Another win that has to be directly connected to working out with personal trainer Andy Wight for the past three months. Endurance!
My husband and I just spent a week visiting family in Arizona. We’ve been before and as usual, were eager to hang out by the pool. I always try to swim one or two lengths (small pool so short lengths.) Most of the time, though, I just float on my back or stretch out on a lounge chair to soak up some sun (yes, I wear sunscreen.)
This year, I did more swimming than lounging. Back and forth, back and forth I swam. On my belly, on my side, on my back. Not simply floating on my back; I used my arms and my legs. The first day, my heart was pounding and my shoulders ached a bit, but I recovered within minutes.
The only thing that is different in my life is working out twice a week with Andy. Each time I go, I see progress, but I hadn’t thought about endurance until my first day in the pool. The fact that I was able to do some vigorous (for me) swimming and recover quickly was a huge achievement.
The thing is, nearly every day I notice something that I can do or is easier to do since I’ve been working out. I was worried about falling behind when I was on vacation. Andy reassured me that in a week you shouldn’t lose what you’ve gained, but he also said swimming or doing some exercises in the pool would be a good thing. One of his suggestions was to stand in belly button level water and walk or run back in forth. At that level, the water pressure is about half your body weight and so, the exercise is gentle on the joints.
He also recommended walking. One early evening, I took a 50-minute brisk walk and I’m pretty sure I could have kept on going if I weren’t expected back for dinner. More proof of increasing endurance.
I’m probably beginning to sound like a broken record but I can’t help it. When you feel stronger and more confident and have greater endurance — you want to share your secret.
It’s simple. Just start moving. Deciding to work with Andy was the right decision for me and I’d recommend him and AW Strength & Conditioning to anyone.
What’s your thing? If you don’t know, I hope you figure it out and do it. If you do know, but you’re procrastinating, may I recommend the podcast I did recently with Dr. Timothy Pychyl. He’s been researching why people procrastinate for decades and has some great advice.
Whatever you do, good luck. I hope you feel as great as I do!
This is so important to everyone but especially those of us “seniors”. I’m grateful that I have embraced staying active. I believe it improves so much of the quality of my life in everything I do. I love to do zumba and yoga but also other group exercises. While in ‘Key Largo, I frequently did laps in the pool and walked the 4 flights up the stairs to our condo instead of taking the elevator. I also did zumba 3 times a week and yoga each morning. And I still had time to relax at the pool. I’ll be 70 in July and was able to do 12 scuba dives at the reef some to depths of 100 feet. My air consumption was so low that the divemaster remarked the I must be making air. While I suffer from arthritis, am preparing for a partial knee replacement, I know it would be much worse if I just sat around in a sedentary lifestyle.
You are an inspiration, Bill. I think I should do a profile of you on Catching Health.
I’m with you–part of what helps me stick with a fitness plan (and trainer) is the fact that I see the benefits in so many areas of my life–not just when I’m in the gym.