When you’re young, 60 seems old, but once you’ve hit your 40s, you will quickly realize it’s not, leading many to claim, “Sixty is the new forty!” This is the decade in which you will probably retire from your career and decide what you really want to do with your life.

It’s more important than ever to exercise most days of the week. You can continue to do high-intensity workouts, but it’s a smart idea to limit them to 2 days or less in order to allow for optimal recovery. If you enjoy resistance training, this may be the time to start using more machines than free weights so you can experience the numerous benefits of strength training to the point of momentary fatigue while minimizing the risk of injury.

If you do retire during this decade, you will have the extra time for your workouts, so continue to experiment with new types of exercises and sports to give your muscles and brain new learning opportunities.

Just like young adults in their 20s, taking group classes is a great way to combine physical activity with social time, and, if you’re recently retired, they can be an effective way to make new friends. Aqua fitness classes, a good choice at any age, are a good option for exercise because they use a lot of muscle mass while reducing stress on your joints, which is important if you’re dealing with any arthritis.

If you enjoy being active and want to encourage others to do the same, consider the fact that more and more people are choosing fitness as a second career once they retire from their first. It’s possible to earn a fitness certification at any age, and others in the same demographic would appreciate working with someone who understands their specific needs.

Continue to change your workouts on a regular basis to keep using your muscles in different ways. Improve your physical literacy by using mobility workouts to enhance coordination and develop new movement skills; now’s the time to get going! An important benefit of multidirectional mobility and core strength training exercises include strengthened fascia and elastic connective tissues, which help reduce the risk of minor injuries such as muscle strains. In addition, mobility exercises can promote optimal fascial extensibility to help reduce the risk of developing adhesions that can change how joints function.