FitMitTuro Fitness Podcast
Fitness industry is full of incorrect, even harmful information. I am NO BS Fitness and Weight Loss Coach and my goal is to give you science based information, told in a simple way. I love to share real people stories and interviews with fellow coaches or professionals. Follow me in IG @personaltrainer_turo
FitMitTuro Fitness Podcast
The Biggest Workout Mistakes People Over 40 Make (And How to Avoid Them)
As we get older, our bodies change, and the approach to fitness needs to evolve as well. In this episode, Turo Virta, a fitness expert with over a decade of experience working with the 40+ crowd, shares the most common workout mistakes he's seen among this demographic and provides practical solutions to help you avoid them.
You'll learn:
- Why ignoring warm-ups and cool-downs can significantly increase your risk of injury, and how to build these essential routines into your workouts.
- The surprising importance of incorporating resistance training, even if you're not aiming to build muscle mass, and how it can help maintain your metabolism.
- The dangers of the "weekend warrior" syndrome and how to create a more sustainable exercise routine.
- Why setting overly ambitious fitness goals can backfire and lead to burnout, and how to set realistic, health-focused targets.
- The difference between mobility and flexibility training, and why both are crucial for older adults to prevent common aches and pains.
- Turo's tips for maintaining consistency in your workouts and developing a fitness habit that lasts.
- The often-overlooked role of nutrition, hydration, and sleep in supporting your fitness journey.
Whether you're new to exercise or a seasoned athlete looking to optimize your routine, this episode is packed with valuable insights to help you stay fit, healthy, and injury-free as you navigate the challenges of aging. Don't miss it!
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I have been there pretty active, I would say, and I love to have this kind of conversation. And I asked this question from people, and it got over 50,000 views, and more than 100 people commented within first 14 hours. So there's a big, big cap or demand, and I'm going to share all these results and my opinions, what is actually, what are the biggest mistakes? So let's get right into the topic. And mistake number one is ignoring warmups and cool down routine. So this is something, what I personally didn't do so much, and I'm still kind of struggling with it, but especially doing some cool downs, warm ups, they should be a lot, lot longer. And that the reason is that older video getting you need to do, because it's it's you, you are having a lot greater risk of injuries. And also these warm ups cool downs, they are not only to prevent that risk of injury during the workout, but it's a great opportunity to do some kind of mobility work and stretches, which is another topic, but it's basically time to do this kind of work what you must do, because if you don't do it, you are putting yourself in a higher risk of injury. And what is the worst thing? What you can do is that you are insert all the time that you can't work out. So these all reasons what I'm talking about, they are going to lead, or you are going to put yourself in a higher risk of injury than possible benefits are from actually working out. So so that, because there is no like that, you are going to die or something, but it's, it's more like that you put yourself in a higher risk of injury, and if you're insert, you can't work out, obviously your fitness is not going to improve. So so these are all for that. And this is something from my experience, what I have worked what I have learned that especially someone over 40, I have, I'm worried to myself, have been doing this for mostly people over 40 for the past decade, and lucky to lucky enough to call it my work. So some kind of view I have what it would have been the biggest mistakes. And this is that's why the topic is so interesting. So if number one is including warmups, what I, what I posted in my trip, the biggest mistake, what you can do is to not include some sort of resistance training or weight training into your routine. But this is something what most people are struggling and I it's something what I I don't enjoy naturally myself either. I'm not the one who is like naturally enjoying lifting weights or or getting some big bumps or going to the gym. No, I don't. I don't do it for to just to be some gym guy, but I do it just for health benefits. And the reason why you must, or if you don't, do we when we are turning 3035, we are starting to lose muscle mass, and that is leading that metabolic rate, amount of calories, what you need when you are not don't do anything, when you don't exercise, when you are stressing, what your body basically needs to keep your life, it's going to decline. And that number, when It's even it's a single. But this is often those small changes. Is the reason why, at some age and women, of course, there is some, you know, boss. There is a that matters, of course, with a little bit maybe easier, like having a little bit more enjoyment. Decline in your muscle mass, in your PML, and suddenly you are seeing that doing the same things what you have done before. Suddenly you are gaining weight and you are not eating any different or you think that there is no big difference, but it might be the reason that you have actually lost muscle mass and you are not doing some residence training, so not doing some kind of strength training is, is definitely it's that was the, my number one and, and it's not that you you don't need to do it a lot. If you do, let's say one strength training per week. If it's like 45 minute to 60 minute system per week, you are not losing anything. You are maintaining everything. Then if you get yourself doing like a 90 minutes, two times 45 minutes to three times 30 minutes strength training, you can expect to see some results. If you get over two hours strength training, you can expect expect to see great benefits, great progress. And it's, of course, it depends on how much you are doing currently, how my What is your experience? If you are someone who have been working out five times per week, and you reduce it for two times per week, of course, you can't expect to see results. But if you are, especially if you are someone who don't have lot of experience doing 45 minutes per week, you are going to see progress. And if you are anywhere, like somewhere 90 minutes per week, that is amount with a good program, you are able to see good progress. And this is what I currently do. I do myself, minimum, what is possible, what I and for me, that minimum is 60 to 90 minutes per week strength training. And that is at the moment, what is my goal. Is maintain everything, maybe to make little progress at the moment, that is not my priority. So just basically maintaining everything and results, I'm more than happy with my own results. So this is mistake number two. Mistake number three is what I call weekend warrior. And this was, this was actually somebody posted about it in in the tricks. And I talked with last week and with one of my friend who's a physical therapist, physiotherapy and and he said that the biggest client group, what they have are 40 plus men who decide to go to do some sport for once in a week. And the worst thing, what you could be doing, if you haven't time for anything, and then you join for league to play soccer or football or something once in a week, just with your friends. You have fun, and you think that you are doing it's I do. I love playing hockey myself, the three times, once in a week or two, three times in a month. It's not that you get great shape. It's more like being together with the friends having a beer after a game. But it has nothing to do with the sport. And if you go, you think that okay, it's not for you don't go for beer or something. It says that you are enjoying to do it. But then why? It might actually do more harm than good if it's the only thing what you're doing. Like, yeah, that my friend told that biggest client group is 40 plus men who are playing once in a week soccer, and they come because it's you risk of injuries is so great. And then you know, if you you are not, you think the poor is the biggest problem. It's same for me too. With the ice hockey like, even I'm in a decent shape, you think that your head is still going like you think that this is how it should go, but, but it is not anymore. So you get a little bit slower, and then your risk of injuries. You think that this you have done at some point, and now you think that you after decade break, you could be you are able to do the same things again, and that is not what is going to happen. Plus, you have a risk of injuries, especially if you have been missing. Mobility. Where about string training? Your muscles are not the same that they used to be, your joints are not the same as they used to be, and then suddenly you are insert and you hurt your knee, you hurt your ankle, you hurt your hips or back, or whatever. So this is it's just creates a greater risk of injury than what actually those benefits are. Of course, there are some social mental benefits, but just if I think just your own fitness and health, it might be doing more harm than actually could. So then Mistake number four is it's kind of related to what I talked earlier, is that if you go to gym and you are you know that what you have done, if you have done, you have been working out at some point of your life, and now you think that later in life, that you have to break your personal records, beat your running time, what you have had in your 20s, and especially if you try to exceed those goals too fast, there is, I'm not saying that you can't go after those goals. They are great goals to have, and it's always for some people, it works very well to have some kind of workout course. But if you are trying to push and progress too hard and too fast. That is, again, you are putting yourself higher risk of injury and and most likely, you are going to put yourself also too much fatigue and pain, and you are pushing yourself to all this pain and and in the end, if you think, if you are not some athletes, I don't need to deadlift 300 kilos. When I was in my 20s, I wanted to hit personal bests, and now it's more like I said, it's just for health benefits. I don't need to break my records what I have been doing somewhere in my 20s or 30s, so, so just a little bit different approach. Then number five is what I originally thought this would be. The number two is not doing some kind of mobility or flexibility training. So, and in 80s, when I grew up, or 90s, it was all about stretching. And now in 2024 it's all I'm all about mobility training. So what is the difference? They are kind of same thing, mobility is more like kind of your goal is to improve lack or improve movement of your joints. So for example, it's increasing that range of motion of your joints. So that is kind of mobility, and stress is kind of making your muscles more flexible. And I'm not taking away from stretching. It's kind of the same thing. Mobility is kind of like more dynamic. It's it's more with the motion as as when stretching is more like kind of static stuff and and often those are the things. What I have been seeing that people who are getting knee problems, the problem is often it's not the muscles around your knee or your knees. It's all starts from missing lack or is the lack of mobility from your ankles. The same thing, if you have issues with your lower back, it's not that you have often, the reason is not that you lift something wrong or you get cold, it's a lack of lack of mobility from your hips. So the drains of motion is not that great enough in your hips that and that is causing, because that muscles and body. It's it's kind of chain. What is going so often. It's not the reason. What is the real reason behind that pain? Is not where you get the pain. It's cause of some from somewhere, coming from somewhere else, and doing this kind of self tests and seeing because those are really hard to hard, to recognize that where you are lacking that mobility or or what you do. And this is, that's why I, for example, for all my coaching programs, I created the self evaluation test with the mobility where you can that you don't need to go to see someone, in some expensive trainings that you get. You can do this totally at home, you have a all fail pass, so simply that if you are able to, if you are getting some fail in some areas of your body, there is correctional exercises you can include into your warm up routines, into your cooldowns. Or if you are doing strength training, you have a longer rest time, like two, three minutes what you at least at some point you should have. It's not all about, like, getting things so quickly so you can use heavier weights when you have longer rest time, and if you don't know what to do within those rest times, you have a mobility exercises. And those are great opportunities to include those. Mobility training is not something that you should be doing, like, hours per day, it's what could mobility, whereabout is one to 10 minutes, and more often, it's the what is the most important thing is to do it often. So that's why those cooldowns and what I what I do myself, too. I include all this kind of stuff into my warm ups, doing during my rest time, or doing cool down. It's just one two exercises for choice that I'm so for me personally, where I struggle is my wrist mobility and in my hips, upper side of my hips, like I used to play Ice, okay? And I think that is my hobby, sticks were way too stiff, and that caused me that my wrists, they were hurting a lot. Now they are improving, but still there is a missing mobility and and now with the consistent work, I have improved it a lot, and it's the same thing with the hips. So dude, because ICER is so one sided sport, and do because of that, my other part of my hips is lots different than other part, and that's why I really need to pay attention to get my body back in balance. And that's how I have been doing, making amazing progress, just including this into my into my routine and then last two things quickly. So the mistake, next mistake is inconsistency. So if you if you are, you know, often, what I see is that people, when they get motivated, they are doing with high intensity, like doing, doing, going for a run way too fast and or starting with some high intensity training. And then what happens is that they maybe get done it. Get it done like for two weeks, three weeks, and then it's getting too hard, too difficult, and then, you know, you are like, you are more likely to skip the routine, and if you are not consistent, what you can expect. So it's not about especially older you get, you have to learn sustainable habits, like a walking or any form of exercise you do, but that it's not getting too hard, too taxing for your body, or too difficult that you are putting yourself into a risk of injury, so more this kind of going with the intensity and aiming for more sustainable and what the emphasis consistency over intensity? And for me, for example, for me at the moment, it's walking. Walking is is something. What I earlier thought that it's not even an exercise, and now I would say that it's the best exercise for my mental health, for my physical health, and also, because I love to do it with my wife. We go to work without any phones or anything, and it's our time to talk, and I feel like that's the best thing for our relationship, what we have done within the past years. And the last thing is for nutrition and hydration, sleep. So all these things, if you are not accessing your diet and hydration to support your increased physical activity, it's going to do a lot more harm also lack of the best way to recover. And if all these things, they are not aligned with your workout routine, you are going to feel it, and again, you are going to reduce your performance and put yourself in a higher risk of injuries. So these were the biggest mistakes, what I have found and what we talked about. And if you feel like that, you are doing some of this, try to fix it. And if you need someone who keeps you accountable, who, who is telling you what to do and and you are controlling you, seeing what exercises you have been doing, just checking you out and asking new questions, what you could be improving. Consider my one on one coaching as that is the most effective way to get it. I understand it's not for everyone, but send me an email or apply it. Fill Out application, or I will put in the end of this podcast, so thank you for listening, and talk to you soon.