1/31/10 January is shutting down. I really hope you haven’t given up on all your health goals that were so energized at the beginning of this month. Gradual change requires great perseverance even after mild setbacks. Pull up your bootstraps, garner up some resolve and go back to the goals with a fresh attitude. Please. Do it for the inside parts of your body that you cannot see and that need your dedicated effort to care for them so that they do not silently suffer in anguish and be forced to give you some horrible sign that sends you to the doctor or worse the emergency room to get you back on track. Come on, good health habits aren’t fun, but they are worth it. Stop calling it a resolution and accept it as a part of life. Do you wonder what I resolved to improve for my own health habits for this new year? And would you like a confession as to how I am faring with it? Well even if you don’t here it is….
- I’ve recommitted to the boring discipline of taking a handful of vitamins twice a day, despite the mild nausea and time bother they are to me.
- I believe a small handful of walnuts every day is a great health benefit for the brain and heart so I have it for a snack once a day.
- I picked up my yoga stretches again, my goal is every day. This is not to replace any exercise, just in addition. I have to tolerate the time swallower it is for the benefit of my health.
- going to bed earlier when I’m tired so I can get a full eight hours. Or, take a nap when my nights fall short.
- I try to make a drink that’s good and cleansing for my digestive system, every day: two squeezed lemons, water, stevia, and cayenne pepper! It’s great for increasing the metabolism, and an internal cleanser just like lemon is a good cleaning agent in our house.
That’s five things to do every day, in addition to the other health habits I have accrued over the years. Each morning when I don’t feel like the additional effort, I remind myself, the benefit is worth the extra effort. And truthfully, I will report that I truly feel more energized as a result of the combination of all the yoga, vitamins and sleep. Actually: big difference. I’m not going to give them up, and try my best to make them so routine that I no longer play the “do I have to ?game”. I trust the research on the drink and walnuts so they are the easiest to manage, they can stay too. Perhaps you can re-visit those goals, and remember why you set them. Tomorrow is Monday and a new month. Starting over and fresh is a good idea if you aren’t holding on and going strong.
1/24/10 I think I should tell you I at baked potato chips tonight, and then later scooped a small bowl of vanilla ice cream for myself. I don’t want you to think I can just go without what sounds delicious all the time. I will say though that I don’t eat sweets during the week, and so sometime on the weekend I have a nice splurge. A guilt free splurge. A little of this and that once in a while is the spice of life and can’t possibly make a person fat. The opposite however will. If every single meal is satisfying your dying wish and every craving well, it’s probably not such a good idea to indulge at every meal. A treat is only a treat if taken once in a while. Practicing delayed gratification is so anti-american. Try it anyway, it will be good for your heart.
1/16/10 Never underestimate the value of a good nap. I used to. I’ve been known to say- I hate stopping for a nap-I used to trade my sleep for productivity, not realizing I was also flushing my health down the toilet in such a gradual way that it was almost too late when the sleep deprivation latched onto my functioning. After a long weekend of UTurn with ten ninth grade boys to care for, I collapsed into bed and slept for four hours. I lost more than that over the weekend, so I’ll trot off to bed early even so. I wake up at 5:am every morning for my contemplative thinking, prayer journaling and bible reading so I’m ready to fix my boys breakfast at six every day. I’m a morning person. I can accomplish more by ten am then some people (I am sure) can do in a full day of work. I give my health the gift of an early bedtime. I sleep well enough that I awake naturally, rested and cheerful at 5am. It makes all the difference on my energy, creativity and mood during the day. I believe in protecting sleep as the best beauty and youth protecting aspect of my healthcare. Sleeping well is also promoted by excellent nutrition (at least take good quality vitamins- not synthetic) and effective regular exercise. A chiropractor’s office I went to a long time ago had painted across the top of the wall: “we spend our youth to gain wealth, then we spend our wealth to regain our youth.” That sounds exactly like America. Can’t we just get the prevention idea ingrained? Can we embrace some moderation? Maybe our kids will get it.
1/14/10 A vital component to excellent health that provides longevity and the ability to live in a body that feels young is to practice perfect posture. It may occur to you that this won’t help you achieve the “looking better” goal you have, but actually it will. Look in the mirror and slump. Looks lumpy. Now sit up straight, press your shoulders down and pinch in your shoulder blades now hold you abdominal muscles in tight. Stay that way all day. Ha! It’s not easy is it? It is an immediate fix to looking great though. It requires good training of those muscles to keep excellent posture. Do your trunk exercises daily. Remind yourself all the time to suck it in and sit tall. Yoga is great for establishing good posture. See a chiropractor and get straight on the inside. Taking care of your back will give you the best sensation of feeling young. I can honestly say because I make the stability of my trunk a high priority in my exercise routine, I still feel like I live in a body that feels the same as it did when I was 24. I’m not exaggerating. Five years ago I discovered I have spondylosthysis, which is a broken vertebrae that fused in an terrible way, probably as a result of dancing on cement as a young girl. (a common condition for former dancers and gymnasts) To make sure this doesn’t slip and move into a position that could cripple me I must take care of my trunk stability with exercises. It’s my only hope of not aging horribly in my back. I don’t want to be eighty and limited because I didn’t care when I was forty.
1/11/10 I care alot more about my health in the morning than I do at night! I don’t care about much after 8pm, my little self expires. At 5: when I’m tired and hungry I really don’t feel like making the separate meal for my self. (explain: I have gluten and dairy free restriction so I usually eat a meal other than what I make for the family. Been this way now for five years. I’m used to it but it requires effort, thought and work.) If I plate up my meals in the morning when I am more virtuous with my health I am guaranteed to eat right. I don’t want to take time to cook for myself three times a day. When I’m hungry I’ll resort to an energy bar, albeit good, not as good as a bowl of vegetables rice and steamed chicken. Try it. Portion out some meals when you feel most committed to your health goals and then when you are hungry, don’t make decisions again, just eat what’s waiting for you. And freezing meals in portion sizes is wonderful for a busy schedule.
ps Jordan just noticed I was writing about health and fitness, so he offered to model his abs for you. He even whipped off his shirt to prove their definition. I’m shaking my head. I will spare you the ordeal, and leave you with a good laugh.
1/8/2010 Why is it most people who search the health food store for help are already in trouble and seeking to fix what’s wrong? What do we need to do to get people to CARE about their health and do a little bit of prevention? This was me! When I got sick because we couldn’t figure out I was gluten intolerant I sought every solution possible in the health food store to feel better. I got so healthy while trying all the ideas thrown at me. We don’t have to feel awful to benefit from some old fashioned health care from good nutrition and exercise. Since I’ve been feeling well I have to really try to stay motivated to practice some good health even though it’s no longer critical. For example, I hate taking a stack of vitamins. I don’t love plain water. I’d rather have something crunchy starchy and salty than a wee tiny handfull of nuts.I want to feed my sweet tooth when ever it cries. I want a good sweat but would rather skip the stretch. When we KNOW, we are then we are responsible for trying to choose what’s good for our health rather than do what we “feel” like doing: sitting, snacking on junk, drinking soda, skipping the nutrition fo the tastebud high. So here’s a few things I have asked myself to do whether I feel like it or not because it is good for me in ways I can’t see: take my vitamins, drink the minimum amount of water, have a cup of tea each day, eat a small stack of walnuts for one snack a day, and do my stretch routine in addition to my regular work out five times a week. Eat dessert once a week. Have you asked yourself what you are willing to do just for your health each day knowing it might never “show” on the outside, but will improve longevity,prevent disease, improve energy, brain health and organ function?
1/5/10 I know I cannot be alone when I say that by five o’clock I have lost all resolve I was firmly adhered to in the morning. I am also not the only one who stuffs two days into one. When I wake up at five am every day I ought to be tired twelve hours later. But, I’m mama, so I need to cook, take the kids to activities, oversee music practice, and homework, welcome home my husband and be half alive during the evening so we can enjoy being together. HELP! Caffeine is not the answer…though I’m a regular at various starbuck’s around town. I mix it up so none of them get to know me too well, I don’t want the starbuck chain to tag me as an addict. Giving up at night isn’t an option either. I want to do the second half of my day with as many good intentions as I do in the first half. My solution: Vitamins, Healthy food….and I suspect~ a nap! I’ve never been one to embrace napping, but, if it will rescue my evening perhaps I’ll give it the old college try. Don’t even suggest sleeping in later. Not an option for me. I’m a morning person. I have my bible study with coffee, then I cook breakfast for the boys before they get on the bus. I’ll give myself permission for a nap and we’ll see how that goes. You know though I will suffer great harrassment from my jealous husband who wakes up at 4am every day (for bible study and a workout) he goes all day and hangs in there all night and usually stays up later than me…all without a nap. I’ll never hear the end of it. But if I nap I won’t be grouchy about it.
A fitness tip: don’t wear sweat pants around the house if you are trying to lose weight. Suffer a little and wear the tight clothes, it will make you think twice about that date with ben and jerry when you are bored. (yes of course I have that date occassionally myself, how do you think i know?)
1/3/10 This third day of the year brings some challenges already to our fitness goals for the new year. We begin to wonder if we bit off more than we can chew. Take a moment to assess the goal and make sure it is realistic and well motivated. I personally believe being skinny isn’t a great goal, it won’t be satisfying in itself once obtained. However, being healthy is a worthy goal and when you feel healthy your whole life will improve. Making goals is an excellent endeavor but it’s critically important to enjoy the JOURNEY towards the goal. This means finding enjoyment even though you are going without something you thought you had to have…cheese, chocolate, burgers, fries, ice cream… There are so many other interesting and enjoyable things in our reach, find one and celebrate it. Such as… for me… a walk with Lucy even though I’ve exercised already that day, a hot cup of peppermint tea and a good book, a nap, kitting and an old movie I love, a travel book loaded with photos of places I’d like to see. Food is not the only source of pleasure. Find a good substitute and keep your goal in sight.
12/20/09 The question we should ask ourselves each morning as we plan our our day is: What type of exercise am I going to do today that will honor and improve my health?…. What we should not ask ourselves is: Am I going to exercise today?…. getting and keeping fit is something that can become a habit just like brushing our teeth. DON”T measure the time because in the big scheme of life having a healthy body adds years in the end. Trust me, you’re going to want those years.
12/17/09 When I taught fitness there were as many types of exercisers as there are cereals in the grocery store. Some abused exercise, others hated it, most swallowed it like a pill. As a person who has exercised regularly since I can remember being alive…I will explain… I was a dancer til my freshman year in college- which was my major that year- and I quit flat after my freshman year. I haven’t danced since I was nineteen. I was so accustomed to having an athletic lifestyle that I began to run. I liked running and continued to do it until I was married and living in Virginia, when I could afford to join a fitness center. I liked it so much I became an instructor… it was the healthy solution to missing my dancing days… I did that for twelve years. When the fourth kid joined us I couldn’t do it anymore but I have had my own enjoyable workouts ever since I quit teaching. What I want to point out is that it’s so important to keep trying new things with exercise. Our minds are not the only things that get bored with the same exercise, our body gets bored too and stop progressing. It doesn’t really want to be challenged, it would rather be comfortable. It is our job to challenge our body with new forms of exercise so it will continue to respond with overall good health benefits. That’s why I rollerblade, run, bike, lift weights, do yoga and speed walk. If I’m bored I won’t want to do it. Please consider trying several ways to exercise to keep it fun and interesting. I have a gym in a spare bedroom and so I am spoiled with my dog’s chin on my knee while I do sit ups, and with the tv on the channel I want to watch. But even so I am considering taking some classes soon at a gym just to change things up a little bit it’s good for everyone but Lucy who will miss me a couple times a week. Cross trainining is a seriously important approach to fitness, don’t dismiss it even if you just love your favorite exercise so much, runners are notorious for this, because your body need new challenges.
12/13/09 I understand this is time of year most people procrastinate with their health. We are already planning our diet for January and tossing open the boundaries of healthy eating and diving in for indulgences. I think that’s a really bad idea. There’s too much roller coastering in this scheme. It’s possible to enjoy the delicacies of the season and not gain another ten pounds that crept up all through the year which will need to be shed in January, or saved for next January when you have more resolve. When I was teaching fitness (I was a fitness instructor for 12 years) I could predict the conversations I would have with people this time of year. The best way is to be moderate with the indulgences now. A little bit of something scrumptious is as satisfying as two helpings, without the stomach ache. It’s too much work to lose weight, it is much easier to maintain a healthy weight. Become an expert at maintaining! Start NOW, don’t wait til January…. take a fifteen minute walk before or after every meal. That’s not too hard and you’ll be surprised how that can add up for you in a good way.
12/7/07 Let’s not forget food is really fuel for our body. If we don’t give it the high quality nutrition it won’t run optimally. Especially during busy seasons when we do much more than usual, and are more susceptible to getting colds it is critical we eat well. That means save the sweets, alcohol, and high fats for one splurge a week. Yes that’s where it belongs in our diet: once a week. For the rest of the time, be sure to get enough high fiber foods (beans, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables), get some lean protein like fish, chicken, and beans. Drink plenty of water. It’s such a good habit to make nutrition important. Every meal doesn’t have to satisfy what you feel like tasting. It needs to satisfy what your body needs to perform. Fuel not “feel”. Let emotion motivate other enjoyable activities, and let your brain tell your taste buds what you ought to eat for the benefit of your whole body!
12/1/09 Did you know cardiovascular exercise is cummulative? You don’t have to take one long workout for it to make a difference in your health. We need thirty minutes of cardio for our heart health each day. If that means we only get two fifteen minute workouts, that’s good. Even three ten minute sessions is effective. The important thing is to not give up because we are too busy. Don’t stop caring about it because you already have so much to care about that is urgent. I learned a long time ago not to allow the urgent things in life to push out the vital parts of life. Our health is vital, take care of it so it’s not the urgent problem of the day. And, you can bank on the fact that if you don’t take care of your health it will catch up with you and you won’t like it one bit even if you are old and should expect it. No one has to expect to lose their health, it comes after years of neglect.
A secret tip for a tight butt: (sorry, but it’s important for back health to have a tight butt ya know) You have to brush your teeth 2 minutes in the morning and 2 minutes at night. Well, try doing squats for all of your teeth brushing time. I can guarantee you two things: you’ll get really sore at first, and then, you will firm up the backside. Caution: make sure you use good form, don’t let your knees go forward, let your butt go back like sitting in a chair.
11/30/09 The holidays have begun which means there will be alot more butter, cream and sugar mixed into our food transforming a dish in to “special occasion fare”. Be-aware. I think it is wonderful to enjoy the celebrations of the season, but as always self control and portion control will save you from growing out of your clothes by New Year’s. Weight watchers has a budget system for enjoying food. If you know you are going to a party eat a little less a few days before and then eat a little less at the party than you might want but still enjoy it. I have to figure without counting every calorie there will be an even exchange. And watch out for the calories in the alcoholic drinks. A couple cocktails can have as many as a lunch! And most important don’t get so busy this season that you skip your exercise. Stick to it! You will feel so good in January if you do. You will actually enjoy the holidays more if you feel positive about your physical self. Really.
11/17/09 Our body image and our actual bodies may not be the same picture. When you look in the mirror do you see what everyone else sees, or something else? Are you harder on yourself than you should be? or, Are you more cavalier about your health than you should be? The point of our health and fitness is quality of life, not a comparison to someone else. If our health habits are diminishing what we are able to accomplish because we have no energy or get sick constantly then there’s room for improvement. If we are over training and constantly tired and worn out, that might be even worse than no exercise! It’s so important to find the balance that is right for YOU. It’s not a one for all prescription. It’s a journey of self discovery, balance, discipline, and committment. Only you can do it, not a personal trainer, or a personal chef. You have to want it. Do you?
One other thought: only one hundred extra calories a day over a period of one year puts on ten pounds.
9/12/09 I believe that most people in America have no idea what a real portion size is. We are so accustomed to the mounds of food served to us at restaurants that it becomes normal for us. If we just at half of the food served to us, or half the amount we think we are hungry for I believe there would be a lot less people whining about their weight. Portion sizes in Europe are so reasonable and meagercompared to our American piles. It makes sense that they can eat rich food and not be fat because they eat ten bites rather than fifty bites. I wonder if we all stop cleaning out plates what that would do to our waistlines?
9/8/09 I wish everyone had a form of exercise that made them as happy as rollerblading makes me. I plug in my christian music, strap on wrist weights sink into my quads and push hard for miles and miles. Often I feel like dancing on my skates so much but know if I do I’ll look like a fool. I will look around and make sure no bikers are behind or in front of me and then i’ll let it go. It feels wonderful to fly free on wheels. When I finish an hour blade I’m soaking wet, tingling all over and certain I just got a great workout that I never noticed was happening. It does wonderful things for my body but greater things for my soul.
9/4/09 It is much more difficult to practice self-control than abstinence. If I put a bowl of delicious candy on the counter and tell the kids they should really only each have ten pieces it’s sooo difficult for them to resist returning for the next ten, twenty, or thirty pieces. It would be easier for them if I never put it on the counter in the first place…. except I want them to actually practice self control. I believe self control is something that needs a lot of practice to master. If they never get delicious treats they’ll binge when they do because they really do taste better than anything else. But if they can learn to have a little bit once in a while and learn to stop before they think they are done, that’s real accomplishment. Meanwhile, while I teach them I can continue practicing my own struggles with this area… and i suspect I am not alone. A while ago I gave up abstinence for the greater challenge.
9/2/09 I have known too many people to roll their eyes at the topic of health and fitness and separate themselves from it because they believe they are too far gone or beyond repair. Being too over weight, having too many bad eating habits or being too old are not obstacles to improving health every day that we have left! Most importantly if you have children and you want them to healthy for goodness sakes they learn more from what they observe than what they hear. Fitness should be a family activity, a gang effort. I believe it is never ever too late for anyone to begin improving health. And with small steps of improvement that last over time big improvements can be made. Please don’t ever settle for less than the strength and endurance to enjoy more of life than you are currently.Please I beg you to try and set small goals to make health and fitness a priority. It will be worth it I can promise that much.
9/1/09 Donny just went for a three mile run at 9:30 pm and now he is in the pool. I often marvel at the energy teenagers have. Where does ours go? I find myself a little jealous of it because I am certain he’s having more fun with life than I am! He’s grown up with exercise as a part of life, so he naturally enjoys exercise as a way to feel good but also deal with stress. I am so thankful he has developed good health habits. That was one of my parenting goals for my kids. I wanted them to independently have healthy activity habits and eating habits. So far they all do. This i count as a great blessing.
8/31/09 The complaint I hear most from fellow active exercisers is that their body doesn’t change. They enjoy better than average fitness but they want to see some pounds melt off and enjoy a sleeker slimmer figure. When I question the intensity of their work out I usually discover the culprit. Most people don’t want to exercise at the intensity level necessary to create a deficit and cause the body to go into the storage area for the necessary energy. (fat) The other reason is less obvious: many people find one sort of exercise and that’s it. Cross training is essential for keeping the body responding well to fitness demands. It’s as if you were reading a novel and your mind enjoyed it so much you read it again. But again and again and again your mind is bored, it needs new stimulus. So cross train! Run, bike, rollerblade, speedwalk, lift weights, strength stretching, hike…. and shoot for optimal intensity in every work out. I guarantee changes will occur…. (unless you start eating more to compensate and that’s another topic)
8/29/09 Saturday morning on the trails with my bike is the best exercise fun out there. I couldn’t imagine going into a gym when the trails offer so much good comaraderie and competition. There are so many bikers and runners and a handful of rollerbladers. The bladers are way too casual about getting their exercise this way. They should really dip down into those quads and push harder to get more speed. I also recommend blading with two pound hand weights to utilize the upper body muscles and increase the overall cardio cost. Biking is fun when there are other bikers out. I like to pass the men. Ok, they are older, but last I checked, so am I. When I pass a guy who looks like what he’s doing on a bike I feel strong. I have to do it with confidence that I can maintain the speed I pass at or he’ll dust me shortly. Once a guy rode on the back tire for almost ten miles. It was exhausting! I rode so hard I could barely breathe all because he wasn’t so happy that I passed him. I suppose passing requires considerable calculation. I wouldn’t want a tire rider again so I will carefully choose who I pass. However it works out when there are more people on the trail I am more motivated to ride harder which translates into an overall better workout and that’s a happy result.
8/26/09 I had the BEST rollerblade today. It was the sort of morning I only had forty minutes because it was a busy day. So when I strapped on my blades and hit the trails I meant business. I sunk deep into my legs and pushed hard and fast hitting speeds of fourteen miles an hour. I wear two pound weights strapped on my wrists to get an equally challenging upper body workout. I love it when I pass bikers! Not the speedsters, but the slower strolling bikers. It surprises them and it energizes me. No snakes today. That’s always a blessing. I had that great after glow of a hard workout. I tingled for an hour or so afterwards. Felt great. I love the gliding of a good blade workout. I turn up my contemporary christian music in my ears and I let my mind free to wander around the issues of my life. I often think I workout more for my mental health than for my body. I love how topics float to my consciousness while I exercise and I often solve pesky problems without any effort at all. Yes, I definitely am motivated to exerxcise primarily to improve and protect excellent mental health. I can be so positive when I purge my problems in a good sweaty workout. This is why I love cardio. I don’t get the same mental release when I lift weights. That’s probably why I don’t like lifting much…. but I still do it because i know how important it is for my aging health and overall strength.
8/23/09 Monday is approaching and for many people that’s the usual beginning of good/better habits. If this is you approach it with a positive outlook and set a few goals for the week such as getting the optimal amount of cardio exercise, two weight lifting and at least two stretch sessions packed into the week. Eat healthy, skip the sugar, cut down on the caffeine, limit the alcohol, go light on the portion size, and get enough sleep. Do it all in the name of Good Health– not for a number on your scale. When I approach my health for health’s sake and not for what I will look like I stay motivated and I feel positive in the process.
8/20/09 Consistency is the main problem with most exercise routines. So is boredom which leads to abandonment. Keep it interesting by changing where and how and with who. To make big changes in body composition exercise cannot be thought of as a quick fix but a lifestyle adoption. The minimum recommendation by the AHA for a healthy heart is 30 minutes of cardio per day five days a week. Please note: that’s to improve the heart lung organs and it may or may not alter the body composition, depending on how much extra is eaten when appetite increases. To actually lose weight, it may be necessary to bump it up to 45-60 minutes of cardio and eventually make it six days a week. Sorry, but there’s more. I see some people exercise on the trails and they look entirely too comfy. Exercise needs to be somewhat uncomfortable. So if you suspect your intensity is not quite up where it should be to affect change in your body, get it up there. I highly recommend using a heart rate monitor to measure how hard your exercise sessions are for you and to be able to measure improvements. The monitor can be bought at a sporting goods store and has instructions on how to begin measuring the intensity of your aerobic workouts. Don’t assume your exercise is exercise, it may just be activity! Don’t confuse them. For example, I exercise for me every day, but I also walk my dog. That’s her exercise not mine because for my body that’s just a nice activity. For a beginner exerciser however it may be exercise. Know your fitness level and be honest about how intense your workouts are so you can actually make progress toward goals.
8/19/09 There are five components of fitness that need balance to provide us optimal health:
- Cardiovascular exercise- eg. biking, running, long sustained rhythmic exercise that keeps the heart rate up into the aerobic zone
- Muscular Strength- how much weight a muscle can move one time
- Muscular Endurance- how many times a muscle can move a weight or how long the muscle can hold up a weight
- Flexibility- the stretching ability of muscles, to reduce risk of injury
- Body Composition- the ratio of lean hard tissue to fat tissue
It could feel like a full time job getting all this balanced and done well, but it doesn’t have to be. I do however believe all five are essential to having a healthy, fit body that’s able to respond like a 25 year old even into our retirement years. I’m going to go into more depth about these five topics over the next few days and begin to explore why some people are frustrated with their exercise routines. It seems many complain they exercise but don’t get the results they want. I have a few ideas about that.
8/18/09 For all the avid, extreme and dedicated exercisers: never underestimate the value and necessity of a day of rest every week. Take a day off and let the body repair itself. The next day will be a much better effort if we do. Today is my day off. I can feel I need it. I’ll take a minute to plan the week’s exercise strategy and set a standard I can promise myself to keep. My mind will work that out today and perhaps tomorrow I’ll begin a strong session. I find it’s good not to be “forced” out of my workout but to make it a conscious choice. I know I can work in some exercise even on the busiest of days, so I never want “too busy” to be the reason for rest. Rest isn’t a default setting for a healthy life style, it’s essential.
Exercise has been something I have really loved doing for as long as I can remember. I was a dancer til I quit at nineteen. I figured I ought to do something physical so I started running. I loved it. Then when we were newlyweds and moved to Roanoke I began teaching aerobics. It combined my love for fitness with creativity in choreography. I stopped teaching when Jack was not yet two and we had just moved to Connecticut. We put a gym in our basement and I was on my own to keep the fitness routine fresh and working. Sometimes it’s not so easy to exercise in the most balanced and effective way. I love a good cardio sweat. But as I am moving on in my forties I realize the critical importance of lifting weights to maintain strength and the equally important discipline of stretching to maintain flexibility. I don’t love lifting weights like I love a great rollerblade or bike ride. But I am giving in to do the thing because I know I want to feel strong as I get older. I believe feeling strong, having endurance, energy and flexibility is going to make me feel young regardless of the number of years I rack up. So, there I go pushing weight and rolling my eyes wishing sometimes I were doing anything else, even ironing! The problem has become time. If I’m going to commit to lifting, I have to give up some cardio because I don’t have enough time to get both done the way I’d like. If I look long distance at health I want to have strength more than about anything for my body as an old woman. So I have to trade what I really want (an every day sweat) for what I need, strength from boring weight lifting exercises. So, if you are a foolhardy cardio hog wise up and pump some weight. If I have to, then I figure you should too. It will make me feel better knowing I’m not the only one sulking.
