3 of the best YouTube weight loss workouts designed for the over 50s
A trio of home workouts tailored for older adults to keep you healthy and active while in lockdown
Have you been searching for the best exercises for weight loss, but feel like they're not tailored for your age bracket? We understand. In lockdown, it's necessary to stay healthy and active, but a lot of the fitness routines on the net are very dynamic, featuring lots of tough high-impact movements, and not suited for the over-50s.
To get you started, we've compiled a trio of low-impact, low-intensity workouts designed to keep you fit in the comfort of your own home.
Over 50s workout: 7 minute yoga
The YouTube channel Silver Sneakers is a whole channel dedicated to providing older adults with at-home workouts. From weight loss workouts to dedicated movement guides, this is a place on the internet full of useful advice and tips.
Yoga is especially useful for the over 50s, as the stretching lengthens your muscles, increasing your mobility and fighting against the natural aging process. It's important for adults in this demographic to do stretching exercises as often as possible, to stay mobile and active in later life.
Yoga also carries incredible mood-boosting benefits, fighting against symptoms of anxiety, loneliness, depression and even physical ailments like chronic pain.
Over 50s workout: 10 minute home workout for seniors
Joe Wicks is back with a 10 minute version of his high intensity interval training. This routine is low-impact compared to his usual workouts, which means there's not too much stress being placed on your joints or muscles. This allows you to limber up and work up a sweat without worrying about hurting your back or knees.
Joe Wicks' low-intensity exercises work your shoulders, core, leg muscles and bum. Most importantly, exercises like boxing movements have a cardiovascular effect, elevating your heart rate and making you sweat. In the long run, this exercise routine will improve your fitness and heart health – and all it takes is 10 minutes a day.
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Over 50s workout: 40 minute low impact fat burning workout
Fitness trainer Jenny McLendon runs a YouTube channel dedicated to seniors and beginners. Consequently, her channel is a treasure trove of low-impact, joint-friendly workouts which work up a sweat without encouraging you to get on the floor or perform any high-impact motions like running or jumping, safeguarding your joints.
Jenny's routine shows you how to do a squat, which strengthens your glutes, thighs, lower back and core. This benefits everyday motions like walking and standing up from a seated position, reinforcing those muscles to make sure you stay strong and mobile as you age. In addition, her hamstring stretches keep your legs nice and limber.
This is a longer workout than some of the others on this channel. if you're finding the two above too easy, this 40 minute workout can build up your endurance and aerobic fitness, boosting your lungs and heart health.
Matt Evans is an experienced health and fitness journalist and is currently Fitness and Wellbeing Editor at TechRadar, covering all things exercise and nutrition on Fit&Well's tech-focused sister site. Matt originally discovered exercise through martial arts: he holds a black belt in Karate and remains a keen runner, gym-goer, and infrequent yogi. His top fitness tip? Stretch.
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