My life has been devoted to fitness. In all my research, I have found that it’s very important not only to exercise your body, but your mind as well. After all, we are total beings, and the body, mind, and spirit are all housed in one mass.
Like most people, perhaps you associate fitness and exercise with physical acts of moving your body. Perhaps negative thoughts or lethargy sometimes causes you to resist moving or doing physical things that are good for you. If so, you might care to re-train your thoughts so that when your mind says “I can’t”, your body says, “Watch this!” With a little persistence and experience, your body may more easily win out in these situations, and you will try the very thing that your mind told you that you were incapable of doing.
For example, say you are beginning a weight training program and someone suggests that you lift a five-pound weight up in the air above your shoulder. Perhaps your first instinct is to say, “I can’t do that”. This reaction occurs mainly because you have never tried that before and you’ve read articles that warn you that you might hurt yourself if you don’t execute the movement properly. A greater mistake would be made, however, if you did not try. If five pounds seems too heavy, use one, two, or three. At least you would have tried and not quit.
For years we were told that once you lose your muscle tone, you could never regain it. Tufts University has done countless studies on this subject and the results are astounding. It has been shown that even people in their 80s and 90s have been able to recoup their strength, in some cases, close to that which they had in their earlier years.
The reason muscle mass is lost is because of disuse, nothing more. Thus, it stands to reason that if we use our bodies and keep them moving and actually stress our muscles so that they get stronger, we would be able to take care of ourselves for many, many years.
I fully believe that our bodies were created for movement. If we incorporate some kind of exercise in our daily routine, we will stay strong and sharp for years to come!
Some fun ways to stimulate your mind are by doing crossword puzzles; putting together jigsaw puzzles, playing card games; challenging someone to a game of chess; or trying any other thing that keeps your mind active.
In exercise classes, I’ve observed instructors encouraging the participants to do things like using their right leg with their left arm, then changing to using the same arm with the same leg, just to add variety and to make the class think. Coordination exercises stretch the brain and keep it quick and aware.
Exercise is so beneficial to our body, mind and spirit. Exercise will improve the quality of every life. Many researchers have proven in myriads of studies that people who exercise their minds along with their bodies are much younger acting and stay vital longer. It has also been said countless times that exercise is the closest thing we have to the “Fountain of Youth”. So, go for the zest – take a walk, today! And, make movement a part of your daily life!
Bonnie Murphy is an expert in working with “mature” women. Please visit her website at http://www.bfitandwell.com. Don’t miss getting her Industry Leading E-Book entitled “Discover the Secrets to Leading A Fabulously Fit Lifestyle after 50”. Sign up for a downloadable copy at http://www.bfitandwell.com. Phone: 907.646.4076 Email: bonnie@bfitandwell.com
