I've got to be honest with you…this is a sight I thought I'd never
see: my mom at a gym. But here she is in her 60s and lifting weights
for the first time.
I'm so proud of her. She inspires me! Until last summer I thought
exercise and eating right were mostly about looking good. That's why I
wasn't as excited about exercising as I once was. I figured my "looking
good" days were long past! They are, but looking good isn't the best
reason to work out: health is.
I'm not even talking about reducing risk of heart disease, diabetes,
and cancer–all of which fitness can do. I'm talking about not just
living long, but living WELL. When we commit to strength training, we
do not have to spend the winter of our lives weak and frail. Nursing
homes and wheel chairs aren't inevitable. Sure, there are circumstances
you can't control. But why not do what you can?
Even though I am convinced that aerobic exercise and strength
training is a great use of my time, I still need fresh challenges to
keep me motivated. My goal is to lose 5% bodyfat. My plan is as follows:
3 days of 1200 calories (5 meals including protein at each meal and
limiting fat to 30% or less). Every 4th day, calories will be increased
to 1800 with most of those calories coming from carbs.
8-11 glasses of water daily
3 days of strength training a week, approximately 45 minutes per session
6 days of high-intensity cardio a week for approximately 20 minutes per session. Cardio will be done first thing in the morning
One of the things that Tom Venuto
recommends for accountability is to blog your progress daily. I will be
doing that until I reach my goal. I know most of you couldn't care less
if I lose a little bit of body fat at my weight. I don't blame you! But
I would like to inspire you to create your own personal challenge and
blog about it. Give us your blog link in the comments section and keep
us posted on how you're doing!
In the meantime, enjoy these inspiring photos. WARNING: If you find
photos of women in bikinis objectionable, pass on the links.
Flex Appeal: at 86, great-grandmother Morjorie Newlin keeps pumping iron
http://www.citypaper.net/
Reflections of a 77 Year Old Bodybuilder
http://www.jonbenson.com/
Marty Webb: Fitness Champion at age 60
http://www.combat-aging.com/
Lorinde Williams 60 year-old BFL runner-up
http://tinyurl.com/6gg89l
Jackie Lee: Figure Competitor age 77
http://tinyurl.com/57uldw
http://tinyurl.com/6k8yx9
http://tinyurl.com/55cp4p
Seeing as how I can’t remember from day to day what to do or what I did, your diet sounds way too complicated for me to do! Besides, byt the time I try it you’ll be on to something else! LOL! Have fun with it though.
Wendy, I’m not suggesting you use my plan; just your own. You can check in and say, “I lifted weights today and ate right.”
Hey there! Great idea and you are so right that taking care of ourselves by eating right and exercising isn’t just about looking good but feeling good and being healthy for as long as possible. Mark and I just started doing Tony Horton’s 10-minute Trainer and I’m using Spark People to track my exercise and nutrition. For right now, I’m just using their guidelines to help with losing weight but I have a few books I want to read and then I plan to make an appointment with a nutritionist to go over everything and try to come up with the best plan for me.
I’m posting a little on my regular blog: 4boyz4me.blogspot.com
But more details at my Spark People one: http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal.asp?id=4BOYZ4ME