Fitness Challenged? You CAN Take Control!
A friend was telling a bunch of us in a Whatsapp group the other day about how her body aches when she wakes up in the morning and how she feels she’s growing old. To which, some advised that she should rest more and even take painkillers for her body aches.
The blunt me told her, “Get that ass moving. Get into the habit of exercising regularly. It’ll all be alright.”
Which – thankfully – she did. And it helped her immensely!
Meet the Antifragile You!
I am in love with the word that Taleb coined. “Antifragile”.
I don’t believe in mollycoddling the body. If you think of our foremothers, you’ll know what I mean.
These women were extremely active people and very similar – at least in movement – to the women who work in the fields and as household help. And they were mostly all fitter than the upwardly mobile class who don’t move their bodies much. (The fact that the poor don’t get proper nutrition is a different story altogether.)
Moreover, the fact that a huge number of women over 40 are plagued by health problems these days like diabetes, hypertension, bad knees etc. are mostly to do with bad nutrition (overeating rather) and lack of regular exercising. Our own doing basically.
Getting a Reality Check
Look, I’m not talking about working on a Jennifer Aniston or closer to home, Shilpa Shetty kind of fitness. That requires utmost dedication, motivation, and most importantly, time and resources.
What about us normalos who don’t live celebrity lifestyles? We don’t have the luxury of time (or money!) to have those heavenly bodies. And there’s definitely no brand out there who’s going to have products endorsed by us for thousands – if not a million – dollars.
So let’s forget heavenly bodies, do a reality check, and come back down to earth.
I’m talking about a certain level of fitness that lets you be agile, bounce around with enough energy to balance a home and work life, move freely, lower the chances of aches and pains, and of course look neat and trim to a certain extent.
Keep it Simple: How I Stay Fit
Look, aches and pains are inevitable with age. Each day when I wake up and don’t feel any pain in the body, I thank my stars and my simple regular workout. Nothing elaborate there. A bit of cardio and a bit of weights and freehand exercises, three times a week.
And truth be told, the lazy Bong in me prevents me from being a marathoner or a long distance runner.
My Motivations
Oh, and I must talk about my motivation here. What’s my motivation for keeping myself fit?
- My wardrobe of western outfits. Much like most people, I’m simply not rich enough to buy a whole new wardrobe and I’m pretty attached to my jeans and leggings. Then there’s the added complacence of looking at a rather neat body that still allows me to tuck in my blouses without any superfluous bulges here and there.
- I am a pretty sensible eater as well. One thing I have experienced is that when one goes off some foods, e.g. deep fried stuff, sweets, et. al, the body begins to somehow not want them anymore. It craves real food, by which I mean the natural stuff; not things overcooked and over processed to death.
- Think better. Developing new habits and a new discipline is all in the mind. You CAN actually train your mind to do wonders.
I shouldn’t fail to include here that I have also been asked “Why all this pain and sacrifice at this age? Just enjoy life.” Well, whoever said I am not enjoying life? When I run or do Nordic Walking, I can’t tell you the joy I feel from the agility in my body. Or when I do weights, how crazily empowered I feel (ready to kick ass!). And I am one of those lucky few who get a runner’s high after 10 minutes into the workout.
Honestly, it really is all about how you condition yourself into a happier, healthier lifestyle. It really is all in your hands.
