Hello there. This site is dedicated to all who want to stay fit and healthy beyond 50. Watch this space for exciting articles on how YOU can gain and maintain real health and fitness.

Plan For Health And Fitness

We often think about financial planning for retirement, but how many of us think about planning for health and fitness?

Who wants to reach retirement and have spare cash to enjoy life but not have the health?

Where does one start?

Sit down for a few moments and take stock. What is your body shape? Weight? Fitness level – can you run up a flight of stairs without getting out of breath?

Are you happy with your fitness level at the moment? The good news is, it doesn’t matter what your age, you can start making positive changes NOW. Research has shown that even into our 80s we can make positive changes, but hey – who wants to wait until then? I’m on to it now – in my late 50s.

Start by writing down some real goals.

** What is your most important health and fitness goal?

** When do you want to achieve that?

** Why is it so important?

Hang on a minute, did you just read this and not write any goals down? Here’s a key- you’ve got to write it down – commit it to paper and then read it – every day – “in your face” so you constantly remind yourself of your goal.

Goals also have to be specific and measurable.

Think SMART

S – Specific – What is the goal? Lose weight? Not specific enough. Put a number on it. Even better, think about the behaviour changes that you will need to make in order for that weight loss ( or I prefer to call it weight dumping / fat burning). More on how to plan for behaviour changes next time-  so come back and visit soon.

M – Measurable -  how will you know when you have achieved it – bathroom scales? Or better still – how much better your clothes fit maybe you have a size 10 pair of trousers in the closet that you haven’t worn for years. They can be your ‘measurable’ item. Can you get back into them yet? When do you want to get back into them?

A – Achievable – remember, small steps still get you to where you want to go. Small is better than saying “I’m going to do 60 minutes of exercise every day”. I can bet you that you will start off with a roar, and finish ( very soon ) with a whimper. It has to be something that you can realistically put into your lifestyle – everyday, for LIFE.

T – Time efficient . It’s not much use planning to do 45 minutes of exercise every day when you know your daily schedule just doesn’t have that amount of ‘block’ time. Okay- so how about starting with 2 small blocks  of 10 minutes. Hey, that’s 20 minutes of exercise accumulated in the day AND research tells us that this is about as effective as those big blocks of time!

SO what’s your excuse? Get out your pen and start planning for real health and fitness NOW.

Write a comment and tell us your goals! We will help you to achieve!