When you start feeling better, you want to start doing more. Whatever activity you do, you will want to do it regularly if the activity is fun. Walking is great exercise, but it isn’t always fun. I make walking more fun by taking my walkman with me (yes, I still have a walkman). I mentioned in another article about using a hula hoop. I still haven’t re-mastered it, but I have fun trying. I get more exercise from bending down to pick it up. Another fun exercise is jumping rope. If you liked jumping rope when you were a kid, then why not try it now? Swimming is another fun exercise. For me, swimming is fun whether I am by myself or with other people.
I’ve started a new activity that I like. I’m doing some core training. Your core is your midsection. Even though I do quite a bit of walking, that does not do much for my core muscles. One of my friends is a martial arts instructor, and he brought me two exercise balls, and showed me how to exercise my core muscles with them. Unfortunately, lying flat on the floor doing sit ups and crunches don’t do much for your core. However, doing similar exercises on an exercise ball gives you much more range of motion, and does do a lot for your core muscles. It’s really fun working out with different size exercise balls.
How do the exercise balls help to develop your core muscles? First, you must look at how your core muscles operate during a sit up. The muscles in your abdomen (rectus abdominus) only flex to about 15 degrees when you are doing a sit up. The rest of the forward motion of your abdomen is accomplished through the muscles that flex the hip. With an exercise ball you can work those abdominal muscles through spinal flexion by hyper-extending your back while doing the sit ups.
I do 3 sets of 10 sit ups on the exercise ball. My core muscles get sore, but that is what they are supposed to do to get stronger. It’s important to let your muscles recuperate for a day, so I don’t do this exercise every day. In order to develop your muscles you need to cause some micro-damage to the muscle fibers. It is through the process of your body repairing the fibers and laying on a little thickness to those fibers that the muscles develop and become stronger.
If you have a problematic back, like I do, this is a good exercise for you, because to have a strong back you need a strong abdomen. Exercise will develop your muscles so that your body looks and feels better. You will see how your clothes hang better on a body that is fit, as compared to a body that is out of shape. My clothes don’t hang on me as well as I would like, because of the curvature in my back. Over the years my back has slumped some, and I’m sure the osteoporosis hasn’t helped either. I am working to stop the progression of the forward slumping of my back, so that I have the perfect backward “S” shape my back is supposed to have. For me, getting physically fit isn’t just about looking good for vanity’s sake; it is to slow down the effects of a degenerative process in my body. Getting physically fit is a slow process, which over time will have positive benefits. I would like to be more healthy, fit and active at 70 than I am now at 59.
When you are not in good shape, you have a long way to go before you get into top physical shape; however, you never will get fit until you take that first step into core training. As with any form of physical activity, don’t push yourself farther than your endurance will let you. You can injure yourself if you push yourself too hard too fast. As your muscles get stronger you will be stronger to take on more strenuous activity. Take your time. Getting fit is not a race. I am finding out through experience that making exercise fun, making activity part of my lifestyle is my key to keeping up with it. I don’t have to think about the drudgery of exercise; I only have to keep living my life in the way that I am. If you make activity part of your lifestyle, and you make it enjoyable, you keep it up also.
