4 Exercise Tricks for Slimming Down After 50, Says Trainer

No matter what your age is, when it comes to losing fat and slimming down, you have to focus on the basics: Strength training consistently, getting in daily steps, and eating at a calorie deficit while keeping your protein intake high.

However, these essentials do get harder as we grow older thanks to the hormonal changes that come with aging. Over time, it's natural for your body to experience decreases in testosterone, a slower metabolism, and loss of muscle mass. You may also lose strength and power, so it's important to continue performing exercises that will help build and maintain your muscles and physical mobility.

Still, many people make the mistake of focusing only on cardio when trying to slim down, when, in fact, you should be focusing on strength training. The practice has been proven to burn more calories and keep your metabolism higher than aerobic training.

With this in mind, here's a trick I like using with my clients who are 50 or over. It's a simple strength circuit that works to improve your power and speed and then finishes off with some endurance exercises. This sequence requires you to use all of your muscle fibers while maximizing your calorie burn. In short, it's a great exercise routine to slim down after 50.

For the circuit, perform each of the following exercises back-to-back for 3-5 sets.

Dumbbell Front Squat

Begin by holding a pair of dumbbells up to your shoulders. Keeping your core tight, push your hips back and squat down until your quads are parallel to the ground. Then, drive through your heels and hips to stand back up, flexing your quads and glutes to finish. Do 6-8 reps.

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Walking Lunges

Start the exercise by holding a pair of dumbbells and stepping forward with one leg. Firmly plant your foot, then lower yourself under control until your back knee touches the floor gently. Once your knee touches the floor, walk forward with the other leg and repeat. Do 10 reps on each leg.

Vertical Jump

Get into a squat stance with your feet spread a bit farther than shoulder-width, and toes pointing forward. Keeping your chest tall and core tight, throw your hands and hips back, then jump up into the air. Land as softly as you can with your knees tracking straight. Stick the landing, then reset before performing another rep. Do 5 to 8 reps.