How should I exercise if I'm an older adult?

As we get older, it takes longer for our muscles to recover after exercise. For this reason, you should alter your exercise regimen from day to day. Your exercise regimen should focus on different muscle groups than those you emphasized on the first day. The cardiovascular part of your workout could involve rowing, biking (including stationary), swimming, or some other kind of repetitious exercise that increases heart rate. Then, do some abdominal exercise, followed by upper body exercises different from those you did the first day; for example, switch from curls to reverse curls, or switch from an upper body to a lower body workout. Try not to focus on the same muscle groups 2 days in a row. Even slight alterations in exercises are acceptable, such as shifting from regular push-ups to inclined push-ups.

Fortunately, there are an odd number of days in a week, which allows you 1 day off the alternating routine. This can be either a weekday or during the weekend. You might find that planning to exercise 7 days each week will assure you of getting at least six workouts during the week. Barring illness or substantial injury, nothing less than 3 days a week is ever acceptable. Even on the seventh day, you might find that some physical, recreational activity is relaxing.