I hope it is clear by now that this blog primarily addresses those middle agers who are interested in getting or staying fit.
To those of you who have not yet decided to jump in yet I'd like to give some important information before you start hitting the weights or the track.
Like it or not, in spite of all the recent breakthroughs in medicine, aging is still a universal phenomenon affecting each and every one of us (even cosmetic surgery clients).
Usual guidelines for screening those who want to take up an exercise routine in middle age are as follows: if you are 45 or older for a man or 55 or older for a woman, you should always consult a physician for a detailed checkup before starting any exercise routine.
Even if you are younger you should always consult a physician before starting an exercise routine if you present with any kind of cardiovascular condition (including hypertension, heart problems, stroke, high cholesterol etc), respiratory problems (including asthma), bone, joint or muscles ailment, if you are obese or have diabetes.
Note that this list is not exhaustive and that any of the above conditions need not have been diagnosed: like millions of Americans, you may have diabetes without knowing it or a heart condition unbeknownst to you. As the saying goes: better safe than sorry. Better consult a physician than shun a consultation and collapse with a heart attack.
An article in the NYT a few years ago caught my attention as I was pondering the fact that my 1-rep bench press max had slightly decreased from my all-time record of 235 lbs (for a 165 lbs body weight) down to 225 lbs. I was 43 at the time. As I could not find any obvious explanation I started analyzing all plausible hypotheses.
After carefully considering the 3 feet of the fitness tripod, I came to an unexpected and somewhat unsettling conclusion:there was nothing wrong: I was eating right and getting enough sleep. Moreover my exercise technique had probably further improved compared to 5 years earlier when I could bench-press my record 235 lbs.
The only explanation left was that I was 5 years older.
ACKNOWLEDGING ONE'S LIMITS
I must confess that it took me a while to recognize this very basic truth: as we age, even if we exercise on a very regular basis as I do, peak performance imperceptibly drops. This should sound like a common place not worth mentioning to most baby boomers: we are not as strong or fast as in our 20's or 30's. Yet for a surprisingly large number of mature athletes, particularly in their 40's and 50's, the fact that their physical abilities are bound to decline with age no matter how hard they train is a kind of taboo, or at least something they vehemently deny, no matter what the scientific evidence suggests.
It is an open secret that as we age we become more prone to storing fat and gaining weight than when we were in our 20's.
This may be partly due to a lower Resting Metabolic Rate (the number of calories our body needs to maintain itself at rest) as well as a decreased level of physical activity as a result of a more sedentary lifestyle.
The midlife spread is therefore considered by most baby boomers almost as unavoidable as far-sightedness . This is a wrong belief. There are very simple rules that if adhered to consistently can keep you as svelte as in your 20's.
Healthful eating habits are thus especially important for middle aged individuals. So much has been written on the subject that any attempt at exhaustively describing the ideal diet would be redundant and probably futile. So my ambition here will be to simply list what my experience has taught me are the 5 most important principles that should be observed in order to achieve both
I hope it is clear by now that this blog primarily addresses those middle agers who are interested in getting or staying fit.
