This morning I worked out with my son at the park. He did his interval runs, and I hooked up the bands to several pieces of kids playground equipment. You can get a great workout by using the kiddie stuff, and it’s fun. Afterwards, we took to the outdoor Badminton court and played for a good half hour. It’s been years since I played, but I did pretty good and more important; we had fun. Exercise CAN be fun. Just find something you enjoy and do it as often as possible. It’s easy to be fooled by the calendar; you may think that you have lots of time and can start tomorrow, or next week, or next month. But, there are only so many days in the year as you can make use of.
30 minutes of exercise most days of the week can help you: lower blood pressure, keep excess weight off, prevent falls, improve mood, make your bones stronger, sleep better, strengthen your immune system, and improve your stamina. There is also a lot of research showing that elderly with advanced osteoarthritis move better and with less pain. And, for anyone with diabetes or pre-diabetes (metabolic syndrome, or insulin resistance), exercise is vital to either managing or preventing diabetes.
I find that it’s better for me I do 20 minutes or so of high intensity exercises with little rest in between; it fits easier into my schedule, my body responds better the next day, and I start my day with a swagger. I’ve posted some videos for Phil recently, but they are good for anyone; I do several of them with the resistance bands.
Stay well, John R Blilie, M.S.