Germany, December 2023 - Usthrasana
If you want to stay fit in old age (60 plus), you have to do more than before and eat more intelligently. From the age of 40, your strength should start to decline. It doesn't matter when you notice it, but at some point you realize that you are getting weaker. The older you get, the more important it is to train your strength.
Some yoga exercises are so much harder for me than they used to be because I don't have the strength. The vinyasa of the 1st Ashtanga Yoga series are only rudimentary at the moment.
I have been doing strength training for a year now.
I recently changed gym because there is a gym nearby. Anything that is too far away, you do less often than you want to.
The new gym also took a medical history. That seems to be standard. You find out more about your own body values after registering at a gym than after a medical history at the doctor.
But what really motivates me is that I have another appointment with my trainer at the end of February. Then she will measure again how much strength I have and how high my fat percentage is. We are living in the decade of measurements and control. I take a critical view of this. But it also has advantages. Finding out where you stand is an advantage.
You can also sign up for a challenge every month in the app. Then you can see how many activity points you have collected compared to the others. I see that as positive competition. You're not floating in a vacuum with no direction. I immediately thought: I want to be in the top half. So I packed my sneakers on Friday and off I went. That's how people are.
There is a so-called EGym in the studio. These are 9 machines that train the most important muscles. This EGym was recommended to me.
Here are the machines that are supposed to make me stronger:
1. rowing machine
2. rotator
3. leg curl
4. abdominal trainer
5. chest press
6. lat pulldown
7. gluteus
8. back trainer
9. leg extension
When I log on to the individual machines, they are automatically set for me. I then move my 17 kg, 23 kg or whatever my current level is.
The circuit training is done twice. It takes about 45 minutes. Afterwards you know what you've done.
After that, you can train on other machines or do cardio training. I also got five callisthenics exercises. As a yogi, I don't forget to stretch at the end. I don't want to lose my flexibility. I was so happy when I saw two wall bars on the functional area. I do my last exercises on them before jetting home happily and exhausted.
What I learned (not new, but something I experience again and again):
- It's good to set yourself goals. I want to increase my muscle mass to over 30%.
- Being part of a group is very helpful.
- Regularity is important.
Keep practicing.