Kareena Kapoor Khan, the Bollywood icon, continues to redefine fitness goals at 44. Eschewing fleeting trends, she embraces a holistic approach prioritizing strength, balance, and body awareness. Her fitness journey, guided by her trainer, emphasizes the pivotal role of strength training for women in their 40s and beyond, proving that age is just a number when it comes to well-being.
The Fitness Philosophy: It’s More Than Just Weight Loss
In an industry often obsessed with quick fixes, Kareena stands out by prioritizing how she feels over a shrinking number on the scale. Her yoga instructor, Anshuka Parwani, reveals that Kareena’s workouts have never been solely about weight loss but about staying strong and in tune with her body. This mindful approach involves adjusting routines based on her physical state and energy levels, knowing when to push and when to pull back. The routines often include a balanced mix of yoga, animal flow movements, strength training, and cardio-based exercises.
This philosophy reflects a growing understanding that fitness at this stage of life is about long-term well-being rather than aesthetics alone. It’s about feeling centered, healthy, and agile, setting a refreshing example.
Strength Training: The Core of a Woman’s Fitness After 40
Why is strength training so crucial for women over 40? As we age, our bodies undergo significant changes, especially after menopause. Estrogen levels decline, leading to decreased bone density and muscle mass. This can result in reduced strength, joint instability, a slower metabolism, and an increased risk of osteoporosis and sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss). Strength training counteracts these effects, offering a multitude of benefits:
- Preserves and Increases Muscle Mass: Women typically lose 3-8% of muscle mass per decade after 30, with the loss accelerating after menopause. Strength training can counteract this loss and even help increase muscle mass, which is key for a ‘toned’ appearance, a higher metabolism, and increased protection against falls.
- Improves Bone Density: The risk of osteoporosis increases dramatically in women after menopause due to declining estrogen levels. Strength training is one of the best ways to prevent bone loss and even improve bone density.
- Supports Heart Health: Weight training has been shown to reduce blood pressure, improve cholesterol profiles, and regulate blood sugar levels, protecting against chronic diseases that become more common as we age.
- Enhances Sleep Quality: Sleep quality can worsen as we age, especially during and after menopause. Strength training can improve sleep quality.
- Boosts Mental Well-being: Strength training can give you a boost of feel-good hormones. Regular strength exercise may help improve self-esteem and confidence. It can also improve body image and empower daily life. Strength training is linked to a reduction in aches, pains, and poor posture, all of which can worsen mood.
- Maintains a Healthy Weight: Strength training improves how the body processes excess sugar and helps burn more calories when resting by building lean muscle mass, which increases the metabolic rate.
- Strengthens Joints: Strength exercise can support the muscles around the joints, helping to keep them stable and strong and reducing the risk of sports injuries.
- Reduces Risk of Falls: By improving balance, coordination, and strength, resistance training decreases the frequency, severity, and likelihood of falls.
Kareena’s “Monk-Like” Routine: A Glimpse into Her Day
Kareena’s disciplined routine plays a significant role in her fitness. She emphasizes the importance of early dinners, workouts, and yoga, prioritizing mental and physical well-being.
- Early Dinner: Kareena eats dinner by 6 pm, which aligns with studies showing that eating early and fasting overnight can burn more fat and improve blood sugar control. Eating before 7 pm is also linked to a lower risk of diabetes and heart disease.
- Early to Bed: Following her early dinner, Kareena is in bed by 9:30 pm, ensuring she gets enough rest to recover and prepare for her morning workout.
- Morning Workouts: Kareena starts her day with a workout before sunrise. “If I don’t work out, I’m in a bad mood,” she says. After COVID, she realized that fitness is not just about how you look—it’s about how you feel inside and it’s her mood stabilizer.
- Balanced Diet: Kareena sticks to one full Indian meal a day, calling it “non-negotiable,” ensuring she gets the nutrients she needs to support her active lifestyle.
Sample Strength Training Exercises
Inspired by Kareena’s fitness philosophy, here are some strength training exercises that women over 40 can incorporate into their routines:
- Squats: There are many types of squats, all of which build the lower body muscles and movement patterns that mimic getting out of a chair or off the sofa with ease.
- Glute Bridges: Control the movement up, squeeze the glutes at the top.
- Goblet Squats: Pause at the bottom, and don’t rush through the movement.
- Dumbbell Deadlifts: Focus on mastering technique before progressing to heavier weights.
- Chest Supported Rows: Keep your chest pressed against the pad of the bench throughout.
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press: Brace the core to support the movement of the upper body.
- Step-Ups: Weighted or unweighted step-ups help with unilateral (single-legged) movements like stairs or getting up off the floor.
- Rows: Rows strengthen the muscles that improve our posture and reduce neck and back pain.
- Plank: Planks are considered one of the most effective and versatile mat exercises to improve core strength and overall fitness. Planks engage multiple muscle groups, including your shoulders, arms, back, glutes, and legs.
- Leg Raises: Lying leg raises can strengthen and tone your abdominal muscles and improve the strength and stability of your lower back.
- Bridge: It is a simple yet effective exercise that helps build the glutes, hamstrings, lower back muscles, and abs.
For a comprehensive workout, consider this lower-body routine:
- Dumbbell Box (or Chair) Step-Ups: 3-5 sets of 10-20 reps
- Walking Dumbbell Lunges: 3-5 sets of 1 minute
- Dumbbell Deadlifts: 3-5 sets of 10-20 reps
- Dumbbell Squats with Kickbacks: 3-5 sets of 10-20 reps
- Wall Sits: 1 minute (keep your thighs parallel with the floor)
- Sit-Ups or Crunches: 2 minutes
And this upper body routine:
- Pushups OR Dumbbell Chest Press: 3-5 sets of 10-20 reps
- Biceps Curls with Dumbbells: 3-5 sets of 10-20 reps
- Dumbbell Bent-Over Reverse Flys or Reverse Flys on a Bench: 3-5 sets of 10-20 reps
- Russian Twists with a Dumbbell or Medicine Ball: 1-2 minutes
Essential Exercise Dos and Don’ts for Women Over 40
To ensure a safe and effective fitness routine, women over 40 should keep these dos and don’ts in mind:
- Do Prioritize Strength Training: Strength training helps prevent age-related muscle and bone loss, makes strenuous activity easier, tones muscles, and boosts metabolism.
- Don’t Neglect Cardio: Incorporate both HIIT and LISS cardio workouts to improve cardiovascular fitness and cardiorespiratory health.
- Do Focus on Joint-Friendly Exercises: Choose exercises that are gentle on the joints, such as swimming, cycling, and yoga. Avoid high-impact activities like running and jumping, especially if you are overweight.
- Do Work on Your Balance: Improve balance with single-limb and standing exercises to reduce the risk of falls.
- Do Improve Your Mobility: Enhance joint health and range of motion with strength training, yoga, and stretching.
Making it Work: Tips for Getting Started
- Choose the Right Weights: Begin with lighter weights that allow you to do 6-10 repetitions with good form.
- Be Consistent: Aim for 2-3 strength sessions per week, with rest days between working the same muscle groups.
- Listen to Your Body: Learn the difference between the ache of productive muscle fatigue and the signs of potential injury.
- Use Resistance Machines: Gym resistance machines are great for beginners to learn the movement patterns of exercises safely while building muscle.
- Stay Active: Focus on exercises that build strength, improve flexibility, and boost cardiovascular health to stay energetic and resilient.
- Make a Splash: High-intensity water workouts improve bone mineral density and functional fitness in postmenopausal women.
- Say Om: Yoga can help reduce stress, improve heart rate, enhance flexibility, build core strength, and foster mental tranquility.
- Workout Anywhere, Anytime: Mat Pilates effectively improves physical strength, flexibility, and balance.
Kareena Kapoor Khan’s fitness journey at 44 is a testament to the power of a balanced, mindful approach. By prioritizing strength training, listening to her body, and maintaining a disciplined routine, she inspires women to embrace fitness as a lifelong journey toward well-being. As Kareena proves, age is no barrier to achieving your fitness goals – it’s simply an invitation to redefine them.
