{"id":219930,"date":"2026-01-04T12:37:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T12:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/219930\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T12:37:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T12:37:07","slug":"a-trainer-says-returning-to-exercise-in-your-40s-and-50s-should-look-different-to-what-you-did-in-your-20s-heres-how-to-get-started-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/219930\/","title":{"rendered":"A trainer says returning to exercise in your 40s and 50s should look different to what you did in your 20s\u2014here\u2019s how to get started again"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a period of inactivity, getting your fitness back can feel like a tough slog.<\/p>\n

Jason Smith, a personal trainer, nutritional advisor and founder of Fit in Midlife<\/a>, knows this from personal experience. He got fit again at 50 after years of inactivity, then started training people of a similar age, helping them to do the same.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

One type of client that Smith often works with is the ex-athlete\u2014someone who was sporty in their teens or 20s, but became less active with age.<\/p>\n

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These people are often ready to jump back in at the deep end: running long distances or lifting heavy weights, but find their brain is writing checks their body can\u2019t cash.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour brain still thinks that you can do the things that you used to do,\u201d says Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour body has had the longest rest period it\u2019s ever going to have and during that period of time, your muscles have gone into atrophy, your cardiovascular system has diminished and you won\u2019t be as capable as you were when you were in your 20s. This is just an unfortunate fact of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be really demotivating because you don\u2019t feel capable,\u201d adds Smith. \u201cYou don\u2019t feel as though you\u2019re actually able to do anything. But of course, the truth is very different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.<\/p>\n

And in Smith\u2019s experience, there are two things that will help you overcome the dejection that can come when expectations meet reality.<\/p>\n

1. Find something you enjoy<\/p>\n

Smith tells me that the first run he went on after deciding to move more turned into a walk. \u201cOnce I\u2019d run about 300 meters, I realised it was much harder than I thought it would be,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Instead of stopping, Smith decided he was going to do the distance he planned, but by walking, breaking into a jog now and then.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDespite not being able to do what I intended to do when I left the house, I enjoyed being out in the fresh air, moving my body and being active,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Now he runs because he loves experiencing beautiful places.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to set a personal best every time that you go for a run,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t hurt to enjoy the environment while you\u2019re out there,\u201d says Smith. \u201cIf you see something that you want to stop and look at, stop and look at it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are still doing the run. You are still improving your cardiovascular fitness. You are still burning calories. You are still getting your heart rate up.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Be consistent and add small challenges<\/p>\n

Because he enjoyed his first outing, Smith tried again, and crucially, he tried to do a little more running than last time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next time I went, I was able to run a little bit further and walk a little bit less,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I went again. Over time, walks turned into proper runs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy being consistent, you will build up the strength, endurance and stamina that make you more capable,\u201d says Smith. \u201cStart easy and gradually increase the challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo to that next lamppost if you\u2019re running, or an additional repetition on each of your sets if you\u2019re weight training.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese things add up and make all the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three weeks later, he ran up his nearest hill without stopping at all. \u201cIt was such a great feeling,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s how Smith advises formerly athletic midlifers to return to exercise. Find a form of movement they enjoy and aim for achievable, consistent progress. These two simple things will set you up for success in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will feel stronger. You will feel fitter. You will have probably lost a little bit of weight as well,\u201d says Smith. \u201cThis will also mean you\u2019ll feel a little lighter and more energized. Then you will feel good about the progress that you\u2019ve made.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that, the sky\u2019s the limit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a period of inactivity, getting your fitness back can feel like a tough slog. Jason Smith, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219931,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[589,163,85,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-219930","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-israel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}