I was pleasantly surprised after my yearly physical last week. When I learned that I had not only gained 3 pounds of muscle but also lowered my body fat by over 3%. While I am always consistent with exercise and nutrition, there are a few small tweaks I’ve made this past year that I believe have helped.
Small Tweaks I’ve Made To Improve My Composition At Age 55
There are a few small changes I’ve made to my routine that I believe have helped me change my body composition for the better. Here they are:
Adding a 4th day of Strength training
For decades, I have been consistent with strength training 3x a week. In the past year, I’ve added a 4th day of strength. I believe this has done wonders.
swapping long runs for shorter runs
I am not training for anything, as such, I have swapped my long runs for shorter runs.
Ditching excessive cardio for walks with weighted vest
This may be the biggest change for me. For decades, I did some sort of intense cardio on most days. That was cycling classes, elliptical or running. For the past year, I’ve switched those sessions to walking with a weighted vest. I started at 5 pounds and progressed to 15 pounds. I do these walks 3-5 times a week.
You may also like: Benefits of walking with a weighted vest
Eating at least 120 grams of protein daily
Protein may be the buzz word of the year but for good reason. If you want to build muscle and change your body composition high quality protein is your friend. I aim to get at least 30 grams at each meal and then 30 with a snack. Insider tip: Adding collagen to my morning or afternoon coffee can add 18 grams of protein in addition to the hair and skin benefits you might see.
Reducing added sugars and processed foods
This is easier to do than you might think. Before you reach for that “protein bar” take a look at the ingredient list. Chances are you can eat a Greek Yogurt and a piece of fruit or a hard boiled egg and a cheese stick and be way better off. Dried edamame anyone?
Getting at 7-8 hours of sleep per night
Sleep is how your body recovers and that’s where the magic happens.
What did I not do? I did not cut calories and go hungry. Yes, I have been there and done that and it never works long term.
I am not a Doctor but I am someone who has tried just about everything. As our bodies age, sometimes it pays off to swap things around and try new routines. I hope some of these tips that have helped me improve my body composition might also help you. It’s never too late to get stronger or healthier.
Thanks for helping to make the Runners’ Roundup a huge success by visiting all of the hosts: Me, Debbie, Jen, Lisa
First off, huge congratulations on losing 3% body fat and gaining 3 pounds of muscle at 55—impressive!
Your tips are spot on!
Even as a running addict, I have to admit that endless cardio isn’t always the best for our bodies. Just yesterday, I told Kai that I want to shift the balance—more strength training (currently at 3x per week) and a little less running. Seeing your success is really encouraging, and I’m confident I’ll start seeing benefits, too!
Thanks for decades I did so much cardio and running. I was ready for a switch up and it worked out well for me so far.
That’s great that you have seen so many improvements! You were able to learn about your body composition at your physical? Since I have very little control over my sleep these days, I just do the best I can. But I have worked on eating more protein which I think will be even more important now that I’m in my 40s.
My Internist does a full physical of about 3 hours checking everything! They have an Inbody scanner so I have used the same machine for the pat 5 years to track the body compositiom
Awesome. And you do look great.
Obviously doing the right things.
Although I am racing a lot. I’ve decided that it’s social. So I don’t have to push it and run all those miles.
I’m also going to the gym.
Staying healthy as you age is key.
Your plan seems to work for you. We are all different and it pays to find what works for you at different times in your life. Right now, I just want to be the strongest I can be as I age
Nice job with everything!! I agree, it’s often the “little” changes that have the greatest impact. BTW,I’m gonna get o e of those weighted vests 🙂
Thanks and yes tweaking a few small things can make a big difference. I know you will love the vest!
100% agree with all these tips. I do struggle to get that much protein in my diet–I found myself gaining weight when I pushed to get to 100g. Now I just do my best and I’m a lot happier with where I’m at. Great work!
It is challenging some days. Iv’e learned to find which protein sources give me more bang for my buck (like fish) and try to eat those more often. We all have different bodies and learning what works for us is key. Happy to chat about it anytime! Glad you are feeling like you are in a better place too
You’ve done a great job with all the changes you made and the results show it. I think we’re past the days of intense cardio (except running of course 🙂 ). Strength training is so key.
For me right now, reducing my running miles has also helped me a lot. I am past the days of running for miles
This is interesting, for a few reasons:
#1 – I didn’t realize we were this close in age 🙂
#2 – I just hired a coach to motivate me and to help me change my body composition, and she has me lifting 4 days a week (2 upper body days, 2 lower body days), walking with my weighted vest 7 days a week, and she put me on a meal plan that is 35% protein (120g/day).
#3 – I have the same weighted vest 🙂
yes! These are all great tweaks to make and hope they work as well for you as they do for me. Let me know now how it goes