I’m 55 years old. Although I no longer have the balance, agility, speed or stamina I had in my youth, I want to retain as much of these things as I can. I plan on remaining active for many years to come, and I want to feel confident that in an emergency I am prepared to help ensure the safety and well-being of my family, my neighbors, and the broader community.
I see personal fitness is an important preparation. Like most good preps, it requires effort, planning, and ongoing maintenance. Here are some of the things influencing my Fitness as a Prep plan:
- Frequency
- Regular exercise boosts energy, stamina, and immune system health
- Recovery periods are also useful, so exercise 4-6 days a week
- 30 minutes, 5x weekly prevents age related weight gain
- Stretching
- improves flexibility, so do it every time you exercise
- stretch before and after exercise
- Practicing Balance
- improves balance and strength
- can be done while waiting in line, doing chores, etc
- Progressive weight training
- lifting weights that get progressively heavier builds muscle mass, even into your 80s
- Core Strength
- strengthening your core keeps back pain at bay
- include plank style exercises in your routine
- High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
- short bursts of intense activity of any kind
- lowers inflammation, improves blood pressure and heart
- Diet
- healthy fats: fish, nuts, olive oil
- fiber: raspberries, strawberries, bananas, apples, dark veggies, potatoes, whole grain breads, beans, popcorn
- calcium and vitamin D: eggs, fortified milk, broccoli, salmon, tuna, tofu
- reduce sugar and foods high in saturated fat
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