‘I’m 59 and In the Best Shape of My Life—This Is the Exact Workout Routine I Swear By’
The majority of us consider fitness to be an “add-on” in our lives, something that we do when we finish working for the day or on the weekend. But a select few turn their love for fitness into careers, and Audrey Zona is one of those people.
The 59-year-old, who lives in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, is an integrative health and weight loss coach, something she’s been doing for nearly a decade. Zona provides an eight-week program geared toward over-40 women and provides private coaching as well. Naturally, she practices what she preaches, and has made fitness a driving force for everything she does.
An Interest in Fitness
Zona shares that she first became interested in fitness at the age of 10. “I was a dancer for many years, which started my fitness journey,” she says. “Then I was a college cheerleader/dancer and always enjoyed exercise. Weight training and building muscle became more of a priority as I turned 21.”
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Mental Health Benefits
Although Zona lifts heavy weights four times per week and handles high-intensity classes with women half her age with ease, she also particularly loves the mental health benefits that exercise provides.
“[Exercise] makes me feel alive, more motivated to eat well, gives me so much energy, makes me feel strong and powerful, like I can do anything I want!” she says. “We know that exercise helps to increase serotonin production, so it’s a natural medication.”
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Audrey Zona’s Workout Routine
Weight training
With an “intense training schedule” as Zona calls it, she shares that she weight trains for one hour four days a week—Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday are weight training days. Some of her favorite moves include overhead presses, bicep curls, triceps kickbacks, push-ups, walking or stationary lunges, squats, kettlebell swings and planks.
Cardio
Zona says that she does an array of cardio workouts (such as hitting the trampoline) two to three times per week, for about 30 minutes per session. She focuses on cardio on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and at times, those days will also include Pilates.
Audrey Zona
Pilates
Zona takes Pilates classes one to two days a week.
Walking
“I do some kind of movement seven days a week and will try and get 10,000 steps most days,” adding that she reserves Saturdays for long walks.
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Expert Advice
As a health coach, Zona is here to share her words of wisdom for fellow seniors who want to start a workout routine. She advises, “Plan your workouts the day before or even look at your week and put it into your calendar. Find a friend or buddy to train with, or better yet, enlist a trainer to help you, and to keep you safe! It’s very easy to get hurt if you aren’t in the correct position, so alignment is super important.”
She goes on to say that if for some reason you aren’t able to lift weights, find low-impact ways to keep moving, including swimming, walking, Pilates or yoga. Zona also says, “As we age, stretching is necessary.”
“It’s never too late to start making exercise a part of your life,” she says. “I have many clients in their 60s starting to incorporate weight training, and they are doing amazing—feeling better than ever!”
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Related: ‘I’m 60 and In the Best Shape of My Life—This Is the Exact Workout Routine I Swear By’
Sources
- Audrey Zona, integrative health and weight loss coach.
