Working out is probably a thing that might scare some people, but it shouldn’t. The benefits of regular exercising for your health and appearance far outweigh the time and effort.

We are a family that been working out for a long time. The exercises include weight lifting and aerobics.  Fred specially has been working out since he was 17 and I when we first started dating 50 years ago.  Our oldest son is a personal trainer, so it’s great because I’m always calling him to get advise or new workout routines.  My favorite workout is doing upper body weight lifting because I can see the benefits, and I gain muscle more than in other parts of my body. Also  I can increase the weights easily.

When we moved here 28 years ago we joined Sandestin’s gym, later we moved to Gold’s Gym as they had more equipment. Now since Covid we have our own gym at home which we love. You don’t need a lot of equipment. We have a bench, bands that are attached to the wall, a ball and adjustable weights which don’t take a lot of room and a ride and row machine.

When I was 50 and Fred 49 we entered a body building contest because we had received a video in the mail for a transformation contest (a “before and after”).  It was “Body for Life”, a 90 day transformation which got us working out daily and boy did it work!

Thousands of people participated from all over the country. We decided to enter as a couple rather as individuals. We had to follow Bill Phillips program (he was the creator of Body for Life) and he also suggested a program for exercising, eating and supplementation. We had to send in "before and after" pictures along with a written essay, the topic being what you had learned by participating in the program.

It was not as hard as we thought it was going to be, doing all of the exercising or eating the way we were supposed to eat and we soon were enjoying all of it.  While we didn’t win we learned that you can make a transformation in a short period of time.

One day we would do upper body, which consisted of chest presses, bicep curls, tricep dips, shoulder presses.  The next day we would get on the treadmill (or outside weather permitting) and do a walk, jog, run each 10 minutes and that was it for the aerobic day.  The next day was lower body, squats, leg presses, lunges, calf raises, hamstring curls and of course each time we worked out we stretched at the end which is equally important.

It only takes maybe 45 minutes a day to do this and it’s very good not only for your health but also your mind. They say and have proven that it prevents Alzheimer’s. It’s also good for blood pressure and for mood. We’re 76 and 75 and still at it! It's never too late to start!