Feb 11, 2009 Workout and Younger Next Year

February 11, 2009

Today I was still feeling the effects of poor sleep from the other nights. I worked in the morning after my daily oatmeal, and was exhausted by 1pm. As a result I took a nap and felt amazing. I went back to work from 5-9 and then did a good cross training workout for 45 minutes afterward. It’s amazing how much of a workout can be accomplished in such a short amount of time.

I biked for about 10 minutes, did 30 push ups, jumped rope for about 3-4 minutes, went back on the bike for another 5 or so, did more push ups, did 5 minutes of jump roping, did 5 minutes of biking without sitting down, and putting the resistance higher, worked on my core for a little bit, did a bit of stretching and it was done.

I also made a decision that each morning I will do 30 minutes of stretching/yoga upon waking up, and then another 30 minutes before going to bed.

Today I also began reading a book titled, Younger Next Year. It’s for people in their 50’s and 60’s, but I saw it at Borders and thought it would be good to find out what people in that age group are thinking, and what their barriers to exercise and good health are. There are 2 authors, one with a real life experience of becoming younger as a result of exercising and taking better care of himself, and the other is a doctor that focuses on preventative lifestyles, and helps his patients live more fulfilling lives. It’s quite interesting and an easy read. I read about a 1/6 of the book in an hour or so. I’ll pass it along to anybody interested when I finish in the coming days.

They take an evolutionary approach to describing a sustainable life. Here are a few sentences.

Biologically, there is no such thing as retirement, or even aging. There is only growth or decay. And your body looks to you to choose between them. Fast food, sedentary lifestyles, modern stress, loneliness, retirement and old age have no evolutionary basis. Your physical brain does, and it is ancient and primal beyond anything you can imagine.

If you know me, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for. The un-detailed evolution behind why we are who we are. In any case, it’s an awesome book, and I haven’t even scratched the surface.

Hope all is well

Ryan