Category: Senior Fitness

I had already written today’s article when a story in today’s Health and Science Section of the Washington Post caught my eye and I thought I would pass the gist of it along to you.  It’s a true to life example of how Exercise and Good Nutrition can help heal.  It’s about how 69 year old writer Pat Conroy, author of novels such as “The Prince of Tides”, “The Lords of Discipline”, and “The Great Santini”, made a change in his lifestyle and went from major physical problems, to health and fitness.

The article, written by Nora Krug, is about how Conroy found himself in a hospital with Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and a bad liver.  Conroy said “no” to additional major hospital care in favor of a self-help program of physical recovery (watched over by his doctor according to Conroy’s blog).  According to the article, Conroy lost 25 pounds, quit drinking, and normalized his blood pressure.  The article points out that Conroy’s physical recovery demonstrates that “no matter your age or how far you’ve fallen, there are still ways to regain your health.”

How did he do it?  According to the article, it’s wasn’t easy to start, and is still  challenging.  In fact when he was first diagnosed with diabetes in 1996, he was told to lose weight and exercise more.  According to the article, he said that he just didn’t do what he knew was necessary.

So, following his critical trip to the hospital three years ago, Conroy started to finally take action.  He went on a real and workable diet and started going to a gym.  But not just any gym — he partnered with a Personal Trainer and together they created their own, somewhat Spartan fitness studio  (see last week’s article, Energy Bite 98).

At age 69, Conroy combines strength, stretching, balance and cardio exercises into a series of daily and weekly variations, all prescribed by his business partner and personal trainer.

Here is a key point, and I quote directly from Nora Krug’s Washington Post article:

“ ‘The thing that surprises me,’  he says of his workouts, ‘is that I keep coming back.  I thought I would get sick of it.  Now I have made it a part of my daily life, like writing.  It’s been habit-forming.’ “

 The moral of this story?  First, it’s never too late to start exercising and eating right.  Second, exercise and healthful eating can put you on the road to physical recovery from major physical illness and other physical challenges.  But please don’t take this as a suggestion that you avoid doing what your doctor tells you.  If fact, if you have serious illness or injury, you should always pay attention to your doctor’s advice.

For a hilarious and enlightening read, here’s a link to Conroy’s own blog post where he describes in his own humor-filled words, his journey from illness to health through exercise and nutrition.  Conroy’s own blog post makes a pretty powerful statement and is well worth reading.  One suggestion from Conroy’s blog:  Never hire your next door neighbor as your nutritionist.  It can really get annoying.

The full article by Nora Krug, can be found on Page E1 of the Health and Science Section of today’s (Aug. 18, 2015) edition of the Washington Post.

Thank you for reading.

I just finished reading a book called The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle.  In it, he writes about why some athletes or groups of athletes, some musicians, and why some artists in other fields seem to develop exceptional talent, while others with seemingly many greater advantages, seem to miss out.

Coyle writes about “hot beds” of talent and includes a “penniless” tennis school in Russia with only one indoor court, a little league baseball team from the Caribbean, women’s golf in Korea, a music school in Upstate New York and other places that seem to outproduce the rest of the world’s talent in those highly competitive fields.

One of the things that all these places seem to have in common is that they are all “run down”, old and minimalist facilities.  It made me think about the difference in exercise facilities between someplace like the gym I go to, which has all the space and equipment anyone at any fitness level needs, and the super luxury fitness facility around the corner where everything is spa-like and leisurely.  I go to the gym to work out.  The luxury gym promotes leisure, and people go there to socialize and meet and greet.  The gym I use has a wide, across the board membership, that includes a lot of older adults.  The luxury gym is for people with a different agenda.  The luxury clubs really promote the luxury of their locker rooms, as if you spend most of your time there.

Then, there are the “boxes” at Crossfit gyms.  There is no luxury there.  They are about as spartan as it is possible to get.  You go to Crossfit to do some heavy duty workouts.  Any socializing is about how to make the exercise routines more difficult.  And, in general, the results show it.  If you want to be a hard core fitness athlete, then Crossfit can be an option.  They don’t mess around.  Older adults participate in Crossfit, but not many.

Here’s another example of how minimal facilities can promote the best in basic fitness.  Imagine a group of middle aged or older men and women doing tough, agonizing workouts, calisthenics and dumbells, all on asphalt shopping center parking lots, and using regular bath towels instead of exercise mats to cushion them when on their backs or stomachs.  That’s the way The Sergeant’s Program, the original “boot camp” program operates, as do many of its imitators.  It’s not the 20 somethings that make up the client base.  It’s middle aged business owners and executives, professionals and Government project managers who fill the ranks, and it’s pretty evenly populated between men and women.  There is a waiting list to get in because most stick with the program and don’t give up their slots.  Oh, and classes start at 6:00 AM.  The only concession to seniors?  They don’t have to participate in the running part.

It’s also interesting to note that the gyms that produce the best boxers are reminiscent of the old “cigar smoke filled”, second floor, sweatboxes that you see in the movies (Rocky), rather than luxury facilities.   That brings back memories of the spartan rowing facilities at the old Potomac Boat Club which was, and remains, a ramshackle building at the base of Key Bridge in Washington, DC.  It hasn’t changed a bit in well over 100 years.  There’s no luxury there and the rowers don’t want it.  A lot of great crews (rowing teams) and a few Olympians came out of that dilapidated old building.

The author of The Talent Code suggests that spartan facilities work because they simply don’t distract from the purpose of being there, as opposed to the message that luxury facilities  give off.  People, and teams, who go spartan are there for the coaching and the practice, not for anything else.

So what’s the takeaway from this article?  You don’t have to spend a lot of money on gym membership.  There are plenty of good facilities, including chains,  that are there for the exercise and not the socializing.  You don’t have to go to a smoke filled, second floor walk up “Rocky” style gym to exercise, but if you’re there for the esercise, you are probably better off getting it in a plain basic health club or gym.  The best gyms are the ones where you go in, exercise, and then be on your way.  Oh, and mine has a modern, spacious and clean locker room, and even has a modern sauna to luxuriate in.

By the way, the book, The Talent Code, is a good read.  I highly recommend it.

Thanks for reading.

We hear so much today about Positive Psychology and how a Positive Mental Attitude is so important to a happy life.  I believe that’s true, but what happens when you add a Positive Physiology to the mix?  When you combine a positive attitude with a positive posture, bearing and personal energy, it adds enormously to how you feel about yourself and how others perceive you.

What does that mean?  It means that a lot about your outward appearance, the way you look at yourself in the mirror, as well as the way others see you, affects your overall perception of how you are aging, as well as how you conduct your lifestyle.

As you get older, you have to be very aware of your posture and those other aspects of the body that succumb to the overall aging process.  Things such as skin elasticity, muscle tone, bone density and the like.  And yes, it’s possible to reduce some of these aspects of aging as we adopt a positive physiology.

Positive Physiology includes:

• The way you stand: A tall, straight and confident posture.
• The way you move: Purposefully, with complete control of your movements, with strength and flexibility well beyond mere functionality.
• The enthusiastic energy you project in the way you come across to others.

I’m not writing this as a “how to” piece.  The “how to” is simple.  Get more exercise, eat better, breathe deeply and get plenty of rest.   I’m writing it simply as a reminder of how your physical body can control your lifestyle as well as the other way around, how your attitude controls aspects of your physiology.  Does the word “holistic” ring a bell?  Yes, “holistic”.  Yes, the mind and the body are one in Spirit.  Yes, your attitude affects your physical being and your physical being affects your attitude.  It’s a continual circle but it is also a “whole”.

What are the Benefits of adding Positive Physiology to the mix?

• Less negativity and possibly less depression
• Development of healthy habits
• Look better in the mirror and to others.
• A Come Alive Attitude
• Feeling of well-being.
• YOU are in control of your mind and your body.
• You are also responsible for them.

So make your body work for you.  You can offset the effects of aging if you choose to.  I have a friend, older than me, who just recently started a major physical rejuvenation effort.  In less than three months, her posture has dramatically improved, she feels better in general and her already great attitude about life and her energy level have both gone through the roof.  It can happen for you too when you add Positive Physiology to your lifestyle.

Thanks for reading.