Aging is a process when we realize our fitness levels decline. We can recall that we may have been at our peak fitness levels when we were in our 20’s. We had the body we wanted and might be wishing we had back. Being active athletes, dancing, hiking and other recreational activities were all things that we did back in our youthful days. Walking around in tank tops, wearing a bikini at the beach or possibly wearing a set of heels with a dress was normal. When you are at the prime of your physiological well-being with freedom from the stresses of life, your body functions very well and you’re happy with how it looks too. As we all know, time goes on and we all get older. Not only does our body’s metabolism slow down to where we gain extra fat and feel aches from previous injuries and the body’s wear and tear, but we also have plenty of additional priorities that consume our time and energy. The effect advancements in age and added priorities in our lives contribute to decreases in fitness.
Some of our personal training clients have fitness goals in which they want their body to feel that way it was in these golden years of being young and active. The problem is that life gets real. Jobs, families and relationships seem to take over the attention that we give to our fitness. These factors may get in the way sometimes for people working to obtain their life time fitness goals of getting back to the lean, athletic and active bodies we once had. Decreases in upper and lower body strength occur. Walking up a flight of stairs or hills can leave people feeling out of breath. Increased potential of injury can occur due to a lack of coordination and balance. These are all caused by lack of adhering the activities that once made us exuberant and healthy.
How do we get back to this feeling of happiness and activity in life? Sometimes that answer lies within the problem statement itself. Let’s look at what might be holding us back. Age contributes to more wrinkles and maybe holding onto fat a little more than we used to. Maybe we had a few injuries in the past that we have to be careful of. There might have also been some bumps along the way that put our minds in a hindered emotional state due to a work, family or relationships. But we sometimes fail to see the bigger elephant in the room that causes us to gain weight, lose strength, and be more susceptible to physical injuries: We don’t work out as much as we used to.
The good news is that most of these issues caused by age is all curable. If we can find a routine of exercise that fits within the obligations we hold in our busy lives, we can get closer to that feeling of how alive we felt in our younger days of physical activity.
A tactic we give to our clients who are working to fend off the effects of aging is to start building baseline attributes that are universal to improve every human’s life time fitness. Look at how you can exercise at least ONCE per week. During this exercise routine, focus on improving upper and lower body strength variables. An average fit person should be able to bend down and tie their shoes, throw a ball for their dog, or get out their car pain free. Focusing on simple exercises such as planks or squats are a simple and effective technique which can be done once per week to significantly help improve upper and lower body strength.
A technique that we coach our personal training clients in Napa is to stand on one leg to improve balance and improve the function the stabilizing muscles around the knee and ankle joints. A simple modification to this technique is to place one hand on a wall or stabilizing object, such as a couch or chair, and work on balancing on one leg for a series of time.
Another simple and underused tactic we offer to our clients is simply walking more regularly. If one of their goals is to be able to walk a hill and go on outdoor excursions without getting out of breath, then we set a weekly tactic to walk a certain distance up a hill or an amount of time each week.
Age contributes to our body slowing down physiologically. However, age is also a simple advancement in time that we endure. Living for a longer amount of time in this beautiful world full of so many great things shouldn’t slow down how we move. So, let’s make the most out this and embrace life time fitness as a gift to help us embrace the years to come and feel better physically, mentally and emotionally by ensuring that we adhere to regular exercise as we continue to age.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
