The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character. ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

This time of year a lot of people start fitness routines and by February most of them have stopped those routines. The fact is I’m a huge fan of anyone starting a fitness routine, but particularly people over the age of 40. As we age we lose flexibility and muscle mass, but only if we don’t stay active. It’s always amazing to me to meet people in their 80’s who are still highly active. They don’t seem to suffer from many of the ailments many other people do even in their 50’s. 

Fitness really has three components from my perspective, cardio fitness, strength training and eating well. Most people understand the whole cardio fitness bit, and that makes sense. Because honestly cardio fitness can be addressed with something as simple as walking every day. Extending your walking for longer distances and time and then throwing in some stairs or hills is something anyone can do, even if you’re new to fitness training. And you can always graduate up to jogging or even running.

That’s the part everybody gets, but what a lot of people don’t seem to get is the importance of resistance (weight) training as we age. One of the main reasons people have difficulty with coordination, walking, balance as well as other physical issues as we age is a loss of strength and muscle mass. Weight training can help us stave off these losses. I realize there is a lot of anxiety about weight lifting and a lot of intimidation at the idea of going into a gym for he first time and lifting weights. So let me give you a lot of good news. 

First, you don’t really need to go to the gym to start resistance training. Second, you don’t have to have any special equipment or do anything crazy to get started. The fact is water is a wonderful tool for weightlifting. A gallon of water weighs a little over eight pounds. So the only equipment you need to get started is a gallon of water or even some small waters. Start with it half filled and fill it as you get stronger. You can use the gallon jugs to start doing bicep curls, tricep curls and even chest exercises. You of course also can be more traditional and use dumbbells or strength bands. If you have the money and desire you can even hire a personal trainer.

But here is the real good news of this post. What’s most important about all of this is not how much, how far or how fast. What’s most important is that you’re consistent. So whether your cardio is a 10 minute walk once a day, or doing 10 curls every other day with 16 ounce water bottles, what’s important is that you are consistent. Doing cardio 5-6 times a week and lifting in some capacity 3 times a week is all you need. It doesn’t matter if you do these in the morning, afternoon or evening. What’s most important is that you just keep doing it.

The simple fact is that as long as you keep at it consistently, you’ll get more fit. Especially because the longer you do it, the more advanced you’ll get, the more you’ll challenge yourself. And that’s the second secret of this whole thing, gradually increasing the challenge. So if you walk 5 minutes a day 5 days a week that’s great. But eventually you need to work up to 10 minutes a day, but only when you’re comfortable and ready. It’s the same thing with weight lifting, start with 2 pound dumbbells and when you’re comfortable move up to 5 pounders.

The most important goal is too not over stress yourself. The reason most people fail at this is first they don’t keep doing it consistently. Secondly, they challenge themselves too quickly, get too sore or injure themselves then quit. No, it is not required to be sore after a workout, sure once you get to the point of lifting heavier weights you will get a little sore after a big workout, but that doesn’t need to start until your routines are well established and you’re comfortable challenging yourself.

I’ll give you an example of all of this. When I first starting working out in the gym, in anticipation of hiking to base camp at Mount Everest a year later, I was walking on the treadmill at 2.4 miles an hour with no incline. Now, almost 20 years later, and older, I routinely finish my treadmill routines at 3.4 or 3.5 miles an hour at a 12-15% incline. But I was at 2.4 for a while, then 2.5, then adding a 1% incline and so on and so forth. I also started out doing 10 minute sessions and now my minimum is 30 minutes. Honestly, if I could do it, so can you. What made me successful was simply being consistent, and allowed me to spend 30 days hiking in the high passes of the Himalayas.

As for the third component of fitness, eating well, I’m going to leave that bit of advice to my friend Suanne. Like the workout piece of what we’ve been talking about, with the eating piece you just need to incrementally do better. And in order to do that you need to be consistent and find ways of doing it that are not boring or feel like effort. My friend Suanne has a great Instagram page, where she posts fantastic meal ideas and encouraging and uplifting memes and advice, check it out. She’s truly become the queen of the interesting salads and I get a lot of great ideas from her page.

So my friends, get moving, get lifting and eat a little better, this doesn’t have to be climbing a mountain, just strolling up an easy incline. But as long as you do, whatever you’re doing consistently and gradually challenge yourself, you’ll get fitter, feel better and probably become more than a bit happier. ~ Rev Kane