WHEN you were in high school you were the ultimate athlete.
You played on sports teams, you hit the gym and you spent summers playing volleyball on the beach. You couldn't imagine a future where you weren't active, but that's where you are now.
Now you're nearing 40. You've raised a family and established a career, and it's your body that has made sacrifices. You've neglected your physical health, and as a result you've gained weight, you feel tired and your energy levels are low. You may have become deconditioned. You feel like a completely different person than you did 10 or 20 years ago, but it doesn't have to stay that way.
Deconditioning is a side effect of inactivity. To determine if you have become deconditioned, take a close look at your habits and your body's capabilities.
Say you want to go skiing this winter but don't think your body can handle it.
That means you are probably deconditioned. The same is true if you get injured every time you're active, if you don't recover well from injury, if you become short of breath from climbing a flight of stairs, or if you've gained more than five pounds over several consecutive years.
Does this sound like you? Then it's time to get back in shape. The first step is to realize that you have to make exercise a regular part of your life. You need to commit to at least 45 minutes of exercise, three days per week to start seeing results. You also need to understand that you may initially notice a decrease in your energy level, because your heart, lungs and other organs are not strong enough to deal with the stresses of increased activity. This can be difficult to handle, because an unfit person is fatigued to begin with. If you start slowly you might be able to avoid this side effect, but that may not be the case. The good news is, as you become stronger your energy levels will actually increase with exercise rather than decrease.
After the first three to four weeks you should notice strength and energy improvements, and by six to 12 weeks you will notice a significant difference in the way you look and feel. Physical health is something many of us don't appreciate until it is gone.
The key is to make physical fitness a regular part of your life, and not to let yourself push it to the side again.
Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800 or visit his website, www.karpfitness.com.
