When I undertook
the task of re-inventing myself as a fit person, I had no idea what
was involved. No high-minded principles guided me, nor did I adopt
any particular program. Nor were my motives practical, for example,
to improve my health.
Quite the
opposite, my motives were shallow--I looked in the mirror and was too
vain to accept the pudgy reflection. Only retrospectively can I
figure out what happened.
First, I made an
unconditional decision to change my lifestyle permanently. Second, I
got help--from professionals (a personal trainer and lifestyle
counselor) as well as from family and friends.
Next, I managed
my thinking, especially about food. Instead of being grim, I explored
new ways of cooking, challenging myself to eat well within caloric
limitations.
The last step was
discovering my latent athleticism. Somewhere along the exercise path,
I stopped exercising to achieve its by-products--improved health,
more energy, lower weight and a shapely figure. Instead, I just
wanted to get better.
Practicing yoga,
I wanted to improve my form. Working with weights, I wanted increased
strength. Playing tennis, I wanted more consistency and an effective
serve. Before I knew it, I was "in training."
Drs. Harvey Simon
and Steven Levisohn, in their book The Athlete Within, say
that "all of you can become athletes. Each of you has surprising
potentials; most of you will never be sports stars, but all of you
can greatly extend your horizons through careful planning and
diligent training."
Initially, I was
self-conscious in tennis clinics where many students were half my
age. But the lure of becoming an athlete was irresistible--I
surrendered. Today, instead of having to exercise, I have to limit
activity so my body can rest, especially when I have a sports injury,
like the back pain that's currently plaguing me. Taking a longer
perspective, I reassure myself that I'll be back on the courts in a
few weeks and more ambitious than ever.
Imagine my
delight when I read that Clarence Chaffee, the tennis coach at
Williams College, did not begin competing nationally until age 70.
Since then, he's collected 48 national Super Senior' tennis titles.
Or Albert Gordon, a well-known businessman and philanthropist, who
entered his first marathon at 80, at which time he completed the
difficult London Marathon in an excellent 6 hours and 30 minutes.
I'm not aiming
this high, but I do want to become the best tennis player, gym-rat
and yoga student I can be, independent of external recognition.
Seeing the improvement in my athleticism, after 40 years of being out
of shape, is its own reward.
Drs. Simon and
Levisohn confirm, "If you exercise regularly and develop your
potentials to their fullest, you will be a true athlete, even if you
never win a race or compete on center court."
Lest you think
you don't have time to exercise, as I once did, listen to Edward
Stanley, Earl of Derby, 1873, who observed, "Those who think
they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to
find time for illness."
His perspective
is confirmed by medical research coming at us from all directions.
The way we live accounts in large part for how long we will live and
how well we will live. The good news is that we are free to make
choices about the way we live. Even better, if we've made poor
lifestyle choices in the past, we're free to make adjustments today.
If it isn't too late, our bodies will respond magnificently. Best of
all, there's an athlete residing in each of us just waiting to come
out and play.
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