First Chapter Reveal: Age Re-Defined by Robert Henry
Genre: Health/Fitness
Author: Robert Henry
Website: www.roberthenryfitness.com
Publisher: Publish Green
PURCHASE AT AMAZON
SUMMARY:
Your state of health, how you feel, and how you look are more within your control than you think – even in your forties and fifties (and beyond). This book addresses exercise, fitness, nutrition, wellness, and the mind-body connection. Its purpose is not to promote a particular exercise program or a particular diet plan – although its coverage of exercise, fitness, and nutrition is extensive – but rather to inform, educate, and motivate the reader on the importance of being proactive in one’s own health, fitness, and wellness.
Even if you are already physically active, this book can assist you in evaluating the effectiveness of your current exercise efforts. A foundational background in exercise and fitness concepts is provided. Not only does this book cite to numerous authoritative sources, but it also conveys the author’s own philosophy of exercise and an informative overview of his own exercise and nutrition regimen. The author, who is 56, shares his own motivating journey and the positive results he achieved through exercise, nutrition, and the mind-body connection, with particular emphasis on the challenges faced by him in his early fifties and the favorable results he achieved at that age by “re-booting” his commitment to health and fitness.
The importance of nutrition is explained and heavily stressed. A Registered Dietician with a Master’s Degree in Nutrition is a contributor to the nutrition content. One comes away with an awareness of quality nutrition and its role in optimal health, fitness, and wellness, and with a good working knowledge of the kinds of foods and eating habits which are most beneficial.
As stated in the book’s Introduction: This book is about believing in yourself, maintaining inner strength, and understanding exercise, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. This book is also about getting younger instead of getting older, discovering your inner athlete, and becoming and remaining healthy and fit in both body and mind. This book is for people who have never exercised but who would like to start; for people who would like to know more about good nutrition; for people who exercise but have not seen results; for people whose fitness level has declined and who want to re-ignite their fitness quest; for people who choose to be proactive about their own health, fitness, and wellness; for people interested in the mind-body connection; and for people who reject negative self-talk and self-limiting stereotypes about life after the age of 50. All ages are welcome.
FIRST CHAPTER
Although I didn’t know it
at the time, this book had its start in a doctor’s office in West Los Angeles, in October, 2008.
I had been thin my whole
life and was very thin as a child and teenager. I was not a “jock” in school,
and I did not like physical education or gym class in the slightest. When I
first began to exercise – at the age of 30 – I wanted to add some muscle mass
and therefore some weight. I was healthy, 5’11” tall, and weighed about 148 to
150 pounds, with no exercise history, although I had begun to pay more
attention to healthy eating habits at age 29, for example by ordering fruit
instead of French fries, and by eating more fish and less red meat.
Physically, I seemed to
blossom in my 30s and 40s. My thin frame acquired some “tone”, some definition,
some “cuts” – particularly my arms. I became stronger. I had also aged very
gracefully and looked younger than my chronological age, that is, based on
preconceived notions of what a certain age (40, 45, 49 – you name it) is
“supposed” to look (or feel) like.
Okay, so a new me emerged
in my 30s and 40s and was still there on my 50th birthday (in 2006).
I had a lean, toned physique and good general health, and I looked and felt
younger than what someone my age was “supposed” to look or feel like. In my
30s, my weight slowly increased (from the addition of muscle mass) from 148 to
153 to 158 and into the 160s. I weighed about 170 when I turned 40 and remained
in the 170s throughout my 40s.
Fast forward to 2007 and
2008: A combination of factors led to what was for me an unprecedented gain in
body fat (and weight, but from fat, not muscle) at the ages of 51 and 52. (I
don’t have any pictures, but, trust me, the extra pounds were there.) I believe
this was due to the long-distance commute to my job at the time (which, in L.A.
traffic, often took hours a day away from my free time), the staleness of my
exercise regimen (which some weeks had gotten down to twice a week of
not-so-high-intensity weights and no cardio), and paying less attention than I
should have been to my late-night carb intake. In addition to my work as an
attorney (which involved the long commute), I was also on call part-time as a
co-pilot on jet charter flights. My passion for flying aside, this further
disrupted my workout schedule at times.
Eventually, my weight
reached about 194. My waist was inches larger than it had been two years
before, and in fact bigger than it had ever been.
So, in October 2008 when
I visited the doctor for a routine blood workup, I expressed my concern about
my unprecedented body fat.
The blood workup showed
some adverse changes in my health profile. The doctor said, “You’re not getting
any younger.” My reply: “I refuse to accept that.”
The doctor went on to
recommend more Omega 3 in my diet (no argument from me there) and said, “Lose five to
ten pounds.
Your numbers (triglycerides, blood pressure) should go back to normal after
that.”
That alarm, that wake-up
call, that unprecedented need to lose body fat and the statement “You’re not
getting any younger” (to someone who had always looked and felt younger than he
was “supposed” to, and who always had a lower body fat than the general
population) ignited something within me.
I had engaged the
services of a personal trainer during my first year of working out, and again
for six months during my eighth year of working out in 1994. Both of these
trainers were great, but we lifted weights (free weights or machines) inside
the gym and did not cross-train.
In January, 2009, I hired
another personal trainer, who I had met months earlier at the gym. I said to
her, “Take me outside. Make me climb stairs. Make me run. And show me some new
stuff in the gym. The doctor said to lose five to ten pounds; I want to lose at least
fifteen and be more fit than ever.”
And so, at age 52, I
began this leg of my journey: the discovery of my inner athlete, my renewed and
greater-than-ever commitment to my health and fitness. I reminded myself that I
had flown a plane as a teenager, that I had always done well in school, that I
had drawn upon my inner strength when my parents died less than four months
apart when I was 21, and that I had gone on to complete law school and pass the
California Bar. This was my health, dammit. This mattered more than anything.
My trainer and I started
working together in January 2009. I climbed stairs. I ran track. I sprinted and
performed various outdoor drills. We tweaked my diet and added to my gym
regimen. By April, the weight was off.
In terms of waist size, I
had been buying waist size 33 for several years before the weight gain. Fifteen
to 20 years before, in my early to mid-30s, I bought size 31 and 32. In late
2008, my waist size was approaching 35. In April 2009, I bought some 33s as I
had before the weight gain, only to find that they were too big. I began buying
waist size 32, which fit comfortably. So, in terms of waist size, we had turned
the clock back fifteen to 20 years in less than four months.
But this wasn’t just
about waist size. I was more fit than ever, and more committed to and
passionate about fitness (and nutrition) than ever. Mission accomplished. (For my 53rd
birthday on April 30, 2009, I did a strong outdoor stair
session by myself in the afternoon, adding push-ups as well, and then I lifted
weights in the gym that evening. Celebrating fitness was the best way to
celebrate my birthday that year. The more standard dinner celebration had
already taken place a couple of weeks ahead of time.)
As I write this is
September, 2012, I have just received blood test results which indicate a very
significant decrease in “bad” cholesterol, a very significant increase in
“good” cholesterol, and a very significant decrease in triglycerides when
compared to my blood workup of October 2008. The 2012 numbers are as follows:
HDL (“good” cholesterol): 52; LDL (“bad” cholesterol): 75; total cholesterol:
138; triglycerides: 57 (the 2008 number was 270). These numbers are reportedly
very good for a 56-year-old male, and were achieved through diet and exercise,
without any medications. These numbers are not the only measurements of
interest. Body weight, waist size, body-fat percentage, blood pressure, and
other data are relevant, too. However, these numbers are one group of data to
look at, and they have shown dramatic improvement since that doctor’s
appointment in October 2008 . (My 2012 results also indicated the lowest
possible results for the C-Reactive Protein test, which was not performed in
2008.)
Back to 2009: After a
couple of months of training on my own, I resumed workouts with my trainer,
although somewhat less frequently than before. (During and after the weight
loss, the sessions with my trainer were not my only workouts. Sessions with her
were always in addition to training on my own in the gym. At this stage of my
fitness evolution, my trainer’s role included the cross-training realm.
Beginning exercisers who employ a trainer will typically train only with their
trainer at first.) During this post-weight-loss period of training, my fitness
level reached greater heights as my trainer introduced new and more challenging
elements to my workouts. My passion for fitness was now fully unbridled. When I
wasn’t working out, I needed to be learning more about fitness, so I began to
pursue my own personal trainer certification.
In August 2009, I became
a Certified Personal Trainer. In February 2010, I received certification in
fitness nutrition. In 2012, I added the highly respected designation of a
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) from the National
Strength and Conditioning Association, and I also became a certified wellness
coach.
In December 2010, I was
approached in the gym about being involved in a digital media project that
required participants with good physiques. That particular project didn’t
materialize, but meeting with the folks involved inspired me to consider my own
digital media presence. In 2011, we video recorded some of my outdoor training.
In 2012, I decided to take things to the next level with a website and blog
(RobertHenryFitness.com), and with this book.
This book is about
believing in yourself, maintaining inner strength, and understanding exercise,
fitness, nutrition, and wellness. This book is also about getting younger instead
of getting older, discovering your inner athlete, and becoming and remaining
healthy and fit in both body and mind.
This book is for people
who have never exercised but would like to start; for people who would like to
know more about good nutrition; for people who exercise but have not seen
results; for people whose fitness level has declined and who want to re-ignite
their fitness quest; for people who choose to be proactive about their own
health, fitness and wellness; for people interested in the mind-body
connection; and for people who reject negative self-talk and self-limiting
stereotypes about life after the age of 50.
Because I’m well into my
50s, and because of my own recent history, in writing this book we have focused
on persons over the age of 40. However, my own fitness awareness began at age
29 and continued to evolve throughout my 30s, 40s and 50s, and is still
evolving. Fitness, good nutrition, and wellness benefit people of all ages. So,
even if you’re in your 20s or 30s, you’re welcome to come aboard and to keep
reading.
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