3 ways men can improve their fitness(Old man fitness doesn't have to suck)

I am man. I am in my prime! Yeah…. Whatever. It is inevitable. At some point in your journey to old mandom, you will come across a fitness challenge that destroys you. It happened to me. Multiple times. This is your fitness asking you to do something different. The routine you have been using since you were 25 is no longer effective. As we age, our bodies become efficient. Therefore require men to alter their workouts. We have to customize our workout plan. In this article, I will highlight 3 areas of fitness men can use to increase strength, and aerobic capacity.

Into the dirt we go! 3 ways men can improve fitness.

1. Tempoed aerobic work
2. Tempoed lifting
3. Tempoed breath work.

Let's focus on the idea of temp and what I mean. Tempo meaning set cadence or rhythm used to dictate a specific work effort. This can play out as steps per minute, revolution per minute, repetitions per minute, etc. I will offer specific examples below.

• Tempo aerobics

Running, biking, and rowing for extended periods of time are examples of aerobics. One can tempo their aerobics accordingly. 

Running: Use a metronome to set a pace of 140 bpm. One foot hits the ground each beat. Breath in for 4 steps and out for 4 steps. 

Biking: Use the RPM metric on the screen. Set a goal RPM of 50-60 RPM. 4 revolution inhale. 4 revolution exhale.

Rowing: Use the S/M(strokes per minute) metric on the screen. Set a goal stroke rate of 25-30 S/M. Inhale 1 stroke. Exhale 1 stroke.

If you are familiar with zone concepts, check out this article for help. As your ability to maintain the pattern increases, so does your aerobic capacity. Boom! A simple fitness boost!

• Tempo lifting

Understanding how to temp your breath during lifting will greatly increase your aerobic capacity. Men typically hold their breath when lifting. This robs your muscles of oxygen. Effectively increasing the difficulty, and minimizing returns. Learning to breathe properly during different lifts, will increase oxygen flow. This will increase your aerobic capacity for high repetition lifting work, and your anaerobic capacity for high volume lifting.

Deadlift: 2 seconds up. 2 seconds down tempo. 70% 1 RM x 10 reps. Exhale up. Inhale down. No valsalva(breath hold). Let the oxygen flow. Many lifts such as any squat variation, and pressing movements have a similar breath pattern.

Olympics lifts: hire a coach: check out my services here.

For various techniques, check out this article.

• Temp breath work.

It is almost like meditation. Only your mind is occupied. Sitting, or lying, set a metronome at 60 bpm. Breathe in for 6 seconds. Breathe out for 6 seconds. Each breath is a max inhale, and a max exhale. 10 minutes 3 times a week

This style of breathing will increase your lung capacity. Deep inhales will stretch your lungs and diaphragm from the inside. This will create more elasticity which equates to an increased ability to move oxygen. Increased aerobic capacity equals better fitness.. Check out this article on breathing. 

Let me reiterate 3 ways men can improve their fitness.

1. Tempoed aerobic work
2. Tempoed lifting
3. Tempoed breath work.

In conclusion, as an older man we have so many small areas for improvement that will pay dividends. All we must do is something different. No need to change your entire routine. Small additions can yield huge results. Remember, old man fitness doesn't have to suck. A change in focus and attitude will allow you to keep up with the pack. It is all one can ask for.

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