Archive: September 2006

Fit after 40

Aging well has become a focus for everyone

By Don Nava

For many in our society, turning 40 is a magical milestone birthday. It's the crest of the hill, where the slippery slope of aging begins. It's a wake-up call from your body to get back in shape before it's too late!

Aging well has become top-of-mind in America. And the good news is you can not only get in shape, but you can still get in the best shape of your life! Here are five steps I want you to follow on your 40+ fitness journey:

1. Change your thinking from "fitness as usual," to "unusually fit!" Make a serious decision that you can get fit and that you will make it an enjoyable process.
2. Decide what fitness benefits you want. We all want to look better, but the sensibility of being 40 and beyond often places feeling better and gaining more energy first. Define your goal in measurable outcomes.
3. Develop a social support system. Individual willpower is enough to get you started, but team up with a couple of friends who have goals similar to yours and agree to hold each other accountable for reaching them. Social fitness is easier and more fun.
4. Focus on how to get in shape. A wise physician once said, you survive the first 40 years of your life on the quality of your genes—you survive the second half on the quality of your decisions. Getting in shape starts with the right thoughts. I call them "Dictums," which are short phrases spoken out loud daily with enthusiasm and passion. Here are a few examples:
   • am an active person.
   • I am energetic.
   • I am positive.
   • I am motivated.
   • I am healthy.
   • I am strong.
5. Get three types of exercise—cardio, flexibility and strength. Your best results come from all three, but if you only have time for one, do cardio exercise for at least 20 minutes three times per week. If you can add a second element, choose flexibility if you're male and strength if you're female. Men suffer from low back pain that can be helped by stretching three to four times per week. Women need abdominal and back muscle strength to counteract the effects of the aging bone structure.

Get advice from a fitness professional, but be the master of your program!

Coach Don Nava is the author of FIT AFTER 40: 3 Keys to Looking Good & Feeling Great and the creator of Team of 3 (www.teamof3.com), the first interactive on-line accountability system, to encourage and help participants achieve a Totally Fit Life.