While in the healing process, I had time on my hands to research and discover exactly what was out there for me to do and most importantly to want to keep doing. In order to make it a part of my lifestyle and mindset, it had to be something that worked for me.
There is no way that I needed something so strenuous as the Olympic athletes work on at the Colorado Olympic Training Center. Just for fun, I looked up some of what they did and it really blew my mind. Of course, they had to have a good diet and stay hydrated, as well as getting 8 - 10 hours of sleep at night. They needed proper warm ups before diving in full speed ahead with an assortment of different types of exercises. It was important for them to have a personal coach to keep them on track. The mental part of their training was also important and could not be overlooked. They each had their positive mantras and/or inspirational books that helped to keep them motivated.
Let's review that list of what is possible for me, remembering that I am not going for the GOLD, just training to be in good shape. First of all, looking at what I eat and keeping a track record of everything that goes in my body is important and something that I can do with my FitBit online. It also will track how much water that I drink. Right there is a bonus for me. An automatic calorie counter, as well as tracking how much protein, fats, carbs, an sodium would be a good thing for me.
The last ten years or do, I know that I lived on 6 hours of sleep and thought that was the only thing that was possible. If I got up at 5:30 in order to dress, have breakfast and drive to work by 7 then basically, to get 8 - 10 hours of sleep meant I had to go to bed at 7:30. When I was getting home from work at 5:30 or 6, I was not prepared to make a quick dinner, shower and go to bed.
What kind of life is that? I know that I was sleep deprived. Now that I have more control of when I get up to go to work, which is a much more civilized time of 7:30, this means that I can work on heading to bed at 9:30ish. Again, a civilized time for the work week. Even 10 now and then works fine. Telling myself what I can accomplish that even competing athletes do such as keeping track of what I eat and drink, how much sleep I get, having a positive and inspirational mantra each day and using warm ups to get into physical activity, I would say that I am off to a good start.
When searching out what Olympic athletes did, I ran across an interesting article about Matt Damon getting himself in shape for his latest Jason Bourne movie. He stated that now at 45, it is a lot harder to do than from his earlier years. Again, he was training for the perfect body that a character needed for a movie. For him, it did mean having a full time trainer that had him running, cycling, completing 100 sit ups and 300 push ups each day as well as sled pushing and pulling. If you have never been in a gym and had the pleasure of this exercise, let me assure you that it is brutal. Matt's own words was that he had to say a lot of no's and not one yes because he enjoyed his burgers and beers, yet he had to always be saying, "No, no no!" This is fine for a short period of time getting in shape for a character role. This is NOT real life.
Actually, none of what Matt Damon's workout and training would be for me. Taking it down a notch by reading up on what Gretchen Reynolds suggests in some of her articles would work for me. It is much more for the typical person. She says that we as humans, were made for walking. (I like her already!) It is more efficient than running and easier on your body. She does not take anything away from the runners of the world, just says that it is not for everyone, and those of us who are the walkers of the world have nothing to be ashamed of. Also, it is good to vary where you walk. Outside is good when weather permits. I am most definitely a fair weather walker. Otherwise, you will find me inside walking the perimeters of the house or cycling to get steps in for the day. According to Gretchen and other experts, a very good drink for after your workout is low fat chocolate milk. Not gatorade! That makes me happy. A special little treat just for me. A bonus in that it helps to give me more calcium, too.
The fact that she says our bodies respond to music and that we do tend to move to the beat of the music that we are listening to, so why not pump it up a notch? This can be done while walking, cycling or with weights, which has proven to be very beneficial to all, especially to older individuals, as it builds muscles and works on good balance. The one important thing to remember is that birthdays do not dictate your age. It is simply a number. If you look at it in a negative way, you are destroying your mindset of what it is you are capable of achieving.
Printed off for me to look at each day is my main positive thought of the day, even though I have a new one each day, this is the one that makes me get up and move often:
"People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success. " Norman Vincent Peale
I plan on believing that I can do what I set my mind to doing and therefore I have unlocked one of the secrets to success.
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