Healthy Aging- Invest in a personal trainer.

My fitness story

This is a personal status report. I’m doing something to help me stay strong.  Not preaching , just reporting what is working for me.  Don’t you hate hearing people tell you what to do?  Especially people half your age. Well, I’m well into my 70th year and not ready to give up on many more active years, You have heard how I struggle with my aging body. I don’t intend to lose my physical strength without a struggle but lately I have learned that a dilettantish approach to keeping fit is doomed to failure.

I have been a dedicated walker for years, at times logging as much as 25 miles a week, Walking is great exercise but it has some problems. It is a big time killer, Even at a fast pace, it takes a long time to walk 25 miles. I find it hard to dedicate so much time. That is not the biggest problem, however. Walking alone doesn’t stop the deterioration of your core strength.

Fighting the aging process with training

Despite, thinking that I am in good shape, bad things were happening. I was beginning to walk with a stoop (like an old man- as my wife kept telling me). I tried to remember to hold my shoulders up but it was a losing battle. Then, too, I was losing my ability to walk easily on stairs and even to get up from a chair. I didn’t feel old (it is amazing how you learn to rationalize the effects of aging) but my physical abilities were rapidly declining.

Even though I never played athletics as a child, I regarded myself as healthy and in reasonable shape. Never in my life have I consulted anyone about physical exercise, I dabbled in yoga- from books, I joined the gym at work and did the machine circuits, I was never impressed with the results and skeptical about paying for training – until now.

Asking an expert

I was networking and met a personal trainer casually. I confessed my physical deterioration and frustration and he suggested a six month program to rehabilitate my body and train me to keep fit on my own. He told me that there was no reason to accept my growing debilitation. I made the usual excuses. Too much time. I would have to take money from other activities. In the end, I sucked it up and made the commitment- not knowing what to expect. My wife even agreed to join me (we got a two for one deal).

No special equipment needed

It wasn’t what I expected, But it is working. We do squats, curls, push ups, crunches and boxing once in a while, It is all very simple. We can do these exercises at home in between our twice weekly sessions. The bottom line is that Chad has us doing nothing new. What is new is doing them regularly and under supervision. What else is new is that I am regaining core strength, At the Opera last month I easily walked up three flights of stairs without clutching the hand rail, My posture is more erect and youthful as well. And this is after less than two months. My wife is happy as well. Her back pains are gone. She is willing, if not eager for our visits to Chad’s House of Pain, as she calls it.

So that’s my story

So I am high on personal trainers and I am happy to share this experience with anybody who may be having the same frustrations as my wife and I, My experience suggests that depending on an amateur (yourself) to maintain your physical abilities as you age is reckless and foolish, I fired myself and hired an expert to turn my body around and train me to maintain my new strength, I don’t think there is a better investment for a happy retirement than keeping your body strong.

That is my healthy aging story so far. Have you got a story of your own? I would love to hear it.