Flexibility, strength and aerobics for your 50s

No one likes to think about the ravages of age, but our bodies change as we get older -- and not always for the better. Joints get stiffer, muscles ache more and it’s more difficult to shed extra pounds. The good news is that regular exercise can stave off many of the deleterious effects of aging.

‘Keeping Fit in Your 50s’: This series presents exercise as an essential component to older women’s lives. Targeted to people both in and out of shape, the three-video/DVD set covers flexibility, strength and aerobics. Exercise physiologist Robyn Stuhr, 50, and model Cindy Joseph, 53, take viewers through beginner-level moves. Stuhr, a women’s sports medicine specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, explains how women’s bodies change as they get older. She, along with a doctor and nurse, provides motivational tips to stay with a program. The exercises are well-paced and easy to follow. They’re geared to exercise novices and those who are moderately fit. “The aerobic routine is not high impact,” Stuhr says, but “all the routines can be modified. If you’re stronger you can lift heavier weights or do more reps and sets.”

Jeannine Stein

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“Keeping Fit in Your 50s” is $49.99 for a boxed set of three DVDs; $39.99 for the VHS version. Individual videos are $19.99. Available at Borders, Barnes & Noble, www.amazon.com and www.acornonline.com.