Fitness Over 50

Fitness has been a life-long practice for me.

Truth be told I was a Tomboy growing up. I played rough, was competitive with the neighborhood kids, had short curly hair and needed lots of exercise.

I was a top pick for kickball, could climb any tree and ran faster than most of the boys. That was before girls like me would have been directed towards organized sports and possible college scholarships.

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1977 was my first time in a weight room, and I loved it. I can still remember how it smelled and how it felt to bench press a whopping 80lbs. Being strong made me confident, shaped my muscles and felt like a super power.

After marriage the gym became a sanity keeper. I would take Will and Jessie to the coffee house, a treat for them and a latte for me, drop them at the gym childcare and do a workout followed by a shower. This was often the only time I got all day. Then we would take a walk in the park before heading home.

That all changed again when kids grew up and fitness became specialized. Yoga, Pilates, Barre, CrossFit, Orange Theory and many other specific micro-gyms.

I have done them all. Currently Orange Theory and Solidcore are my go-to.

Exercise has been a lifelong pursuit. It is also a practice and as my life changed so did my needs. Now that I am in my early 60s I want to keep my muscle, save my joints and protect my bones.

It’s a cost benefit analysis. How can I get the most and best benefits out of 60 minutes? What can I be doing now to make the next decade as physically good as the last.

I teach the power of food for building a better body and brain. But exercise is crucial to the equation. Our bodies were made to do so much more than we ask of them. Fitness over 50 is how we prepare our bodies to age well. This is not a time to slow down but a time to reevaluate how we exercise and align the practice of fitness with our future goals.

What is your biggest over 50 fitness concern or question?