Sports and exercise have always played a big role in my life.
I was a competitive junior tennis player growing up, played both tennis and squash in college, and have spent most of my professional career working in the sports industry.
I also took up running in college after finding it to be a potent anxiety-reducer.
I am now 40 years old — my exercise routine still has plenty of similarities to when I was younger, but also a few key differences.
One of the big differences is the addition of stretching. I never really stretched when I was younger, but my body just got tighter and tighter over the years, especially my hamstrings.
I now do a 30-minute full-body stretch first thing in the morning every day. I have found this practice to be transformative. It primes my body and muscles for the day ahead.
The other significant change is the addition of strength training. I lifted weights a bit when I was in high school and college, but didn’t really do any resistance training for 15+ years in my 20s and 30s.
It is well-known that it is harder to maintain muscle as you age, so now I have added strength training to my routine 1–2 times per week. I focus my weight workouts on my upper body since I still do quite a bit of cardio and sports that build my…
