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For everything there is a season.... Whatever season we find ourselves in, no better time like the present to start a plan to become healthy and fit. Working with what we have and pressing towards the mark..... For me that mark is a strong healthy body for years to come.

I was well aware that I needed regular exercise, such as walking, swimming, or running, to strengthen my heart and lungs as I

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For everything there is a season.... Whatever season we find ourselves in, no better time like the present to start a plan to become healthy and fit. Working with what we have and pressing towards the mark..... For me that mark is a strong healthy body for years to come.

I was well aware that I needed regular exercise, such as walking, swimming, or running, to strengthen my heart and lungs as I grew older. But in recent years I have come to learn that I needed to consider weight training (resistance training) as an important part of my weekly exercise. I needed more stamina and strength. So I knew I needed to do something about it. In February (2010) with the help of my beachbody coach I started P90X as my workout. I had been doing some walking and using a bowflex but felt it wasn’t enough to strengthen and tone up the muscles. Once I started P90X I knew what working out really meant.

In the beginning I had to pause half way thru each exercise. But as time went on I could do more reps before slowing down for the next exercise. And now eight months later I can tell I am stronger and have more energy. I can last longer during the workouts. That includes adding Insanity in the mix. So now my coach has me doing P90X Mon.Wed.Fri with Insanity on Tues.Thurs.Sat. This is working out really well to give me a well rounded routine of cardio exercise and weight training. I still have a ways to go because I still have to slow down during some of it or modify some moves but I can feel progress each week. And I can actually see and feel some muscle toning. Yeah!

I have read that weight training is the only type of exercise that can substantially slow, and even reverse, the declines in muscle mass, bone density, and strength that was once considered inevitable consequences of aging. Unlike aerobic or endurance activities, which improve cardiovascular fitness and require moving large muscle groups many times against gravity, lifting weights provide more resistance for muscles to gain strength with only a few movements. Resistance is usually provided by free weights, stretch bands or machines.

In my research I have found out that weight training can increase bone mass, which lowers the risk of developing osteoporosis and fractures. That is very important to me as a small framed female. Strength training adds more weight to the skeleton by building muscle; this stimulates the bones to strengthen and grow to bear the heavier load on the muscles.

The workout programs promoted by Beachbody are perfect for both cardiovascular fitness and for weight training to achieve muscle strengthening (either to tone or bulk up). I am thrilled that my personal Beachbody coach recruited me to join him in the quest to help others understand the importance of cardio exercise combined with weight training and proper nutrition.

I have learned that it is normal to feel some soreness the next day. As we challenge our muscles by the resistance of a weight, some of the tissue breaks down; as the muscles heal, they gradually increase in strength and size. Although muscles should be worked until they are fatigued (a slight burn), common sense will dictate when it's time to stop. My advice: perform weight training exercises 3 times a week to condition all of the major muscle groups -- arms, legs, shoulders, and back. And the other 3 days do some sort of cardio workout. This would also include on every other day some sort of ab workout. Nice to take the recovery week that is suggested with the workout programs too. As Tony Horton explains with P90X, when working on strengthening the muscles, the goal is to lift a weight that's heavy enough to achieve 10 to 15 reps per session before the muscles become fatigued. If you want to bulk up increase your weight and do 8 to 10 reps just to the point of feeling the burn. So I have been experimenting. Used to be I worked with 5 lbs. 8 lbs. and 10 lbs. Now for some routines I can use 12 lbs, 15 lbs and even a 20 lb. for one exercise. That tells me I’m getting stronger.

I have now become a firm believer in the importance of both cardio vascular fitness and weight training to keep my heart, bones and muscles in the best possible health I can achieve as I continue to age. Along with this comes the importance of a well balanced diet so that I feed my body with the proper nutrition of fruits, vegetables, grains and most importantly for muscles, protein.

Thank you Beachbody for all your nutritional tips and fitness programs to assist me with living a happy lifestyle of health and fitness with a stronger body. And most importantly, thank you to my coach for his inspiration, support and encouragement. Without you I couldn’t have come this far and with you I'll continue to enjoy making exercise an important part of my life.

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