Reader's Digest published an article recently that went through the exercises you shouldn't do after 50. I found it to be incredibly insulting and condescending to people over the age of 50.
Telling them they shouldn't do things like squats with weights, pushups, running, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), etc... What the what? I know people over the age of 50 that are twice as strong and fit as people half their age!
I know their intent was to offer modifications for people, which is something I wholeheartedly agree with. In our boot camp classes, we offer 3 modifications for every exercise. A way to make it harder, a way to make it easier/low impact, and the medium version. But I never tell the women in my classes they can't do an exercise because they are over 50.
I have two reasons for that:
1. I value my life and don't like to risk it insulting women who have weights in their hands
2. I assess their physical capabilities based on how they move, how strong they are, health history, etc... not their birth date.
Don't let articles or blanket statements scare you away from getting in the best shape of your life. Should you be smart about your exercises choices? Absolutely! But with a proper warm-up, proper form, and proper proper progression (not trying to do too much too fast) you can make amazing progress with any exercise or activity.
We have more women over 50 than we do below 30 in our classes, so this is not my theory but the reality I work with every day. I see amazingly fit and strong women in their 50s and 60s who don't let age put restrictions on their goals.
Your quality of life as you get older, depends heavily on your strength and fitness level. Just focus on getting better every day, whatever age you happen to be.
PS- After I wrote this post on they changed the title of the article to the more appropriate "Exercises To Modify If You're over 50" from the more sensational "14 Exercises to Never Do After Age 50". They also changed some of the wording to say it is more about modifying if you have previous injuries.