Well Done is Better Than Well Said

People that are out of shape and overweight dread the word exercise. Like a diet, the thought of exercise brings a negative, hard work, sacrifice, feeling. People like to think about it and talk about it but taking the action is dreaded and most of the time, put aside to a future time.

As I discussed in my prior posts leading up to now, you need to treat your new fitness aspirations as a positive permanent lifestyle change. This change can be done in small transition steps and gradually increase as you conquer each small step.

Start with something as easy as walking around the block. Walking is about the easiest thing you can do. Take the boredom out by putting your earbuds in and listening to your favorite music. Take notice of nature as you walk, observe different things going on in your neighborhood, stop and chat with people out in their yards. Who knows, you might make new friends. You can also mix errands or pleasure into your walks. Walk to the post office or walk to a coffee shop and make your walk worth it by mixing it with a coffee or lunch.

At the same time that you commence on your new fitness routines, try to cut back on sedentary activities, such as watching tv from your lounge chair. I am not saying to stop relaxing and watching tv, I do plenty of that still, I'm saying to try to reduce the amount of time you spend on those activities. It's up to you, but the more you can cut from your sedentary activities, the more successful you will be in your fitness gains.

Exercise, along with avoiding a sedentary lifestyle, will help you sleep better and achieve a healthier body weight. In addition, your mood and energy levels will improve. You’ll face fewer health risks, including diabetes, and good fitness may prevent the decline in mental capacity linked to aging.

Most Importantly, exercise can reduce aches and pains and help you to feel clearer and happier day-to-day.

As little as 30 minutes, 5 days a week, will deliver substantial benefits. More vigorous aerobic exercises can even cut that amount in half.

I walk at least 1.5 to 2 miles just about every day, mostly linked to errands or getting to other fitness routines throughout the day. You can incorporate your routines into your workday by walking steps in your building and walking to a local park to eat your lunch and back.

Exercise can help you if you have problems with the blues or depression. Exercise has shown to have a significant effect on depression.

There’s no special blueprint to follow to get fit or stay in shape. Tailor something that works for you. For me, cycling was the mode that resonated for me. I fell in love with being on the bike. The blend of feeling great, fresh air, socializing with newly made friends, and great results in my overall fitness, drove my motivation to continue to exercise. I started out with short distance and gradually increased my mileage over time. Eventually, I was riding 5000 miles a year on my bike. I was accomplishing this while still working full time.

I listed walking & cycling above as a start. Here are some Other forms of exercise to get you moving in the right direction:

Swimming

Swimming is considered the best form of exercise there is, there’s no pounding or wear and tear on the joints. Between shin splints, knee, and ankle problems, runners constantly get injured, while swimmers rarely suffer injuries. When you swim, you are using nearly every muscle in your body. I was never a big swimmer and I don't use it in my normal fitness routine, but none the less, it's a great exercise to look in to.

Pickleball

Pickleball was invented way back in 1965 but in the last few years, it has grown immensely. Like biking, pickleball provides a great workout, great social time, and you're out in the fresh air. You will mostly always find a lot of different skill levels from beginner to advance at most courts, so don't be intimidated from approaching players at your local courts, I've found pickleball people everywhere I've played to be very receptive to new players.

I started playing pickleball right after I turned 60 and I was addicted to it immediately. I have progressed in my skill level and entered my first tournament this year at 61 and won a gold medal for first place! It is super fun!

Weight & Resistance Training

Weight training is also called resistance training since pushing back against gravity is only one form of resistance. This sort of training can be casual or intense. Done right, the payoffs of weight training go well beyond bulking up. All exercise reduces stress, but you may find weight training especially effective. There’s just nothing quite like repeatedly lifting a heavy slab of iron until your muscles can’t do another rep. Additionally, any sort of resistance lifting can dramatically strengthen your bones.

A great way to enjoy the benefits of resistance training is with an inexpensive set of resistance bands. These can be purchased for $30 or less. These bands let you do a huge variety of exercises that give you benefits comparable to weight training. Unlike barbells and dumbbells, resistance bands won’t build much bulk, but they’re excellent for increasing strength. Fitness bands can also improve bone health just like free weights and any other form of resistance exercise. Frequent travelers find fitness bands ideal, since they fit conveniently into a suitcase and weigh almost nothing.

Office Fitness

Having a few pieces of equipment in your office can break up the day’s monotony and significantly increase your overall activity level. Plus, a little physical activity can work wonders to reduce the stresses of a busy day.

Some ways to make your work day a little more active is to keep dumbbells, resistance bands, or a stress ball by your office chair. You can even replace your office chair with a Pilates ball, although you’ll need one that’s the right height. Having to keep your balance while working strengthens your abdominal muscles, while making it practically impossible to slouch.

Fitness Trackers

If you walk, jog, or swim, fitness trackers offer an effective way to stay accountable to your goals. Many people find these trackers provide an extra level of incentive to not flake on their daily routine.

Fitness trackers can do more than record your physical activity. Many trackers can also monitor your heart rate, thereby enabling you to stay in the zone where you’ll maximize conditioning. Wearing your band overnight can also identify sleep problems.

Sleeping

The three pillars of a healthy life are fitness, diet, and sufficient sleep. Problems with sleep are widespread, but frequently ignored. How do you know if you are getting good sleep? Since people require vastly different amounts of sleep, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. A good starting point is to simply notice how you feel in the first 30 minutes after waking up. When you wake up, do you feel rejuvenated, enthusiastic, and full of energy? Or do you feel like you should be scraped out of bed with a putty knife? If it’s more the latter, why not set about seeing if you can make improvements?

If you want deeper and more restorative sleep, these habits can make all the difference:

• Never, ever fall asleep with the television on.

• Go to bed earlier.

• Consider adding meditation to your life, even five minutes a day may help your sleep!

• Avoid alcohol, in the hours before going to sleep.

• Cut back on caffeine, especially if you’re drinking more than a couple cups of coffee or tea a day.

• Consider getting a Fitness watch in order to track your sleep.

If you have trouble falling asleep, or find yourself wide awake in the middle of the night, you’re not alone. Millions of people suffer from these sorts of sleep problems, and often times the underlying causes can be discovered and corrected.

It’s All About Attitude

As I have stressed in my past posts mentioning diet, you can either look at fitness as something you’ve got to do, or as something you get to do. Finding a physical activity you like and look forward to doing will inevitably make you feel healthier and happier. The reason my lifestyle change has been successful, is because I have found routines that I enjoy doing and have done at my own pace, in my own time frame. Different fitness regimens work for different people. I’ve moved from one physical activity to another my entire life and there are plenty of ways to be active that don’t resonate with me at all. Running, swimming, and Ironman triathlons are enjoyed by millions of people with joy and purpose, they are activities that don't work for me. Likewise, many people may be bored silly by the things I love to do like cycling & pickleball. So try a few fitness ideas and see which ones you like best. There is no single activity that’s perfect for everyone. So try a bunch of things, find something you love to do, and set aside time each day to do it.

I Feel GREAT and So Should You!

See attached images below:

#1 - This was towards the beginning of my riding days in 2010.

No fancy clothes or equipment. I think I rode about 5 miles

that day and I was feeling it by the end! I laugh when I think

back, but not many people would laugh at the results

a few years later!

#2 - Here I am at mile 96 of a 100 mile ride

in 2013 when I was 53, about 20 pounds

lighter than the picture above. You never

Know where that first ride around the block

will lead to!

#3 - 2021, at age 61, taking a timeout during my championship

pickleball match.

#4 - Some of the new friends we have made through playing pickleball. The guy in the middle is celebrating his 68th birthday. When I started playing pickleball with him, he was twenty pounds heavier and not especially fleet on the court. That was a year ago and now, with the less pounds, he moves freely on the court, isn't sustaining nuisance pains every time he plays, and the decrease in weight has allowed him to excel his skill level. All that said, the guy looks great at 68 and is enjoying life!