The Come Alive Project

Tag: senior fitness

  • Energy Bite 326 – Discipline and The Flow of Life

    “Discipline: The root of all good qualities. The driver of daily execution. The core principle that overcomes laziness and lethargy and excuses. Discipline defeats the infinite excuses that say: Not today, not now, I need a rest, I will do it tomorrow.”
    — Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom

    Those words from Jocko Willink, former Navy SEAL Officer, author and podcaster, contain the real definition of discipline — self-discipline that is. While discipline is expected from elite military groups like the Navy Seals, Marine Corps Force Recon, and Army Special Forces, what about the average 55 year old and up Senior who wants to age as a healthy and fit man or woman, but can’t seem to find anything other than excuses to make it happen.

    I often write about Dick Van Dyke, the dancer/comedian who says, in his nineties, that his 40 minutes in the gym is the best part of his day. He continues to do soft shoe dancing and has continued to play roles in movies as recently as 2018 where he played a part in Mary Poppins Returns.

    I also write about the late Gillian Lynne, the choreographer of Cats and Phantom of the Opera,who was still active into her nineties. She died of pneumonia at age 92. She made an excellent exercise video while in her 80s and, like Dick Van Dyke, proclaimed her daily 45 minutes in the gym to be the best part of her day.

    These are noteworthy people who are/were committed to be healthy and fit as a way of life. These are seniors who discovered the Fountain of Youth within them and learned how to bask in the Flow of Life.

    They are among the many Seniors like you and me, who have learned that there are no shortcuts to a long, productive and active life. They have learned that the way to living long, productively and independently can be found in keeping their old bodies young and their minds productive.

    They are representative of those seniors who know that the key to the flow of life is physical movement and focused mental activity, coupled with a healthful overall lifestyle — and discipline! You can find them at the gym at 6:30 in the morning. You can find them briskly walking on the sidewalks or paths at the same time each day or even on the ski slopes in Winter. You see them in your own town or city, moving quickly through the stores and markets, and even heading to their doctor’s appointments, with their heads high, their postures erect with a gleam in their eye and a grin on their face.

    They understand the importance of discipline to their healthy lifestyle and they are discipline’s role models.

    As former Navy Seal Officer Jocko Willink says:

    “Curse the warmth of the bed.
    Curse the comfort of the pillow.
    Fight the temptation of weakness.

    Get up and go.

    Do it quickly, without thought.
    Do not reason with weakness. You cannot.

    You must only take action.

    Get up and GO.”
    — Jocko Willink from Discipline
    Equals Freedom

    Thank you for reading

    .

  • Energy Bite 325 – Keep Your Tubes Clear and Their Contents in Motion

    Circulation means movement. Air circulates. Fluids circulate. People circulate. My dictionary says it means:

    1. Move through a space, circuit or system, returning to a starting point or removal.

    2. Cause to be widely known.

    3. Cause to be distributed.

    The third definition is what happens when a newspaper is distributed. We often say that a newspaper or magazine has a “circulation of a certain number of people”, or “the newspaper has a wide circulation. That definition also applies to the distribution of these weekly “Energy Bite” articles.

    The second definition is sort of like social media. Your message circulates through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or whatever.

    It is the first and third definitions that relates to your physical body. Your body is a series of tubes, some self-contained, some with a beginning and an end.

    Your blood circulates through your blood vessels (tubes), powered by your heart and distributing nutrients to your cells. Air circulates through your body, inhaled through your mouth or nose and delivered to your lungs where it is absorbed by the bloodstream and carried to the cells. There, it is used, picked up by the blood again and returned to be exhaled as Carbon dioxide (CO2).

    As long as blood and air are in motion, we live. When they stop, we die. We cannot live without either. When we exercise, we tend to speed up the circulatory process. Our heart rate increases with exercise; our breathing increases with exercise — both providing fuel to provide energy for the body.

    Our digestive system fits that third definition. It’s how we take in fuel, distributing it to the body through the bloodstream, and eliminating the leftovers — all through a series of tubes which must be kept clear.

    Your Lymph system is a self contained system that eliminates wastes other than food waste.

    Movement of air and water provides a cleansing system in life outside the body as well. When air is moving, it is self-cleaning. I’ve read that a ceiling fan filters air better than the air filter in your furnace.  Wind helps clean the air in the atmosphere. I’ve read numerous accounts of how fast the air needs to move to clean it, but a ceiling fan or table top fan seems to fill the requirement for a room.

    Much the same is true of water. Before our municipal water purification were developed, water flowing over rocks was considered the most natural way to clean it. Stagnate water pools. It is self-polluting. Moving water acts as its own filter when flowing swiftly over rock and stone. Of course, it’s not nearly as clean as modern standards require.

    The point of all this is that circulation cleanses, nourishes, and purifies. Circulation is life! Stagnation allows an environment where disease and other problems can originate and fester. Keeping those tubes clear helps keep the circulation in motion. Clogged tubes shuts off the circulation and heart attacks, lung and respiratory diseases and digestive problems are the result. Exercise, deep breathing and sound eating habits keep the tubes clean.

    The more you move, the better the air and fluids circulate through your body. You are less susceptible to disease — not disease free, just less susceptible.

    Thank you for reading.

  • Energy Bite 323 – The Value of Taking a Walk

    Some time ago, I wrote an article for this blog about how a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that your walking speed is a predictor of longevity. The faster you walk, the longer you may live

    I don’t really know whether that’s true or not. I’ve seen it reported numerous times in articles in newspapers and magazines.

    Regardless of whether walking speed is a predictor of longevity, it has been well demonstrated over the years that walking is good for your overall health and wellness. If you make walking a part of an overall exercise program, you should be substantially more healthy and fit than if you don’t. Makes sense.

    Walking has often been called the “Universal Exercise”, particularly for seniors. Much of the benefit that younger people get from running, seniors will get from walking, without most of the accompanying chances of joint injury, foot problems and other challenges associated with running.

    And as an added benefit, many Senior walkers report a feeling of “flow” much like the well known “runners high”, a sort of “altered state” or “hypnotic trance” that is sometimes associated with steady, consistent, undistracted movement.

    How much walking is best? I haven’t seen any sort of standard answer. I’ve read that several 20 to 30 minute walks a week will keep seniors healthy. My wife and I walk around 40 minutes twice a week (most of the time), along with our visits to the gym.

    If you are physically able, I suggest that walking a couple of times a week is the best way to start a new exercise program. You can build from that. But whether you choose to expand from simple walks or not, it’s in your best interest to get in some walking during the week.

    You swing your arms. You exercise your legs. You breathe deeply. If you have a local park or trails, you can even get a feel for the joys of nature.

    Right now, if your local or State Government hasn’t shut you down, walking is probably as “good as it gets” for a pleasant distraction. If it’s not allowed in your locale, then some other form of exercise may be the distraction and stress reducer you are likely in need of.

    And later this afternoon, my wife, grandson and I, plan on going on one of those walks on one of the many nature trails in our town. We walk relatively fast. Will it make us live longer? I’ll bet it will help.

    Maybe we’ll run into some of you there.

    Thank you for reading.