Play tennis, don’t do the marathon – and other rules for 50-plus fitness

5. I aim for high-intensity intervals three times a week, including tennis

On top of that, I row for 6-8 intervals of 2-4 minutes each at close to maximum, with a recovery of a similar duration. 

6. Spend 10-20 minutes per day doing mobility work

This is a killer because it can be boring, but not half as boring or disconcerting as the involuntary grunts and noises you can make when you stand up if you aren’t mobile.

7. An ice bath or cold shower for 5 minutes, four to five days a week

There are well-documented benefits of this to our DNA, our dopamine system, or cardiovascular system, our mitochondria and our fat burning. Suck it up for the gruelling first minute – the gains are from 90 seconds onwards. 

8. A sauna 

…increases my cardiovascular strength, my circulation, aids my kidney and internal organ function and speeds up my recovery from exercise. This is a 15-20 minute process repeated three times, so it’s time-consuming but invaluable. 

9. Good sleep

Six hours is the minimum, seven is great, and eight is amazing. Average five hours and you have real problems; and if that’s a disturbed five or less, then you are more than likely suffering with some significant hormone disturbance and need to address this right now. 

Eating late causes digestive issues that can wake you overnight. Alcohol disturbs your sleep patterns, as will a too-warm room. If you have a drink within an hour of going to bed, it will possibly wake you up. 

There are some very good sleep-aid supplements: I swear by Magnesium Threonate, 5HTP, and Ashwagandha. 

10. If it’s niggling or injured, I fix it

Strains, niggles, stiffness are all the things that disturb our exercise patterns, and if you don’t fix them straight away they will either stop you or they will make you use a “workaround” that leads to another problem.  

Fix it, then get back to functioning as you should. Get a blood test done, get it analysed properly and take action on the exact areas that need attention.