Fit

​My wife and I have made fitness a priority in recent months. We joined a local gym that offers a good program and been putting some serious effort into it, but it’s been a slow build. I think recently, however, we’ve turned a corner and gained some insight.

I was never athletic in my youth. In fact, I was a puny nerd, bully-bait and all that. Because I never learned to eat right, I started putting on weight as an adult. I did start working out at that time, but again, I had no one to show me the right way so I was pretty haphazard about it. Consequently, even when I started riding a bicycle, I developed some stamina, but never really got fit.

When I married, I found a partner who struggled with me on health issues. The pressures of kids and jobs made our efforts uneven but over the years we’ve come to a feel for what’s healthy eating and proper exercise. Modern life makes it tough to effect those good habits, though, and I really fell out of it in recent years.

By the start of this year, I was pretty much unexercised and sedentary again. I felt fat and slugguish. Then some books and movies inspired me to step out into the natural world again (I’ve written about this; see my earlier “hiking” posts). That effort was helpful in showing me, first, that I could do it, and secondly, showing me the current state of the natural world (an issue for another post). It also showed me how being out-of-shape and older requires some caution in getting physical. I was not cautious and wound up throwing out my back and taking an ambulance trip to the ER.

I recovered, and learned some good points from physical therapy. I’m now taking strength classes at my gym three times a week. My wife is doing that with me and working with a personal trainer as well. We also have shifted to a high-protein, low-carb, low-sugar diet that has promoted weight loss and increased strength. We feel generally stronger and more alert.

Another point I should mention is our shift to an early-morning schedule. Our weekly strength classes are at 5:30am, so we start our day at 4:30am. I do that even when I don’t work out, and use the time to write. I never thought I could so such a thing. Arising before dawn always struck me as vile. I’m used to it now and I swear I sleep better. I guess ole Ben Franklin had something with the “early to bed, early to rise” thing.

I tend to seek purpose in things and so I want to “get fit” for something beyond just good health (though that’s surely a worthy goal). I want to use my fitness for something. So I’m intending to hit the trails again next spring. That will give my wife and I the winter months to work on our fitness and so make hiking more possible and enjoyable. I’ll post on all that as we get into it.

So my suggestions for people looking to optimize their fitness in life’s last quarter: wake early, eat a diet that’s core paleo, exercise regularly (as part of a program or class is best), and find some positives that will keep you interested in life. And if you can be part of a loving family, that’s a huge help.