A friend of mine who I’ve been nudging in the direction of becoming fit because he’s old and fat gave me an insight into the ball of confusion that is getting fit by those who are far from it.
A fitness routine is just not on sedentary people’s radar; they tend to ignore what looks to them to be disorienting and complicated.
Ain’t nothing complicated about being overweight: overeating = overweight, so nobody gets a pass pretending they never heard of that equation. But I admit the noise concerning fitness is deafening. So many “experts.” So many theories. So many idiots online writing how-to’s and what-not’s as if theirs is the last word on the subject.
I like to recommend something I myself do: watch youtube videos. There are videos for every level of fitness interest, from clueless to professional. Watch and learn: learn what interests you and what does not. Sign up on youtube and you can save those videos you like for your chosen routine. It’s true there are a lot of dunderheads giving stupid and even dangerous advice, especially the macho male types who preach that if you’re not practically killing yourself working out that you’re basically a sissy, but these sad guys/gals are obvious: hey, you’re only trying to get fit, not compete in the Olympics.
Sifting through all the fitness material in print and online is confusing, but starting off with a very basic at-home program that includes classics like push-ups and chin-ups will indeed produce results. For working abs, sit-ups have always been hard on the back, as are crunches done incorrectly, but planking is effective and there are dozens of variations for which there are a ton of videos online. Planking is fairly recent in popularity. Planking is not only effective, but for many it is much more enjoyable than old school situps and crunches. There are literally scores of different ways to work the midsection, and combining three or four different abdominal exercises in your workout will soon produce results without the tedium.
Just remember, it took you years to get into poor shape, but it will take only weeks to see your first initial improvements. You can’t expect to reverse years of damage entirely in a couple of months, and you can’t view your new diet and fitness routine as temporary: it is a lifestyle change so that you might enjoy better health, increased strength, higher self esteem and increased mobility.
Old is the absolute wrong time in life to decide it’s OK to get fat and weak.
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