Fitness is Still Where You Find It

On By Terri Webster SchrandtIn fitness, leisure

Family-Fitness

As an avid fitness fanatic at midlife, not only am I constantly seeking out fitness opportunities for myself, I also enjoy seeing others jump on the fitness bandwagon!

Now that we have hit the middle of January, how are your goals for fitness coming along?  If you made New Year’s resolutions to be more fit or to work out more, or… have you been successful?

Earlier this month, I wrote about Four New Year’s Resolutions to Forget. Attaining fitness and achieving new goals for being physically fit are relatively easy. Perhaps you did join a gym after all. Are you attending regularly? Perhaps a goal was to dust off your old treadmill and get back to it. Did you?

If not, it is still not too late. Don’t put a time frame on fitness and wellness.

If you know anything about me, you know I took up windsurfing at age 49 (slowest learning curve EVER!). Good thing I am an excellent swimmer because I do a lot of it with my board and sail patiently trailing after me as I swim back to the beach. Ever held onto a surfboard with one hand while swimming with your other arm and legs? It IS as awkward as it sounds. But I am getting better at it (and really much better at windsurfing)! By the way, a good hour of windsurfing burns up over 800 calories!

First year windsurfing
First year windsurfing

On a windsurfing trip to La Ventana, Baja California, a few years ago, I learned stand-up paddling (SUP). In one hour I was pretty good at it (very easy)! Within a month, I owned my own SUP board. This is a great fitness experience and one can SUP anywhere there is water.

I was athletic at an early age so sports and fitness came easily to me. I played on softball teams, swam competitively in high school and college, and broke some high school track and field records as a high jumper, shot putter and discus thrower.

By age 18 I started running to lose weight (freshman 15), and got myself up to 5 miles a day. As an adult, I continued with more softball, continued running (competed in a couple of 5Ks & a triathlon), and experienced lots of sports injuries. In my late 40s I stopped running after I sustained a second serious hamstring pull. I joined a gym and still faithfully work out 4-5 days a week!

As I read some new blogs lately, I discovered others on their own fitness paths: from a young mom who dropped 100 pounds from running (wow!), another woman who is trying to eat healthier while chasing young children, and to my own cousin who just ran her first marathon wearing a dress (no less)—these stories are very inspiring! My other cousin is a world class fencer who started at age 40, and my 46-year old brother is a master’s swimmer who is ranked 25 in THE WORLD in two events.

Your goals for fitness do not have to be as grand as all that! Even if you can carve out 20-30 minutes of walking your dog every day, you are ahead of the game (and your dog benefits, too!). If you belong to a gym, park a little farther away than normal to get a few more steps in. I’m always amazed at how gym members drive in looking for the closest place to park nearest the front door!

Fitness is where you find it. Go forth and get fit…it is easier than you think! And forget about New Year’s resolutions. Just go DO IT, as Nike suggests.

28 thoughts on “Fitness is Still Where You Find It”

  2. Mark and I like walking. Parking at the edge of a parking lot and then walk to the entrance of the grocery store not only gets us some exercise, but it avoids the crowds and all the cars trying to “score” that perfect spot. Plus, parking on the side lines, means less of a change people open their car doors onto your car or run into you. Especially with our camper, this is a good solution.

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  5. It is never too late to start exercising Terri or to get back on the exercise track if we fall off. A New Year is always a great time to restart and although I don’t have a fitbit I know people who swear by them. Enjoy your yoga class again.

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  6. I was never athletic and didn’t do any form of exercise for many years. Now I swim several times a week. It is hard to get motivated to go exercise when it is cold and snowing. My daughter gave me a fit bit for Christmas. I am enjoying keeping track of my steps. I don’t get 10,000 every day but I am usually close.

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  7. I try to maintain my fitness level year round, though I’m sure I walk less during the cold months. I do a work out called classical stretch nearly every day and that helps me strengthen and stretch. I do try to get extra steps in whenever I can. I was never an athlete but was always active – riding a bicycle, working at jobs that took a lot of physical effort. I don’t feel good if I’m too sedentary so even if I wanted to, I can’t stay idle too long at a time. Your fitness regimen is inspiring, Terri!

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  10. Terri,

    This article is so where I am at. I found myself wanting to shoot a “Exercise for the Broke Guy” humor video where I walk around a city park close to where rich people live and contrast their exercise routine with mine. You know, comparing guys fully decked out in bikers spandex riding those lay-down bike contraptions with me in my $20 Kohl’s running shoes. Anyway, you inspire me, my friend!

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  14. Thank you so much for this. It caught my eye because only this morning Phil said He was so much fitter when He was walking the dogs! Sadly they have passed away now! We don’t want another dog cos we now have pigs, but you don’t walk pigs do you!
    I am a good swimmer too, at the local pool, how I envy you your ocean 🐬🐳🐋🐟🐠🔵
    My goal is to swim for 45 mins 3 times a week. Most weeks I manage this twice.

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  16. Martha Kennedy

    I don’t think of it as fitness. I think of it as the physical ability to have fun. I’m generally pretty messed up from a lifetime of running on trails, up and down hills in Southern California, sustaining falls all through childhood and adulthood, as well as sustaining serious injuries to both knees. I had hip resurfacing at 54, nearly ten years ago. I’m dreading/hoping for knee replacement surgery but it scares me because I’m afraid it won’t make me any more able than I am now to get on trails. Next week I’ll take a step (ha ha) toward finding out. I don’t have to run, but I definitely prefer wild places to the local golf course. HOWEVER nothing in this little Colorado town is very far from wilderness. and last week I saw tracks from 3 or 4 moose… I hope to be able to hike this summer, a little, anyway, with my trusty hiking “cane” and/or ride a mountain bike. It’s been a hard decade without hiking. I thought I’d “get over it” but I haven’t and living in Colorado makes that prospect unacceptable (unless I have to accept it). 🙂

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    1. Colorado sounds beautiful–never have been there! When I injured myself, I had to rethink fitness otherwise I would just sit around and get fat 😦 Well, keep up the good work and here’s hoping for a good outcome on the possible knee surgery!

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      1. Martha Kennedy

        I’ll let the world know for sure if I’m out on the trails this summer. I have an Airdyne which is my best friend right now. I wouldn’t call it an adventure, but it works. 🙂

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  17. Thanks for this, Terri. I do try to park as close to the gym entrance as possible. How silly! I realize I’m not as fit as I thought, even though I do take my dog out every day. Now, I’m going to rev it up a wee bit, sweating on the treadmill at least twice a week. I don’t swim fast enough to get a cardio workout. It’s for calming and relaxing my frantic mind.

    Lily

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