Those every day small steps can add up. If we cannot get to a gym for our regular class, then the least we can do is follow a good trainer on a video. There are some really inspirational characters out there. The fastest growing market is for the senior members of society. So many older folk never exercise at all from one month to the next. I personally find that if I take a week away from my regular sessions, then laziness builds up and I completely lose momentum. It does not take much to throw me off the routine either. So I do try very hard to keep to a regular time slot. I book in for a particular class that involves stretching, cardio and strength training with weights. There ae several of us all around the mid 70s up to an amazing 92. Obviously some of us are better at the workouts than others. However, I am always surprised to see how supple the unlikeliest candidates turn out to be. I can do the ‘drunk walk in a row’ which is to put one foot in front of the other and stand asolutely upright. The hope of the gym trainer is that we can manage that without holding on to the chair in front of us . . . sadly she has expectations that mother nature seems disinclined to reach. But we do all try. I prefer it when we use the had weights for strength training. Just a few different moves really do build stronger muscles. We get offered lifestyle improvement tips too – how to increase our protein intake and how not to fill up on tasty but short lived calorie snacks. On the whole, the local gym classes are effective in getting us oldies up off the sofa and slightly more active!
