Welcome to 2017. Mine didn’t start particularly well. A routine visit to the anticoagulant clinic to find that I was over warfarinised. My GP had started me on statins just before Christmas as my cholesterol was slightly elevated. What he failed to tell me was the effect they could have on my INR (the time it takes for the blood to clot). I was now at risk of having a serious bleed. This is the second GP that has nearly killed me. I’m hoping that it won’t be third time lucky.

A week later all was well and I started a 28 day challenge. I had signed up before Christmas as I knew I would overindulge during the festive period and I was also feeling as if my training needed to be taken up a notch. I was starting to feel a bit ‘fluffy’.

The challenge consists of a high protein, low carb diet and six training sessions a week. Three weight training and three high intensity. One week in and I can already see a change on the scales and in the mirror. Which is pretty amazing given that a few years ago I was a regular gym bunny but the only thing that changed was my bank balance.

But it is not called a challenge without good reason. The sessions are hard. It is a big commitment. But for me the most difficult part is getting myself to the gym after a long day at work and a commute home in the cold. On the first day of the challenge I had done 24,000 steps before I lifted one weight thanks to the London Underground strike. But it is true that you never regret a workout. I always go home buzzing.

Of course my fellow challengers are a lot younger than me. Not unexpected but I feel sad that others of my age don’t go for it. Once you get past 30 it really is ‘use it or lose it’. From everything I have read on my adapting exercise for the older adult course there is no place for taking it easy if you want to stay fit and independent into old age. A particularly good read is ‘Fast after 50’ by Joel Friel. He contends that the 50, 60, 70-year-old can continue training at the same intensity as a 25-year-old. They may be a bit slower, not so strong but they can still achieve amazing things. Friel’s book is aimed at serious athletes ( whatever that means) but is still of interest for those of us whose efforts don’t qualify us to use the term. Or maybe we can!
Unfortunately, not being able to do what you could do as a 25-year-old can result in people questioning ‘what is the point’. Fortunately for me my 25 year old self’s only exercise was running round a hospital ward (I was a midwife) or getting myself to the pub. But I’m probably not alone here. So I haven’t experienced the loss of form that my more active cohort have.

One thing that many writers believe has a huge impact on the fitness of older people is the impact of a pessimistic attitude to aging. Many have  have brought into society’s view that as we age we should slow down even though all the evidence suggests that we should be doing the opposite. The most beneficial exercise an older person can do to maintain bone strength and muscle mass (so important in the prevention of those diseases and injuries that can impact on the quality of life) is weight training. But how many 60 or  70 year olds do you see in the weights area of the gym.

This is something I have to work on. I often doubt what I can achieve whilst at the same time feeling a real need to prove that I am not that sad, middle-aged woman who other gym users look upon with condescension. ‘Bless her. At least she is trying’. I know I am faster and stronger than many women (and some men) half my age but on any occasion where I find myself in competition  my immediate thought is ‘I mustn’t be last’.

But, of course, my real opponent is myself. I am the only one that can scupper the successful completion of the 28 Days Challenge. And that is not going to happen.