This is for you if you’ve:
Never really had a fitness routine or a background in sports?
Dabbled around with no consistency, or
Don’t know where to start?
You’ve now reached your thirties, or your fifties, maybe even your eighties and your couch routine combined with sketchy eating is really starting to add up. It would be pretty sweet to trim down a bit and wear whatever you want in a confident manner!
Perhaps you look at other people at your age (or even older!) who seem to be doing amazing things, like running a 5k or even a marathon and have endless supplies of energy.
But you have done nothing of the sort! Are you now too old to get there?
Hey! First of all, CONGRATULATIONS, I have good news for you and as a coach I am THRILLED for you.
You have absolutely everything to gain and there is no better time to start than now. Really!
There’s an old Chinese saying – the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today. The same applies to a fitness routine.
A big average demographic of CrossFitters are around 25-30 when they start and I myself was no exception. The interesting thing about that stat is the range is getting wider every day as more and more people are starting later in life.
Men and women have yet to peak in their hormonal profile for muscle building and if you are planning to be around on Earth anyway for as long as possible, you may have another 50+ years at least to keep working on your fitness!
In order to lose weight, increase muscle mass and improve cardiovascular fitness, you need to lift, push, pull, get your heartrate up and use resistance training to get you there. Add in better eating habits and it is almost impossible not to get results, especially if you are new to functional fitness.
Muscles must be built from something, so do not starve yourself. The more lean muscle mass you gain, the higher your resting metabolic rate (i.e. you burn more energy even in a resting state).
It is when you replace fat mass with lean body mass you really start to look and feel better, regardless of what the scale says.
Your coach should be able to help guide you as to how many days you should work out, and how much rest you need to get optimal results.
This will not depend so much on age, but rather how your lifestyle looks like outside the gym.
Have patience and work on a realistic timeline.
I also like to point out that men and women are equal, but different.
Women typically have a more fluctuating hormonal profile and respond better to high volume and endurance training than men.
Women also tend to have more muscle mass on their lower body than upper.
Men have obviously more testosterone and generally more type 2 fibers (anaerobic power).
The good news is that a well rounded CrossFit program covers all these energy domains and you really do not need to overthink this, especially as a beginner. However, ladies (and coaches) if you like to know more about this topic I highly recommend Stacy Sims book “ROAR”
But to give you a short answer to the original question;
YES, regardless of who you are or however many candles were on your last birthday cake, you have a ton of untapped potential!
Well done for recognizing the importance of physical activity, now get started!
I am so excited for you and hope to be part of your journey!
Maria Coley, Coach, JCFit
