5 good fitness and health trends from a tough year

You'll never have to go to the gym again. Online workout classes geared specifically to older adults are booming, with fitness enterprises like Vivo, a strength training company focused

on people 55 and over, switching entirely to virtual instruction, and others, such as SilverSneakers and Silver&Fit, launching online offerings. “A lot of these programs are unique

because they're specifically tailored to seniors: They're focused not just on helping you gain strength, but also with building balance, mobility and stability,” which all become

important as we age, says Cedric Bryant, president and chief sciece officer for the American Council on Exercise. Many of them also require little or no equipment, having you use your own

body weight for strength, “which can often be a safer option,” Bryant adds. If possible, look for live virtual classes, where you can interact with the instructor for real-time feedback.

This can help reduce your chances of injury and ensure that you're not working out too hard or not hard enough, but are instead at a “just-right” level. “You want a program that

doesn't focus on ‘gentle exercise and stretching’ but instead meets physical activity guidelines for older adults, which include 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity a

week and two days of strength training for all the major muscle groups,” says Emily Johnson, founder of StrongerU Senior Fitness. Active vacations Forget cruising. Older travelers want a

more socially distanced type of vacation — and in many cases, a little more adventure, too. Steve Silberberg, owner of the adventure travel company Fitpacking, says he's seen a

noticeable increase in interest in his company's backpacking trips from boomers and Gen Xers. The coronavirus is a driver, but so are generational preferences, he says. “Our demographic

has changed over the years, even before the pandemic, from 40s to 50s to even 60s,” he adds. “These are people who used to take elaborate vacations who now are saying they want an outdoor

experience and almost a nostalgic desire to re-create the camping trips of their youth." Ryan J Lane/Getty Images Research has shown that spending time in nature offers health benefits

such as lower blood pressure and lower stress hormone levels as well as improved mood. A 2017 study published in _Current Biology_ also found that it can improve sleep by resetting your

circadian rhythms — your body's internal clock — to a natural sleep cycle. “Trips like cruises are traditionally not the healthiest trips, as people tend to eat and drink a lot and not

stay active,” Hochman says. “My hope is that some of my patients will start taking more active hiking and biking trips as we all begin traveling again post-pandemic.” PLANT-BASED DIETS Eat

green and eat clean. The number of Americans following a plant-based diet was already rising (from a mere 290,000 in 2004 to a whopping 9.7 million in 2019) when the pandemic boosted it

further. “We saw a surge in people buying plant-based meat products like tempeh or Beyond Meat burgers during the pandemic, when there was a meat shortage,” says David Katz, M.D., founder of

the nonprofit True Health Initiative. “But we're hoping the trend continues beyond that.” A plant-based diet, Katz says, is particularly beneficial for older adults, as it's been

shown to lower risk and improve symptoms of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer and even Alzheimer's. A July 2020

review published in The _BMJ_ concluded that the more plant protein people consumed, the lower their risk of death from all causes, and that simply replacing 3 percent of animal protein with

plant protein lowered their risk of death by 5 percent. While switching to a plant-based diet may sound daunting, Katz suggests simply limiting your consumption of animal foods like lean

meat, eggs and cheese to dinner.