So it’s been a while…

Perhaps you’re considering a gym membership because something in your life has changed:

• Maybe you’ve just retired and finally have the time to get serious about exercise.
• Maybe your health provider gave you a ‘look’ when they saw your body weight during your last exam.
• Maybe you’re recovering from a surgery or illness and need some help to get back to your old self.
• Maybe that last kid has left the nest and you can now finally focus on yourself.
• Maybe the bounce back from the holidays is taking a little longer than usual.
• Maybe you’re concerned with why walking up a flight of stairs or playing with the grandkids has been so difficult lately
• Maybe there are a few too many comments about how you are aging or growing around the mid-section.
• Maybe the man or woman in the mirror doesn’t represent the person you had hoped it would be as you got older.

And in case it’s NOT on your list, let me add a big reason to get back to the gym: to stay Young, Longer. You should do it to stay capable and healthy for your ‘Next Third’.

And if it’s been a while since your athletic days when you were sprinting up Logue’s Hill or pumping iron, I’ve got some very good news for you.

Exercise for those of us over 55 is WAY different than it was for us than young people. WAY DIFFERENT.

First, you have to do far LESS work to get way more benefit. 45 minutes per day. That’s it. And you’ll stay capable into your 80’s.

Secondly, you don’t have to work as hard to get bigger benefits. No more sprints (if you don’t want to.) No more throwing out the shoulder because you tried to bench press 300 pounds. No more pushing yourself HARD and FAST. You can if you want, but exercise is no longer about taking risks. Quite the opposite.

The goal of exercise changes as you get older. We’re not looking for peak athletic performance any longer. We’re looking to stay capable and healthy.

Athletic performance training has a high risk of injury and pushes the body to maximum. This is antithetical to maintaining a healthy body for the long term. That’s why athletes have off-season training to recover. Athletes often have injuries that they pay for the rest of their lives. Athletic level training has NO advantage over moderate exercise when it comes to adding to your life or even improving the quality. It often does more damage than good.

For the 55+ crowd, we want endurance training: training that makes our bodies last as long as they can.

Aerobic exercise is a big part of this as it builds the cardiovascular system. Strength and mobility training are important to keep us functioning. As Chris Crowley in Younger Next Year puts it, “Aerobics keeps us living. Strength training makes it a life worth living.”

Barb and I are experts in training the 55+ crowd. Over 90% of our gym is over 50 years old. When you’re ready, give us a call and we’ll make sure your Next Third is the Best Third.

Ron