One foot after the other

Starting a get-fit regime in middle age takes care and planning. In Phil Gifford’s new men’s health guide, Looking After Your Nuts & Bolts, All Black strength and conditioning coach Nic Gill explains how to do it.

The forties is definitely that point where most men sit back and go, “Holy crap, I need to get fit, I need to get healthy.” If I was asked what is the best exercise, I’d say I don’t think it matters as long as you’re doing something. Whether you’re walking, jogging, sprinting, surfing, cycling, hiking, hunting, lifting weights, going to yoga classes, stretching or doing little circuits in your bedroom, there will be huge benefits.

We also need to adjust to workloads and seasonal changes. Be realistic. Winter is tough.

Maybe we are not as durable as we were, but we are just as capable, if we’re smart, our exercise is progressive and things are not dramatically changed in short periods of time. People try to look for the silver bullet and it doesn’t exist. It is a matter of consistently doing something, being active and keeping the body moving.

EASE INTO IT

So, you’re fired up, you’ve made a resolution to get fit again and, quite often, within two weeks you’ve hurt yourself. Whatever you do, ease into it slowly. Think about being consistent, and make your fitness plan one that initially involves exercise that’s small and often.

I go through about two months of niggles and injuries getting fit if I have a period of minimal consistent exercise. No matter what I’ve done in the past, it takes me a couple of months to build up to where I want to be.

We all have injuries, aches and pains and restrictions. So easing into things and creating habits and a routine are more important than trying to figure out what is the one big thing that you need to do.

I’m 41, and if I was going to the gym for the first time or after a lengthy break, I would make sure I did a little bit of mobility and stretching to loosen up the creaky joints, to warm the muscles up, to regain some of that useful movement.

Then I would do some resistance training and movements that don’t hurt any of my joints, so using machines and free weights to resist movement is really important.

I would finish with some cardiovascular exercise, to get the heart rate up, more so than the weights. So you are strengthening muscle, bone and the cardiovascular system.

To end the session, I would have a stretch and a recovery session and maybe

a massage.

LOSING MOBILITY

Typically, from birth we have a great range of motion in our hips, knees, ankles, shoulders and spine. We become more inactive as we age, and we stop using movement. We start losing movement in our hips, we start getting sore backs, we start getting creaky knees and our ankles ache if we run.

Stretching shouldn’t just be about stretching a muscle; it should be taking joints through ranges of motion that we used to be able to do. So squatting with a straight back so the hips are taken through a full range is just as important as stretching or lengthening the hamstrings. We need to make sure the mobility, or the functional movement, is given as much attention as the longer muscles.

I’d suggest you start with machines. Build up a little bit of a training history with machine weights and then, when you’re feeling confident and competent, get some guidance or ask to train with someone to take you through the correct use of free weights.

Free weights will be better in the long term, but there’s a little more risk of injury at the start, because you can go through ranges or positions that aren’t anatomically correct and then you hurt yourself.

With time, though, you’ll get better progress using free weights, because you’re not restricted in the range of movements, as you are by a machine.

The joy of the gym when you’re older comes from the things that you can do without pounding and smashing your

So, you’re fired up, you’ve made a resolution to get fit again and, quite often, within two weeks you’ve hurt yourself.