Racing to a Milestone

Posted in Wellness Wednesdays

I turn 50 in two years and four months.  It should be obvious what I’m going to say next:  28 months to get in the best shape of my life.  And I have to say, good thing I’m getting a head start, it’s not as easy as it used to be.

Nineteen years ago, this month, I was in the best shape of my life and it took virtually no effort.  Yes, that was in part due to age, but it was also due to the fact that I was getting married, and there’s no motivator like a walk down the aisle in a white gown to get a girl in shape.  But a milestone birthday is a close second. 

If you are like I was when I retired, you probably think retirement will automatically bestow upon you the greatest shape ever.  After all you have all that time to work out.  But as I’ve mentioned before, it wasn’t my job keeping me from getting in the best shape of my life, it was me.

So a couple of months ago I borrowed a set of P90X DVDs from some friends of mine.  I’ll be the first to admit that being retired is a major advantage in finding the time to commit to this P90X thing.  The program schedule includes six tough but varied workouts a week for 90 days.  I’ll also admit that at 139 bucks for the set of 12 DVD’s, it’s much better to have friends you can borrow them from, at least to check it out while you decide whether you can stand it.

It was great fun to have my friends cheering me on with daily emails that first week, asking me how it was going.  After workout number one, I reported that I could barely lift my arms to wash my hair afterward.  By day three, when I emailed my friend to tell her that now every body part ached in unison, she replied, “Aahh, Day Three, I remember it well.”

Before you start the program, you are supposed to take “before” pictures of yourself to compare to the “after” photos you take at the end.  I just couldn’t bring myself to take a photo of that unfit Syd, so I’ll have to report back to you in four more weeks from memory alone, and maybe even a change in the way my clothes fit.

Interesting Fitness Reads:

            Why Doesn’t Exercise Lead to Weight Loss?  (New York Times)

            Studies Show 15 Minutes of Daily Exercise Can Help (AP via Yahoo)

            Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin (Time Magazine)

 

This is a post from Retirement:  A Full-Time Job.  Subscribe—it’s free (plus it makes me feel good.)

 

Comments

[Jeanne]

I'm also doing P90X. This is my second attempt at it. The first time was spring 2010 and I made it through to day 60 but then had to stop due to an injury (not related to P90X). I decided to start it again on Sunday and am committed to doing the whole thing this time. They say you have to follow the meal plan that comes with it in order for it to be effective, but I'm a terrible cook and don't have time to prepare those special meals (I'm not retired). I will try to eat healthier though and I'm excited to see how this will turn out. I bought the program because I think it's one of those things that I'll go back to again and again so I felt it was worth the investment. Best of luck to you!

[Retired Syd]

@Jeanne: Ooh yay, I have a P90X buddy! I think you're right about the meal plan, at least if you are trying to lose weight in conjunction with the plan. I'm not following that either. But I do see that my strength is improving as I am consistently increasing the weight or reps as I go along. (Not to mention there were some exercises I couldn't even DO at the beginning, so big improvement there!) Good luck!

[Rick]

That is one tough program, as you well know. I'm a pretty fit 52 year old and I did a modified "easy" version of P90X, once for 60 days and another for 45 days. That was plenty for me. Ya gotta love Tony's energy! Good luck.

Btw, for my 50th year I did 50 things involving the number 50 .... walked 50 holes of golf one day, biked 50 miles one day, read 50 books during the year, did 50 random acts of kindness, did a 50 hour silent retreat, etc. I like lists anyway, and had a ball doing these over the year. I was going to give up 50 days of tv, until I got home from work on my birthday and my wife had a nice red ribbon tied to a new tv .... that changed my list to watching 50 tv shows with my wife :--)

[Retired Syd]

Rick: I love the creative way you found to celebrate your 50th. What a great idea!

[S]

Hola SYD!!! I was thinking that you are starting way too early...why not just wait until 6 months before that date... then you've got lots more time to debatch ..

BTW...does that program work for wrinkly arms??

ME

[fred doe]

50? i'd kill a man to be 50 again! 60 is a wake up call for me. you have the right idea as far as weight goes. try to weight what you weighted after college or in my case the service. 175 5' 11" i was a beautiful light heavy weight. in the seabees i boxed at light heavy weight 0 and 4 was my record.(that's 0 wins and 4 loses) but i was in great shape. my buddy showed me pictures from 35 years ago and i had to say that's a damn good lookin boy. i was 200 when i retired now i'm 185. ten lbs to light heavy weight. you don't put the weight on in months and you wouldn't take it off in months.

[Tamara]

I love the 50 things idea from Rick! I'll be 50 in one year and one month, and was already thinking about what to do to mark this significant milestone . . .

Syd, if I may get on my personal soapbox for a moment, and on a topic which you may well already know, but the reward of being active is how it makes you feel in the moment, not in how it makes you look. Looking great is one of the very nice byproducts, but the sense of well being is the true reward of having an active lifestyle.

Plus it makes for great vacations! My spouse and I just returned from hiking the Alpine Pass in Switzerland, approximately 102 miles in total. Cross my heart, we ate whatever we wanted the entire trip, and I still came home 6 lbs lighter. Now of course, sigh, I have to scale my eating back to normal since there are no alps to climb in my town as caloric offsets. (And you'll note by the time of this posting that I am clearly still suffering from return-to-the-USA-jetlag. :-)