Fitness at Any Age: How to Adapt Your Fitness Routine for Every Stage of Life

Learn how to adapt your fitness routine to suit every stage of life, from young adulthood to senior years. Get real-life stories and expert tips to stay active and healthy as you age.

Why Fitness is Important at Every Stage of Life

They aren’t just our bodies—they are our homes. With us through every season, every new habit, city, fad, job, relationship, and journey. Giving our bodies the routines and resources to age with empowerment is one of the best ways to ensure a healthy, happy life. 

And the best news is that it is nevertoo late to start training your body for the future! Each stage of life comes with different priorities, strengths, and challenges. Embracing the factors for each life stage will help you create different fitness plans that yield the greatest results both physically and mentally.

Fitness for Young Adults: Building Strong Foundations

Fitness during our early years is all about building healthy habits. This period lays down the foundation for a lifetime of choices, so starting early will set you up for success. During this stage, our bodies are primed to respond to strength and higher-intensity training. That means it’s prime time to explore different formats, workouts, and hobbies!

Here are some tips for the younger years: 

Try out a variety of exercises! Recovery times are shorter when we’re younger, so embrace the freedom to try heavier weightlifting, cardio HIIT classes, or even sign up for a marathon or fitness challenge. 

Discover what exercises bring you the most joy. You’re more likely to stick with those over the years. 

Build your muscle foundation! Your perimenopausal and menopausal body will thank you later for the strength and protection a great muscular foundation can offer. 

Fitness in Midlife: Balancing Strength and Flexibility

As we enter middle age, our priorities shift, just like our bodies do. In this stage, an emphasis on flexibility and strength will set your body up to remain injury-free when you need it most—between kids, families, work, and hectic schedules.  

Our body’s muscle mass declines naturally in our middle years, so be cautious with heavy weights or high-intensity exercises. The key is to stay as active as possible without injury! 

It’s possible that during these years, our bodies start to face larger battles like chronic or acute diseases. Like Jazzercise member Kelly McPherson. Her breast cancer diagnosis was a wake-up call, but that didn’t stop her. She chose to keep dancing throughout her treatment and recovery. 

“I attribute the saving of my mental health to Jazzercise!” Kelly said. “I fell in love with it and took every class I could possibly take. I was able to become an instructor, had two other surgeries, and then started teaching.”

Our best midlife fitness tips: 

Stretch, stretch, stretch! Flexibility is a huge part of injury prevention and muscle and joint health, so incorporate flexibility work into your weekly routine! 

Keep strength training exercises in the rotation. Weight-bearing exercises, especially bodyweight-driven ones, are great for functional fitness! 

Continue cardiovascular training but in moderation! Listen to your body when it comes to high-intensity fitness and give your body ample time to rest and recover. 

Senior Fitness: Staying Active in Your Golden Years

One of the most effective ways to help your body stay golden during the golden years is to keep exercise a main priority in your life—with careful adjustments. During this season, the focus should be on mobility, low-impact strength, and flexibility. 

When you continue to choose daily movement, you help ensure your independence, comfort, mental clarity, and overall health. Aside from keeping you strong physically, fitness helps relieve stress and improves brain cognition, memory, and focus. 

Here are our tips for senior fitness routines: 

Work on your balance! Yoga, simple core exercises, and even walking help you maintain a strong core, contributing to your balance. Great balance is so helpful in preventing injury. 

Keep strength training. Weighted resistance exercises can help improve bone density. Just take a moderate approach to avoid injury. 

Aim to walk daily. The benefits of walking daily are almost endless. Improved blood sugar stability, mental and emotional regulation, cardiovascular health, and more. 

How to Adjust Your Routine to Match Life’s Changes

Remember, the goal is to stay active, and that means staying realistic about what workouts are wise for your season. The key is to listen to your body’s cues and respond! Your workouts should be challenging, but in a rewarding way. 

Member Spotlight: Mindy Brown

Mindy has been a Jazzercise member for 45 years – yes, we said 45 years! Talk about commitment. Mindy has danced her way through multiple life stages, determined to stay strong, fit, and healthy. 

Q: How has your experience with Jazzercise evolved over the decades, and what keeps you motivated to continue?

A: My first class was in January 1979! At the time, I was a new mom, so running and playing basketball weren’t options for me anymore. I saw an ad for Jazzercise and tried it. I loved the class even though I wasn’t a dancer or cheerleader. I was a student for 9 years before my certification in 1988.  By then, I had two daughters and wanted to continue being fit and raising my girls with a healthy lifestyle.

Q: In what ways has Jazzercise contributed to your overall health and wellness as you’ve aged?

A: Being active and using weights has been so beneficial for me. I have Polymyalgia rheumatica, which is an inflammatory disorder that causes extreme stiffness around your shoulders and hips, so moving has been very beneficial for me. Another time, I broke my scapula vertically in two places from flipping off a bike and returned to classes in 6 weeks. In both situations, my doctors said I was so healthy and strong because of Jazzercise, which was a testament to what Jazzercise does for our overall health. Aging as a whole has been a lot easier because of Jazzercise.

Q: Can you share any memorable milestones or achievements during your time with Jazzercise that have shaped your fitness journey?

A: Memorable milestones with Jazzercise? Gosh, I have so many! I love that I can be a role model and I love what I do. I’ve never been injured due to Jazzercise (knock on wood), but it sure has been very instrumental in my recovery from other injuries and my overall health, and my daughters received the benefits of living healthy lifestyles.

Member Spotlight: Rachel Waddel

Rachel is a Jazzercise member and instructor who did Jazzercise during her pregnancy and post-partum seasons of life. 

Q: How did Jazzercise help you maintain your physical and mental well-being during your pregnancy?

A: Jazzercise was such an important part of my pregnancy! I knew when I became pregnant that I wanted to stay as active as possible. I was so grateful that I could take and teach classes and adjust as needed for my changing body. More than the physical benefits, the Jazzercise community massively benefited my mental health. Being pregnant for the first time meant experiencing new changes every day, but the love and support of this community were the constant that I needed.

Q: Were there any specific moments or classes that stood out to you as particularly empowering during this time?

A:  I remember initially feeling defeated when taking a Cardio Sculpt class and feeling SO out of breath. But I reminded myself that moving my body and showing up for myself and my baby is what mattered. I learned how to not put so much pressure on myself. From cardio to strength to stretch—every section of class made me feel empowered as a mama-to-be. 

Q: How did staying active with Jazzercise influence your recovery and adjustment after giving birth?

A:  I feel like staying active with Jazzercise made me feel strong throughout my pregnancy, through my labor, and postpartum. I remember coming back for my first class postpartum, and Adrienne gave me a big hug and told me to take it at my own pace. Her encouragement meant everything and reminded me that my body just went through an incredible life event. While my body still felt a little foreign to me, I was, once again, showing up for myself and my baby. I believe that motherhood and Jazzercise coexist beautifully. From pumping before teaching to modifying for my healing body, Jazzercise is still a constant for me even when life changes. 

Feeling inspired? We are, too! Join us for a Jazzercise class and see why people have called us their “forever favorite workout” for over 55 years. Start your fitness transformation below!

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