Strength training alone wasn’t enough. How to relate to your body from your 40s onwards｜えみ｜40代からの心と暮らし整えラボ🌱

“Now that you’re in your 40s, do you ever feel like this?”

・It’s harder to recover from fatigue than before
・You’re concerned about a lack of exercise
・Your body shape has started to change
・You’re doing strength training, but you aren’t seeing the changes you expected
・You’re worried about the numbers on your health checkup
・You want to have a body that can move energetically for years to come
・But, you can’t keep up with intense exercise

I also started to change how I relate to my body once I hit my 40s. As I have written about in previous articles, I have made
“Wellness Life” the theme of my life.

However, becoming healthy is merely the foundation of life.
What matters is: what do you want to do once you are healthy?

Go to the places you want to go.
Do the things you want to do.
Enjoy time with your family.
Learn new things.

When you align your mind and body, you feel a constant sense of energy welling up from within.
The drive to pursue what you want to do also arises naturally.

No matter how old I get, I want to be someone who enjoys life and savors it.
For that reason, I wish to be healthy.

My exercise habits | The strength training and yoga I continue

Previously, I was doing:
✓ Strength training once a week
✓ Yoga at least twice a week.
I kept this up.

Since August of this year, I have increased that to:
✓ Strength training + aerobic exercise twice a week
✓ Yoga at least three times a week

I increased the frequency because there is a place I want to reach by the end of this year.
And, because I am realizing that moving my body is making my daily life feel lighter.
Exercising not only refreshes the body but also makes your mindset more positive.

“I feel that aligning the body also leads to aligning one’s life.”
That is what I am feeling.

My exercise habits | Changes in my body

Above all, I think the combination of strength training and yoga was very good.

I had been doing only strength training until now, and while I gained muscle, my body lines honestly didn’t change.

By combining it with yoga starting a year ago, my flexibility increased, my skeletal structure changed, and my left-right balance improved.

I was also surprised by the changes in my waistline and my body’s range of motion.

I use strength training to work on the areas where I feel weak during yoga.
In that way, I started to exercise while observing my own body, rather than just going through the motions.

If you

“feel like you are exercising but your body isn’t changing as you expected,”

then

in my case, combining “strengthening, stretching, and loosening” rather than just strength training was one turning point.

My new exercise habit | Myofascial release

And, another thing I started this August is myofascial release.
Although I had a foam roller before, I wasn’t able to make use of it.

“Loosening up”

At first, I was skeptical, wondering if just doing this would really make a difference.
After all, it’s not as grueling as strength training.

But, after trying it out and sticking with it…

My thighs became leaner, my body lines changed,
and I started to feel like I was using the muscles I intended to use.

Things that I would have previously just dismissed as “feeling a bit off”
have now become things I can think about regarding my own body,
wondering, “Perhaps this is the cause.”

There are some parts that hurt at first, but as you continue, they gradually stop hurting. I find that change absolutely fascinating.

“Loosening up” is amazing!!!!!
I’ve become completely hooked.

Health habits from your 40s onwards

What I feel now that I’m in my 40s is that it’s not just about blindly doing “as much as possible.”

Where is the tension?
Where is it stiff?
Am I properly using the muscles I want to use?
Are there any habits in my body or how I move?

In that way, the time spent observing my own body has become a health habit in itself.

It’s not that intense exercise is good,
but rather, am I effectively targeting the areas I want to?

And now,

Strengthening.
Stretching.
Loosening up.

I feel that it might be important for health in your 40s to not just do one of these, but to manage your body by including all of them.

You don’t have to start doing everything all at once; it’s okay to start where you can.
You don’t have to try to do everything every day; it’s okay to do what you can.

By consulting with my body today and combining these,
I want to continue managing my body in my 40s.

No matter how old I get, I want to have a body that can go where I want to go.
I want to enjoy doing what I want to do without being hindered by physical concerns.

This has also become my motivation to continue exercising.

For me, being healthy is not the goal of life,
but the foundation for enjoying the life to come.

▼Related Articles

▼Today’s Wellness Lab🌱

The first thing you can do starting today is to “observe your own body.”

When standing, are you putting your weight on one side or the other?
Is there tension in your shoulders?
Is your breathing shallow?

Try focusing on your body for just one minute.

Healthy habits might not just be about starting something new,
but about becoming aware of yourself as you are right now.

▼About the author of this article

▼I share “tips for organizing your mind and life” on Instagram🌿

I write about the small realizations I find in my daily life at a quiet pace.

If you’d like, please feel free to take a look here.
↓ ↓ ↓

https://www.instagram.com/emimi0729life/