Staying active after 60 can sometimes be a challenge. A professional reveals the key to falling in love with sport and staying motivated.
During menopause, exercising can be more complicated. Muscle fatigue sets in more quickly, joints are more fragile and muscle mass melts away quickly. In short, although the picture may seem sad, it is not inevitable. In an article published in the American media Women’s Health, Beth Bacon, fitness expert, gives her keys to staying active despite the passage of time. Author of an Instagram account where she shares her advice, the 63-year-old woman has always been quite sporty. Since adolescence, she has been running every morning to start her day. “In my 20s, I also started teaching regular aerobics classes to help pay my college tuition“, she says. Quite naturally, her friends, family and followers ask her for advice on how to continue practicing physical activity after age 60.
“After 26 years of teaching, I started to get tired of aerobics and knew it was time to take a break“, confides Beth Bacon. “I still loved my daily runs, but I was ready for a new challenge. I sincerely believe that the worst enemy of a regular sports routine is boredom.“This is where her infallible method lies: to last over time, it is imperative to vary the pleasures. If the expert has run for decades, she understands that after 60 years, locking yourself into a single discipline is the best way to get bored.
His key word? To dare. For example, at age 50, she started gymnastics after watching her daughter practice the discipline. “I was a little jealous at how fun and awesome this sport looked. I always regretted not having started when I was younger. So, at 50, I decided to stop regretting and signed up for a weekly adult gymnastics class“Love at first sight is immediate. This very complete sport helps develop upper body strength, works balance but also coordination, mobility and agility.”I’m not the most talented gymnast, but I act like I’m in the Olympics and I give it my all” jokes Beth Bacon.
This is the whole secret of its longevity. For her, motivation does not depend on iron discipline, but rather on pleasure and curiosity. “People always ask me how I stay motivated (…) my answer is simple: try something new and spice things up. Boredom sucks all the fun out of sport.“
