Balance

My new class is being taught at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and is targeting balance training for people in the second half of life. (For those of you new to the blog, I assume we will all live to 100 if that helps you to figure out who is in the second half!) This class is a new venture for me so I am learning even as I teach. What I am learning from this class is not all about physical skill. Certified trainers always do some form of assessment before working with clients. For this class I used a Medical and Health Behavior Questionnaire, a Balance Efficacy Scale, and 11 basic tests of balance and strength to gather information that would help me plan the class to best meet the needs of the people who attend. What most impressed me about the information I gathered was the confidence and positivity of my class members. Although a number of the class members are facing health challenges as they age, they rate their quality of life as good and remain confident in their abilities to meet the challenges that are before them. They don't let the changes in their physical condition overwhelm them. They remain active in the community and a number of them volunteer their time to charitable causes. They engage in intellectual pursuits. As a result, they are interesting and stimulating people to be around. We have lots of fun in the class and we laugh every day. The members of my class are models for how to stay strong in the second half of life, physically, emotionally, intellectually, and socially. That is a balance that I hope to achieve in my own life. There is magic in the teaching/learning equation. When you learn something you have the opportunity to go out and teach it, and when you teach something you almost always learn something more from the experience.

Preparation Meets Opportunity

The landscape of my life is illumined by optimism. I have had a great week! The bitter cold we have been experiencing in West Virginia has temporarily dispersed, the sun is out. I began teaching a new class this week and my ongoing class quadrupled it's attendance! I've signed with two new clients and was able to up the ante on my resistance training workouts after a period of lighter workouts while working on a back pain problem. The news broke on a national level this week that my town, Morgantown, WV is considered to be recession-proof and has the nation's lowest jobless rate - just 2.7 percent. Truly, it has been a great week.

Why is it that I am having such a good week, when the country seems to be in such dire straights? In part, I am lucky to be living in Morgantown, where we are buffered from the worst economic disasters, at least in the short run. But I think there is a bit more going on as well. I have been concentrating for the last 3 years on learning everything I can about my work and my passion for health and fitness. I have followed any lead that seemed interesting to me, even when I couldn't see a direct correlation to my current work. I've been reading blogs written by some of the best trainers in the business, and I have been learning the way the fitness industry works at the local level. I have been preparing myself for change in my life. And this week, preparation met up with opportunity. If you had asked me two years ago when that might happen I would have had no idea, but I prepared anyway. Had I not prepared, the opportunities might have been lost.

What are you preparing for? What are you doing today to get your body, mind, and soul ready for the day when your preparation meets up with opportunity? Invest in your own growth and development. The opportunities will come. Be prepared for success.

Timing is Everything

I just completed my workout for today and I feel great! The weather was sunny and above freezing for the first time in days so I went outside for a long Nordic walk. When I came home I did a 10 minute stretching routine and now I'm full of energy to tackle the long list of paperwork tasks that await me. That burst of energy and enthusiasm got me thinking about how exercise enhances my life and how I have learned to integrate exercise into my daily responsibilities.

Whenever possible I try to schedule my workout first thing in the morning (after being sure I have eaten a good breakfast - see previous post). If I leave it for later in the day I am much more likely to decide not to workout. Other tasks compete for time. But the real cost will come later when I am getting ready for bed and taking account of my day and realize that I did not take care of my health. By exercising early, I get a psychological boost along with the physiological one. I cruise through the day confident that I have met my obligation to myself to take good care of me. When the evening has set in I am relaxed and calm and am able to count up all the things I accomplished in my day beginning with honoring my committment to my health. It works for me.

This pattern doesn't work for everyone. I have a son in college who has ADHD. He doesn't wake up easily in the morning. When he sits in a classroom all day the stress builds for him. It is not only psychological, but physiological as well. At the end of a day of school work he needs to work his body to release that toxic buildup of chemicals that stress brings with it. We learned this together when he was still in grade school and it has stood the test of time for him. Exercising first thing in the morning just wouldn't give him the same benefits (although there is emerging evidence that getting your heart rate up in aerobic activity can improve the brain's capacity for learning tasks in the hours that immediately follow - maybe I'll blog more about that soon).

I'm sure many businesspeople find it advantageous to exercise on their lunch hour or after work as well. In fact, yesterday I read an interesting article from a businessman who works at his desk with his computer most of the day. He said he sets a timer for either 30 minutes or 60 minutes - never longer - and when it rings he pauses in whatever task he is working on and gets up and walks around the office or does a set of pushups against his desk. Sometimes he does 20 squats or lunges and then gets a drink and stretches a bit before he sits back down to his task. He insists it helps his productivity as well as ensuring that he gets some exercise. He'd rather spend his evenings with his children and wife than in the gym. His workout plan fits his situation.

Exercise can work wonders in your life, but you have to actually do it. When you are planning your health and fitness goals it helps to reflect a bit on what timing will work for you. Also think about what environment is best for you. If you know that at home you will be constantly distracted by family responsibilities, consider the gym or outdoor activities. If you feel self-conscious in the gym or it is too far away from home, hire a personal trainer to come to your home and design a workout for you in your own environment. There is a way around every obstacle to exercise. Be creative and keep yourself moving.