The Come Alive Project

Tag: senior fitness

  • Energy Bite 319 – Why a Gym? Why Early Morning?

    I go to the gym most mornings. Why? Why don’t I just work out at home? After all, I have some dumb bells, some stretch bands and some other equipment that I can use right there. Why would I get up so early and go to the gym, just to exercise? That’s a good question that I’ll try to answer it here. You may want to give it a try.

    First, apparently a lot of other people seem to feel the same way, particularly seniors. While the gym is not completely full at 0530, it is better than half full. That means that the machines are in use and the floor areas are mostly full. There are even several early bird classes going on that early.

    While there is a seeming overabundance of equipment, I don’t use much of it. I do a series of what I call “floor and core” movements which are mostly done on the ground. I save the machines and weights for last and use devices like TRX suspension trainers (similar to gymnastic rings) and a “tire flipping” machine where truck tires are used to lift up and flip over.

    Going to the gym early puts me around “like minded people” with a lot of energy. Like me, they prefer the early morning and for the most part, find that it energizes their day right from the start. That’s not just the seniors, it also includes a lot of people who work in downtown Washington, D.C., or in the large suburban “mini-cities” that surround the Nation’s Capital. It’s energizing in it’s own right just being around other motivated people that early in the morning.

    My gym is simple. It has floor space, weights, machines and several large class rooms for group exercise classes. It doesn’t have running tracks, basketball courts, a swimming pool or luxury spa areas. It is a gym for people who want to exercise and move on with the day. There are several of the luxury gyms in the area but they are not at all what I am looking for. My gym has a Sauna which is a great pre-shower experience. The Sauna is the the full extent of the luxury.

    There are classes for those who want to do them. There are spinning classes (cycling), Zumba classes, Yoga, and plain exercises of varying intensity. My wife goes to a moderate intensity exercise class a couple of days a week and Yoga on occasion. She gets there early and uses some of the machines before class. It’s also a social period for her and she has made new friends there.

    For those who want individual attention, there are personal trainers available. They seem to be quite busy, even in the early morning.

    So, I have a place to go to get exercise and energy first thing in the morning. If I stayed at home to do the exercises, I might find ways to put it off. But once the garage door goes up in the morning, I am committed.

    While I don’t recommend the early morning exercise for everyone, I do recommend that you check out one of those gyms that will give you a free week membership and see how it works for you. And while the luxury spas can be quite expensive, a simple gym like mine can be quite affordable. Give it a try, you might like it.

    Thank you for reading.

  • Energy Bite 318 – Read This: Grit & Grace

    When I first started writing these Energy Bites a Decade ago, they were in the form of a PDF printable Newsletter. Often, they included a review of a particularly appropriate book that fit the message of Health, Fitness & Personal Energy for Active Seniors. I recently read a book which stands out with its more enlightened message of Health and Fitness, and I feel compelled to share it with you.

    The book, Grit & Grace, excels in the genre of fitness books. It’s not an exercise or diet book, but instead, is a book on living a healthy and fit lifestyle at any age.

    The author is the well known country singer, Tim McGraw, who along with his wife, Faith Hill, recently completed the highest grossing tour in the history of Country Music.

    Country music has always been an enjoyable genre. And Tim McGraw is one of the very best in that field. He puts on a very physical show and has to be in top physical shape to do it (without external substances to give him the unsustainable short term energy that many performers indulge in).

    McGraw’s fitness routine goes beyond what most of us would do. He sometimes works out not once a day, but several times a day with his entire band and support team. He says the workouts are as much mental as they are physical and he includes full sensory visualization as part of his warm up (Hmm, where have you heard that before?).

    The book runs through his entire rationale for exercise and good eating habits. Although his routine is quite extensive, he takes a practical perspective throughout the book. For example, while he talks about the importance of healthy eating and provides some recipes, he says he has to enjoy the food he eats and succumbs to cheeseburgers or pizza on occasion. He says he isn’t a complete fanatic about how he eats. That is as it should be.

    McGraw’s approach to fitness is much the same as my own. His message certainly is similar. His back story of stopping drinking, changing his eating habits, losing substantial weight and getting fit is similar to mine. But he and his co-author, writer, Amely Greeven, have a much better way of expressing it than I do. The way he explains the feeling that he and others get from living fit, makes me want to head off to the gym and put in an hour of exercise right now. It just might do the same for you.

    Here are three bullets from the introduction to the book that I found to be somewhat descriptive of the book as a whole:

    “1.  One small choice to move your body daily can spark a cascade of changes that will turn around the health of your body and mind.

    “2.  It’s never too late to start, and if you commit with purpose and push a little more than you might normally push, even small efforts count big . . .  and

    “3. Transforming your health is not just about knowing what to do. It’s about knowing why you’re doing it, and discovering what stands in the way. . .”

                    — Tim McGraw, Grit & Grace, Introduction, p. ix

    Two more things from the book: First, if you haven’t exercised for a while, start by walking and build from there. Build slowly. Don’t try and start a major exercise initiative with heavy duty exercises at the beginning, and

    Second, McGraw learned about the importance of hydration and drinking plenty of water the hard way. He collapsed during one of his shows after having done heavy workouts without hydrating himself before the show. Take note please.

    I am not a shill for the book. I don’t get a commission or any compensation if you choose to buy it. It is a fitness book and it says you should exercise and eat right. But it puts it in a way that you are much more likely to respond to than the typical book on fitness.

    It’s $10.99 today at Amazon (Prime). In bookstores it retails for $29.99. You will benefit by reading it. I sure did.

    Thank you for reading.

  • Energy Bite 317 – “Motion is Lotion”

    “Motion is Lotion”

    For the second week in a row, my wife gets credit with giving me the topic for my weekly message. Last week she gave me a quote about Wellness and Illness. This week, a friend in her gym class told her that “Motion is Lotion”. It refers to your joints and the synovial fluid (lotion) that keeps them lubricated.

    What is synovial fluid? It’s a thick, lotion like lubricant that keeps your joints moving smoothly. It’s in your knees, shoulders, wrists, ankles and all the other joints in your body.

    When you get arthritis, bursitis, swelling and other inflammation (rheumatoid arthritis) or a breakdown of the joint caused by a disease (osteoarthritis), the make-up of the synovial fluid changes. Medical professionals have a way of testing the make-up of the synovial fluid and diagnosing the cause of your joint problems.

    Damage to the joints usually comes from misuse or overuse, or some sort of overload on the joint. This happens as a result of unusual twists or turns, or the inability of the muscles and joints to support the load put on them. Listen to your body. In most cases, your body will tell you when you are doing something that will cause problems.

    The best prevention is to keep the joints from misfiring in the first place. And the best way to do that is to keep the lubricating lotion in its natural state. That happens when you move your body, keep it in motion, and run your joints through their entire range. A greased hinge will keep on working. When the grease breaks down, so does the hinge.

    Joint replacements are becoming pandemic. My wife has a stainless steel knee. Her sister has an artificial hip. My brother has an artificial hip and knee. I know two people who either have just had or are about to have shoulder joint replacements, one of whom has already had hip and knee replacements. Knee and hip replacement are the most common, followed by shoulder replacement.

    Understand that “Prevention is the best medicine”. And remember: “Motion is lotion”. Keep your body moving to prevent your joints from getting rusty and to keep your joints moving smoothly. If you think you have a problem with your joints, see a medical professional. Otherwise: KEEP MOVING!

    Thank you for reading.