We do we need to actually work on fitness?
Our parents never needed to and they were healthy.
Lifestyles are different.
* Our parents actually did allot more physical labor throughout the day, whereas, we are becoming so automated.
* In the morning they would take the time to cook breakfast from scratch, cut potatoes, veggies and fruit instead of opening a bag of prepared and preserved foods.
* Iron the clothes that hey would wear that day, not just unwrapping the suit from the cleaners.
* Walk or bicycle to work, to the market or to run errands as opposed to jumping in the car to their jobs while stopping to get breakfast.
* They would actually work in the gardens every day, weeding, tilling, seeding and picking their veggies for that day’s meals.
* Laundry would be done by hand or in a manually operated wringer washer.
* If they wanted to participate in an activity they would actually physically participate. They couldn’t just sit in a chair with a keyboard or joy stick.
* If they wanted to socialize they would need to actually visit with someone and not just grab their cell phone.
Our jobs were different
* Our family had an “Ice Business” where they would work out on the frozen lakes throughout the winter months to harvest large blocks of ice that people would use in the “ice boxes” (refrigerators) throughout the year. Before I started school, I used to go with my dad on deliveries in the very early mornings. He would climb 4 flights of stairs with a 50-pound block of ice on his shoulders for 10 cents a block.
* Loggers would actually have to cut down trees and drag them out into the clearings to harvest the wood products. Now they just sit behind the wheel and operate joysticks.
All of our jobs have become automated for cost efficiency so now we have become operators instead of do’ers.
The point I am trying to make is that our lives are not anywheres close to being what they were in our parent’s generation. We need to substitute what was once manual labor with some sort of fitness routines that involves a constantly varied series of anaerobic (strength) and aerobic fitness (cardio) fitness.
Anaerobic fitness is where we build strength that we have lost as we aged. It doesn’t just help develop stronger muscles. It is also about resistance training that causes the bones to flex which in turn regenerates growth in the bone structure.
Aerobic fitness is where we work on getting the heart pounding at a higher level. Over time it will decrease the resting heart rate (good thing) and increase your metabolism and stamina.
Daily training programs usually have both of those pieces as well and some skill development and mobility work.