For winter inspiration, a team of ORA PTs share their wisdom and expertise for friends and patients of ORA who want to jumpstart health goals in 2025. Midlife is a unique stage on life’s journey that provides both the wisdom of what’s important and to understand the unique weight-loss challenges. From January through March, ORA will feature a PT’s approach to fitness and how you can progress toward a healthier mindset and body by spring.
Gaining a Gut and Losing Your Butt
For all men who lament the strength of our youth: I see you and I get it. Not only have I reached my own mid-century mark at 50, but as director of ORA Therapy programs, our team works every day with patients recovering their strength after an injury from a pickup game of basketball or pickleball, or maybe just too much yard work, golf or tennis. Our aging bodies can break down. Joints need replaced, shoulders and knees get torn. But we do have some control.
In my own youth, I grew up in the Quad City area in rural Illinois, and I went to a small school where many of us played three sports. I have always enjoyed competition and being active, whether specifically in sports or just for fitness and health. After a brief foray into college football, I began a relationship with “endurance” sports including triathlon, duathlon, marathons, and have completed a few ultramarathons.
As I have aged, my focus has shifted to running and my “competition” has become more internal. Upon entering my 50s, I have vowed to continue my running journey and increase my focus on health and longevity.
There is significant research outlining the “decline” men are subjected to with aging. Changes in hormones contribute to a decrease in bone density, redistribution of adipose (fat) tissue and loss of muscle.
Eric Allen, Director of Therapy
In short, as men age, we gain our guts and lose our butts. That’s the unsettling truth. The good news is that many of the changes can be slowed or even reversed with attention to good nutritional habits and exercise.
Honor Your “Dad Bod”
Many of the recommendations related to exercise and nutrition are similar for men and women. A good combination of cardiovascular and resistance/strength training provides benefits to reducing age related changes. “Movement is medicine” is an accurate statement in both a preventative and rehabilitative sense.
Nutrition: Where’s the Beef?
Nutrition’s impact is underestimated. All the workouts in the world won’t compensate for a bad diet. There are also so many options and too many fad diets. I like the Mediterranean diet philosophy, but growing up in the Midwest, I’m not willing to fully give up beef. Moderation is key: Work to limit refined sugar, refined flour, and increase the number of fresh fruits and vegetables you eat. Be a label reader. Minimize processed foods. Be able to pronounce the ingredients. Eat real foods!
Exercise/Activity: Do What Moves You!
What’s the best cardio exercise? The choices are plentiful. Walk, run, bike, swim, ruck. The best exercise is the one you enjoy and will commit to consistently. Don’t choose swimming if you don’t like the water. Don’t run if you have horrible memories of coaches using running as a punishment.
To get started, think small, incremental steps towards your goals. Like Martin Luther King Jr. said, “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But keep moving.”
The QC is full of great recreational trails. You don’t need to walk miles your first time out. Be patient with yourself. Work for consistency, not intensity. A bad walk or run on the treadmill is better than skipping your workout. I’m not a huge fan of the treadmill because I like to be outside on the trails. I encourage everyone to spend more time outside walking or running!
If you’d like to try running or just improve your personal best, ORA PT has a specialized performance running program for athletes of every ability.
Our bi-state area has miles upon miles of MRT (multiuse recreational trails) on both sides of the river. Spring is coming, so get out and enjoy the fresh air! Just be wary of doing too much walking or running too soon. Slowly build your distance. Too many sustain early-season injuries by tackling longer distances too soon.
Resistance Training, Flexibility and Balance
I suggest starting with body weight exercises that take very little or no equipment. You can do body weight squats or variations of lunges and get a great lower body workout. For upper body, push-ups are great!
I also recommend a suspension trainer for both upper and lower body workouts. They take up very little space and the variations of exercises are virtually unlimited.
A few other important things men should tackle as we age include flexibility and balance. There are formal methods including things like yoga or Tai Chi. It’s also something you can do on your own as part of your “normal” routine.
Target flexibility areas should include hips, hamstrings, and the thoracic spine. Balance exercises can include anything in single leg stance (eyes open or closed). Flexibility and balance activities can be prescribed and guided nicely by any of ORA’s physical therapists!
My personal workouts consist of running 4-5 or more days per week. My resistance training is primarily body weight a variety of squats, lunges, push-ups, pull ups, and rows using a suspension trainer.
In summary, it’s important to make a commitment to eat right, sleep right, and move right. Your overall health and well-being are dependent on these things.
Win your day. – Eric
