If you consider your current level of fitness, do you feel that you are less fit now than you have ever been? Do you yearn for the good old days when running was a pleasure? Did you used to love wearing tight fitting exercise gear and working out at the gym?
If you look in the mirror now, are you less than happy with how you look? Do you see an extra spare tyre of flesh and does it taunt you despairingly every time you try to squeeze into some of your old clothes? If you are approaching your forties or are well and truly ensconced within this age group, don’t despair, there is still a lot that you can do to rebuild your fitness levels and to give your get up and go the boost it needs. If you are fed up of feeling tired constantly and have realised that you do very little in the way of exercise, don’t worry, it’s time to make some changes.
You are not the only one to realise that energy levels have plummeted through a simple lack of exercise. If it’s a daunting prospect at re-joining the gym or having to spend hours exercising each day, cast that thought from your mind. As you get older, you have other priorities that need attending to and it can be difficult to fit everything into your schedule on a daily basis. It’s so easy to give yourself a hard time when you run out of time to complete everything. If you want to start getting fit, you should look at your timetable for the week with realistic eyes and not make the mistake that many people make by rushing into an unrealistic training regime as this will not help.
You can start off small and gradually make exercise an everyday thing simply by not driving to the shops or by walking to work if possible instead. Even simple actions such as running up and down the stairs will help to kick-start your exercise routine. Walk instead of driving or taking public transport and you will soon see your fitness levels increase dramatically. Walking is fun and it’s a good way to re-introduce exercise back into your life but you still need to keep it varied. Why not ask others to go on walks with you? Arrange one day a week where you go out into the great outdoors and just enjoy the scenery. Having company is always more fun but, it will also inspire you to keep going.
There are other types of exercise of course. Invest in a few DVD’s to try at home and you can enjoy your new exercise regime with no one to notice if your exercise gear is more than a little tight of late. Regular exercise should be undertaken at least three times a week but so much better if you can participate in a little exercise every day. Allocate ten minutes in the morning or in the evening – whenever you feel the most supple and energetic and commit to this each day. You will be amazed at how good you start to feel and how much you miss it if you don’t make time.
Try to incorporate different types of exercise too. This will help you to avoid getting stale. Try yoga for flexibility – which is wonderful if you are entering your forties as flexibility tends to reduce. Yoga is very gentle but powerful too and as much as it will help you to stretch your spine and increase flexibility in your joints, it’s also fantastic for massaging those inner organs too. Pilates is easy to try out home as well. Pilates works on key areas of your body such as your stomach, hips and thighs but it provides core strength which can often become lacking as you get older.
Have fun with fitness and you will soon see that by coupling exercise with a healthier diet, grains, nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables and lean meats, you will lose weight where necessary but will tone up and have a great deal more energy too.
