Back to Fitness . . . I Hope

When I started this blog I intended for its major thrust to be health and fitness--lifelong endeavors for me. Since contending with chemotherapy, I have not been able to get to my regular gym workouts for the past couple of months. Today, I went there and tried to get back into the flow. I know that once a person stops exercising they can get out of shape quickly, but I was hardly prepared for the horrifying experience. The worst part, was my inability to stretch my leg muscles even half what I would normally be able to do. It will take awhile and some dedication to get back where I was before . . . but I will.

It got me to thinking about all the people who never do stretching or any other type of exercise, and how with age our muscles deteriorate at the rate of about 8% every ten years. No wonder so many elderly folks simply lose the ability to walk due to muscle weakness with no other infirmity. Of course, being overweight as so many in our society are, does not help. For them, it is even more difficult to get going and keep going for life.

Although I've always known how important it is to exercise regularly, I now have a greater appreciation for what I would be like now at age 65 if I had not exercised all my adult life. I'm happy and grateful to be back to the point where I can resume a healthy lifestyle. I encourage everyone to continue your exercise routines and if you don't already, to start an exercise program of some kind, even if it first entails just stretching and walking up and down stairs.  Just start somewhere and then never stop.

           My 40 plus year old son, Shayne, on the right riding in the annual Colorado Triple Bypass