Healthista brings you anti-ageing workouts in a three part series with Annabelle Johnstone-Dougall, Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Sports Scientist. These workouts focus on specific moves to help target ageing factors in the body – here’s workout one
Exercise may not be the fountain of youth, but it certainly can slow down the ageing process and some of those unwanted physiological processes associated with ageing while reducing your risk of developing conditions that may affect us as we age.
In this episode Annabelle Johnstone-Dougall focuses on a full body resistance training workout that targets three common ageing processes that play a huge role in how young we feel. These include a decline in muscle mass or strength, a reduction in bone mineral density and of course the dreaded slowing of metabolism.
How will resistance training combat these processes and turn back your biological clock?
Both muscles and bones are living tissues that respond to impact or load bearing exercise such as resistance by getting stronger. So when it comes to a decline in muscle mass, implementing strength training 2-3 times per week will help to re-build or retain your muscle mass and strength. Bones are a little different with their density peaking at around age 30 and then declining. This means that those under 30 can really stimulate the development of healthy bone tissue with strength workouts. If your over 30 the good news is you can still use this workout to help retain your current bone density and reduce the risk of conditions such as osteoporosis or brittle bone. So what about metabolism? Well strength training has you covered again, this time it’s two fold. Not only will this workout burn some serious calories, but the gains in muscle mass that result from this type of training also increases your resting metabolism. This means you’ll burn more calories even when you’re not exercising. Win win right?
25-minute anti-ageing resistance workout
Format – Super sets
First super set
- Goblet squats, 10-12 reps
- Flute bridge, 10-12 reps
Rest between 90-120 seconds and repeat set two more times
Second super set
- High plank row and rotation, 10-12 reps and repeat on other side
- Standing curl press, 10-12reps
Rest between 90-120 seconds and repeat set two more times
Third super set
- Kettle swing single arm, 10-12 reps and repeat on the other arm
- Reverse lunge with front straight armed raises, 10-12 reps and repeat on the other leg
Rest between 90-120 seconds and repeat set two more times
Fourth super set
- Russian twist, 10-12 reps
- Straight armed weighted sit up, 10-12 reps
- Weighted bicycle, 10-12 reps
Rest between 90-120 seconds and repeat set two more times
Annabelle Johnstone-Dougall is an Australian Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Sports Scientist practising in London having completed her Honours degree at the University of Queensland in 2016. As an Exercise Physiologist, Annabelle focuses on the prescription of exercise as medicine for a wide variety of conditions including metabolic syndromes, weight loss, cardiorespiratory and renal complications, musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions, mental health issues, disability, cancer, and geriatric care. Having competed in both triathlon and cycling at a national level, Sports Science is also an area for which Annabelle always had an intense passion and has been involved with sports performance, rehabilitation and strength and conditioning across a variety of sub-elite and elite sports.
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