I tried getting fit many times before in my life and for one reason or another failed every time. Things are about to change though. Here’s why I’m getting fit in my forties (and why you should too).
Fit at forty, fit for life?
With each passing decade, life just seems to be getting more and more difficult, and with two friends being hospitalised in the last 12 months with serious health problems (both in their forties), I know that there can be no more delay.
Now in my forties with less time, less energy and more responsibility than ever, I’ve committed myself to a lifestyle of health and wellness.
Here are my reasons for getting fit in my forties and perhaps, why you should too.
1. Improved body image & strength
Whatever you want to call it, there’s no doubt that when we look good we feel good, and boy, could I do with a bit of reorganising?
My whole life I’ve been skinny and underweight and although I’ve tried many times to gain weight and look a bit more muscular, each of my attempts failed and I’ve had to live with my ‘teenage boy’ body ever since I was a, erm… teenage boy.
Not great for self-esteem.
Most people looking to get fit in their forties will be looking to lose weight rather than gain it, but whether you’re going up or down, the principles and ideas here are the same.
On the most basic of levels, I just want to sort this body of mine out. Rounded shoulders, sunken chest, bloated belly the list goes on…
By ‘looking’ a bit stronger and more muscular, I’m also expecting to be stronger and fitter in general, which I need right now to keep up with my 3-year-old son, who is already as quick as Usain Bolt off the blocks and has some incredible strength.
Have you ever tried to wrestle a felt-tip pen from an angry toddler intent of drawing on the living room wall?
My wife might be pleased too 🙂
2. From here on in our bodies are only going to get weaker
It’s mad, but almost everyone of a similar age that I speak to has either some sort of back pain or health problem. When I ask if they exercise or workout the answer is usually, no.
Which makes me wonder… at what point are they going to start exercising in order to relieve the pain/problem? Or are they happy to just live with it?
Because living with a little bit of pain is easier than working out, right?
I lived with my back pain without doing ANYTHING about it for almost 18 months before I finally realised that it wasn’t going to go away on its own and it was only going to get WORSE!
As we age, every part of our body naturally starts to weaken. Our muscles and soft tissues begin to shorten, shrink and lose elasticity, and our ligaments and tendons will tighten up.
Add to this lower bone density, lower levels of testosterone, slower hormones and metabolism and it can be more difficult to build muscle and keep in shape as we get old.
As mentioned above, in the last 12 months I’ve had two friends (both in their forties) hospitalised with serious life-threatening illnesses due to being unfit and overweight. Our modern sedentary lifestyles with poor diets are literally killing people (or making them live painful lives) way before their time because of poor habits and an unwillingness to workout.
If you’re feeling weak, out of breath, out of shape and in pain now, then what might life be like in your 50s, 60s and 70s+?
Related Post: Benefits of joining a gym
3. Not just for me, but for my family
Motivation is all well and good but hear this. It’s a sham.
Motivation is finite. It comes and it goes. It fires you up on day one when you’re still pumped up from the film you just watched “Yeah, I’m gonna get a body like Brad Pitt in Fight Club.” Then a few days later, old habits kick back in and before you know it you’re back to square one.
Finding your ‘why’
What we need is much much more than just motivation.
What we need is a strong and compelling why. Something so strong that it sticks to you like a leach. A why that will make you get out of bed in the morning and put your running shoes on. Even on the coldest wettest mornings.
My why (and one of the most compelling I can think of) is that I’m not just getting fit for myself so I can feel and look good.
I’m getting fit for my family. For my son, for my wife, my father, my brother, and for my niece, so I can be there for them for as long as I can be.
I also want to be a role model for both my son and niece. To be someone they can see working hard, making healthy choices and taking exercise and wellbeing seriously.
That’s why I’m getting fit in my forties!
4. To live a long life
I’m not that short-sighted that I don’t think that anything could happen to me at any time and cut my life short. An accident or serious illness could take any of us at any time. But if it doesn’t, I want to live as long as I can.
I want to see my boy grow up to be an old man. To be a part of his life and help him be the best he can. But also, for all its problems, I love this world and want to be a part of it for as long as I can.
We each have one life, and I want mine to be the longest, healthiest and most exciting it can be.
5. To live pain-free
Perhaps I have my back pain to thank for getting me into all of this in the first place.
Had I not developed this pain, I may not have started getting fit in my forties. But now that I’ve experienced living with constant back pain and understand that exercise and working out is the best way to alleviate it, I’ve committed to living a life free from illness, sickness, aches and pains.
The simplest way to do that. Get and stay fit.
6. To maintain energy and a passion for life
What’s the point in life if it’s not for having fun?
I want to live a life that is full of adventure and stories. After all, once I’m gone all I will be is a memory, and I want those memories and stories to live long in the hearts and minds of those that outlive me.
I see myself as an eighty-year-old world traveller, hiking mountains in far-off lands, having adventures, and meeting new people long into old age.
There’s no way I want to be shuffling around an old people’s home, bored watching the TV. I want to be out there, enjoying retirement making new friends, having fun and experiencing the world to the fullest.
That’s part of my life vision, and for me to do that I need to start keeping fit now, in my forties.
7. To stay creative
Exercise is one of the very best ways to kick-start your emotions and creativity. When I run, workout or meditate, my mind is open, I can see clearly and I can focus. There’s not a session that goes by without me having ideas or creative visions.
The solution to life’s problems? Getting fit.
8. To maintain my mental health
It’s a well-known fact backed up by a tonne of research that exercise and working out helps our brains stay fit and healthy. The latest research actually suggests that it can also cut our chances of getting depressed by 30%.
To stay sharp, happy and healthy means getting fit now and maintaining it for life.
9. To challenge myself and live my dreams
As I turned 40, I really began to struggle with a number of things. My back pain (as mentioned a thousand times above – yes it really was that annoying). The fact that I was unfit, underweight and weak (as I have been most of my adult life). That I was unfulfilled in my work, financially in a mess and learning to come to terms with being a father for the first time.
Add in the passing of my mother and my father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and it’s easy to see how middle age can be a tough place to be.
The problem was, I didn’t know which way to turn to get out of the hole I was in. I found myself buying lottery tickets in the hope that I’d get lucky…
I didn’t get lucky 🙁
Exercise to the rescue
What really did get me out of that hole, in addition to a few other things was exercise. (I’ll be posting more about those soon. Sign up to receive news of my latest posts).
To begin with, it was my physio who suggested I simply start running and swimming in order to alleviate the Sacroiliac joint pain I was suffering so badly.
However, I soon discovered that when I was out there, pounding the pavement, things started to happen.
Related Link: Expert Running Advice for Beginners
I started to see things much more clearly. A way out of the hole started to emerge and I literally began to think my way toward a new life.
It simply made me feel better.
Taking part in my first-ever 10k run helped me feel more confident and challenged me to do even more, and since then I’ve been able to establish a strong vision for my life, and work out what I want (and how to get it).
I believe I owe it all to getting out there and exercising.
Use it or lose it – Getting fit in our forties
Right now, we all have a simple choice to make.
Either age with the possibility of pain, injury, limited mobility and ill-health as our future path, or with strength, flexibility, vitality and health.
And we, brothers, we need to decide now which path we want to be on! Fifty is on the horizon and after that, the road to old age. I know which path I want to be on. You?
I’m thanking my SIJ for turning up and stabbing me in the back when it did. I’m thanking it for giving me the kick up the arse that I needed to get up and change my lifestyle. For the better.
I’ve committed. I’m choosing a healthier life. I’m getting fit now, in my forties.