Time - Is There Life After 50?

“Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting. So....get on your way” - Dr Zuess

Concord, MA – 


March 25th, 2012- In this eighth and final part of our series on Life over 50 - Neglect we look at the issues dealing with 
TIME.


N - utrition
E - xercise
G – eneral Health 
L - ongevity
E - nergy
C - onfidence
T – IME


I've got news for you...... time has finally arrived! This will be our last in the series on Neglect and your time to do something about your health and wellness is here. They say in the marketing world that it takes 7 - 12 impressions for a marketing message to be remembered. Well, if you've been reading my series, consider this your 8th! Part of my job as a personal trainer is to extol the virtues of living a healthier life and I never get tired of 'spreading the word'. Some of that comes from being on the other side of 50 myself and realizing what an amazing time of life this is for finding and climbing your own 'mountain' to wellness. And it's never too late! Remember, if you have not worked out for quite a while or have never really exercised consistently you have a unique opportunity to radically change the way you feel and live. You are one of the 'lucky' ones for whom just a small investment in time and effort can reap large gains in fitness and strength. If you are one of the 'faithful' this is a time to renew your commitment and think about ways to re-challenge your body with some new and different goals. Visit your local health club or seek out a Personal Trainer and change things up.


In part 5 of our series we talked about that other aspect of wellness beyond 50; longevity and of stretching out that timeline. We talked about good nutrition and exercise but also of the importance of strong emotional, spiritual, intellectual and social dimensions in our lives. All of this helps us live both younger and longer, maintaining the 'quality' of our lives.


The concept of 'time' has been central to the whole idea of this series on health over 50 and again at the risk of repeating myself...."you don't get nothin' from nothin"! Making a commitment to work on your wellness requires time and the 'when, where, how' is often a challenge (see Part 3 on Exercise). But once you've stolen that little slice of time to take care of yourself, I promise you, you won't want to give it up when you realize the amount of time it gives you in the rest of your life. The balance, the calm and the sense of a heightened connection with your body and your environment really eases the stress in the rest of your life and allows you more time to enjoy the moment. This is the best investment you could possibly make in you! For me this is the key to why I do what I do. It's great to be healthy and live a long life but as Dr R. L Kuhn said, "millions seek immortality who don't know what to do on a rainy afternoon".


As I'm writing this article today and looking out at a beautiful, brisk and sunny Spring day I'm thinking this is the perfect time of the year for you to begin your journey. So, whether it's rainy or a sunny afternoon seize that moment for yourself and take that 10, 15 or 30 minute walk or that trip to the gym.


Over the past 6 months I've thoroughly enjoyed the bringing this series to you and from time to time I do get health and fitness related questions. As we go forward it's my hope to have an occasional series here in the journal where I can answer any of those questions. If you have questions you'd like to ask, please send me an email at the email address below and I'll include them in my next article. Thanks! 

Confidence - Is There Life After 50?

“It's never too late to be what you might have been” - George Eliot

In this seventh part of our series on Life over 50 - Neglect we look at the issues dealing with CONFIDENCE.
N - utrition
E - xercise 
G - eneral Health 
L - ongevity
E - nergy
C - ONFIDENCE
T – ime


When I first envisioned this multi-part series on 'Life after 50" I knew the acronym Neglect would work well. After all, the point of this series was to highlight how, by the age of 50, a lot of us have started to 'let things go' a little bit and addressing that idea was a great springboard to covering all the information I wanted to. I have to admit though that C really scared me! But then I started to think about the whole idea of c-onfidence and realized that it's truly central to this whole idea of taking better care of ourselves as we head into our 6th decade.


This period in our lives comes with challenges we haven't yet had to face; emerging personal health issues, children leaving the home, aging parents, changing workplace. What is it we need most to face all these life changing events? Confidence. We need to have a level of self confidence that perhaps we've never had before. As I see it (and of course I'm biased!) this level of self confidence can come only from a sense of physical and emotional strength. This is the case, if you will, that I've been trying to make throughout this series in an effort to convince as many of you as possible to establish, build and maintain a program of wellness in whatever way you are able with whatever resources you have. There is no better way to build confidence in and control of your life for the years ahead. So, with that in mind, I thought today that I'd take the opportunity to simply list some of the benefits of such a program.


Appearance - Exercise gives you confidence in how look and develops a strong body image. 


Plasticity - exercise increases the ability of the brain to handle change and stress.


Feeling of well-being - exercise increases your sense of well-being through endorphins and other neurotransmitters and is a powerful mood enhancer.


General Health - exercise and good nutrition builds a strong immune system reducing the risk of infections and disease.


Socialization - Having confidence in your physical and emotional strength breaks down the barriers to meet others.


Accomplishment - following a regular routine of strength and wellness increases your confidence to attempt other challenging tasks and projects.


Anchoring - Having a strong sense of well-being provides an anchor point in your life. 


Attention and Concentration - Exercise increase your ability to focus on specific tasks. 

Energy - Is There Life After 50?

“It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor” - Marcus Tullius Cicero

In this sixth part of our series on Life over 50 - Neglect we look at the issues dealing with ENERGY.
N - utrition
E - xercise
G - eneral Health
L - ongevity
E - NERGY
C - onfidence
T - ime

By now you might think that with Nutrition, Exercise, General Health and Longevity already covered in our ‘Over 50’ series there might not be too much to talk about. Well, you’d be wrong. As I was thinking about this next article it occurred to me that the issue of energy as it relates to us 50+’ers is twofold. Firstly, most of us ‘get’ that exercise gives us energy and fills us with a sense of purpose etc. We hear talk about the endorphin effect. However, most of us have struggled with challenge of finding enough energy to do our workout in the first place. This is the conundrum of exercise. We know that once we get going we’ll be fine. It’s just the ‘get going’ part that’s hard. I’ve joked before with my clients that the hardest part of their workout is walking through my door and Marsha Doble once said, “I have to work out in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing.” So, given that challenge I think it’s important to take a look at what this ‘energy’ thing is that we get from exercise and then look at how we can ‘rev up’ to do it.

One of the major areas of research relating to exercise and energy has recently come from the world of Psychology, particularly that which relates to depression. Many studies have looked into the biochemical processes that take place when we exercise. As I mentioned we’ve heard about the endorphin effect. Endorphins are neurotransmitters that are produced in the pituitary gland and hypothalamus during exercise and function much like opiates do relieving pain and giving us a feeling of well-being. Some of the other neurotransmitters you may not be as familiar with are; dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. In a major analysis of over 70 exercise studies (6807 people) done by Dr. P. O'Connor, R. Dishman and T. Puetz they found that sedentary people who exercised regularly reported higher energy and reduced fatigue versus those who did not exercise. Much of this is attributable to the increased levels of the neurotransmitters mentioned above. They also noted that these benefits were more powerful than stimulant drugs currently used for ADHD and narcolepsy. The challenges going forward based on these studies relate to types of exercise and amount. Many of the exercise routines used that were most effective were low to moderate intensity aerobic exercise. Other studies however have shown some benefits from higher intensity workouts and strength training. In his recent best seller, Spark, Dr. J. Ratey extensively covers the subject of exercise and brain power going so far as to argue that such is the benefit of exercise to the brain that the physical improvements we get from exercise are secondary to it!

Of course I could go on ad infinitum about the biochemical mechanisms that cause us to feel good after exercise but the proof, as they say, is in the pudding! I can attest, after 27 years of doing this for a living, that day in and day out clients who come to me carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders consistently walk out of my studio ready to take on the world! Exercise truly is that powerful. It's not just about knowing that your cholesterol and blood pressure are normal, or your last physical was good. It boils down to how you feel in the moment and how that energy you carry with you gives you the power to accomplish your goals in life.

The challenge still remains, however, to make exercise a part of your life. The good news, as I've repeated often in this series, is that the less shape you're in to begin with the more you have to benefit and the quicker you will see and feel those improvements. Also from the studies I have cited it seems that low to moderate exercise is the most beneficial with respect to mood and energy improvements. Starting is always the hardest part, but it does get easier as you go. If you read my 3rd article in the series I talk at length about how to begin your program and at the risk of plagiarizing myself I have included the paragraph on getting started below.

Where do you start? This is the $64,000 question and will require an understanding of where you are and where you want to go. You've heard the advice before.....consult a physician before you embark upon an exercise program. This is sensible and necessary and answers the 'where you are' part. Where you want to go will depend on the goals you have for yourself whether they are for general fitness/health or to accomplish some specific task/event. Within the past year for example I have had one client who was able to finally stop taking his blood pressure medication and another who at 70+ years of age climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Make a plan and start slowly. Very often this is where a trainer can help you to plot out the steps and implement your plan. Your plan should include a combination of Aerobic, Strength and Flexibility exercises. Start slowly and build this into your life! Perhaps you might find that devoting 30 minutes a day fits easier into your life than 3 to 4 x 60 minutes workouts per week. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends building up to a minimum of 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week, a minimum of 2 sessions of strength training involving a mix of 12 to 14 moderate and vigorous exercises and at least 2 days a week of stretching exercises. If you haven't exercised in a while then you should expect that it will take a while to build up to this and achieve your goals. Take small 'bites'. Even 10 minutes a day is a good start when before you were doing nothing. In fact the worse shape you are in, the quicker you will see results and the more you have to gain. What a deal! Also, initially fitting this into your routine will be hard but gets easier with time. The old adage about success in life requires showing up certainly applies here.