How Well Will You Hold Up If It Hits The Fan?
Face it, we are all getting older. With age, things stop working as well and when they break, they take longer to fix, if they can be fixed at all. And of course, if we don't take care, more things will break. I'm in my mid-40s. I'm far from being the 163 pound teenaged Marine that I was at one time. I'm not even the 185 pound young cop fresh from the academy that I used to be. The job that I've had for the last 5 1/2 years is pretty sedentary, and I love to eat (ice cream is a major weakness). I've had to order a new kilt for the fall Celtic festival season because my older ones seem to have shrunk considerably. Deep down, if I have to do something, I usually can, it just takes me a lot longer. In boot camp, I ran 3 miles in just over 21 minutes. With an extra 120 pounds and no training, I can jog/fastwalk/stagger a 5K race in about 48 minutes last time I tried. I can tote and move heavy things, but I see spots afterward and hurt for a couple of days.
It can't go on like that. Things ain't getting any better out there, and I think that I need to fix myself so that I am ready to take care of my family when things go down the tubes. Will I ever be a lean, mean fighting machine or 165 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal again? Nope. But I am losing weight and getting back into a semblance of shape.
Last week, I went to the eye doctor, dentist and regular doctor, none of which have I seen on a regular basis. All in all, everything was pretty good, but there are a few things I need to work on to stay healthy, and I now have the motivation to do it.
What else am I doing? I've joined a gym near my work. So far, I've been going on a regular basis and doing a circuit course. I had forgotten how good exercise can feel. I've also started following my caloric intake. I have the free app, "Lose It" on my phone, and it makes it very easy track what I eat. I'm down about 10 pounds over the past month and a half, and have about 80 more to go. The more I lose, the more motivated I am and the better I feel.
So, how's your health? If it could be better, what are you doing about it? If you truly think that bad times could come, you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to be as healthy as possible.
I'm a little younger than you and a bit lighter but still heavier than I'd like to be. At age 27 I went through Army Basic and exited at 149lbs. Twelve years later I'm 20+ lbs over that but I can still do what I need to.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had to get larger pants but I have lost the ability to carry IWB. I either have to lose some gut or get a larger gun-belt. I'd rather lose the gut as it makes more sense overall.
I've worn glasses since 2nd grade and am about due to get my eyes checked again. I'm waiting until after the 1st just so I've got a slightly more up to date prescription (and glasses) on the off chance something major does happen next year. I don't believe the hype but there's more and more nutcases around the world who might do something stupid.
I've started paying more attention to how much I eat. Like many people I've been known to eat when I'm bored. If you cut that out you should be able to make some easy changes in yourself not to mention reduce your grocery bill. As long as the weather is decent I'm trying to take walks after work for 45+ minutes. With my work schedule sometimes I'm waiting until after bar rush to make it a bit safer for me.
I final thought on this, I try not to use a scale to measure progress. I go by how my clothes fit and how I look. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat. I don't care if I lose ANY weight, I just want to make changes to how my body looks and what it can do.
Steelheart
Good post, Donald.
ReplyDeleteThis past weekend, I went on a 2-night camping trip that included a 10-mile hike over some pretty rough terrain. Not necessarily proof of being in shape, but nevertheless it was fun and provided some good exercise.
Joe
Something I'm doing now that you might also try is to swim laps at the YMCA. I'm a little bit older (49) but a little bit lighter (just under 200 lbs), and I gotta tell you that it's tough to find another workout that hits your cardio and strength training at the same time like swimming.
ReplyDeleteThe NN YMCA is all the way down at Jefferson Ave and the JR Bridge and the traffic sort of sucks around there, but when I swam at that Y I always went about 5:30a. I swim at a different location now while my kids are in their swim team practice during the evening, but it's close enough to the house that the traffic isn't too bad.
But I'll warn you: the first time you get in the pool, you'll swim one complete lap (two lengths) and then feel like your lungs are about to explode. Take it slow. I started out just swimming 100 yards at a time, then resting for a few minutes, then trying another 100 yards, and got to where I could do 500 yards per night, then 750, now I'm doing 1000, and I'll start swimming 1250 yards per night next week. Oh, and I don't mean EVERY night, just the nights I take the kids to swim team which is twice per week.
Adding this in to other strength training and cardio workouts (running, cycling, whatever) should really peel those pounds off and make you feel great at the same time... well, you feel great after you're DONE, anyway.