I started pumping iron again in preparation for my trip to Italy.  I thought that dragging a suitcase even on a pair of wheels may be more than I could handle.  Then, there was lifting my carry-on bag into an overhead bin.  During my past travels I always did entirely carry-on, but that was in my younger days.  There was always the chance of another passenger or an attendant helping, but I preferred to be self-sufficient.  Yoga had strengthened my legs, improved my flexibility and balance to where I could stand and put my pants on – one leg at a time.  While my upper body and core also improved with yoga, nothing strengthens and tones like weightlifting. I wanted the ability to carry my own weight so to speak.

It had been years and years and years since I lifted weights.  Previous experience reminded me I had to start slowly.  I also knew that as we age muscle mass decreases leaving me, at least, with the ‘Aunt Martha wave’ of sagging underarm skin – dry, wrinkly sagging underarm skin.  According to the National Institute of Health muscle loss as a normal part of aging is due to reduced endocrine function, physical activity and inadequate nutrition.  I longed for my arms to have some semblance of tone in appearance. In the interest of not straining my body (ringing in my ears was my yoga instructor’s mantra of ‘listen to your body’), I started with two pound handheld weights, then graduated to five pound weights.

Again, remembering my past training I offset my pumping iron days with my yoga days and of course, a day of rest which, by the way, isn’t spent sitting around.  In the interest of not stiffening, it’s imperative to keep those muscles moving.  My plan was six days of alternating each exercise and then a rest/recovery day.  I couldn’t do it!  Not only was the continual exercise a challenge, re-learning terms like rear delt fly, upright row and bi-ceps curl teased my brain.  Consequently, as I listened to my body, my plan evolved to yoga Monday, weightlifting Tuesday, rest/recovery Wednesday, yoga Thursday, weightlifting Friday, rest/recovery Saturday and Sunday.  Not forgetting how it’s important to remain active on the rest/recovery days, I continued to walk as weather allowed, going to the Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek or the MSU Bird Sanctuary in Richland.  When the weather didn’t allow, I just cleaned the house – ugh.

All of this seems like a lot.  And, until I spent ten days traipsing around Tuscany and various airports where my efforts paid off, I thought it was.  After my return and moving my household, it took a couple weeks to get back into the yoga and weightlifting habits and build up my routine again.  But, now I’m on a roll.  I’m doing two sets of every weightlifting move.  I go through all the moves doing 12 repetitions each. Then, I rest for about a minute or so and do 10 more repetitions of each move.  Eventually, I’ll add a third set of 8 repetitions.  I still have the ‘Aunt Martha wave’ with sagging underarms, but perhaps not as much as I should or could have.  My back, shoulders and upper arms are amazingly strong.  The kicker is what it’s done for my mental outlook. 

There’s a big payoff for exercising.  My confidence walking over uneven terrain increased.  I made it up many flights of stairs, over cobblestones and hilly wet climbs while in Italy, thankful that I had prepared for it.  What’s good for the heart is good for the brain.  Exercise improves cognitive function and reduces anxiety and bad moods.  I sleep better.  I feel I now have the strength, balance and flexibility to age well. While pumping iron was initially an activity that challenged my body and brain, it’s now a part of my routine I intend to maintain for as long as I can. 

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