Start Doing Better Now
You’ll be grateful you did.
I think a lot about why we need to exercise to build strength and function well throughout all ages of life.
If there is one piece of experience I would really like share with everyone, it’s this.
The sooner you start to learn the benefits of a good diet, quality sleep, stress management and exercising appropriately for your age, ability and lifespan goals, the better life you’re going to live.
Hanging onto poor habits and putting off being healthy and fit will only make it harder and harder to live an active full life. Those poor habits could cause long lasting or reoccurring problems later on in life. Problems that could keep you from the things you may have more time for or would like to do more of as you get older. Like Golf, Travel, Hiking, Kayaking, Running, being physically active with family and friends. The sooner you start the easier it is to form behaviors that support a healthy lifespan and keep you healthy and fit long into your later years.
Let’s take exercise as an example. It doesn’t have to be all out crazy shit you see all over social media. If you like it and your young enough or older but fit and healthy enough, go for it. Before you make that decision however, think about it or have a professional do a risk analysis for you. Is the all out crazy hard workout benefit worth the risk you may be putting yourself at by participating? The cost of high intensity exercise can be high risk for people who are not conditioned for it.
You should however choose a form and intensity of exercise that is suitable to your current state of conditioning, whatever age you’re at. What’s also important is to choose a variety exercise forms and intensities.
Take into account:
- Your current fitness level
- Your age
- Health challenges you may have
- Injuries, both past and present
- Your goals now and for your lifespan (how do you want to age?)
- Your current life schedule and making time for health and fitness.
As someone very close to me once said. “being healthy and fit is not convenient”. It takes time, effort and knowledge, but it all pays off with an incredible opportunity to live life better, for longer.
Some things you may learn and experience from starting a health and exercise program, and maintaining it as consistently as possible.
- Ability to maintain a healthy weight and body composition
- Affect your mood and state of mind through healthy behaviors
- Improved your strength and mobility
- Increased or maintain flexibility
- Improved balance and reduced risk of injury
- Improved cognitive conditioning like memory, focus, reaction time, problem solving and coordination
- How to affect your quality of sleep
- Extend your functional independence and avoiding the need for a care facility or nursing home
- Keep your immune system healthy and strong to fend off illness and disease
Some points to consider as you move through your life and adjust your exercise accordingly. Life changes and so should change how you approach exercise and training.
- Find out where you’re at. What is your current level of health and fitness? I recommend hiring a professional to perform this assessment. Qualified Coach, Kinesiologist, Athletic Therapist etc.
- What are your goals? Set some realistic measurable outcomes. Discuss this with your trainer or coach if you have one.
- Why those goals? You can’t motivate yourself if you don’t know why you want something. Not knowing why and not having a strong belief in that why, makes it to easy to be inconsistent and give up.
- Choose wisely. Just a few thoughts to get you started.
- Who you want to work out with, if anyone? Workout partners or group can help with consistency and accountability.
- Who you want to use as a coach or go it alone? Having support, accountability and the right coach can make all the difference. Ask me why we’re worth it in the long haul.
- What are you willing to change or give up and what are you not willing to change or give up?
- What kind of program do you want or need to accomplish your goals? How much of the program should be warm up, heavy lifting, balance and brain training, mobility training etc. Another reason to consult a qualified coach if you don’t know what you need here.
- What type of exercise and training are you most likely to be able to be consistent with?
- Master the basics first. Make sure you can perform basic human movements. If not. Work on that first and foremost.
- Don’t worry about getting it perfect, you won’t, so let it go. Learn to perform your movements correct and efficient. It’s not the amount of weight or repetitions but the effectiveness of the weight and reps that moves you towards your goals.
- Progress your workouts based on your abilities not a schedule. Consider your effort or consulting your coach if you feel you’re not making the advancements you thought you would be. If it’s not working something needs to change. Maybe it’s consistency or intensity or maybe it’s just more time.
That’s it. Keep it doable.
If you need help, please feel free to reach out. That’s why I’m here. I will do my best to get you going or point you in the right direction or to a professional that can.
Gordon Palmer, Register Personal Trainer, Functional Aging Specialist, Precision Nutrition Coach.
Training and Fitness Coordinator
Global Fitness & Racquet Centre – Kelowna, BC Canada.
Founder – Project Body Smart
