Exercising My Rights: Post Menopause Exercise

A dear girlfriend, who is my stay-fit mentor (for whom I am forever grateful - really), recently dragged me on foot from Ketchum to Mid-Valley, Idaho one toasty July afternoon. It was a beautiful day and I was beguiled by the dry heat and blue, cloudless skies. So enchanted, that I forgot I was at 6000' elevation and not my gentler Florida sea level. At the end of this 7 mile journey, we had to scale a quarter-mile of sheer cliff to get to the air-conditioned house. Ok, we just had to walk up the driveway...but my heart thought otherwise. I was panting and exhausted with that very short uphill rise. My core temperature shot up and my feet signaled that they had had ENOUGH! Completely, spread-eagle-on-the-bed, tuckered out.

Being the true friend mentioned above, she also set up a training session at the gym a few days later. I was keeping up just fine until I got on the treadmill. Let's just say I hit the wall again and had to stop early. Humiliated by concerned questions like, "Are you feeling dizzy? Do you need to lay down?" If I could have uttered anything it would have been "LIE, that's LIE down!" Let's put the onus on the trainer, not me! I'm fine.

Not to say that these two incidents worried my friend, BUT...she sent me this book to read. It arrived very soon after we returned home. It's called Younger Next Year for Women: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy - Until You're 80 and Beyond . The original book was written for men, but this is one geared for us ladies in our 3rd Third of Life and definitely worth taking the time to read, absorb and live. Since I have a feeling I'm stuck here until my mid-90's, I am taking this advice seriously! It's a great philosophy. I recommend it.

The men's version: Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy - Until You're 80 and Beyond

Why exercise after menopause? Click here!