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SOMETIMES GIVING THAT EXTRA ONE PERCENT JUST AIN'T WORTH IT! Last year I decided to go on a holiday to Italy and so I needed to learn a bit of Italian beforehand. I went and bought a book with CD's and even enrolled on a short course. Full of enthusiasm upon starting to learn this new language I decided to become fluent in Italian, but when I started to do some research I became disheartened. I found out that the number of words you would need to be 100% fluent in Italian was just over 84,000. Or to put it another way, learning at 10 words a day would have taken me over 23 years. I felt the task was beyond me and I thought about giving up before I started. But as I looked deeper into the figures I was surprised; they stated to be 99% fluent you needed only 40,000 words. I thought to myself was it worth learning the extra 1%, taking 11 years to do so, to learn words I would perhaps use only once, if ever? The answer was no. This reminded me of a time, years ago, when I was very fit. I trained for an hour a day, three times every day. The reason for this huge fitness binge was that I had a goal and I wanted to achieve it. I achieved my goal and then my focus waned and I cut back on training. I often wonder if my body could handle 3 hours of training a day again. Probably not, but do I need to be that fit again? Everybody pushes us to be more interested in sport. Even fast food firms had a sponsorship deal with the Olympics last year! Personally I am not that fond of the Olympics. I love the spectacle and the athletes pushing their bodies to the edge of endurance. Their job is to shave fractions of a second off world records and they do it with guts, determination and style. Those of us who do not dedicate our life to world record breaking can relax a bit when it comes to fitness. We like to say that Less can often be More. This was certainly the case with learning Italian! We find that it’s the same with exercise, particularly for Seniors. I was eating a box of chocolates the other day. It was a great box with a delightful mix of centres - sharp orange, praline and rich cherry, all described with a luxurious name. One centre that has never been to my taste, however, is coffee creme. You will not find any coffee cremes in the majority of the boxes of chocolates on sale these days. Rather you will find exotic names such as cappuccino delight and espresso surprise, but whatever way you call them it is still a coffee creme. It is the same with exercise. There have been just as many new exercise crazes as fad diets. Jogging arrived many years ago. Circuit training, step aerobics, spinning and crowbar cardio have all arrived on the scene. Boxercise, Boot Camps, muscle confusion, Zumba and ViPR are all new exercise styles. Even kettlebells have returned on the scene, but they are all just repackaging the coffee crème, going over the top when they are just exercise. Now do not think that I am knocking any of these new fads. Quite the opposite in fact. As humans we crave new things. Our mind turns off with repetition and so can the body. But we have to remember that Less can be More. Exercise comes in all shapes and sizes, as the above examples show. But do not forget the other forms of exercise available that don’t require all the latest gear and equipment. Walking the dog, digging the garden, carrying the shopping home and shunning the lift for the stairs all count as exercise. They may not be structured or have the same amount of encouragement as a formal class but at least they are free. The wearing of Lycra for gardening is of course optional! Personally my favourite exercise was running, but with age and laziness I now enjoy a long walk. Even if this sometimes ends up at a country pub. Whatever takes your fancy, get out there and enjoy what you do. One thing I will say though, is that being truly fit involves not just being physically fit, but being mentally fit too. Getting the balance right is one of the most important things in life. Certainly being too obsessed with fitness and ignoring the other parts of life can be no good. If going that extra 1% means sacrificing too much in life, is it really worth it? Lol (Laurence) Cohen is the founder and guiding light of the Picture of Health Clubs. His dedication to change his life for the better, combined with a study of the human physiology and stretching, have made him perfectly placed to promote the Picture of Health Clubs message to unwind body and mind. For more information about exercises for seniors, please visit thePicture of Health Clubs blog. Alternatively, check out the book here
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Less is More, Exercises for Seniors, Picture of Health,
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