Staying fit in 35+
Am I qualified to speak?
I don’t know :-) I guess it is relative, May be you can decide to other way.
What I claim? I maintain a weight of ~60Kg for 15 years, Black belt II DAN in Karate and completed a Half Marathon (21.1KM distance) under 2 Hours (1:57:09).
What I do everyday? I am a typical software engineer building softwares for computers, phones and other devices. I have been with developing softwares nearly 15+ years.
My Fear — My Motivation
The biggest thing about staying fit is doing some physical activities consistently or regularly. Yes, ‘Consistency’ is the only factor.
My Fears => Consistent
I have lot of dreams and passion about how I wanted to be remembered or mocked. On the other end, where I fear of
- Being obese or overweight
- Not able to accept a physical challenge (even a simple things like doing 10 pushups, climbing 10 floor steps, running for a KM)
- Being considered as not equal by peers (especially w.r.t physical fitness)
Join a Local group
You are not alone, many people around you wanted to be fit and some of them are professional sports people. For me a group sports or activities are easy compared to a GYM.
It is never too late — Follow your heart
I always wanted to learn karate from my childhood. Due to various constraints, I could not do then. Once I started my professional career, things are different. It all turns out to be my choice of joining class after 22 Years. I made the choice to join. To my surprise — there were people 40+, 50+ years are joining and training karate.
It is very easy to find karate classes near you in any part of the world I guess. I joined classes in USA, Korea, Bangalore, Chennai to keep me fit and learn the art. Because of my job, I have to discontinue the classes in most of the places. Finally in Chennai, I managed to graduate my Black Belt around 2010. Now, I am II DAN Black Belt and still practice 1 or 2 times a week.
Running groups
Running groups are all over Chennai. Every Sunday you find 1 or few running events in Chennai these days. It is a good sign that people are getting into the running routine and staying fit.
There are good running groups in and around your area. Go to ‘http://www.chennairunners.com/’ + find your group and join them, that it — they will ensure you run and improve your running skills.
I am part of Tambaram Thunderbolts (TTB), joined them 5 months back. Now, I am a regular runner (4–5 runs a week and weekly mileage of 25+). All credits go to TTB :-)