How to age-proof yourself

More and more older women are becoming well known in the fitness sector. Follow suit and learn how to age-proof yourself…

As more and more older women are getting involved in all things fitness, it’s becoming harder to determine a women’s age just by looking at her. We conventionally imagine older people lifting their winning bingo ticket on a Wednesday night rather than lifting a deadlift from a squatted position. The conventions of age have changed and it is a testament to the power of fitness and the mindset of so many women who have embraced a lifestyle of healthy eating and activity.

Today, digital platforms allow us to cultivate knowledge on nearly anything. And this is the case for the fitness and nutrition sectors, which are enjoying copious amounts of exposure. Many people are eager to blog of their experiences and act as a guru to other people who are engaging within fitness and nutrition practices. Many of these bloggers are people who were in their youthful ‘prime’ prior to the current fitness boom. They are fully embracing it and there are a number of reasons why.

There are a lot of alternative modes of fitness available nowadays. The alternative that has the largest and most dedicated following is yoga. A Harvard study states that the interest in yoga has risen grown by almost 50 per cent in the past four years from 20 million practitioners to a staggering 36 million. These numbers are concentrated from the US market, but it still shows a rapid incline. A yoga demographic survey from Yoga Alliance found that 62 per cent of women are interested in doing yoga. And the facts state that older women are more inclined to pursue yoga than any other demographic. This is probably best explained by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow attempted to explain the motivations of people and developed a pyramid scheme that defined the dynamic principles of wants and needs for everyday people. He believed that motivational needs transcended culture and were common between all humans. Meena Pramanick from Bhagalpur University applied Maslow’s theory to separate demographics and found that a person’s needs become more conspicuous and change as they age.

The study founded that people entering the twilight of their lives focused more on physiological and spiritual needs. They want to fulfil these to either develop a greater sense of meaning or a sip from that fountain of youth. This is understandable and it relays the innate fear of ageing that hangs over all of us. The interesting data that derives from Pramanick’s study is that self-actualisation is most prominent in younger and older subjects. Yoga is a means to achieve this and is even praised for its positive impact regarding our quality of life.

Due to the influx in engagement among these certain demographics, a market has developed, and for any product you need there is figurehead. Maslow believed that needs are common between all humans. We could argue that the needs for physiological sustenance are common between all older women. The alternatives of Yoga and fitness professions provide ample opportunities for this demographic to enjoy a fitness lifestyle. All of these aspects factors into the reason why older women are joining the fitness sector in abundance.