June Simon swimming with the dolphins at age 92 – Exercise pays off!
June Simon swimming with the dolphins at age 92 –
Exercise pays off!
You have a great quality life for a long time.
This is why you exercise.
Did you know the average couple spends $240,000 on healthcare from the time they retire and the time they die? Wouldn’t you want to spend almost a quarter of a million dollar traveling and having fun than being sick?
The body is a beautiful, incredible machine but unless it is kept “tuned up,” it breaks down. If you want to age prematurely or have your muscles and joints degenerate, then continue your sedentary lifestyle. If you want to lead a healthy, active life, then it is time to make fitness a priority. My mom, June Simon, at 95 years old, did water aerobics 3X/week, walked a mile on the treadmill, and went to Hawaii every winter. My husband’s relatives are 10 years younger and in walkers. What is the difference? My mom always stayed active and exercised. The choices you make today certainly affect the quality of life you have later.
How much energy do you have? You only have so much energy. You decide how you want to spend it. If you are not physically fit, you will spend more energy on everyday activities than you would do otherwise. That’s energy that you could be using for more pleasurable endeavors. The choice is yours.
Physically fit people have less stress on their bodies so their bodies do not have to work as hard at normal activities.
Being physically fit means that you have good flexibility, strength, and cardiovascular efficiency. Over 80 percent of all Americans have back problems. Lack of flexibility and strength is a major contributing factor to back problems. If you are inflexible in your back and legs, the wear and tear on your back is increased even in the pursuit of normal activity. The back must be flexible or the discs will be subjected to increased pressure and will begin to break down. If you lack strength, you can put additional strain on your back. For these reasons, it is essential to develop good flexibility and strength as part of your exercise program.
Over 80% of all Americans have back problems.
Good cardiovascular efficiency helps prevent heart disease. The heart is a muscle and needs to be conditioned like your skeletal muscles. The way to improve your cardiovascular system is through aerobic activity. By exercising any muscle at a level above what it normally operates at, you will strengthen that muscle and increase its endurance. This is the principal behind aerobic exercise. Endurance or interval training activities force the heart to beat faster which causes a greater supply of oxygen to be utilized. Over time, your heart will actually become larger, pump more blood per beat, and use oxygen more efficiently. You will become “fuel efficient,” using less energy for more activity. Women who exercise also decrease their chance of getting breast cancer by 30%,
The purpose of exercise is to create balance in the body and to have more energy. In so doing, you prevent back problems, heart disease and some cancers. You take your body everywhere you go, so it makes sense to treat it well. You deserve to be a healthy, energetic person. So find time to exercise for you and the people you’re around – I’m sure that they would like to have you around as long as possible. The choice is yours … what kind of choice will you make? This is the bottom line:
If you think you deserve to be a healthy, energetic person, you will find the time to exercise.
If you want low energy, stress, back problems, certain types of cancer, and heart disease, then don’t exercise
If you want to be able to enjoy life to its fullest extent, then you will find the time for fitness.
The choice is yours!
You can spend $240,000 on being sick or swimming with the dolphins and having fun – well into your nineties.
What do you choose?