Fitness Mistakes People Make As They Grow Older

 You know who you are.  Whether you are just getting started with fitness or if you are just getting back to it after a decade or two off, you know that consistency is the key.  The hurdles are the same as there were twenty years ago, but it is time to look at them as if you are going to live one hundred years.

 

The book “The 100 Year Lifestyle,” by Eric Plasker D.C. defines a health care model that spans an entire lifetime.  Thinking about fitness in relationship to health is a relatively new concept for those of us over fifty.  We did do the Presidents Council for Physical Fitness testing when we were in high school and it was fun, but that is as far as it went. High School P.E. may have been the last time you thought of physical fitness, until now.  We did those chin-ups but we were not taught to focus on how physical fitness would influence the way we age.

 

The first mistake is embarking on a program because someone else tells you it is the thing to do. Come to terms with why you are doing this.  If you sign up for a program because someone else is nagging at you, it just isn’t going to work. You must do it for yourself.   Whether you are in crisis of if you just want to do what is best for you, you must make the choice yourself.

 

The second mistake is starting out too fast and too furiously.  All you get out of that is instant burnout or in injury that could set you back forever.  Start slowly.  Embrace the mindset and work at a pace that is comfortable for you.

 

Don’t be crisis motivated.  Your crisis may be to lose ten pounds before your sisters wedding, or your pants are too tight for you to breathe, or your doctor tells you to shape up or else.  There is a difference between being crisis motivated and being quality of life motivated.

 

Forget the starvation diets.  Dieting, more often than not, puts your body into a starvation mode and your body will just adapt to it.  Look at your own history.  Your body has adapted to years of abuse, to your unhealthy lifestyle, sedentary ways and your destructive habits.  You are still here.  It isn’t always going to be that way. If your body lets you down, where will you live?   

 

Start with your body the way it is right now, and work with it.  Start slowly. Know what kind of recovery plan your body needs and do the right things.  Warm up, cool down, and get enough sleep.  This is more than doing a few push-ups on Monday morning.  Work on core strength instead of on having six-packs abs.  Adjust your eating habits to your lifestyle.  If you sit in an office all day, you cannot eat like someone who is out plowing the fields.

 

Make your goal a lifetime goal.  Be consistent with your workouts.  Your plan needs to fit your lifestyle, and not just be a knee jerk response to tight jeans.

Comments

[Jia Cabello]

This is excellent advice. I have been on diet and exercise plans that I would only commit to until I lost the weight I wanted. Then I would revert back to my old lifestyle and gain the weight right back. I have found that as I get older, these short term commitments take longer and longer for me to reach my goal weight and less time to gain it back. I have since began working with a personal trainer and finally have my diet and fitness goals in perspective. I have been able to lose the weight I want and have learned how to keep it from coming back! Each day I make a conscious effort to think about what I am going to eat and when I will exercise. I like to read articles like this one because it helps to keep me focused and gives me the motivation to stay on track with my diet and exercise.