I schedule some type of aerobic exercise each day but to be honest, I hadn’t thought about the concept of making physical activity part of my life. Yet that’s exactly what I’ve done.

“I’m so tired after I play 9 holes what can I do to build up more strength so I can play 18 holes of golf with my husband?“  She asked that question in the woman’s locker room of a golf course where I frequently play and practice.

To be honest, I was surprised at the question. I see her husband a lot. We once took golf instruction from the same teacher and often compared notes. He’s a physician with a very bad back and knows what he needs to do so his back doesn’t go out of whack.

I was surprised because I thought she would know. She is bright, thin, and she looked in good shape. Actually, she did have a pretty good general idea abut what she needed to do because she just had her first session working out with a personal trainer for an hour with 3 other women. She just wasn’t aware of how much she should be doing to get in better shape.

I told her I do something aerobically each day of the week. It is usually walking at a fast pace and most often combining walking and some jogging. The combination walking and jogging is easier to do outdoors but I can also do it on the treadmill by just increasing the pace. I also work out with weights about twice a week for 45 minutes and in between in small chunks of 10 minutes as part of the cooling down from walking.

I have made physical activity part of my life. If there’s a day when for some reason it is impossible to spend time with a physical activity, I tend to be more lethargic and much less productive throughout the day. My goal right now is to increase the pace of what I am doing by increasing the jogging portion. I find that to be more of a mental than a physical challenge!

I suggested to my locker room friend that, providing she is healthy and has no injuries, she needs to increase the time she works out with weights and to do something aerobically at least three times a week. She walks occasionally with a friend but that often turns out to be more social than physical.

Being engaged in physical activity is so important as you get older. It’s important for your bones as well as for your brain because it helps increase the strength of your bones and helps support the oxygen that flows to your brain. Besides, you’ll be in a better mood each day you exercise or do something physical.

Love to hear your tips about what you do that’s physical.  Just type them in the comment box and I’ll put something together to share with our readers.

To your success at healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

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Filed under: Fitness and Nutrition

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