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We believe that there is no excuse to stop exercising, we do not try to scare you, but you have to be careful all the time of how and what exercise you are doing.  Specifically, if you have not worked out for a long time regularly or you have some health problems like injuries or parts pain.

People in your age get injured easily if they do the wrong exercises at the wrong time, and they cannot recover their health as quick as younger age people do. 

If your work requires sitting on a chair for long hours that is another high-level problem added, you should create another exercise programs to prevent other injuries in your workouts, there are chair exercises for seniors that you can do while you are sitting on a chair, however, this is not our subject today. let's ignore the chair exercises for another article.

However, what are the exact exercises to do if you barely close to your 40th birthday or after you reach it? Keep reading to find out the worst exercises that you should not do if you reached the age of 40.

Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay

Long-distance is not your running of choice when you turn 40th, especially without warming-up because it comes with serious injuries. As you age, your cardiovascular ability falls. 

You should not stop running just warm-up and respect the specialists’ advice. The average running per mile for women aging between 35 and 44 should be 12 to 13 min according to healthline.com  

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This can hurt your knees because it puts all your weight and the added weights on your knees, I’m not saying squats are bad but only the low-impact squats can be the right exercise to improve your bones' health, but only correct form squatting can do that. Therefore, this is the last thing you should think about to add to your aging back and knees.

Maybe you’ve seen Rocky Balboa running on stairs at the end of the movie, it’s a great exercise method but it becomes an adventure at your age and beyond because you’re possibly losing your footing balance and the danger of falling increase with each passing year, informs care specialist Bradley W. Bartel Jr., DC.

Crunches are the easiest exercises to do in the wrong way! They are the hardest exercises ever and the majority of athletes hate them.

The motion in this exercise can hurt your neck and spine, instead of Crunches, switch up your stomach exercise routine with planks (perfectly) that will strengthen your body muscles to save your back from pain.

Pedaling or spinning looks like the same as riding a bicycle, sometimes these exercises are safe for some people as you age, but we advise you first to get your doctor’s approval, especially if you have heart issues. Riding a stationary bike will be a good idea if you have old injuries, back or neck pain. A therapist or physician will tell you what to do if you are not sure.

If the issue is balance, maybe pedaling or spinning classes will be safer than other cardiovascular exercises because you are in chair form (seating). 

You are not a Bodybuilder! So, do not think about this exercise, even if you have done it for many years. Young athletes are always aware of this workout in their routine.

You don’t want to add pains and injuries if you already have them, instead try glute bridges as some specialists recommend, because this kind of exercise is a body-weight exercise.

- Lie on your back

- Bend your knees 

- Flat your feet on the ground

- Keep your heels close as possible as you can so you can touch them with your fingertips.

- Lift your hips toward the roof while pressing your feet into the ground, then lower them and keep repeating for 15 to 20 times.

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Boxing is somehow argumentative, whether you were a pro or not boxing is not a great choice unless you hired a personal trainer that will help you on the way you will throw a punch. You should consider how high the impact your session of boxing is going to be if you turn 50. Try instead the speeding bag so you can stay more static and mind your balance.

All to say about this exercise is you have to find an alternative to this exercise if you already over 40. Mountain climbs are a fantastic exercise for losing stomach fat but it needs many efforts, resistance and balance to achieve your goal, at your age this is not the perfect exercise if you have knee and back pain, but there are alternatives like plank exercises that you should give a try.

For a 40 years old woman, you should keep exercising it is not the end of the world. Exercising will help you stay healthy and it will improve your balance.

Why we published this article? 

Simply to warn you about the wrong exercises that will hurt you and make permanent pain instead of pleasure and a healthy body. Just keep in mind that you should ask a specialist first or a personal trainer.