Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 This is not new news . I have been involved in fitness as a Weight Management Consultant and Personal Trainer for 33 years , and have measured clients for weight and body fat for my entire career. And I was alarmed to find that the average man or woman stepping onto the scale and undergoing body fat testing was in the "OBESE: catagory, meaning above 25 % body fat for men and greater than 32% for woman. Now this from Laura Dorwart of verywellhealth.com _ Hard to believe, right? But it's true, although quite disturbing. Growing up in the 40's and 50's, I recall very few very fat individuals. Now? They are everywhere. Blame whoever or whatever you wish for this dangerous epidemic, but understand your fitness is one of the very few things over which you have complete control.  And if you are truly obese, that high-fat body never leaves you . It goes where you go . So what do you do? I have worked with roughly 2,000 clients , one-on-one, in small groups - and in larger s...

 My wife and I recently walked in to Anytime Fitness in Pawleys Island, SC, to join for three months with their "former" Snowbird" membership - only to be told the gym had changed hands and that temporary deal was no longer available. This was the same facility for which I had written a very-positive review the previous year. No longer. The monthly cost had risen to roughly $90.00/month for each of us - meaning a total of $540.00 for the three months. No way! On to Planet Fitness down the highway. We had been members a few years ago, and we joined for a total of $25.00/month - knowing that cancelling upon leaving the South would be easy .  The business plan of Planet Fitness is to charge low money ($10.00/month) which comes out of members' checking accounts. Many gym members join and then stop going, but for so little money, most "quitters" will not cancel. That works so well for dedicated "gym rats" .  Planet Fitness isn't for everyone ....

 Several days ago, I witnessed an older man become airborne in a gym as he tripped over an object - hitting the floor hard enough to break some ribs. It was his second serious accident in the gym in the short period of time after joining. H e broke one of the prime rules of survival - in gyms and the world, generally. BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS One other quick point about gyms. With weight-management time right around the corner, remember that endless cardio (treadmill, elliptical, etc.) won't get you lighter and leaner. It is a poor use of your time and energy. Alter your nutrition to lose weight and uise the gym for overall health and well-being. 

 You were born weak, frail and afraid. Don't end up that way. If my memory served me correctly, some form of the above quote was part of an old ad for a protein supplement. It got my attention.  Just Google the term "sarcopenia" and you will find a wealth of information on the effects of losing muscle as you get older. This Harvard Health piece is only one of many on the subject. The point is simple, but the process of maintaining - and certainly building - muscle is not . It can be difficult, but worth the effort.  It has been a year since I underwent a surgical procedure to replace my aortic valve . I went into the hospital in great shape for someone 78 years old , but I had to curtail most of my exercise prior to the operation and had lost some strength and muscle mass. By the way, I had ZERO symptoms from the severe plugging of the artery with calcium, but my surgeon told me that my first symptom may be to drop dead. Predators prey on the weak-old-and-frail. Not j...

 Author's Note: This is the first of an undetermined number of thoughts from a guy who turns 80 on his next birthday.  "When you stop moving, your body shuts down!" --- Tom Lane I watched as both my dad and brother retired early and gradually moved less and less as the years passed. Both died at the age of 64 . My father died of ALS, which may have been unpreventatble, but my brother, Don, died of heart failure.  My granddaughter, Courtney, was born with cystic fibrosis and died at the age of 25 . I often pestered her into moving more to remain as healthy as possible, just as I had with Don. Both reuttered my movement/body shut-down axiom a few times, but never followed it. They both should have lived longer. My mom and sister passed away at 48 and 19 years of age , respectively. They were unlucky - with my mother contracting cancer and my sister dieing of MS. I have weathered both cancer and heart disease but have (thus far) beaten both. We were born to move. I preac...

  Time, comfort and curiosity - their profound affect on aging "Time seems to stand quite still In a child's world it always will"   "Morning. Another morning" by The Moody Blues The  days for a child pass quickly  but the years pass like a slow-moving freight train. As an adult, I want the same.  Time , or at least our perception of it,  can be controlled . Here is  Scientific American's James M. Broadway  on the subject: “Where did the time go?” middle-aged and older adults often remark. Many of us feel that time passes more quickly as we age, a perception that can lead to regrets. According to psychologist and BBC columnist Claudia Hammond, “the sensation that time speeds up as you get older is one of the biggest mysteries of the experience of time.” "Engaging in a novel exploit makes time appear to pass more quickly in the moment. But if we remember that activity later on, it will seem to have lasted longer than more mundane experiences." Tha...

I picked up a 3-month membership at Anytime Fitness (ATF), Pawleys Island, South Carolina after doing some research.  My 31 years in the fitness field helped me find the (near)-perfect gym, not only for seniors - just just about anyone. Why? 1.) It's close. Only a 4-minute drive with busy traffic makes it much tougher to talk my self out of going. 2.) It's complete. My goals are to regain strength and muscle lost when I was told to stop all exercise prior to an aortic heart valve replacement. This gym has everything I need for those goals. 3.) No duct tape. What the Hell does that mean? Duct tape on the machine and bench pads is a sign of a gym heading downhill. This gym has none. 4.) No pool. Pools take up space - are a pain-in-the-ass to maintain - smell of chlorine - and except for lap swimming, are not effective producers of a fit physique. 5.) No group fitness space. This gym got rid of it. Good move. I won't apologize to the aerobics devotees. 6.) Courteous me...

  Gyms are intimidating to seniors - prove you belong As I write this, my wife, Linda, and I are spending the winter in South Carolina as I approach my  74th birthday . Our permanent home is in the  North Country of New Hampshire , but it is too damn cold to stay there. I am a former  Research Enginee r,  Police Lieutenant/Investigator  and present  Health Coach/Personal Trainer . My background is diverse, and my professional and life experience will be combined into all of my blog posts. While avoiding purposely offending anyone,  I will be direct . We joined a gym down here upon arrival and go there most days of the week. Monday was Martin Luther King day, and our gym was mobbed. The place is huge, but I could hardly move in there without getting bumped. I have worked in health clubs for the past 25 years, and it often occurs to me that many of these people, a large portion of which are seniors, don't belong here. Not yet. Don't get me wrong, be...