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Fitness: Keep You Fitness Going, Even As Life May Change

“I don’t have the energy I used to.”

“OOH, my (fill in the body part) hurts.”

“I was really strong when I was younger.”

“My clothes are shrinking.”

“You get used to the creaking.”

How many of us have heard our parents or grandparents say something along these lines? How many times have we ourselves said something similar?

As we age, we often start to change our fitness priorities. From childhood through young adulthood, part of our day often includes active play, gym class, a sport, or walking to class. We may regularly exercise to improve our sport performance, or look good to impress the ladies. Once we enter into adulthood, midday play or sports are replaced with work – getting stiff while sitting down all day, or duties that include repetitive motions, can lead to joint breakdown. Making time for workouts takes a backseat to spending time with family, or attempting to get the bare minimum amount of sleep necessary to function.

While physiologic reasons do exist for the age-related loss of muscle strength and mass, flexibility, joint mobility, cardiovascular capacity, metabolism, bone density, oxygen consumption, and others; an even bigger determinant is our preventable change in activity.

Why don’t we spend time on our physical well-being the way we used to?

The biggest reason – a lack of time. This is followed by reasons which include lack of access to facilities/equipment, unsure what to do, no energy, too expensive, not convenient, too painful, embarrassed at how out of shape they are, it’s boring, too tired, procrastination.

In a 1994 poll by the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness, when asked why they didn’t exercise, the answers given stated:

• 40 percent said they didn’t have enough time

• 20 percent said they get enough exercise at work or home

• 15 percent said they can’t exercise because of health problems

• 12 percent said exercise is boring

• 10 percent said they’re too old

• 9 percent said exercise isn’t necessary

• 7 percent said they’re too tired The reasons have not changed in the last 13 years, and while some of these may still be true, what it often comes down to is making exercise a priority.

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, something goes wrong, and it’s not getting any better. In fact –

• During the past 20 years, obesity among adults has risen significantly in the United States. The latest data from the National Center for Health Statistics show that 30 percent of U.S. adults 20 years of age and older – over 60 million people – are obese.

• 46 million Americans are currently living with arthritis, the nation’s leading cause of disability.

• Americans spend at least $50 billion each year on low back pain, the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed work

More than two of every five Americans die of cardiovascular disease. Today, more than one in five Americans suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, with more than 2,500 Americans dying from it each day. Of those with heart disease, 52.2 percent are male.

According to the March 2007 issue of Men’s Fitness, Detroit has worked its way back into the top 10 fattest cities in the U.S. at number 9 (worse than last year’s 15th place finish).

To cater to our busy schedules, here are five exercises to address multiple areas of fitness in one short, convenient workout. Equipment costs: about $10, time cost: about 15 minutes to whatever you want it to be.

Exercise #1: Figure 8 Walking – Improves joint mobility, balance, coordination and flexibility

Step forward with one foot, arms go forward in front of your body, arms then drop along side your body (on the same side as the forward leg), reach back behind you – make sure your body twists back (do not just reach your arms back), arms then reach up towards the ceiling, step forward with the other leg and repeat. You are taking normal steps with weight on both legs (not lunging); arms and body make figure eight circles. It is important to not lean your body side to side, only twist it backwards when you reach back. The twist back occurs from the body, not arms. Your feet should point forward the entire time. Start with distance of about 50 feet total, or stand in place and just switch feet vs. walking; do for about 1-2 minutes.

Exercise #2: Jump Rope – Improves cardiovascular and muscular endurance, oxygen consumption, speed, agility and weight loss

There are many different ways to jump – from slow skipping, to double jumping, to moving the feet and body along with the jumps. Try to stay on the toes/balls of your feet. Try for 5 minutes to start, or do intervals of 30-60 seconds and repeat for a total of 5-10 minutes. Work your way up from there.

Exercise #3: Burpee – Improves strength, muscle endurance, speed, power, agility and metabolism

Start from a standing position. Squat down and put your hands on floor. Kick legs back into pushup position. Do a pushup. Jump legs forward. Stand up. Try to do 10 to start.

Exercise #4: T-band Lawnmower – Improves strength, muscle endurance, balance and flexibility

Tie a resistance band to something secure at about waist level. Hold end of band with one hand (we’ll say left), stand on opposite leg (right). Lean forward and reach left arm towards where band is secured, and kick left leg behind while maintaining a straight back (bend forward which should come from hip, not spine). Stand back up (still balancing on one leg) and pull arm along side of your body and squeeze shoulder blades together behind you. Repeat 6-10 times per side.

Exercise #5: Windmills – Improves strength, muscle endurance, flexibility and joint mobility

Stand with a dumbbell held over head. Bend forward from hips (try to keep spine straight) and touch opposite hand between feet while dumbbell arm stays vertical. Come back to a standing position. Do five on each side.

Performance of all of these exercises assumes a certain base level of health. You should always consult a physician prior to any exercise program. If you know of any limitations to performing the exercises, you should be checked and cleared by a medical professional. If you experience any pain or other abnormal or unusual symptoms, you should stop immediately and consult a medical professional.