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You are never too old to get fit, lose weight or start a fitness routine.

These days, more and more people who have struggled with weight loss are turning their lives around and becoming healthier and more physically fit. There are also a lot more people wanting to start fitness in some way but do not know how.

There are many people who will feel that they are too old to start improving their fitness and health or going to the gym and lifting weights; they feel that there is no hope for them since they’ve had weight problems their whole lives.

This is a mental barrier. In past articles, I have mentioned the importance of routine and the effect of a routine and how a habit becomes solidified and embedded into one’s character the longer that it is maintained or tolerated. These habits or routines can be good or bad.

If you are in this situation — perhaps in your 50’s or even over 60 — and you would like to lose a bit (or a lot) of weight and start a fitness programme, and you feel you are too old to do so, the first thing you need to do is realise that you are wrong!

If this truth applies to you, you need to understand that, to get results with weight loss or fitness, you need  to learn a couple of things with regards to mindset.

First off, you should realise that it is never too late. If you get things right for 15 to 20 weeks, you will lose a substantial amount of weight and become a whole lot fitter. I’m sure that you would agree that, in the grand scheme of things, 15 – 20 weeks is not a long time at all.

 

Getting it right?

Once you understand that you can attain the weight and fitness level that you desire, you can then consider educating yourself. It’s very well and good observing the countless diet plans and fitness methods out there today, all claiming to be your best choice.

This is very confusing to people who are new to this game, and, because of the volume of these products, many people will flit from one idea to the next as these ideas pop up and never see a single diet or training programme through to the end because there is always something that looks better or promises to yield better results.

This leads to little or no results and further backs up your belief that it is too late for you.

The best thing that you can do here is to stick with one theory. If you know someone personally that has had great results, the kind of results that you want, you should educate yourself to this theory and follow it until you get your results. For example:

You know someone who has lost a lot of weight from a low fat, low sugar, calorie-controlled diet, and, three weeks into this, you hear of someone who has had similar results from a fasting diet. Do not switch to this diet if you have not given the first diet a solid 8 – 10 weeks chance.

 

The Advantages of Lifting Weights

Many people who have not followed a physical training programme before think that weight lifting is for the world’s strongest man contest or for big bodybuilders who are obsessed with packing on huge amounts of muscle.

Lifting weights is for everybody including people over their 60’s. There are a huge amount of benefits that will come from this type of activity including:

Muscle strength

Improve of your balance

Improve of your coordination

Improve of your mobility

Help to reduce the signs of arthritis.

That is a completely topic but it is important to know that the amount of muscle mass that you have is very valuable. You need to keep what you have as the benefits are many indeed!

This does not mean that you need to look like the hulk. Many people have an aversion to resistance training as they do not want to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. This will not happen. As soon as you start training with weights, you will realise how hard it is to build muscle like this.

The biggest “take-away” from this article is:

 

Find A Plan And Stick To It

Once, you have a sensible fitness plan, STOP “LOOKING” and stick to it! Research into personal health by all means. I cannot stress this point enough! I have learned this the hard way. You do not get results from any fitness plan if you do not stick to your plan.

Break those mental barriers to reach your physical potential.

There is a bigger mental barrier in the weight loss / fitness game than most people think. It is more than likely that this is what is holding you back. Once you decide that you are going to take responsibility and go out and do what it takes to get your results, you have taken your first step.

Just don’t let anyone else tell you that you can’t do it, or ever make you feel that way, because YOU CAN!

Make your decision, plan your journey and walk your path. If you stay on your path long enough, you will get to your destination!

I hope that this has given you some ideas and helped you out even if it’s just a little bit.

If you do have any questions, please feel free to drop me an email. I will be more than happy to give you my opinion on any of your concerns.

Good luck,

Jim