Fitness Fanatic

If you’ve been inactive for a while, or maybe not inactive but just not working out as often as you had in the past, it can be daunting to get back at it again. Maybe you were injured at some point or life just took you down a certain path that slowed your progress. Maybe you just lost interest. But as you get older and approach and pass menopause, it’s more important than ever to get moving again. I’m a firm believer that you shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew, so to speak. In my life I’ve known so many people who were super motivated at first and started a new exercise program only to drop it a short while later. I remember a friend who decided to begin running after not exercising for years. That lasted about 10 days. Best to start with baby steps. Start at a level you’re comfortable with and then progress from there. Keeping doing more and more as it gets easier.

Strength training is essential but unfortunately many women are afraid of it. They’re afraid they’ll get big and bulky. I can assure you that won’t happen. You WILL however get big and bulky if you do nothing! Start out using weights that are challenging to you but not overwhelming and do the number of reps that fatigues your muscles. Once that starts getting easier, up the ante. Increase the weight and/or increase the number of reps. And remember that doing SOMETHING is always better than doing NOTHING. There are days you may not have the energy to work out much at all. But go anyway and do whatever you can, even if it’s less than you had been doing. Cardio is important too. If the weather is nice, get out and take a good long hike (but not a leisurely walk if you want to get your heart rate up). Grab your bike and take a good long ride. Throw on your running shoes and get out there. If the weather is bad you can work up a sweat inside on a treadmill, elliptical or bike. Beachbody has many videos available on demand or on dvd. The choices are endless. Although P90X, Insanity, Cize and TurboFire are tough workouts, there is always a modifier and that makes them perfect for beginners, But there are many other options for those just starting out or those at an intermediate level. These and more are all available On Demand as well.

Bottom line: now is the time to for you. You’ve been putting everybody else first for so long. This time it’s for you. So get up and get moving. You owe it to yourself.