Welcome to the Get Fit Guys' quick and dirty tips to slim down and shape up. My name is Ben Greenfield, and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

Listener Julie recently wrote into the show and asked, My mother is in her mid-70s and would like to start exercising.

Do you have any suggestions? I don't want her to get hurt.

Well, in this episode, I'll answer Julie's question, explain how your body and fitness needs

change as you get older, and give you exercises and workouts that are best for older individuals.

One of the best anti-aging activities you can do for your body is exercise.

For years it's been widely accepted that we start getting slower, weaker, and more fragile with age.

But more recently, this has been proven otherwise by studies on the cellular process of aging

and the impressive performances of older athletes. As a matter of fact,

most research is now showing that when it comes to your fitness, if you use it, you lose it

far less quickly. And you'll also age more slowly and have a higher quality of life in your

older years. But it can certainly get a bit more difficult to jump, sprint, and move just as powerfully as you may have been able to in your younger years. But it can certainly get a bit more difficult to jump, sprint, and move just as

powerfully as you may have been able to in your younger years. There's a few reasons why that is.

Number one, your metabolism decreases with age by about 10% from your 30s to your 60s,

and a further 10% from your 60s on forward. This means that you gain fat far more easily.

Number two, your maximum oxygen consumption decreases significantly each decade from 25 to 65 years old

and then decelerates even more quickly, which means intense cardiovascular efforts become more and more difficult.

Number three, you grow less responsive to energy-stimulating hormones called catacolamines,

like epinephrine, and as a result, your maximum heart rate decreases, which can decrease

the intensity of your hard efforts. Number four, the total amount of blood your heart pumps per

beat and the ability of your muscles to extract oxygen from that blood decrease, which can affect

your cardiovascular capacity. Number five, your muscle strength peaks around 25 years old,

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