Are you a woman who is over 40?
Heck, are you a man who is over 40 instead? (if you're neither a man or a woman, quick, stop reading this site and contact Oprah! 🙂 )
Well, I'll be turning 46 this summer and have been discovering some really nifty things about my body.
Like, for example, it's no longer 25 years old.
You're probably familiar with all of those 'Lose Weight Get Fit' sites online that promise you gold and deliver to you manure, right?
Well, the thing with being over 40 (not to mention having a lousy bone structures like I do) is this: what works for the rest of the world….
Simply will NOT work for you.
For example, the chances of you being able to master Turbo Fitness or Insanity or P90X or what have you is definitely less than the younger generation. And that's not saying anything negative about YOU, mind you…instead, it's simply stating the facts.
- At your age, your body will creak more.
- At your age, your muscles will require more stretching/etc. to work normally.
- At your age…well, at your age, be glad you can still move! 🙂
Recognizing this is KEY.
Which, I might add, I've recently done! And here's the secret to my success.
I wrote a bit about it over at Excellent way to master mini body-flexibility breaks. The premise is simple – download a grandfather clock widget and every 15 minutes, stand up from your chair and do something.
ANYTHING.
Doesn't matter what – just get your body MOVING.
What I've been doing, however, is a wee bit more specialized. I've found out that if I break down required compound moves, and do them for a minute every 15 minutes…my body actually starts to REMEMBER them.
Fancy that!
For example, I've recently internalized that my upper body and my lower body just do NOT want to work together when karate sparring.
I'd move to the left and forget to punch. Or, I'd punch and forget to move my position. I have to manually THINK to get both body parts to work in tandem.
So….now every 15 minutes/half an hour, I'm simply repeating (slowly, I might add) the 'step to the side while punching at the same time' compound motion.
And let me tell you, I'm so uncoordinated…it makes an ice-skating moose seem graceful in comparison!
But! As the days go by, I'm finding my 46 year old body is starting to remember the motions. And that of course, is terrific!
I'm not ONLY doing karate sparring movements during this time, mind you – I might instead do a minute of stretching, I might do 50 kicks, I might simply stand in place and move my head back/to the side/etc., etc.
The key point to remember…I'm giving my 46+ year old body both the TIME and the PRACTICE it needs to learn.
Sure, I'm going to the gym and to the dojo too! But I'm NOT counting on that to really teach me the required moves – instead, I'm depending upon my practice at home.
I really do think that's the key to fitness over 40 (especially for out of shape peoples).
Don't expect to go 0 to 60 in a day or a week or a month…but more importantly, PRACTICE at home the individual moves required every 15/30 minutes as well!
It will get your body more conditioned…and when you DO get to the gym or dojo or what have you, you'll be far more competent than if you just sat on your rear the entire time.
Hope you find the above useful!
Enjoy,
Barbara Ling
ps – I lost 50+ pounds myself! You can learn all about it over at:
Get Started Here
You’ll love what you learn… Promise!