Joy Upshaw is 65 and a champion track-and-field athlete. And one of her secrets to success is key to all of us as we age and try to stay our best:
Some days you got it, and some days you don’t.
“You got to be careful with our age,” she says about her daily training regimen. “I try to make every day an ‘A’ day, but it could be a ‘B.’ And if it is, I’m not going to worry about it.”
Joy’s articulating something smart that can help anyone with their health and fitness goals, even if they’re not as lofty as hers.
Don’t let the “all or nothing” myth keep you from improving how you feel, move, and look through regular exercise.
Accept where you are in life right now – and how you feel each day.
The Science Behind It
Joy is practicing what’s called autoregulation, or adjusting a workout’s intensity to match how your body shows up each day instead of forcing a fixed plan no matter what.
Your strength genuinely fluctuates day to day by as much as 18% in either direction, according to sport-science research. In other words, a weaker-feeling Tuesday isn’t a failure of willpower. It’s just how your body works.
Exercise scientists who study aging athletes agree the drop-off in performance is much smaller than most people assume, as long as training shifts from more to smarter — quality over quantity — as the decades add up.
Joy and others aren’t trying to out-run their 25-year-old selves. They’re training the body they have now, as well as it can be trained.
Other Fitness-over-50 Myths
We hear all kinds of “reasons” why people over 50 don’t want to start exercising. We call these myths. (There’s another word, too, but we won’t use it here.)
Do any of these sound familiar?
- Glory Days.You’re not trying to be 20 again, or whatever time in life you were most athletic or strong. Your life is different now — your body, mind, goals. Joy Upshaw isn’t chasing her 40-year-old self, and she’s still one of the fastest women in the world for her age. Leave the distant past behind and start thinking about a stronger future instead.
- The Waiting.This one shows up when people tell us they want to get in shape beforejoining a gym or working with a trainer. We offer the support and care you need to do it right, starting now — ‘B’ days and all.
- It’s Too Late.Sorry, but you’re not too old, no matter what your age is. People start at 55, 65, 75 and make big improvements in their health. Research is clear: Your body and mind respond positively to strength training throughout life.
“I mean, I know we are supposed to get slower as we age,” Joy says. “But two years ago, I wasn’t as fast, or fit, as I feel right now.”
We’re here to help you age better, too. Call us today.
Holly Kouvo is a personal trainer, functional aging specialist, senior fitness specialist, brain health trainer, writer, and speaker.