Why the gym is dangerous if you're over 50, explained by a heart surgeon

There's always a certain fifty-something who decides to start going to the gym at such an untimely age. You can see it a mile away. To start with, he's wearing an outdated cotton T-shirt. It's faded, and the fibers don't stretch at the abdomen where his prominent belly is visible. He's wearing sweatpants with three stripes on each side that are too short. He's wearing monochromatic dress socks, and he's wearing cheap sneakers whose brand is that word used in the antipodes to refer to that throwing weapon that returns to its owner if it doesn't hit the target. To top off the absurdity, he's carrying a floral-patterned hand towel that (we know for a fact) he took down from the bathroom before leaving the house, and he's carrying a cycling water bottle that he found, among other junk in the garage.

We also recognize him by his hesitant gait between the aisles lined with weight machines , always occupied. Our fifty-something newbie carries his towel over his shoulder like a waiter working behind the bar, trying to figure out how the various machines work . He makes it to the end and then turns back, still not quite sure. He takes a drink of water, waits standing, and looks at the other guys, younger, very muscular , active, doing multiple reps, while he begins to regret this absurd impulse that brought him to the gym.

Finally, a piece of equipment becomes free. He sits down, places a considerable amount of weight on it, and vigorously raises the support. His unaccustomed arms immediately become unstable, and his body assumes a less-than-ergonomic position . But he remains steadfast in his purpose . "Whoever had it, retains it," he repeats to himself. He goes up and up, three, four more times, and then drops it. "It wasn't that bad," he thinks, and rewards himself with another drink of water. Then he dries the nonexistent sweat with his flowery towel. "It's a matter of persistence," he reassures himself. He waits a few seconds and prepares to begin the second set. He repeats the movements , this time losing his fear, with more emphasis, "Let's do it, you can do it," until the inevitable happens: a very sharp pain , like a burning sensation , heralding a muscle tear as unexpected for him as it is predictable for us.

A fifty-year-old today is nothing like a fifty-year-old from the 1980s . Back then, they were aging men , obviously bald, with yellow fingers from smoking, a toothpick in the corner of their mouth, a high-calorie diet, a bloated stomach, and a stern disposition toward any healthy recommendation. Today, fifty-year-olds embrace their baldness and shave their heads. They understand the harms of smoking , look in the mirror more than before, and try not to break their diet. Even so, few of them are in shape , because work meetings, work stress, and life's exhaustion leave them no time to play sports. And when they finally take the plunge, they find that the gym has changed without them even realizing it. They no longer wear the same clothes, the same exercises, and the same physical resilience.

This is when injuries arise. For example, lower back pain , which appears in those who begin strength exercises without any underlying muscle tone. The fifty-year-old individual sits on a machine and pulls hard to move the pulleys, doing so without preparation or knowledge . The existence of a globular abdomen, the famous beer belly, doesn't help (neither in this exercise nor in any other), since it unbalances the body during the effort. You won't notice it immediately, but only when you get home. It will be difficult for our protagonist to recover because lower back pain is very debilitating , and he will probably stop going to the gym for a long period, during which he will eventually abandon any hope of sport.

For the novice fifty-something who shies away from machines (a timely retreat is always better), there's the treadmill . It's a good tactic for those who want to get in shape without risking injury. It's become fashionable, as evidenced by the fact that they're always packed with walkers. At certain ages, it's an acceptable and safe sport because the joints are less stressed (compared to destructive continuous running) and, done with intensity, it produces results . But, of course, only if you're interested. The fifty-something gets on and walks, because his brother-in-law told him to. But he doesn't incline the treadmill or walk at a pace that consumes him. A common misconception among those listless walkers who watch TV shows while pacing leisurely, waiting for a result that never comes, since their activity resembles the one they perform during the journey from the sofa to the bed.

The risk of suffering a sprain

The most daring of the fifty-something novices increase the speed of the treadmill and start jogging . Their last continuous run of more than five minutes was in gym class three decades ago, so what's bound to happen: their age-weakened meniscus tears . It may just be a sprain , though.

Traditionally attributed to the ankle, a sprain can occur in any joint in the body (and there are more than 360). Maybe they don't injure themselves on the first day, but on the second, they suffer plantar fasciitis due to stretching or overloading of the fascia, that is, the fibrous tissue that runs longitudinally along the sole of the foot. It's a very annoying injury that easily becomes chronic, but at least our protagonist will proudly share it at work and social gatherings, since it's a stigma of a mature man who trains daily. Maybe the one who returns has injured his shoulder. The mobility of such a joint, with its particular "ball and socket" shape, makes it vulnerable to tendonitis, bursitis, strains, and rotator cuff tears , which are common after age 50. So, imagine if he subjects himself to strenuous and unusual strength exercises.

Having ruled out machines and the treadmill, the fifty-year-old novice has no other gymnastics option than the floor and the mat. He lies down with difficulty and, out of the corner of his eye, admires, enthralled, the contortions of his mat neighbors. Thanks to their chiseled bodies, the result of hours and hours of work in the gym, they stretch, contract with determination, with harmony, and keep their legs in the air for minutes, thanks to enviable abdominal muscle capacity .

He rolls onto his back. The last time he was in that position in a public place was at the beach , after having thoroughly enjoyed a paella and a good glass of wine. He summons all his good will to dispel the sense of ridicule that invades him, and focuses on tackling the goal he's set for himself: doing a series of sit-ups . He bends his legs, places his hands on the back of his neck, takes a deep breath, and lifts his head toward his knees. He notices his face flushed from the exertion, his own torso feels alien, and he notices the difficulty of bending over. But he manages it. Barely, but he's done it. He feels watched, hesitates, and feels the discomfort of the skimpy shorts digging into his groin.

" Who told me to get involved in this at my age? " He looks around for people worse off than him, who might ease his anguish, and ends up falling onto the mat with a snort. Would he be capable of doing it again? Lying on his back, he feels his own fat spilling out to the sides, and he wants to run home and have a beer, or better yet, two, because a timely retreat is just as intelligent as accepting life's limitations and circumstances. "We're not in this world to suffer, or at least, we should try to make it so," he tells himself at the exit turnstile of the gym he'll never return to.

When activity becomes routine

But it doesn't always happen this way. There are novice fifty-somethings who pass the test. It's said that an activity becomes routine , a habit, something that is no longer painful and is done without thinking when we repeat it 21 days in a row . The origin of this idea is attributed to the American philosopher and psychologist William James , when in 1890 he linked habit with brain plasticity. Thus, there are fifty-somethings who manage to last the first three weeks.

Results appear quickly, but only if there's a commitment to a healthy lifestyle: there's no point in exercising without controlling that demon that incites us to sin and open our mouths. Exercise makes us hungry and tempted to transgress due to the false sense that "we deserve it" for having worked hard at the gym. There won't be results if we don't avoid high-calorie foods and quit drinking alcohol . And, of course, smoking.

So, dear fifty-something readers, as is well known, at certain ages it's advisable to exercise . What is not recommended is starting a sporting activity on your own , without advice, risk control, or proper knowledge. Gyms have instructors eager to be hired. If the circumstances aren't right, there are two essential tools at our fingertips that we can use: one is our smartphone , which will answer many questions about appropriate sporting activities for older beginners; and the other is above our shoulders and allows us to think, reason, and discern, and is called common sense.

Get well soon.