WHAT EVENT ARE YOU TRAINING FOR?
by Allen Tabe

In today's society, a lot of people start exercising when they enter a race, join a team (basketball at the YMCA, a neighborhood bowling or tennis league, or participate in an office golf outing) and find out just how far out of shape they have become, especially with the following days of pain and discomfort. Some people just realize it as the weather changes and they have to start household "outside" chores once again and they begin to feel the "pains of aging" that crept up on them over the winter.

Of course, if your a sports nut, then you have to exercise for the particular sport you are playing, but most of us just want to be good at "living". The current term of "functional fitness", which stresses every day movements and not just weight lifting, has opened a lot of people's eyes to the fact that we all should be training for life: to be able to walk, and keep up with our kids, to pull or push our own body weight out of the pool without help when swimming, to get up from the floor easily when playing with our kids, to lift a child who has grown over the past few months and not throw your back out. And to be able to travel and sight see without needing a nap every day or rest periods that could have been spent seeing more.

Exercise is part of life's responsibilities, just as getting an education. Work your brain or be stupid. Work your body or be weak. Use both or lose both! The choice is each of ours. But you don't have to kill yourselves in the process. There are a lot of fun and functional exercise programs in which to participate. Check with your local YMCA or fitness center to find a program that will help you age gracefully. Don't just sit while your kids are in swim class; show them and give them the example that you too see and understand that fitness is a life long practice that hopefully will lengthen your (and their) event of life and enhance its quality!

For comments, questions or suggestions . . . please email Allen