Look good at any age
While health gives vitality, energy, vibrancy and confidence, the issue of health is not a motivator for people to exercise at any age. Using health to motivate people into action hasn’t proved successful. If the issue of health was a hot motivator there’d be people of all ages flocking to exercise as its benefits are well documented.
It’s clear this approach has largely fallen on deaf ears. It’s my view that people are more interested in looking good than they are in staying healthy. People on the whole put off working on their health until they suddenly have a health problem.
On the other hand, people universally want to look good. And so if exercise was promoted as a way to look good at any age and be attractive, desirable and vibrant at any age many more people, including older aged people would participate in exercise.
To see the importance looking good holds in the society, one only has to look at the newsagency magazines and count the number of books or magazines on health as opposed to books or magazines on beauty and looking good. Exercise makes one feel vibrant, alive and attractive at any age. I think it’s time we started promoting this.
So true.
Hi, Janice!
My name is Char Adams and I am a reporter with People Magazine. I’d love to ask you a few questions and feature you on our website! Would you be willing to chat with me?
Thank you in advance!
Best,
Char
Hello Janice,
I just turned 55 and joined a gym 6 months ago. I don’t want to win any competitions, but I sure wish I had more definition on my arms and legs. I have been doing cardio and mostly arm exercises for the last six months and have seen no definition whatsoever. Can you recommend some exercises? Also, what is your diet like? I eat about 1400 calories a day. I have lost some fat and gained a couple pounds of muscle in my 6 months, but not nearly enough of what I expected by now.
any advice would be appreciate!
One important thing often ignored is joints wear out. I have a number of friends and also myself who have worked physically and trained with weights and/ or run from an early age. We are all suffering for it. In contrast many who excel at an older age often started late eg middle age or later. I think this needs to be considered. I am 60 and now cannot use one shoulder above shoulder height, my next stop is joint replacement. I can barely even do pushups or planks now without repercussions. I can’t hold a bar on my shoulders due to lack of rotation. So this really curtails my activity. Like you I did not want to be like my mother in old age but I think we also need to be cogniscent of the facts that bodies do wear out and that can come back to bite you.