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| Are you a couch potato? |
Okay, so you won’t literally die if you don’t exercise, but
you’ll die trying to deal with aches and pains as your body ages. Trust me;
your beautiful young body gets a little older every day.
While walking through
the hospital recently, I found myself walking behind an older couple. The woman
appeared much younger than the man and he could barely walk even though he had his companion's help and the help of his cane. I walked around
them and a couple minutes later, they walked into the same waiting room I was
in.
Out of all the seats in the waiting room area, the woman chose to sit right
next to me. I chuckled and decided to find out what I was wondering while I was walking behind them earlier. We spoke and smiled, so that was my cue to ask, "Is that your husband?" She said
he was and told me he was 88 years old, she was five years younger, and they’ve
been married for 66 years. I stared at her in disbelief because there seemed to
be a huge age gap between them. I wanted to boldly ask her why she looked so much younger
than her husband, but I didn’t have to. She continued talking. Are you ready? She said she always believed in
exercise and taking care of her body, but her husband – not so. Wow. She also
mentioned she’s been exercising for over 50 years. I wish you could have seen
this 83 year old woman. She looked all of 60 – maybe 65 years old. She really
blew me away when she told me she still teaches aerobics a few days a week! Get outta
here! Really? I felt an electrifying urge to start jogging through the hospital halls and do a few jumping jacks, but decided
to maintain my composure and sit still. I was so grateful this woman sat
next to me and shared her pearls of wisdom. I caught each pearl she tossed me. “Stay active. Don’t stop moving! Exercise makes a big difference as
you see for yourself.” She was referring to the difference in her health and her
husband’s health. By looking at them...HUGE difference.
It’s never too late to begin exercising, but why wait? How
you treat your body now is exactly how it will treat you 10 – 20 – 30 years
from now. Just because we age, doesn't mean we have to become immobile, slow, or have stiff joints. I saw it for myself!
