Exercising For Emotional, As Well As Physical, Fitness

One of the areas where I've needed to get unstuck is physical fitness. The frustration, depression, and apathy of the past six months or so have immobilized me. As a result, I've put on enough weight to make all of my clothes uncomfortable, and my joints hurt. This is not who I am! I've always been fairly active and athletic, and being sedentary like I've been depresses me even more.


My first step in getting back in shape was to read (again) Younger Next Year For Women. It's a fun book to read, and it inspires me. Along with all the physical, anti-aging reasons for being active, they say, "Exercise and mood share the same chemistry." So if I exercise, I can get fit both physically and emotionally. I'm ready. Starting now, I'm committed to regular exercise.

I actually started last week. It's winter, and I hate the cold, so I decided I could just go up and down the back stairs. There's 20 steps, and it's a good workout. Of course, I forgot I'm 52 years old, and I overdid it. My knees didn't like me the next day. So I took the rest of the week off to regroup. I'm so out of shape that I'll have to work out to get ready to start working out.

This week I started over. I'm making myself go outside and walk so I can build up some muscle and joint strength before I do anything more strenuous. One of my excuses (besides the cold) was that I don't have time. But I realized that I leave work around 4 or 4:30, and it'a only a five-minute walk home. That means I get home too early to start dinner, but with not enough time to start into anything else. Why not take the long route home? I did that a couple days and it worked fine.

The weekends are harder, because I don't have to go outside to go to work. I want to stay in where it's warm. But I went out. Today was the first really cold day, and the first day of walking on snowy sidewalks. It was cold, and there was some wind that blew right through my coat. So what?! Embrace the cold! Put on a hat and gloves, for heaven's sake! I did, pretending I was out hiking on the Appalachian Trail, remembering how it was out there, where no cold would deter me from my goal.

It was a little hard to keep up a good pace with the slippery snow on the sidewalks. Having been reminded that I'm over 50 and not as resilient as I once was, I felt vulnerable. I know that I'm at an age when osteoporosis begins to be a concern and when wrenched joints and pulled muscles don't heal very fast. I'm more afraid of falling than I've ever been.

I don't like having to be so cautious -- it makes me feel old -- but I believe it will actually be to my advantage. Normally, when I'm out to walk for exercise, I really stretch out, and my back tends to arch. In that position, it seems to me that a slip or fall would be more likely to damage my back or hips. Today in the snow, I took special care to keep my pelvis lined up below my spine, keeping slight muscle tension throughout the entire walk. Somewhat of a Pilates approach, I guess. As a result, I felt more secure, and I could even feel my thigh and butt muscles engaging and working. It's got to help the abs, too.

I'm going to keep at this routine for now. Maybe in a few weeks I'll add the stair climbing. By summer I should be ready to get back on that bicycle. I can't wait!