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The American Council for Exercise (ACE), in discussing Older Adult Fitness, believes it is never too late to become active. In addition to enhancing your quality of life and ability to pursue your interests, physical activity for adults age 50+ plays an important role in preventing health problems and managing common disorders that might already be present, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, and elevated cholesterol. Significant health benefits can be seen by including just a moderate amount of exercise into your lifestyle.
In other words, couch potatoes are out and fitness is in; so get up and get going!
If you are like me, you are probably thinking, "I haven't exercised in years, why should I start now?" I have any number of reasons why being a couch potato is far more appealing to me: two bad knees (doctor says I need new ones), arthritis, degenerative disc disease, one bad hip, shortness of breath, no stamina, need to lose 100 pounds-should I go on?
Do I really want to chance experiencing more pain?
Then, I read: "Good news for older adults: part of the prescription for a healthier, better retirement is exercise. Physical activity protects against declining health and fitness and adds years to your life." More propaganda from ACE! Shortly after this, I received a phone call from a close friend whose doctor outright told her she must either take off 75 pounds or be sure her will was in order. Scare tactics, but it worked. She was ready to jump into an exercise routine and wanted an exercise buddy.
We live in a small town so "professional" options like health clubs with trainers are non-existent. We do have a WMCA which offers some fitness classes but, most of the time, the "Y" is over run with small children who haven't been told to be careful not to run over the old folks.
I contacted the owner of a local hotel and asked if a few seniors might be able to use the pool for an hour in the early evening. The hotel has an indoor pool so it's open year-round with heated water during the winter months. He allows the public to use the pool for $5 per person if you bring your own towels. He offered one hour of private pool use if a group of 10 to 15 "over-the-hillers" would like to start some type of fitness group two days each week absolutely free. The only thing was that we would have to bring our own towels and snacks, if we wanted them.
With this offer, I was pushed off my soft, comfy couch into the world of over 50s exercises.
We found a Red Cross certified water aerobics instructor who agreed to work with us and she only wanted to share in our snacks and socializing after class as payment. She said she got a kick out of working with the over 50 crowd!
Two weeks later, our very first water aerobics class began with 10 "over-the-hillers" (it turned out to be a co-ed class). We worked our old, aching muscles and didn't feel a thing-until a few hours later. We laughed at ourselves and at each other, and felt like a bunch of young kids. The hour flew by and none of us wanted to get out of the pool. That was Tuesday, and Thursday would be the next class. On Thursday, 15 "over-the-hillers" showed up and the group has been going strong ever since. We lose some folks but replacements soon appear.
It's two years later and the class is still going.
We are all having a great time, some of us are losing weight, and others are strengthening old achy muscles and gaining strength and stamina. But perhaps the best reason for incorporating regular exercise into your life is that you'll feel better. Exercise helps you sleep better and manage stress better, and gives you more energy to enjoy work and play.
I like the "manage stress better" part. I am enrolled in a debt relief program and, especially in the early beginning, had quite a bit of stress to deal with. The longer you are on the plan, the better things get. Still, sometimes thoughts creep into my mind about my indebtedness and a big black cloud floats over me for a short time. My exercise program has enabled me to shove that black cloud away and let the sunshine through.
I feel good about myself and the world I live in.
Almost anything is possible. I just did not dream that I would be able to participate in an organized fitness program that was absolutely free. Where there is a will, there is a way.
If you want to get out of the couch potato mode but can't afford a gym membership, perhaps you can get an over-the-hill fitness class going. Churches often let their members use the church for activities-that would be a good place to start. Water aerobics wouldn't be an option but there are a lot of other group fitness activities that would work just as well.
Be creative -think out of the box-and before you know it, you will no longer be a couch potato!
Read more of Kim's blogs here!
Kimberly Johns
Kimberly has been on the CareOne Debt Management Plan (DMP) for just under a year. Kimberly is very active in the Community Forums, some of you may recognize her Community user name; Tiquie. Recently retired, she is going to share how she and her husband manage the financial challenges of living on a fixed income. The John's have found some really creative and fun ways to offset the limitations of a retirement income, which Kimberly is generously planning to share in the My Journey Out of Debt blog! Compensated Blogger for CareOne Debt Relief Services.
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