Women can take years off their age by adopting some healthy habits, including exercise, eating well, and getting enough sleep.
JJ Virgin, an influencer for women in their 40s and above, is 60 but claims she looks 45 as a result of making some changes to her lifestyle. She suggested that women should start setting some fitness goals.
JJ said on YouTube: “I think one of the big challenges is that we get into these ruts, and the thing is with ageing, if you’re not continuing to progress in your fitness, you are going to be declining.
“At the age of 40, we start to lose one per cent of our muscle per year, and up to two to four per cent of our strength. At age 60, that doubles.”
Women who want to look younger should adopt one key habit
YouTube / JJ Virgin / GETTY IMAGES
To combat this, JJ decided to take her fitness and strength into her own hands. After having a DEXA (Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) which works out the strength of the bones, the influencer set herself “ambitious” targets with strength training, lifting “really heavy” weights, and agility training.
She decided to up her self-care too, setting herself the target of achieving three self-care “points” per day.
JJ said: “Here’s what counts as a self-care point – a cold plunge, meditation, working out, journaling, reading, an Epsom salt bath, red light therapy, using a sauna, and going for a walk.”
As for exercise, JJ decided to assess exactly where she was fitness-wise. For this, she did a cardio test and a grip strength test, then worked out accordingly, setting herself specific improvement goals.
The influencer also worked on her balance and flexibility through practising yoga. She emphasised the importance of doing exercises you may not love in order to achieve health and fitness benefits.
She said: “I’m doing yoga at least one a week, and between you and me, I count every minute I’m in there – it’s not something I love. I’m also working on trying some new sports.”
In addition to exercise, JJ decided to work on improving her diet. She started counting macros, which involves breaking down your caloric intake into individual macronutrients – carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
She also started prioritising her sleep, emphasising the importance of “deep sleep”. When travelling, she always packs an eye mask and earplugs.
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