How to Make Exercise a Priority Over 40

Women are busy! Maybe exercise hasn’t been a priority of yours, but eventually, a lack of it will catch up with you. 

This is ancient news. The first physician to prescribe moderate daily exercise to his patients was Susruta of India, in 600 BC!  And Hippocrates (460–370 BC), the father of scientific medicine, wrote that “eating alone will not keep a man well, he must also take exercise”.

We all know that regular physical activity is necessary to stay healthy, maintain healthy muscles, joints and bones,  and prevent common midlife maladies like heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.

But, if you haven’t been exercising,  it can be hard to start.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

First, find your compelling why.

Why do you want to start exercising?  For me, a simple phrase got me motivated. I was in 6 weeks of physical therapy after back surgery for a ruptured disc playing tennis. All my muscles and lower joints felt stiff. The therapist said, keep moving, “motion is lotion”.  She was right. The more I kept moving, walking and  stretching, the better I felt. Eventually the pain and stiffness went away and I was able to fully resume playing tennis.

Maybe you’re hoping to drop a few pounds, or your doctor told you to get more activity, or you just want to feel better. Finding your compelling reason will help to keep you focused on it as a goal. Eventually, it will become a part of your routine.

Pick an activity you’ll actually enjoy.

Forming new habits is, by nature, very individual. Most of us generally understand how it all happens in our brains, but we’re still left on our own to fill in the blanks with our own experience of what drives us. More often than not, that takes some trial and error to figure out. Maybe you hate running, but might enjoy a dance class or walking your dog around the block. If you choose something you enjoy, you’ll look forward to doing it regularly.  Exercise doesn’t have to be a chore!

Make it a daily ritual.

Rituals have real benefits. To create a habit, your brain needs a cue or reminder.  That’s why scheduling exercise into your day/week is so helpful It takes away in- the-moment decision making. You just do what’s on your calendar. But don’t be too rigid. Most of us don’t have time or bandwidth to create a new habit. Allow for a little wiggle room, with trial and error, until you land upon a strategy you’ll be willing and able to keep up long term.

And be sure to reward your brain for its good behavior. Positive reinforcement  gives your brain a really good reason to repeat that behavior.  And with time and repetition, a habit is born. 

Taking that first step will be the hardest part—and then you’ll be well on your way to making exercise a habit.

Baby steps at first.

Don’t try to change too much too soon. Starting small—really small—is a great strategy to get things started and begin to feel more motivated. Anything is better than being sedentary. Vowing to go on a 15-minute walk, for instance, is a low-effort behavior that can make you feel good about your goal. And, small steps, taken consistently over time, add up to massive results.

Add strength training and stretching.

While daily walking is clearly beneficial to your health, it’s also important to work in strength, balance, and flexibility training to your exercise routine. Without some kind of strength-building exercises, you will start to lose muscle mass (sarcopenia)  as you get older, which increases your risk of falls and other injuries. Try light weight-lifting with lots of repetitions, or yoga for balance and flexibility. And be sure to  stretch after every workout!

Don’t be too strict. Nurture a self compassion mindset.

Perfect is the enemy of good. It’s very common to start an exercise or weight loss program multiple times and fail to meet your goals. That can make it feel like it’s pointless to try again. ‘If I can’t stick to a plan, why bother?’  Keeping a positive mindset and kind self talk is important.  By viewing your failures as ‘learning experiences’, you’ll be able to see them as a bridge to your ultimate goals.