Dalores: I am going to be turning 62 and my couch potato ways over the last years are showing. Any exercise seems to leave my muscles sore for days. I am thinking yoga would help along with weight training. What do you advise?
Susan: Good for you! Get up off of that couch and get active! Yoga will be wonderful for you! If you’ve been sitting on the couch for years and now decide its time to move your body and get strong and healthy, of course your muscles will be a bit sore in the process. But that will be a “good sore” feeling.
Just be very gentle with yourself. The soreness will go away, but take it a bit easy. You shouldn’t be sore for days! The accepted expectation for soreness is that it may set in after a day or so, but will go away in another day…and it should feel kind of good, like your body is waking up. Just take it easy and don’t push yourself too hard or too fast.
With weight training, please be sure to work with a trainer. Weights can be a good workout, but its also easy to hurt yourself with them. I’d suggest yoga for a while before you get into the weights. Your own body weight will be a good workout itself.
Enjoy your new vitality!