(Since I am elderly, many of my relatives and friends are on the lookout for my demise. That is one idea that I use to prod myself into a post in this blog each day I am home and not traveling. I began this yesterday but between grass cutting and meeting with friends on Friday, I didn 't get it written until the day of posting. Most days, it is written by the end of the day before. Gmail has a feature where I can schedule the release for later but I do it myself.)
I have never been involved in marathons. As a high school and college wrestler, I didn't spend much time running. When "Aerobics" by Kenneth Cooper first inspired me to do a little running, I was in grad school after 4 years of teaching 5th graders. I was spending no time in explicit exercise at that time but Cooper's prompting of running or jogging, walking, biking and swimming as important for health spoke to me and I have continued to get some lung and heavy breathing regularly since then.
I think some floor work: yoga, calisthenics, stretching is important and I think most people have some notion in that direction, too. However, it seems to be a different matter with the use of weights. We have some weight here in the house but I continue to pay to be a member of a weight room. Three or four years ago, I heard a physical education and fitness professor advise people over 65 that visiting the weight room twice a week was enough.
I have always been fascinated with "drive" and "determination", with gung-ho energy and a rah-rah attitude. Fascinated that such feelings can put people into a mood of fierce determination and in that mood, get them to make mistakes. I am not against emotion and high spirits but I like to keep a careful eye on where they lead. It is possible to get interested in the use of weights but to do so with pictures of Arnold Schwartzenegger or Wonder Woman in mind. Such pictures can over-inspire, prompting the victim to seriously over-do the first couple uses of weights. The result can be injury to the body or to the mental interest in using weights.
At home with a can of soup or in a local fitness center, trying several sorts of lifts but doing the movement 8-12 times can be a nice introduction to the activity. If a newbie has an impulse to heft a really heavy load, I say the best thing is to leave immediately. Don't exhaust yourself, don't injure yourself or drop something on your foot. For years, I have depended on weight machines. I enjoy the convenience of setting the pin at a reasonable weight and lifting consciously and briskly and being done. Five pounds is enough to make a difference in strength. Take the next day off. If you are under 65 years of age, repeat twice over the next week. Keep it up and slowly increase the weight a bit. Over 65, skip a couple of days, The point is to stress the body (bones as well as muscles) a bit and then be sure to give enough time for repairs to be performed.
