Tomorrow is National Walking Day.
Saturday is National Play Outside Day.
I’ll bet you can guess where I’m going with this…
Let’s make a vow today to do a little bit more walking and do it outdoors! Now that the weather is a bit nicer, we’ll get our daily dose of Sunshine Vitamin (D), breathe the fresh spring air, and get our steps in as well!
We all know that our body needs exercise to thrive, but many of us don’t get the right amount of exercise, or we don’t even think about the best exercise for our age.
Yet, we do have different exercise needs at different ages and now that we’re over 50 it’s time to take a good look at what we’re doing – or not doing, as the case may be.
What those of us who’s bodies are over 50 need is combination of weight bearing exercise like walking or hiking, and isometric exercises like planks, push-ups, and my Super Squats (video below).
So, if you want to be healthier and take care of your aging body, but lack the incentive to get out and walk or hike – what do you do?
The best way to get out there and keep going is to find accountability partners that are more motivated than you are.
Let’s say you’d like to walk three times a week, but rarely make it out more than once or twice.
Find two or three accountability partners, different people for different days.
When we commit to our friends that we’ll walk or hike with them, we don’t want to let them down, so we’ll be more apt to drag ourselves out of bed, get dressed, and get out there. Our friends will benefit as well because they’ll be happy to be helping us on our fitness journey!
In addition, it makes the exercise a more social event. You get to catch up with your friends and find out what they’re doing in their lives. You may find out that you have even more in common with someone than you realized.
This social connection is good for our brain health, and the walking is definitely good for both our heart and brain. After a few months, you may find out about a Pilates class or some other form of strength training that you’re both interested in, and can add that to your work-out plans. Anything you do with friends is more fun and you’ll be helping each other to age with grace and strength!
Best of Health,
Kathi
