If you ever spend any time reading my blogs you’ll probably have noticed that I don’t talk often, or much at all really, about fitness. Which is probably because, if I must be honest, I’m really not that into it.
Giving thanks for some good genetics and apparently a moderately-high metabolism, I’ve spent most of life indulging in carbs, cheese, sweets, treats and wine, with only a modest weight struggle. For a long time I could balance my taste for unhealthy eats with a moderate exercise program. Aerobics, yoga and a nice long walk now and then generally was all it took to keep the extra pounds off for many, many years.
Then I hit a certain decade and for the first time in my life losing any excess baggage didn’t happen just because I wanted it to. Whatever exercise I did in the past to drop the weight, now had me hanging on for dear life to stay where I was.
Improving myself before that was always the drive behind any exercise program. Now though, with nothing to show for my efforts, the necessary inspiration to get up and going was lacking. Then yet another decade arrived and with it a seemingly simultaneous shift in body parts and energy levels. Add in some new stiffness, aches and pains, and even walking has lost its lustre.
Sadly, though this might be the age when sitting around doing nothing feels most pleasing, it is probably the absolute worst time to do it. Exercise helps ageing hearts, bones and minds. This is a fact so loudly touted it would be ridiculous to try and use the excuse that you didn’t know a sedentary life, along with a diet loaded with fats, carbs and sugars was bad for you.
I’m a big fan of being pharmaceutical free. I also like the idea of sticking around this world for as long as possible. I therefore know it’s time for me to shape up, that I can’t continue all the bad habits I’ve nurtured over the past several decades and continue to enjoy the good health I have to this point.
The challenge is going to be to figure out how and what I might do to get control of me again. My fitness level is not helped by the reality of being chained to a desk, all day, each and every work day. It’s not helped by the exhaustion when I get home, the inability to rise early in the morning, and the household tasks and responsibilities that must fit in to all the spaces between. There are no gyms in close proximity, there are no indoor pools nearby. Large classes intimidate me, and it’s far too easy to cheat on solitary walks.
I will find my way, though. There’s incentive to be discovered at every turn, on television and in print, from promotions for weight loss and fitness facilities, to ads reminding us that we’ll never get fit if all we do is sit.
For people in the industry, who are looking for great images to promote physical activity, these inspiring fitness pictures from iPHOTOS.com offer plenty of variety.
