For most women, turning 35 is a phase filled with anxiety. The mid-30s never seem the time one should take care of themselves, but that is where women are wrong. In your 20s, your growth hormones may be in action, but that doesn’t mean that after a decade they dip drastically. Remember endurance athletes peak in their 30s. This means your mid-30s is the time when your endurance, body strength, and coordination come together to result in optimal performance.
Your 20s may be about experimenting. Your body may not have phased with whatever you eat or drink in that glorious decade, but in your 30s you better buckle up. Yes, it is time to stop cheating on your health.
Here are health rules that all women over 35 years need to follow.
1. Focus on your hormones
To counteract the moderate ‘hormonal’ decrease your body experiences in your mid-thirties, it is important that you focus on strength training when you visit the gym. This training signals your body that you must maintain muscles mass because you are using it daily.
You must use compound lifts like deadlifts, and squats. These moves can help increase your testosterone levels naturally. The best plan would be to schedule two training sessions every week.
You also want to make sure that your body is maintaining the right level of the Human Growth Hormone. This is what you need to slow the aging effects on your body. Fortunately, you can do this by getting enough sleep and allowing your body to recover. Remember that in your 30s you need more rest than you did before if you want to recover properly.
2. Take health seriously
Issues that arise with your health will be a responsibility now. You cannot shrug them away and just wing it. After you turn 35, schedule health checks from time to time. And if you find anything out of the ordinary make sure that you get it looked at before it manifests into something worse.
Remember that you may experience some injuries take longer to recover than they used to. Make sure that you take care of yourself during the healing period. Also, do not take physical exertion outside the gym as casually as you did before.
3. Assess your calorie intake
We all have always heard about the perfect 2000 calorie diet. However, as we age our body requires fewer calories than before. Your optimum calorie intake also depends on how active your lifestyle is.
A woman in mid-30s who is not leading an active lifestyle would need between 1600 and 1800 calories every day. As you near your 40s this number goes down too. Now if you are active, you need more calories. Find ways through which you can balance the energy you are burning through working out and the energy you take in.
4. A check on what you eat
You may find that you are less active in your 30s than you were before. However, most people do not change their eating pattern accordingly. Many people eat the amount they are used to, others may find they are victims of emotional or binge eating.
After you have reached 35, it is time that you count calories you eat. You must think of food as fuel to get through the day. If you will not be physically active, you must think of ways you can add more nutrient-rich food to your diet. These food items include green vegetables and proteins like eggs, nuts, and meats.
You can add carbohydrates like beans, lentils, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and oats. On top of that, wherever you can try to avoid eating processed sugars, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives.
5. Don’t shy from Cardio
It is common to feel like your body might not handle intensive cardio workout, especially if you have not worked out before. To maintain your fitness and body shape after 35, quick cardio drills are the way to go. The first time you do it, it is possible you feel that recovery time takes longer than usual, but that is okay. In fact, it means that the exercise worked.
6. Give your feet some attention
It is necessary that you exercise your feet. In your 30s it is possible that years of wearing heels may lead to knee and foot damage. Your feet can get ignored by many workouts. Similarly, not getting enough exercise in your feet can leave your body with a weak foundation. This is something that you will definitely want to build up and strengthen as the years go by.
