TO GYM OR NOT TO GYM?

You know I forgot to mention in my last missive the other thing that has kept me busy recently and that is trying to build up my strength to protect my health as I head deeper into my sixties.

Last year was a bit of a roller coaster health wise as I had the life scared out of me not once but twice. I have recounted the story in a previous newsletter, called ‘Positive Ageing’ which you can read here.

Anyway the upshot of all these health scares, is that I have finally been made to realise something I have known for the last few years and that is that, to put it succinctly, ‘walking isn’t enough’.

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I have Type 2 Diabetes and so I know that exercise is important and as most of you know I also have a large lump of a dog called Cosmo, so I have prided myself on the fact that I generally walk on average about 4.5/5km per day.

But the fact is that, although that is good for me, it doesn’t build strength and I have never been more aware of just how much I have lost strength, especially in my legs since my glutes and knee issues in January and February. So once I had been released back into the community by my physio, I decided that it was time to join the gym and start working initially on my leg strength. Because, apparently, as you age it is really handy to know how to get up off the floor when you fall over. I am not planning to fall over but I have noticed that suddenly (not suddenly obviously, but I was in denial) stairs are more scarey than they used to be, as are uneven surfaces. But joining a gym at 64 is a pretty terrifying prospect.

Now, I am lucky that we have a great community gym about 2k down the road in Loughlinstown. So about six weeks ago I popped in and got all the information and booked an initial consultation with a personal trainer. Honestly the day I returned for that consult I felt awful. I was nervous and had a real challenge to stop listening to the voice in my head that kept screaming “get back in the car, go home, and pick up a croissant on the way to have with your coffee.”

Anyway one foot in front of the other and in I went. The PT was a lovely young man who I had to tell to bully me, because otherwise I would pull rank and just refuse to do stuff. Sidebar : it has taken me till recently to realise that being an aul wan can mean that you intimidate younger people and they are afraid to contradict you or give you firm direction. Who knew? Not me.

So, we did some tests to determine my biological age (as opposed to my chronological one – which is 64) and it turned out that they match. I am 64 and my body acts it’s age. I thought that this was a win. Because I was sure my biological age would turn out to be 79. But no. I am 64. But my scores on various things were pretty bad.

I told the trainer about my injuries and glutes issues and how I wanted to begin by building my leg strength. You know - so that I no longer enter a room and look for the lowest chair in order that I can avoid it, knowing that I wont be able to get out of it. And so that maybe that I can kneel down in the supermarket to grab a tin from the lowest shelf.

Now it’s important when embarking on a fitness journey to begin with what you know you will keep up. Set goals too high and you are defeated before you start.

So I told him I wanted do about 2/3 sessions per week of no longer than 40 minutes. And so he designed a session for me and then took me around the machines and gave me a lesson in how to use them. That was on the 4^th of March and I have gone twice a week since. I don’t love it but I don’t hate it either.

But you know what the best thing is…. unlike what I expected, no one gives a damn about you – about what you look like or about what you are doing. It is not scarey at all. In fact the atmosphere is good and the gym is usually populated by as many older people (yes in our 60s and beyond) as younger people. The music is awful but that’s the only thing I would change.

Along with going to the gym, I am continuing to walk, although sometimes less than 4km and that’s fine. And I am also continuing my physio exercises on the days when I don’t go to the gym.

My membership cost me €160 for three months and that includes classes (should I wish to join them), access to the gym and to the pool. The fitness assessment at the beginning was included. I love the flexibility and the fact that I can just ‘pop down’ to the gym when I can in the week.

Nearly 6 weeks in, I can feel the benefit. My legs do feel stronger and (fingers crossed) my knee and my hip are feeling good. Word of warning though. Last week in a fit of confidence and bravado I upped the weights and number of ‘reps’ on two of the machines… which was silly and the next day my hip let me know it wasn’t happy. So slow and steady progress is the way to go.

I am sharing this for two reasons. (1) It is vital to take charge of your own health before it takes charge of you, as you get older. Don’t wait (like I did) for things to go wrong before you do what you know is needed.. Strength training is vital to staying well and active. And (2) gyms aren’t scarey places and if you are lucky enough to have a council run gym go check it out, because they offer great service and great value.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. And good luck.