. Hips

Slightly bend your knees, but don't tense your muscles; let them sway naturally with your body.

5. Back

Stretch your back, lift your chest, and sink your hips while breathing.

6. Keep your shoulders flexible and relaxed, and swing them naturally along the axis of your body.

7. Feet

Make sure your feet land fully on the ground and move from heel to toe. Don't just run on your toes, as this is bad for your calves and will cause your body to swing wildly.

8. Pace

In the beginning, you can run for a while and walk for a while, gradually increasing the running time and decreasing the walking time.

Alternatively, you can choose locations with varied terrain for exercise, such as hilly areas.

9. Chest pain (side stitch)

It may be caused by breathing in too much cold air or diaphragmatic spasm. Press your hand on your chest for about 10 seconds, take a deep breath, and relax your body.

10. Watch

Checking the time regularly can encourage you and motivate you to run a little longer.

Tuck in your stomach, tuck in your stomach: Running tips for middle-aged and elderly people

Keeping your chest up and abdomen in are basic movements when running. The latter is especially important for middle-aged and elderly people, because many of them are obese and have protruding abdomens. If they do not properly tuck in their abdomens when running, their lower limbs will be restricted from being raised, making them more likely to trip.

Secondly, when a person runs, the body's oxygen consumption increases. At this time, chest breathing alone cannot meet the body's oxygen supply, and the abdominal muscles need to participate in auxiliary breathing, so as to increase the amplitude of diaphragmatic contraction and increase lung ventilation.

Secondly, regularly contracting your abdominal muscles can get the abdominal muscles and fat "moving," which not only strengthens the muscles but also effectively burns excess fat.

It achieves the dual benefits of slimming and improving health.

Many elderly people are prone to hernias because their abdominal muscles do not receive effective nutrition and exercise for a long time, becoming very weak. This weakens their ability to restrict the internal organs, such as the intestines, making it easier for the intestines to break through the potential gap between the abdominal muscles and protrude under the skin, thus forming a hernia.

In addition, some middle-aged and elderly people with bulging abdomens originally hoped that running would shrink their waist and abdomen, but unexpectedly, after running for a period of time, their bellies became more and more protruding. This is because they did not properly contract their abdomen and lift their breath while running.

If you don't pay attention to contracting your abdomen and lifting your chest while running, not only will your abdominal muscles not get exercise and become loose, but your internal organs and the fat deposited on the greater omentum will also constantly impact the abdominal wall during exercise. The latter will be stretched and bulge outwards even more, so the longer you run, the more your belly will protrude.

Of course, the mesentery and suspensory ligaments of the internal organs of middle-aged and elderly people are inherently less elastic, so long-term vibration of the internal organs can cause them to change position and sag.

The most common type of prolapse is gastric prolapse.

This disease is common in the elderly, those with a slender build, those who are bedridden for long periods and have little physical activity, or those who are weak due to wasting diseases. It often coexists with the prolapse of other organs (liver, kidney, colon, etc.) and can also occur in obese individuals who do not exercise properly.

Mild cases of gastroptosis are often asymptomatic, while severe cases may present with upper abdominal discomfort, dull pain, bloating, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, hiccups, and constipation.

These symptoms worsen after meals or when standing for long periods, but can be relieved by lying in bed.

In addition, it may reflexively cause symptoms such as orthostatic syncope, weakness, palpitations, and orthostatic hypotension.

Sometimes, due to gastric prolapse and weak peristalsis, complications such as gastric dilatation or gastric volvulus may occur, leading to acute abdomen and endangering life.

The key to preventing and treating this disease is to strengthen abdominal muscles and increase abdominal muscle tone, or to elevate the stomach by placing a gastric support.

The correct running motion for middle-aged and elderly people should be with shoulders slightly raised, arms bent at 90 degrees, little back-and-forth swinging but with a slight up-and-down bounce, shoulders slightly raised, thighs raised high in the front, full push-off, and a large and elastic stride.

This can make the abdominal muscles tense, the internal organs lifted, and the breathing even, long, full and rhythmic, so that the inward and outward undulation of the lower abdomen cannot be seen while running.

In addition, as you get older, you can add some exercises to strengthen your abdominal muscles to make the workout even more effective.