Vic Vogel
What is the secret to sustaining fitness and health, as you grow older?
The biggest secret to attaining and sustaining fitness is planning, and then executing the plan. This is the same process companies use to grow, and sustain growth over time. As you grow older, our culture promotes a sedate lifestyle. After all, we have earned a rest after working all those years. We are told our bodies will deteriorate as we age, leaving us helpless. This is far from the truth. As we grow older, you are not helpless. I began my fitness improvement at the age of 58. I am 63, and in better shape than I was in my late thirties. I lost over 110 pounds, went from 44% body fat to 18% in my first year, and sustained for the last four years. The problem is most people are not familiar with fitness in general. They do not know how to establish a fitness strategy.
Why are people unfamiliar with fitness, particularly as they grow older?
Several factors come into play.
- Our culture supports being sedate.
- Businesses establish plans to eliminate older workers.
- The fitness and nutrition industries have built big businesses around making fitness simple, quick, and easy. None of which is true!
The nutrition and fitness industries encourage people not to think about fitness. They profess to have all the answers, so you do not have to think. They even use the words, “You don’t have to think about it”. According to fatsense.com, in America, we have over 50 million people overweight, 40 million who are obese, and 3 million morbidly obese. The health club industry grew to nearly 20 billion dollars in 2009. The nutrition industry earned over 200 billion dollars in 2007 and was growing at the time. It does not take a rocket scientist to compare the growth of fitness and nutrition industries against increasing obesity problems. Clearly, they are inversely related. People are spending more money on fitness and nutrition industries, while our population is becoming more obese. The Center for Disease Control reported, “CDC surveillance data show that about 16.7% of adults aged 45–64, 23.1% of adults aged 65–74, and 35.9% of adults aged 75 or older are inactive, meaning they engage in no leisure time, household, or transportation physical activity.
The medical profession offers everything from magic pills for weight loss to cosmetic surgery guaranteeing sculpted abs. Still obesity increases. In adults 30-40, there has been a 70% increase in diabetes since 1990 (fatsense.com). We supposedly have the best medical care in the world. We have more exercise and nutrition options to choose from than ever before. With all that is available we still do not exercise or eat right.
The problem is not age. It is a lack of knowledge and education about fitness. People are opting for quick and easy solutions that do not work. Expensive commercials convince you that you can attain fitness without effort. People feel they can improve by purchasing the next great scheme offered on a television infomercial, or the internet. Doctors, who you unequivocally trust, have moved from traditional medicine to cosmetic surgery because it is more lucrative. Feel uncomfortable in your skin, the doctor will fix it. After you gain back your weight, go back for another medical procedure. If your doctor refuses, just find one that will not. More doctors are playing on the vanity of the elderly, and their desire to perpetuate a youthful appearance. People know less about fitness because the nutrition and fitness industries are misleading by them. They believe these industries have their welfare at heart, when in fact profit is their primary motivation.
What can you do to change direction?
“Building A Strategy For Fitness: A Model to Reach And Sustain Total Fitness and Health” connects education, nutrition, and exercise together into a simple plan to follow. Until now, nothing has tied all three of these fitness components together. This book helps you take control of your fitness. It provides a model (Education + Nutrition + Optimal Movement = Total Fitness) that acts as an underpinning philosophy for creating a fitness lifestyle. “Building A Strategy For Fitness: A Model to Reach And Sustain Total Fitness and Health” puts you in charge of your fitness. It helps you decide what nutritional programs are the best for you. You can select exercises that you enjoy, and fit your needs. Your decisions are grounded in facts and data that provide you valuable information in designing your fitness strategy. Combining the information you accumulate into knowledge allows you to develop a plan that eliminates uncertainty and confusion.
What makes having a strategy for fitness so powerful?
It puts you in control. It is a proven process. Companies who develop and execute strategy effectively out perform companies that do not. It is easier to achieve your goals when you clearly articulate the results, in other words a vision. Once you clearly focus on the vision, you need a quality assessment of your status. Now you know exactly what you need to do. Why is this important? It allows you to select the best nutritional programs that fit your circumstances. It provides exercise programs that you will finish and sustain. It establishes measurements that allow you to track your progress. When you have all this information available, you can establish realistic time periods, and break your actions steps into manageable activity. Another important element is behavioral reinforcement. You can reward your successes, which in turn leads to achieving your vision. If you falter, and you will, you can return to your plan with minimal affect. A well-defined strategy is the difference between failure and success.
What happens when you hit your goals and vision?
You then have two choices. You can maintain, or you can improve. Both are acceptable solutions. Whichever you chose you now have the knowledge, and skill set to sustain your fitness. You have all the tools in place to improve or maintain your fitness. You should never stop learning. As you age, you can adjust your needs based on your knowledge and establish new strategies. Most personal training clients that are older now realize they can improve their health and wellness. They can achieve their fitness goals safely and minimize future illnesses. Their quality of life improves because they have better balance, endurance, and strength resulting from resistance training, and good nutrition.
When developing a strategy are there any good books, videos, or nutritional programs.
Absolutely. Some good videos, books, and research articles will prove useful in developing your fitness strategy. The trick is finding the ones that are based in fact, not hype. There are also excellent nutritional options. There is also, a time for medical interventions. “Building A Strategy For Fitness: A Model to Reach And Sustain Total Fitness and Health” (www.amazon.com) gives you a model that will help select the right programs, and organize them so they work for you. It puts you in charge. The education element of the strategy for fitness model helps you discern between effective programs and schemes. Generally stay away from television advertisements and infomercials. You do not need a lot of equipment to become fit. In nearly every case, your body weight combined with the right exercise is all you need to lose weight and build muscle. If you eat naturally, e.g. fresh vegetables, lean meat, and fish you will get most of the nutrients you need. You will need some supplements. Make sure you have done a good analysis of supplements. Organic is the best way to go. Stay away from prepackaged foods. Go to Strategy for Fitness for basic information on nutrition and fitness. You do not have to spend a lot of money to attain and sustain fitness. Building a fitness strategy is not difficult. You can easily design a fitness strategy. Without the strategy you will stray, and eventually quit. Do not grow old, grow healthy.
Will having a strategy for fitness really build and sustain fitness?
I am a living example. I started when I was 58 years old. I have lost a large amount of weight, improved my strength by building muscle mass, and improved my balance and endurance. I train people in their twenties and thirties that have trouble keeping up with me at age 63. I have been on both sides of the fence. I have tried all the gimmicks, quick fixes, and miracle drugs, some that were proven deadly. None of these sustained fitness. On the other hand, I built a fitness strategy, became educated, and executed my plan. I have sustained my gains for over four years. I am improving. I now make knowledgeable decision about my fitness. I am spending less money to remain fit. Does it work? You bet it does!
