And would you do what it takes to get that outcome?
In a recent study, researchers analyzed data on 30,162 people aged 65 and older, with an average age of 74. About 10 percent of them regularly did strength training. In a 15-year period, almost a third of the participants died. The people who did strength training at least twice a week were 46% less likely to have died for any reason than were those who strength-trained less often or not at all.
The strength-training group was 41 percent less likely to have died because of a heart problem and 19 percent less likely to have died from cancer. The study suggested that people do moderate-to-high-intensity muscle-strengthening exercises 2 or more days every week. The exercises, such as weightlifting, stair climbing and using resistance bands, should work all major muscle groups. The study suggests strength training as part of an overall activity program that also includes aerobic activity.
That’s a good enough reason for me!
If you like to see more good reasons to exercise, go here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201205/19-reasons-exercise
Before I go on, let me tell you 2 short stories that happened to me and which really illustrate one of my main points of my 13-step program. That point is to start wherever you’re at and to move forward at a comfortable pace. If you’ve been reading my previous newsletters, you’ll notice that I always suggest you make small incremental improvements. Sure, some people can go vegetarian overnight or start going to the gym 2 hours a day, 3 days a week. But in many cases, they don’t stick with their new program and give up before long. So let me tell you my stories.
The first one is about push-ups. Now, I’ve been working out with kettlebells twice a week for the past 5+ years, and I work out with some pretty-heavy weights. But I haven’t been doing much to exercise my chest. So I decided that I’d start doing push-ups. The funny part is, I was only able to do a few push-ups. So, I decided I’d start where I was at.
I began doing what are called “knee push-ups”. These are push-ups where instead of having your feet being at one end of your push-up and your arms at the other end, you have your knees at one end of the push-up. To start with, I think I only did 6 or 8. But it was a start. And so I began doing one set of push-ups in the morning and the other set of push-ups in the late afternoon, or sometimes even in the early evening.
Over a period of a couple of weeks I was able to build up to 10, and then 15, and then 2 sets of 10 knee push-ups. Then last week, I started doing regular push-ups. I was able to start with 10, and so I did a set of 10 push-ups in the morning, and 10 later in the day. A few days ago, I was able to increase my repetitions to 15 in the morning, and 15 later. I’ll stick with 15 for the rest of this week and for next week, but then I will try to go to 20 twice a day. I don’t know how many push-ups I’ll work up to, but the important point I want to get across is to start where you’re at, don’t push yourself too hard, and yet make the effort to improve.
The other story is about working out with my Schwinn AirDyne. I had developed a minor knee problem which I had caused by sitting at my desk with my right ankle crossed and resting on my left ankle. This had caused me some minor knee pain, and so I quit using my AirDyne for a couple of weeks.
When I started back on the AirDyne, I was working out with only my legs, and I was only able to take my speed up to the very first marker, a low level of effort. But that’s what felt comfortable, and so that’s what I did. I really didn’t push myself, although when I do my kettlebell exercises, I push myself pretty hard. But I didn’t want to take the chance to reinjure my knee.
What I noticed to my delight, was that after a few days, without any effort on my part, my effort level on the AirDyne indicator started moving up. After about 10 days or so I decided that I would push myself a little bit. So I would pedal at a low effort rate for a few minutes, and then do one minute at a higher effort level. Then I would go back to the lower rate, do that for a minute or 2, and then go back up to the higher rate. About a week later, I integrated arm movements into my AirDyne workout, and began working out more intensely.
One of my points to both of these stories was that even though I consider myself to be in pretty good shape, I took it easy. I did try to increase my effort level, but I still stayed balanced. The other point is that by following this protocol, I was naturally able to continue to make good progress. I have often recalled a sign that I saw on the wall of a yoga studio that I went to back in the 1970s. The sign said “The best way to make progress quickly, is to make progress slowly”.
To sum this up, don’t be discouraged if your fitness level is really low. Don’t be discouraged if you can only walk a short distance. I recall the story of a lady who used to be my neighbor. She was frankly on the pudgy side. I moved away, and years later I saw her again, but I didn’t recognize her as she was slim and fit. She had to say “Hi Brian. Don’t you remember me? It’s Connie. I used to be your neighbor”.
She told me how she realized she needed to lose weight and get fit, and so she started by just walking to the end of her block and walking back. After a bit, she started walking halfway around the block, and back. Then all the way around the block twice. Do keep in mind that exercise is not the best way to lose weight, but if you can keep your food intake under control, it can be helpful. And it sure helps your health a lot! J
I’m sure you can see where this story is going. Eventually she was walking several miles a day and not only lost a lot of weight, but gained a lot of fitness. Again, we have the point to start where you’re at, and make small improvements along the way.
I hope you’ll make exercise a part of your daily routine and enjoy the great benefits it offers to help you live a long and healthy life.
