Encouragement

A couple of weeks ago, the kids and I rode our bikes over to the local (very local - this was a pretty slacker bike ride I assure you) mall. I had not been on that bike for SEVENTEEN years! Uh, so I guess it was high time.

We had dinner (my husband met us there – his bike had a flat) and we went to Borders. I stumbled upon this book called “Younger Next Year”. I leafed through it and liked it so I bought it and boy am I glad I did!

The book provides six rules to live by and says that if you follow them faithfully then you will find that 70% of aging is optional and you will be in great shape until the end of your days. The book is written by an internist and his patient who is in his seventies and skiing, biking, rowing and generally having more active fun than I’ve ever had. Age is just not an issue for this guy and I admire him greatly.

Their tone is realistic optimism, and I found it very encouraging. Their rules are backed up by both science and experience and they sound true to me. I’ve always felt that the rules were “Use it or lose it” and “Great circulation is key” and their findings back those rules.

What they gave me was motivation to buy a heart monitor, buy their journal, and get out there and move every single day, not just a couple of days a week. They recommend that you work out six days a week – four cardio and two weight bearing sessions. They give you guidelines that are easy to follow for how long and how hard you should be working. And they freely acknowledge that at the start all that you can do may not be very impressive – heck you may never get to an impressive level. But what you will be doing is daily sending your body the right messages so it stays in growth and repair mode and doesn’t lapse into energy conserving decay mode.

I’ve read plenty of fitness books and they were all too hard core or too time consuming and/or complicated to get me to make long term changes. Not this book. What it gave me was the encouragement, organization, and motivation to make a daily change – so far I’m sore, I look like a spaz in class at the gym – and I’m loving it.

In my new found quest for cardio, I found a class at the gym that is my absolute favorite – it is called “Zumba”. It is a mix of salsa and hip hop. If the instructor is good, it is an hour of heart pumping hilarity. You know you are working hard, but you are too busy laughing and shaking it to care. I’m also hearing new music. My favorite instructor – this totally amazing and jubilant fellow named Chet – does creative choreography and plays songs like “Apple Bottom Jeans”. I would not have heard that song and I definitely would not be out there strutting my stuff to that song were it not for Chet. I get all depressed if I have to miss one of his classes now. Yes, you heard me, I am pretty much scheduling my life around a hip hop class!

Oh yes, I still dance contra and I still do Pilates Reformer classes, I just added a bunch of new activities to the mix.

Another thing that I've been enjoying is MBT shoes. I found some at an outlet and got a pair for me, one of my sons (the other one wasn't with us and there is no way I'm paying that much for shoes he did not try on and we can't return), and my husband. I go for walks with them and my Nordic Walking poles. I'm sure I'm quite a sight. Tell you what, you can tell those shoes are working - the muscles in your legs and - ahem - hind quarters will let you know! I recommend that you search high and low for a sale on these little gems though - they are expensive.