The equinox is here. Time to get back to exercise after the too-rainy, too-cold, too-snowy winter season. Couch potato syndrome set in after the holidays. If, like me, you have a 17-month-old in your life, you can observe a human in constant motion. Moving is what we were designed for. Many of us imagine that what is natural for a 2-year-old is unnatural for a seventy- or eighty-year-old. We’re naturally sedentary when we get older. In America, that’s how we behave. According to a recent issue of AARP magazine, 65.3 million US adults are considered physically inactive. That’s 23.3% of the adult population. Are you one of the 65.3 million and wish you weren’t?
What can help you find the motivation to be a person who moves? It turns out that not moving leads to less moving. Turning the switch from I’m a person who wants to move but can’t seem to do it, to a person who moves depends on whether the benefit of moving outweighs the cost. Our emotions can trip us up.
If I try pickleball, I probably won’t be any good and they’ll laugh at me.
If I sign up for that line-dancing class, people will find out I have two left feet. It won’t be fun.
If I join my friend hiking group, I’ll hold them back.
Why would we do something that made us feel incompetent, disrespected and exhausted. You might wonder how you got those negative expectations in the first place. Are those old experiences still applicable?
People I meet, my health providers, my hiking friends, folks on Facebook claim to see me as some sort of exercise bunny, a rare creature in my late 80’s. My happy place has always been outdoors, the more wilderness the better. I just naturally gravitate to walking or hiking outdoors and I found others who love it as much as I do. I’ve always thought of myself as a person who moves. I’m not exceptional. I know what makes me happy and I keep doing it. You can, too.
If you’re looking for a way to change from “I have to exercise to meet my fitness goals” to a person who “loves to exercise and how great that my fitness level is higher,” look back over your life and think about what movement you enjoyed when you were younger. Is there a place or group doing that in their older age? Senior Centers are often great places to find classes at your level and an eager group of folks to join, new friends bonded over being exercisers.
If pain is keeping you from moving, what have you tried to ease the discomfort? My knees are bone-on-bone with arthritis. I don’t like taking NSAIDs (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are medications that reduce pain, fever, and inflammation. Common examples include ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), and aspirin, which are available over the counter. Prescription-strength NSAIDs include celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac, and indomethacin). They tend to damage the stomach and have other side effects. Shaklee makes a Pain Relief Complex that inhibits the pain path from knees to brain through herbs and without bad side effects. I’ve been taking two a day of years. Sometimes I need an extra one at lunch. This product and others for Joint Health can be found on my personal website, my Shaklee store. Take a look. You can also find many more articles about arthritis pain and joints at my www.GrandmaBetsyBell.com blog.
Let me know how you have gotten off the couch and back into your favorite exercise. Your solution and motivation might be just what another reader needs. Pass this post along if a friend could use the info.
Be well, Do well, and Keep Moving. Betsy
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