Evaluating Your Fitness Routine for a Post-Pandemic World

"I look to see if someone can squat deep enough to pick up things off the floor without rounding their back, which is pretty uncommon as we age over 50,” he says. “The back rounding happens because the hips lack mobility.” If you are capable of getting pretty low and comfortable with good form, Linkul suggests doing the same test with weight, such as a bucket of water.

Test Yourself: Movement test

Those 60 and over may also want to test their movement. You'll need a 10-foot stretch of floor. Place a chair at one end and a cone or other marking device 10 feet away from it. Sit relaxed in the chair. Then, in a controlled manner, rise from the chair, walk briskly to the cone (no running), circle it clockwise, return to the chair, and sit back down. Without pausing, rise from the chair, walk to the cone, and circle it counterclockwise, then return to the chair and sit. “Twenty seconds or less to do this is ideal,” says Linkul.

Set goals for yourself

1. Try to take 7,500 steps a day (about 3.75 miles).
   
   
2. Resistance training twice a week. Here is a simple routine that will hit just about every muscle group. Perform three sets of five to 10 repetitions of each:

Good mornings

Stand with your hands at your sides, feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back and legs straight, bend at the waist until you feel a tug in your hamstrings. Return to start. The key is not to round your back. (Or try any exercise in which you bend at the hip.)

Dumbell rows

Hold a dumbbell in your right hand. Stand next to a bench and place your left knee and lower leg on the bench while bending at the waist and placing your left palm on the bench for support. Keeping your back straight while bent over, pull the weight up to chest level, hold for a moment and lower the weight. Focus on engaging your back and shoulder, not your arms. (Or try any exercise in which you pull weight toward you.)

Overhead press

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart while holding light dumbbells at shoulder level. Lift the weights over your head as high as you can. Hold for a moment and return to starting position. (Or try any exercise in which you press a weight upward.)

Lunges

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Step forward and lower your body until your front and back knees are bent nearly 90 degrees — without your back knee touching the ground. Pause, then return to the starting position. Repeat but with a backward step. Do an equal number of lunges with each leg. (Or try any leg exercise in which you split your feet, with one forward and one back.)

Farmer's carry

Stand straight with a heavy weight in each hand (full buckets of water can sub in for dumbbells here). Keeping your arms and back straight, walk 20 paces, then return. Consider that one full set. (Or try any exercise in which you carry a heavy weight.)

Your Fast Rebuilding Plan

Start small

It doesn't take much work to generate measurable health benefits early on. A recent small study had participants interrupt a normally sedentary eight-hour period with four-second bursts of high-intensity stationary cycling five times an hour over a workday (2 minutes 40 seconds of exercise total) and found that fat oxidation benefits lasted into the following day. This example is extreme, but other research has shown that as little as 10 minutes a day of exercise has benefits.

Always value perfect form over the number of repetitions

"Technique becomes more vital the older we get, because if we get out of alignment, it can quickly cause major damage,” Linkul says. A fitness pro who specializes in training an older clientele can help not just with great form but also with understanding how much to expect from your body at your current fitness level — even if you do only a few sessions to learn the basics or to relearn them if you've been away from the gym for a year.

Step 6: Check in on Your Medical Checkups