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• Improves your state of mind.

• Strengthens your heart.

• Helps you sleep better.

• Improves the quality of your life.

Even if you don’t start until your 80s or 90s, strength conditioning will help you perform daily tasks—such as lifting grocery bags or getting up from a chair—that can get more difficult as you get older. A small change in muscle size can make a big difference in strength, which can help you remain independent.

Keep in mind that if you stop doing aerobic exercise for more than 2 weeks or so, you will start to lose some of the health benefits you have gained. To stay at your more fit level, stick with your aerobic exercise program. Vary your workouts so you won’t get bored. Jog or walk briskly a few times each week, swim for a couple of days, and then use a stationary bike or rowing machine for the remaining days of the week. Do an aerobics routine with a video. Think of ways to modify your routine to keep you motivated.

Strength-Conditioning Exercise

Strength-conditioning exercises make you fit by building muscle strength and can be as beneficial for your heart as aerobic exercise. Weight training (using free weights or weight machines) is an efficient way to strengthen your muscles. However, doing sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, lunges, and leg lifts can accomplish the same goal. Strength-conditioning exercises are sometimes referred to as resistance exercises because they force your muscles to work against, or resist, an object such as a 10-pound weight or the weight of your body.

You don’t have to buy any special equipment to build muscle. Lift soup cans or books. Of course, you can buy inexpensive hand and ankle weights or a resistance band at your local sporting-goods store to use at home. Joining a health club will give you access to a variety of weight machines that can condition all of your muscle groups.

If you work out with weights or a weight machine, start with the heaviest weight you can manage to perform 8 to 15 repetitions without stopping. You may have to begin with weights as light as 1 or 2 pounds. Starting with weights that are too heavy can injure your muscles. Exhale as you lift or push the weight, and inhale as you relax. Never hold your breath during strengthening exercises because doing so can affect your blood pressure. Stop if you feel any pain while exercising. Gradually work your way up to heavier weights. (Lighter weights will increase your endurance but not your strength.) Keep using the weights until you can perform a set of 8 to 15 lifts two or three times without stopping between repetitions. Rest between the sets.

For best results, exercise all of your major muscle groups at least twice a week. Don’t work on the same muscle group 2 days in a row; give your muscles time to rest between workouts. Muscle soreness is natural for a day or two after doing muscle-building exercises.

Overtraining

Some people—especially those who are training for long-distance endurance events such as a marathon or triathlon—exercise too much without resting between workouts. Up to 60 percent of people who train for such events may exercise to the point of exhaustion, or overtrain. Overtraining can produce changes in the balance of hormones in your body and can suppress your immune system. Common symptoms of overtraining include fatigue, reduced athletic performance, sleep problems, muscle soreness, increased susceptibility to infection, or depression. Women who overtrain can experience potentially serious complications, including absence of periods (see page 846) and osteoporosis (see page 989).

Rest is the usual treatment for overtraining. Your doctor may recommend that you stop exercising for up to 2 weeks to allow your body to repair itself.

Flexibility Exercise

As you age, you become less able to move your muscles and joints through their full range of motion. Eventually, decreasing flexibility in your joints can reduce your ability to perform everyday tasks. Exercises such as stretching can help keep your muscles and joints flexible