Healthy in the City: Working out so I can live alone when I'm 80.

When I first started working out and trying to lose the weight I put on during and after college my main goal was to look better;  if I got healthier that was just a bonus.  In your twenties, are you really thinking about anything else?  I recently had an “Aha!” moment at a training when the lecturer started talking about functional movements.  Simply, functional movements are those movements we do in every day life that involve multiple joints: squatting, lifting, and step ups, for example.  

I’m lucky enough (and have the right genes) to be someone people describe as “looking fit” even at my heaviest.  When I was a size 12 and 180lbs (the healthiest me is an 8 and 165ish) I still looked pretty good.  Because I am 5’10”, I can usually wear extra poundage better than most.  Now that doesn’t mean I could walk up flights of stairs without huffing and puffing we’re just talking about looks, not actual fitness.   My motivation for signing up for Operation Boot Camp 5 years ago was just looking better, not getting fitter.  And in a lot of ways that is what it’s continued to be with some loose fitness goals peppered in.  But back to the Aha! moment.  The speaker started talking about functional movements and I realized that everything I’d been doing in boot camp, if continued, is what’s going to keep me able to live independently as the fiery sailor-mouthed old broad I plan to become.  It’s what will keep lifting up nieces and nephews possible.  It’s what will keep private time in the bathroom private-no help needed, thank you!   

I’ve got quite a few years, say 40, before I get to a point that someone would start to think I need to live in some sort of assisted living but it’s brought the idea of going there into the realm of my control to delay or avoid all together.  Will what I’m doing today, right now really prevent me from entering the home 40 years from now?  Well, yes and no.  It’s more about the awareness and creating a habit and foundation.  The prize is having muscles and strength looking good, the bonus.  

To get your prize of independence be sure you’re working functional movements into your workout routine.  If you’re at a gym look at the equipment:  is it mimicking a movement you do naturally and regularly in your every day life?  If not, you may want to focus your attention on machines that do or -even better- hit the free weights to strengthen the moves you do every day.  Hold dumbbells while doing lunges to strengthen those muscles you use while going up stairs, or do deadlifts to keep being able to lift kids, coolers or dogs.  Whatever you’re doing, keep it up and remember you’re not just working out to look better you’re also keeping yourself on track to be in control of your life, for your entire life.